Jul 22, 2025

On Magical Landscapes and The Spirit Guide

The twelfth episode in my series of articles about The Bumper Book is online on the Italian web-magazine (Quasi)
It contains behind the scenes by John Coulthart about Magical Landscapes and The Spirit Guide sections. Read the following to get it all!  
Can you talk about your work for both Magical Landscapes and The Spirit Guide section?
What's about the approach, the process, the main difficulties you had to solve to balance text and image, and your favourite pieces...? Any anecdote or "odd" event while you worked on those illos? Can you share any preliminary or wip material?

John Coulthart: Magical Landscapes was the last part of the book to be completed although I did prepare all the borders early on, and I also fully illustrated the first page so that everyone could see how the section would look when it was finished. I left the section to last because there was so much illustration involved, I wanted to get everything else out of the way before immersing myself in the task.

The Spirit Guide was done earlier than this, and mostly in a collage style since a lot of antique pictorial reference was required: angels, the De Plancy demons, the John Dee "Watchtower" and so on. I thought
using collage might also save me some time but some of the pages took longer than I expected. I have plan illustrations of all the Dee Watchtowers in a booklet about Enochian magic where they're shown as simple line drawings but Alan and Steve wanted the chart to be one of the colour versions which I think were created by The Golden Dawn. All the online copies of these are small things in very over-saturated RGB colours so they're no use for print purposes. The only option was to make my own copy of one of the Watchtowers from scratch. Most of this has been covered over by the text but the whole design came in useful when I had to do the Enochian page for the Magical Landscapes.

Both sections were relatively easy to work on since the appearance and contents of each section was carefully described in the notes. The Magical Landscapes frame is based on an Alphonse Mucha design, the request being for pages that resemble Mucha's early illustrated books where framed illustrations are paired with panels of text. Mucha's books change their frames for each page, something I did consider for my sequence but for this book it seemed a better option to keep the shape of the frame consistent while changing the contents.

Alan had also provided small thumbnail sketches for each of the Magical Landscapes pages so one of the challenges was trying to stay as close as possible the guidelines. This worked well for most of the pages with the exception of Geburah where the sketched design had two narrow text panels running down the page with the figure between them. I tried several variations for this but in all of them the columns of text were crowding the figure who required space for her outstretched arms. The solution was to follow the form of the previous page, which also makes for a satisfying double-page layout, with two multi-armed figures facing each other. I also changed the Daath text panel from a rectangle to a  circle since the text refers to Daath having pi as its numeral on the Tree of Life. Readers of Alan's other books may note that some of the imagery in the first eleven pages matches the symbolism that appears in the journey up the Tree of Life in Promethea. I don't think this was deliberate, more a result of the way that Alan imagines these spheres.
The biggest challenge was the request for the Fairyland page to be as crowded as one of Joseph Noel Patton's paintings which show hundreds of fairies and other creatures of all sizes and shapes gathered together in woodland scenes. My scene is crowded but seems less so when you look at Patton's paintings, each of which must have taken him about a year at least to create. I'm still pleased with the way my scene turned out, however. There's a tiny reference to Richard Dadd's fairyland in the figures from The Fairy Feller's Masterstroke. And I put an old view of Northampton in the background of the alchemy picture on the opposite page. This picture is based on the plates from the Splendor Solis series, many of which have little landscape scenes in their backgrounds.
Since I was doing the same here I   thought I might as well use something relevant. I don't think I have any specific favourites but I like the way these pages look together, one of them visually noisy and detailed while the other is very calm and ordered.

The Enochian page presented another challenge since the description required a perspective view of one of Dee's Watchtowers, showing how the grid is formed by an arrangement of coloured pyramids with flat tops.
This was another reason for drawing out one of the Watchtowers for the Spirit Guide page; doing so gave me an accurate plan of the whole design in print-ready colours and with all the required Enochian symbols in place. This was done with vector graphics in Illustrator before being placed into the layered page. I use Illustrator all the time for design work, and usually find it easier and quicker when creating anything involving bold shapes or geometric constructions.
 
