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| The little things: illustration by John Higgins. |
From Alan Moore: Portrait of an Extraordinary Gentleman, the sold-out tribute book published by Abiogenesis Press in 2003.
In the following you can read the poignant and funny contribution written by British artist John Higgins, who did an amazing work colouring both Watchmen and The Killing Joke. The piece was originally printed at page 297 of the book.
Higgins also contributed with the illustration you can see above (page 296).
Posted on this blog with Higgins' permission.
Blue Man Blues
Alan Moore a comic Genius.
Not impressed.
Alan Moore changed the face of modern comics.
Still not impressed.
Alan Moore at a comic convention in London in the mid-1980’s at the start of the WATCHMEN phenomenon, dressed (in his usual understated style) in a candy-striped suit. He is the star attraction of the convention, and the centre of attention for hundreds of comics fans and fellow professionals a like.
Everyone wants a bit of his time, but Alan had decided the most important person there was a bored six-year-old girl at her first comics convention. She doesn¹t know or care who the hell this hirsute and interestingly garbed giant is, but is enthralled as he proceeds to entertain her with stories, conversation and magic tricks and made her the centre of all his attention.
Now I’m impressed!
I can think of very few other people who would have or even could have done the same thing in his position.
To work with Alan has been a creative joy, and to read Alan¹s work has given me many hours of entertainment. If that was all to say about him, that would still be more than enough to sing his praises here. But that six year-old girl was, and is one of the most important people in my life--my daughter, Jenna. And for me, that long ago incident underlines what it is that makes Alan Moore special and why he is such a creative powerhouse. He really does care about the little things!
I was one small part of the WATCHMEN team, and right from the beginning Alan (and Dave) made me feel fully part of that team, how ever minor my input was. Though there is one totally and original first I can claim in relationship to the WATCHMEN.
I told the very first WATCHMEN joke.
One of the earliest WATCHMEN plotting sessions between Alan and Dave took place in a London pub beer garden. It was early March, and it was too damned chilly to be sitting outside drinking cold beer. They were postulating theories on how Dr Manhattan could materialise, "Would there be an electrical charge before he arrived or after he left?" "Would the displacement of oxygen atoms be violent enough to make a noise?" "Would he create a vacuum when he left an environment?" This was their job, my job was the colour, and all I knew about Dr Manhattan was, he was blue. "Dave, Alan, I feel a little bit like Dr Manhattan just now!" They both gave me a look of polite interest. "I think my dick has turned blue in the cold."
OK it might not have been a very funny WATCHMEN joke, but it was definitely the first!
What can one say about Alan Moore that has not been said before? I have no idea!
Just believe it all and know he is a one off.
February 2003
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