The idea of death

Alan Moore in Monsters, Maniacs & Moore

Excerpt transcribed from Monsters, Maniacs & Moore, 1987 Central Independent Television documentary, from the series "England: Their England". Directed by Norman Hull.

In western society we seem to be unduly terrified by the idea of death, without ever realising that death is the only thing that gives life any of its sweetness. There's that wonderful anecdote about a zen monk who found himself in the unenviable position of dangling from a cliff-top by a single strawberry bush which he was hanging onto for dear life, which had a single ripe succulent strawberry hanging from the end of its branch. And just below this dangling monk there was a savage man-eating tiger waiting for him to fall, leaping up around his feet, snapping and growling and clawing at 'im. And the monk hangs there and he thinks, "shall I eat the strawberry now?" and he does, and as he eats it on the way down, it tastes absolutely perfect. 

--- Alan Moore

The complete video is available HERE.

Moore, Glycon and Smax by Gene Ha

Art by Gene Ha.

Above, a fantastic marker sketch of our beloved Man from Northampton drawn by Master comic book artist and illustrator GENE HA.

I love Gene Ha comics and drawing style since the 90ies so it's a real pleasure and honour for me to receive such a beautiful piece of art.

But Ha is a generous extraordinary man, so he also added an extra sketch of Top Ten's Smax drawn on the opening page of his amazing art book Oddities and Apocrypha from the files of Gene Ha (highly recommended! Get a copy here!). WOW!

Art by Gene Ha.

So... GRAZIE MILLE, Gene!

The Cult of Water

Excerpt from The Cult of Water, a really interesting book by David Bramwell, with illustrations by Pete Fowler, a fascinating journey through the cult of water, History and self-discovery. Alan Moore contributed with some bits of words and wisdom. 

[...] Seeking answers, I paid a visit to England's greatest living wizard, Alan Moore.

Over tea in his terraced Northampton home--'Sea View'--the hirsute author and magician shared his thoughts on the symbolism of water.

'[...] Throughout the world, water is largely seen as a female element. In the Tarot deck its corresponding suit is cups, which symbolises compassion. Of course male and female energies are both necessary for the creation of anything, whether that be an idea or whether that be a universe. If one of them is dominating however, that will lead to problems.'

More info about the book, HERE. Highly recommended.

Magus Moore by Giuseppe Palumbo

Art by GIUSEPPE PALUMBO

Above, directly from the Tarot deck, a blazing, mystic portrait of our beloved magician from Northampton by acclaimed Italian comic book superstar GIUSEPPE PALUMBO.

 

For more info about the artist: HERE and HERE.

Grazie, Giuseppe! :)

Alan Moore by Cesar Edgar

Art by Cesar Edgar.

Above, an interesting caricature of Alan Moore by Brazilian artist Cesar Edgar.

More about the artist HERE.

The Comedian by Stefano Tamiazzo

Art by Stefano Tamiazzo

Above, an intense portrait of The Comedian by Italian acclaimed comic book artist and illustrator STEFANO TAMIAZZO.

 

Illustration included in Watchmen 20 anni dopo, an Italian tribute book to Watchmen published in 2006 by Lavieri.   

More info about the artist here (in Italian) and here (in French).

Alan Moore by Tom Ralston

Art by Tom Ralston

Above, an intense Alan Moore portrait by graphic design and illustrator Tom Ralston.

 

More info about the artist, HERE and HERE.

Gen-13 unpublished script on eBay

Moore's unpublished Gen13 script!

In 1997 Alan Moore started writing a Gen13 story. The script was not completed and the story never published. After 20+ years, Scott Dunbier, who was EIC of Wildstorm, put those faxed pages on eBay, HERE.

First, all money earned from this auction will go directly to Bob Wiacek, long time comic-book inker and all around good guy. Bob has some severe eye issues that preclude him from being able to work. All money earned will go directly to aid Bob.

ALAN MOORE SCRIPT
You are bidding on an UNPUBLISHED Alan Moore script from 1997. Several artists were going to draw different chapters, not sure how many but at least one was intended for Travis Charest. These 28 pages are all that Alan wrote, it is NOT complete and never was (Hence it never being published).

DETAILS:

Gen13 Annual called "THE COMING OF THE COLLECTOR!!"

28 out of 48 pages were written—35 typed pages.
The script was sent (as ALL of Alan's scripts were) via fax. The pages were printed out on plain paper (not thermal fax paper, thank goodness) and are probably the only copies that exist.
 

This script is being sold with Alan Moore's full knowledge and blessing (since it will help Bob). This is truly the ultimate Alan Moore collectible—an unpublished script by arguably the greatest writer in comics history—one-of-a-kind! 

At the moment the current bid is US $3,383.00! Make your best bid! 5 days left!

Alan Moore by Marek Markiewicz

Art by Marek Markiewicz.

Above, a graphic Alan Moore portrait by Polish artist Marek Markiewicz.

More info about the artist, here.

Alan Moore by Eleonora Antonioni

Art by Eleonora Antonioni

Above, a very iconic and hairy Alan Moore by Italian comic book artist and illustrator Eleonora Antonioni. Her latest graphic novel is Trame libere. Cinque storie su Lee Miller, a book about the American model, photographer and photojournalist.

 

For more info about Eleonora Antonioni visit her site, HERE. 

Grazie, Eleonora! :)

Humble artisans

Excerpt from the letter column in The League Of Extraordinary Gentlemen n. 3, June 1999.

[...] The humble artisans who craft our tale each month could scarcely be considered gentlemen. Mr. Moore hails from a family of the lower orders that are monstrously inbred, amongst whom he is chiefly famed for his unique possession of a seventh nipple. Mr. O'Neill, to my certain knowledge, has been more than once convicted as a pickpocket and cosh-boy. To the other sometime inmates of Marshalsea prison, he is known and feared as "Red Kev". Alas, as is so often the case with periodicals of this type, only lower sorts of person are contented with a niche as artist or mere writer, and it is only in the editorial ranks that one is likely to find traces of both breeding and nobility. I'm sure, however, that if our creative team could talk intelligibly without those appalling and impenetrable accents, they would thank you for your generosity; however misplaced it may be.

Alan in red by Maicol&Mirco

Art by Maicol&Mirco

Above, a fantastic minimal Alan Moore portrait by acclaimed Italian comic book artist, cartoonist and illustrator Maicol&Mirco who reached a wide popularity with Gli Scarabocchi di Maicol&Mirco, biting and irreverent cartoons drawn on a red background, shared on the web and social networks and later released in book format.

His books are published, in Italy, by Bao Publishing and Coconino Press.

For more info about Maicol&Mirco: Wikipedia - Twitter - Facebook - Blog (in Italian)