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| Art by Alessandro Aroffu |
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| Art by Michael Lindabury |
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| Cover art by Francesco Frongia |
[...] When I was six or seven years old and becoming rapidly addicted to the American comic-books that would sporadically find their way across the Atlantic as ballast on cargo-ships, it was always, I later realised, this pair's work [Joe Simon and Jack Kirby] that made the deepest and most lasting impression. So electrified was I by my first glimpse of The Double Life of Private Strong, with its hero leaping towards us in a manner that elegantly avoids the hail of machine-gun bullets he is diving into, that I persuaded my mother to make me a vague simulation of the character's stars-and-stripes vest, and immediately commenced my superhero career. It lasted less than a week, but this was in no way the fault of the costume. Luckily, I wasn't fired on by a machine-gun during those few days. [...]
Alan Moore
Northampton
September 9th, 2023
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| Art by Francesco Frongia |
David Lloyd: [...] When I mentioned taking out thought bubbles and sound effects to Alan, he got on board with it, but what he did in response to that challenge was progressive. He turned thought balloons into captions–the thoughts of the characters into the streaming narrative. And we removed the lines around the captions and balloons, as I said. And the reason I did that is this: when you put lines around them, they’re on a different level, a different plane is created above the object of the art and separate from it. If you take them away, they become integral to the art, to the whole experience of the reading. That’s not some great idea of mine–I saw Alex Toth do it, who’s one of the great creators. When he did that, the art and the script became integrated. There was no separation. They were not on separate planes. When you take away the separation, you have a completely integrated experience. [...][...] But a lot of people don’t know it was a progression that was urged by an accident. Valerie Page’s appearance was an accident.After we revealed the existence of Surridge’s diary, Alan needed to write a lot of exposition in Finch’s meeting with the Leader, and he had no firm thoughts on what art might accompany some of that. So it was in my hands. I thought about it, and figured I’d set it in the Shadow Gallery, and figured it would be a great idea if there was a room in the Shadow Gallery where V might run old movies–or maybe home movies or slideshows of lost relatives, or something similar. One of the things I was concerned about at the time was that V was not seen as having any emotional depth at all. We’d seen him as a murderer with a philosophy, but we didn’t know anything of a backstory. I wanted to show him looking at some images in this private spot that might suggest one. At the time, I knew an actress who’d sent me some stage shots. I asked her if she’d mind if I used them as that anonymous character from V’s history, and she was fine with that. I wanted to show that there was someone who meant something to V. You don’t know why, you don’t know who it is on that screen. We just know he’s watching pictures of a lost love or maybe a lost sister, or whatever. We don’t know. So, I did that. And Alan bounced off that accident amazingly and created Valerie Page which became a central part of the whole story. Now, that was an accident that rachetted up the whole seriousness of the story’s tone. You can put that down to the cultural and social circumstances of the time, too, of course. But that moment illustrates one of the great values of V for Vendetta: that it grew organically and could. Alan could bounce off accidents like that, and create this character from nothing, because when we were first creating the comic, we were doing it in 6- to 8-page episodes per month. Slowly, with time to think. There was no great story arc we had to follow. We weren’t doing it like American comic books. That is the best of V–and we had complete control. And what Alan did with the completion of it all pulled it all together perfectly. [...]
Comics Are Dying: The Comic
by Louis Southard and Over 100 Artists
A satirical journey through the history of the comic book industry recounted by 100 one-page comics by 1 writer and 100 artists.
A Comic Book About the Comics Industry, By the Comics Industry, For the Comics Industry
Foreword by Mark Waid
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| Panels from V for Vendetta. Art by David Lloyd. |
Alan Moore: [...] I’m an anarchist. I don’t believe in democracy, and I think that this [Moore is referring to Brexit] shows the massive flaws. If you’re going to have democracy in an ill-informed, massive population you’re always going to get shit like this. That is my opinion.
“And, I’ve often said, you cannot have democracy and Rupert Murdoch on the same planet. It’s like, how’s that going to work? The only way that democracy would work is if we were to adopt the Athenian direct democracy system.