[Regarding wip material] I've included extracts from the work-in-progress files for the Enochian pages. I'm usually reluctant to share sketches for the reasons that David Bowie once gave: sharing early stages of something has a tendency to change the reception of the final work, whatever it may be. But these drafts are more like diagrams, and they already exist outside the work as a whole. [See below!]

Jul 21, 2025

The psychedelic experience

Excerpt from a recent interview posted by Spanish writer Roberto Bartual on his Substack.
You can read the complete piece HERE. Highly recommended! 
Do you think the psychedelic experience can help us understand language?
Alan Moore: I think that the psychedelic experience can help us to understand a great number of things, language included. Around thirty years ago, when Steve Moore and I were investigating the eighth kabbalistic sphere, Hod – the Mercurial sphere of intellect, science, magic and language, where all form is said to originate – I had what seemed to be an encounter with the god Hermes. During the ritual, I was under the influence of psilocybin and Steve wasn’t, acting more as a recorder and observer. I reported to Steve that I was seeing floating globules of a silvery and reflective semi-liquid substance, that I felt to be the ethereal material that abstract and insubstantial beings such as gods clothed themselves in so that we could perceive them. I tentatively suggested that this substance might be called ‘ideoplasm’, and then realised moments later that this was an unnecessary coinage, in that what I was looking at was simply a symbolic representation of language itself. Language is the reflective and liquid substance that the gods dress themselves in to reveal themselves to us. I further realised that this is true of us ourselves and of everything in our material universe. If we do not have a word and thus a concept for an object or phenomenon, then we simply cannot perceive it and are not conscious of it. I understood why modern linguistic theory insists that language precedes consciousness, and further realised why Hod, sphere of language, was where all form originated. So, yes, I think the psychedelic experience can help us understand language. 

Jul 18, 2025

Rowan's assignment

Excerpt from a 2020 interview with Alan Moore, originally published in French (read HERE) and  reprinted in English in Metal Hurlant n. 1 (2025), recently released (read HERE and check HERE). 
What are your artistic projects for the future?
Alan Moore: Well, I’ve written a couple of short stories that I thought were interesting, and I believe that the illustrative component of The Moon & Serpent Bumper Book of Magic inches towards completion.
My main focus at the moment is the forthcoming feature film The Show, directed by my Northampton counter-cultural affiliate Mitch Jenkins, which will be released whenever it becomes possible to release films again. As for what I’m working on right now this afternoon, that would be the second episode of a thus-far-imaginary five season television series that is also, lazily, titled The Show
And I’ve been given an assignment by my second-eldest grandson, Rowan, to present him with a story that is four words in length, so we’ll see how that goes.
I confess that I would like to know those four words and whether Rowan liked them or not. :)

Jul 17, 2025

Dr. Manhattan by Richard Pace

Art by Richard Pace
Above, a brilliant Dr. Manhattan by Canadian comic book artist and illustrator RICHARD PACE.
 
For more info about the artist: InstagramPatreon

Jul 16, 2025

Alan Moore by Manu Gutiérrez

Art by Gutiérrez
Above, an amazing portrait of our Bearded Magus by Spanish artist Manu Gutiérrez.
The image has been used as cover for Roberto Bartual's Alan Moore: Al otro lado del velo published in 2024 by Ediciones Marmotilla. Check the following images. 
Furthermore, below you can admire some of the sketches that Gutiérrez drew for some lucky fan. Enjoy!
For more info about the artist: Official site - Instagram 
Art by Gutiérrez

Jul 15, 2025

Knuckle rings

Art by LRNZ
Below, final question from a fantastic interview included in the great Arthur No. 4 (May 2003). You can read the complete interview HERE
So, Alan, now to the really important question. What on earth are those knuckle rings? 
Alan Moore: My girlfriend Melinda Gebbie got me a wonderful piece of jointed finger armor. It looked wonderful, but completely stupid on its own. It looked like I'd damaged my finger and I'd got some sort of prosthesis. So I had to fill up the other fingers. It became an obsession. It's probably the Gothic flourish of a man in later life. You get to a certain age in life and you find that it pays to draw attention away from your face. [laughs] They look pretty good, and also, nobody messes with you. Not that they did anyway. My hands are registered weapons. They do weigh quite a bit, all that metal-I think it's slowly making my arms longer. [chuckles]
So, picture if you will: The cobbled back alleys of Northampton, as twilight settles, imagine me loping along the alleyways, my knuckles scraping against the cobbles and sending up bright,shearing swathes of sparks. A chilling image... 
 