“Now, I’m not championing the Athenians: they kept slaves, they weren’t perfect. But if they had got an issue that affected the whole country, they would appoint by lottery a jury, of say 50 people, from all walks of life, probably actually except the slaves, but the principle is: you’ve got a decision of national importance to be made, you have 50 people, then you have two people giving the pros and the cons, like in a court. Two experts explaining thoroughly the reasons for and against. Then you let them vote, then immediately you dissolve the jury; they dissolve back into the normal population.
“So straight away you remove the possibility of an administration voting for extra perks, pay rises, because they are not going to be the administration, it’s in their interests to vote for what is best for the broad mass of the population which they will be returning into. That would work.
“People have said, ‘oh well, direct democracy is just endless referendums’. No. You don’t need to ask everybody in the country, as long as you’ve got a representative section. That would work, and that would be a form of democracy that anarchists could vote for, because it would not be about appointing leaders. So, that is what I would favour. [...][...] there is a traffic system in Hong Kong at the moment. It’s called a ‘niche A.I.’ This is not a full artificial intelligence, in that it is not aware, it’s not going to take over the world and send Arnie back in time. There aren’t self-aware machines, perhaps there never will be.
“What it is, is a very smart computer which knows everything about its particular niche – its niche being the Hong Kong traffic system. It knows where the work gangs are, it knows where there’s flaws being reported and it knows the quickest way to sort out these flaws with the least energy and man-hours. The Hong Kong traffic system works much better than it ever has done, and that is, I would imagine, quite a complicated system. So, niche A.I.s – why not? To work out all these things which don’t need votes or opinions.
“Leaders are never going to legislate for their own obsolescence. But unless we’re going to have a Weimar revolution, and we replace one power structure with another that will be as bad or worse, which never works… unless we do that, then we have to find a way around these people. I would argue that with technology being as it is at the moment, we have the means to do that. We can go round them. We can set up structures of our own.
“Let’s go back to those small communities. Let’s connect up those small communities, because we can do these days], and we perhaps have them all manage to buy a niche A.I, something like that. [...]
[...] the essays by the various authors involved offer the reader a well-rounded portrait of the Magus [...] focusing both on the analysis of some of his works and lesser-known aspects of his personality (for example, his deep bond with the world of fanzines), delving into the literary style, sources and models of inspiration.
The unaltered prominent role of the British author in the world of comics - a constant polestar even today - can also be seen by the variety of critics, journalists and writers assembled by smoky man for the volume. International acclaimed contributors, such as Paul Gravett and Ian Sinclair, are joined by established Italian critics such as Andrea Tosti and Adriano Ercolani, but also new voices like comic book writer and scholar Francesco Pelosi.
Regarding the visual homages, we find the same heterogeneity with Internationally renowned artists (like Danijel Zezelj, Gene Ha, Zander Cannon and Miguel Angel Martin) and Italian ones (like Sergio Ponchione, Werther Dell'Edera, Lorenzo Palloni and Giuseppe Palumbo). All the portraits share the same high quality. [...] --- David Padovani
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| Art by John Bishop |
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| Art by Sergio Ponchione |
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| Art by Jonathan Edwards |
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| Art by Jonathan Edwards |
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| Art by Andrea Casciu (wip) |
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| Art by Andrea Casciu (preliminary b/w version) |
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| Art by Officina Infernale |
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| Preliminary art by Officina Infernale |
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| Art by Alan Moore |
Alan Moore has dedicated his life to his art. Had he not achieved the status of the most influential writer in his field, the admiration of millions of fans, including many household names, and not had his work adapted into major budget movies, I have no doubt that he would still have done exactly the same thing: he has the attributes of most great artists: he is dedicated, lives simply, shuns the hype and bullshit of those who simply exploit art for commercial gain, public adulation, or to cynically latch on to the current zeitgeist. He is also generous and supportive of other artists, across genres. I owe him much, and am glad to call him ‘friend’.
Northampton, the town (or ‘Teyn’) of Alan’s and my birth, which is both loved and hated, by many of its inhabitants, is sadly near or at the bottom of the nationwide pile for ‘artistic engagement’; it has been known as ‘the Glasgow of the Midlands’, being, as that city once was, a place of disrespect and indifference to artists, and a fearful, potentially deflating prospect for any performer.
In Northampton, we have a wealth of phenomenal performers, sharing Alan’s attributes, and especially astonishing musicians across ‘roots’ genres who are marginalised.
Over four years and thousands of voluntary hours, in a truly unique partnership with the town’s Garibaldi Hotel, our project ‘The Garibaldi LIVE’ has nurtured our outstanding musicians, brought some of the most acclaimed performers, nationally and globally, to the venue for them to collaborate with , and ‘The Gari’ has also gained a superb reputation across the country as a ‘must play’ gig. It has taken this long for the initiative to gain traction and it has now reached an exciting and critical stage. Performances are non-ticketed to ensure access for all and we rely on a non obligatory collection for those that can afford to give. We have been informed that we are eligible for funding, which, if we are successful in our bid, will not come to fruition for many months. We need support now. For this reason, we are grateful to Alan for his donation of a rare, original, and characteristically thoughtful signed artwork, ‘Bless’, to auction for much needed funds - rare, particularly, as Alan always maintains that he’s a writer, not an artist.
This is an opportunity to own a unique original artwork and to also make a great investment in great artists, not to mention this outstanding, people powered project.
Our deep gratitude to you for reading this far to understand the basis of Alan’s support for ‘The Garibaldi LIVE’ and our town’s need for it. We hope you will make a bid or, at the least spread the word.
Health, happiness, and thank you.
Andy Shaw.
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| Cover art by John Coulthart |
The most acclaimed writer in comics history, Alan Moore, joins his late mentor Steve Moore (no relation) for one last graphic grimoire: a sprawling and stunning introduction to magic in all its timeless forms, brought to life by five wondrous and whimsical artists.
Splendid news for enquiring minds, and guaranteed salvation for humanity! Messrs. Steve and Alan Moore, current proprietors of the celebrated Moon & Serpent Grand Egyptian Theatre of Marvels (sorcery by appointment since circa 150 AD) are presently engaged in producing a clear and practical grimoire of the occult sciences that offers endless necromantic fun for all the family. Exquisitely illuminated by a host of adepts including Kevin O’Neill, John Coulthart, Steve Parkhouse, Rick Veitch and Ben Wickey, this marvellous and unprecedented tome promises to provide all that the reader could conceivably need in order to commence a fulfilling new career as a diabolist.
Its contents include profusely illustrated instructional essays upon this ancient sect’s theories of magic, notably the key dissertation “Adventures in Thinking,” which gives reliable advice as to how entry into the world of magic may be readily achieved. Further to this, a number of “Rainy Day” activity pages present lively and entertaining things-to-do once the magical state has been attained, including such popular pastimes as divination, etheric travel and the conjuring of a colourful multitude of sprits, deities, dead people and infernal entities from the pit, all of whom are sure to become your new best friends.
Also contained within this extravagant compendium of thaumaturgic lore is a history of magic from the last ice age to the present day, told in a series of easy-to-absorb pictorial biographies of fifty great enchanters and complemented by a variety of picture stories depicting events ranging from the Palaeolithic origins of art, magic, language and consciousness to the rib-tickling comedy exploits of Moon & Serpent founder Alexander the False Prophet (“He’s fun, he’s fake, he’s got a talking snake!”).In addition to these manifold delights, the adventurous reader will also discover a series of helpful travel guides to mind-wrenching alien dimensions that are within comfortable walking distance, as well as profiles of the many quaint local inhabitants that one might bump into at these exotic resorts. A full range of entertainments will be provided, encompassing such diverse novelties and pursuits as a lavishly decorated decadent pulp tale of occult adventure recounted in the serial form. Completing this almost-unimaginable treasure trove is a lengthy thesis revealing the ultimate meaning of both the Moon and the Serpent in a manner that makes transparent the much-obscured secret of magic, happiness, sex, creativity and the known Universe, while at the same time explaining why these lunar and ophidian symbols feature so prominently in the order’s peculiar name. (Manufacturer’s disclaimer: this edition does not, however, reveal why the titular cabal of magicians consider themselves to be either grand or Egyptian. Let the buyer beware.)