All Arthur magazine issues are currently available HERE in pdf forms
So... download them all! There is a lot of Moore in:
An interview with shamanic psychonaut/journalist DANIEL PINCHBECK, author of the just-released Breaking Open the Head. Artwork by Alan Moore.
 
ALAN MOORE gives Arthur a historical-theoretical-autobiographical earful on the subject of magic and art. Extra-long feature convo with Jay Babcock, with a portrait by John Coulthart and photos by Jose Villarrubia. Check out that finger armor! 
 
ALAN MOORE comments on what the US and UK governments have been up to lately
 
Kristine McKenna interviews BRIAN ENO on the eve of the release of his first solo album featuring vocals in decades. Illustration by John Coulthart. Plus, a celebration of the great domed one by Alan Moore
 
 “Bog Venus vs. Nazi Cock-Ring: Some Thoughts Concerning Pornography” by Alan Moore: a landmark eight-page essay/manifesto, with illustrations 
 
How (and why) to lucid dream — a conversation with cartoonist RICK VEITCH by Jay Babcock. Plus “Cartographer of the American Dreamtime,” an appreciation of Rick Veitch and his work by Alan Moore

Jul 14, 2025

Promethea by Colleen Doran

Art by C. Doran
Above, a fantastic and graceful Promethea commission by the amazing Colleen Doran.
 
For more info about the artist, visit her official siteHERE.

Jul 12, 2025

Swamp Thing by Marco Fontanili

Art by Marco Fontanili
Above, a great Swamp Thing commission by Italian artist Marco Fontanili
Below some preliminary art.
 
In recent times Fontanili published a fantastic Nosferatu book. He is currently promoting Steamboat Evil, his dark version of the classic Mickey Mouse's movie. 
 
For more info about the artist, visit his Instagram

Jul 6, 2025

Suprema and Twilight by Gene Ha

Art by Gene Ha
Above, a recent commission by the great GENE HA featuring Suprema and Twilight from Moore's run on Rob Liefeld's Supreme. Gorgeous piece!

Jul 4, 2025

Polish Illuminations

Above, cover of Iluminacje, the Polish edition of Illuminations published by Echa in 2023.
On the upper side of the image, you can notice that they involved a lot of translators!
 
More info HERE

Jul 3, 2025

Faunus n.51: Alan Moore on Machen

Alan Moore contributed essay about his Long London series and... Arthur Machen to Faunus n. 51.
 
Faunus is the literary journal of The Friends of Arthur Machen and has appeared twice yearly since the inauguration. Contents regularly include both articles of interest to admirers of Machen and examples of his work, often articles and pieces not easily available elsewhere.
 
If you want to read Moore's piece you need to join The Friends: check it HERE!
 
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Alan Moore contributes essay to Faunus
June 22, 2025

We are thrilled to announce that fellow Friend Alan Moore has written an article for the latest edition of Faunus (No.51). In The View From Canons Park, Alan candidly reveals the origins of his Long London series, and why an often overlooked Arthur Machen story sits at the heart of it's first book, The Great When - (reviewed by R.B Russell, also in this edition). [...]

Faunus No.51 is already making its way to members worldwide and is limited to just 350 numbered editions. New or renewed members will receive a physical copy while stocks last, however all members will be able to download the digital version, available now in the Friends' Area. 
[...]

Faunus No.51 - Second Edition (Unlimited)
July 02, 2025

Last month, we announced that Alan Moore had contributed an article for the latest edition of Faunus. This news triggered a surge in memberships and renewals, although regrettably our limited run of 350 copies was not enough to meet the demand. Not wishing to disappoint any of our new joiners, we have ordered a re-print. These Second Editions will be unlimted and issued to everyone who missed out on the hand-numbered version. This is the first time in our journal's 27-year history where we've required a second run and we hope that this way, we don't leave anyone empty-handed whilst staying true to our founding aim; promoting the work of Arthur Machen!