Art by Kevin O'Neill
A colossal and audacious publishing triumph of three hundred and fifty-two pages, beautifully produced in the finest tradition of educational literature for young people, The Moon and Serpent Bumper Book of Magic will transform your lives, your reality, and any spare lead that you happen to have lying around into the purest and most radiant gold. -- a 9" x 12" hardcover
Art by Rick Veitch
Book design by John Coulthart. Co-published by Top Shelf Productions & Knockabout LTD (UK).
[...] A couple of things are worth noting now that the book is about to enter the world. The first is that the contents are a little different to the press release from 2007 which announced a book of 320 pages, with 78 of those pages being brand new Tarot card designs. The authors subsequently realised that creating an entirely new Tarot deck is a huge task in itself, especially if, as was the intention, you wanted it to be as wide-ranging and authoritative as the Crowley/Harris Thoth deck. [...]The other thing to note is that this book is as much Steve Moore’s as Alan Moore’s, something which I’m sure Alan will want to emphasise but which news reports and reviews are inevitably going to overlook. [...]
Art by Ben Wickey
The Bumper Book may superficially resemble a children’s annual but this isn’t a book for children. The essays include discussion of the use of drugs and sex in magic, and there’s a lot of nudity (also a fair amount of sex) in the illustrations. The book is a serious study, but not, I hope, a boring one. [...]
I could say more about the contents but I’m not going to spoil things. I’ve been immensely grateful to Alan, Tony and Chris at Top Shelf for not pressuring me to get this one finished. I’m often complaining that publishers don’t give you enough time to work on things but that wasn’t the case with this book. I just wish Steve Moore was still here to see it (and Kevin O’Neill, an artist whose work I always admired but I never got to meet). October this year is going to be lunar and serpentine. We’ll see you in the Theatre of Marvels.
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| Art by John Coulthart |
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| Art by Gary Spencer Millidge |
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| Art by Isabella Mazzanti |
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| Art by Alexander Bustamante |
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| Cover for Metal Hurlant n. 10 by Darius BakaArts |
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| Art by Vida Poppell |
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| Art by Dave Gibbons from Watchmen n.1 |
DAVE GIBBONS: [...] For instance, my classic collaboration with Alan Moore doing Watchmen and the other things we did - I felt a great connection in that he was an artist. He was a writer who could draw quite good comics. And I was an artist who could write quite good comics. So we were close together in the middle. [...]
Talking about Watchmen's contract: [...] So there was no question of anybody putting pressure on us. It's not even me putting pressure on Alan to sign anything he didn't want. We've all signed bits of paper that we really wish afterwards we hadn't signed. It doesn't necessarily mean that there's any evil intent in it. But what I would say with Alan-- and I think these things go hand in hand. I've become reasonably well-known and famous because of Watchmen. But Alan's talents, and I think Frank Miller's talents, are on a different level than so many of us. What comes along with that degree of talent is a degree of difficulty as well, that people want things from you. That people are continually trying to get you to do things for them. And I think that that can quite often taint things. [...]
[...] Well, clearly Watchmen was the Everest of my experience, really. And I'm perfectly at ease with that. It's been good for me in all kinds of ways, not only in whatever money we've made from it, or whatever fame we've had, but it's opened doors to other things. And I've had adventures that I otherwise wouldn't have had. So I'm long since resigned to the obituary reading “Dave 'Watchmen' Gibbons, dead at the age of 105,” you know, blah, blah, blah. I just feel happy that I've had the life that I wanted when I was 10 years old. There's so many people [who] aspire to do things. Perhaps [that’s] because I had a relatively easy thing to aspire to. I mean, I didn't want to get a Nobel Prize or a Pulitzer or anything like that. I just wanted to sit and draw comics. And that was literally what I wanted to do, just to find enjoyment sitting, drawing, coming up with ideas for comics. So I don't care what they call me or-- you know, “Dave Gibbons: the comic fan who never grew up,” or something like that, I guess would be a fairly accurate thing. But I think I'm going to have to settle for Watchmen.
