NPR N.6: Alan Moore is IN!

Portrait art by Tom Harding

Northampton Poetry Review ISSUE 6: Rejuvenation includes a great interview with Moore (pp. 85-93) mostly focused on his poetry interests, writing and... more!!!

You can find all the info HERE. Pdf of the whole issue is available HERE for downloading.

Northampton Poetry Review returns with the theme of Rejuvenation. We’re rekindling old energies, awakening deep roots, and sustaining ourselves through strange and wearing times—with hope for renewal.

We offer poetry from voices both near and far. And we are honoured to present a deep and wide-ranging conversation with Northampton’s own Alan Moore—a giant, a guru, and a guiding light in these dark and mysterious times.

Below, some selected excerpts from the interview! Highly recommended!

Q&A with Alan Moore
The following is an interview with Alan Moore— Northampton notary, master, magician, guru and guide; a leading luminary and multimedia Renaissance man of our times. Alan generously gave us this interview back in 2022. Due to the buffeting winds of independent publishing, it finds its way to you only now.
He shares his thoughts on a wide array of cultural, political, and creative concerns—and we are truly honoured he took the time.

Alan Moore is a legendary comic book writer, novelist, filmmaker, and boundary-defying artist. Known for seminal works such as Watchmen, V for Vendetta, From Hell, and The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen, his work has shaped the landscape of modern storytelling and continues to be an uncompromising artistic force across a variety of mediums.

Alan Moore: [...] I'm continually drawn back to Blake, Clare, and, with his very recent death, to Brian Catling’s magnificent The Stumbling Block. Also, if I ever again locate my copy, I want very much to re-immerse myself in Mervyn Peake’s The Rhyme of the Flying Bomb, which I remember as having Stanley Holloway rhythms and a marvellous idiosyncratic grandeur. Oh, and Chris Torrance’s The Magic Door always rewards a reopening. [...] 

[...] if it’s an idea, it will most probably emerge at some point as part of a story, whereas if it’s a tenuous soap-bubble impression, and if I can get a few words down before it pops from memory, it will more likely end up as a poem. [...] 

[...] Trying to define one’s own thought processes is always slippery, but it might be as if each project is a separate Memory Theatre in some by-now sprawling and overgrown multiplex.
Many of those theatres I need never visit again, although they still remain standing, obsolete warehouses rusting in some bleak, industrial-estate outpost of my awareness. There are a few abandoned palaces amongst them – works that for various reasons remain uncompleted or will never see daylight, like my John Dee opera or the detailed five season outline for The Show television series – that I find slightly haunting and will more often return to in idle moments. You shouldn’t, however, be misled by this talk of Memory Theatres into thinking my mental processes are anything like neat or orderly. In practice, it feels like some sort of cloud-chamber, and I have no real idea how it works. [...] 

[...] A key difference between prose and poetry lies in the ways that they engagé with time. [...] Poetry can dispense with time altogether, and allow us to see what is left when time is gone. As for the importance of time in my own work, I feel that along with space and consciousness, time is one of the three fundamental elements that a writer has to work with, so I like to get as much fun and meaning out of it as possible. [...] 

[...] I’m sure I’ve been a multiplicity of people in my time, but from my own perspective it feels very much like an unbroken continuity of self. The biggest shift of personality came, probably, with my decision to engagé with magic, back in 1993, but this seemed more like an expanded comprehension and intensification of ideas and processes that were already there than it did a huge psychological change. When I think back to previous incarnations of myself, I find that they’re all still me, only stupider, better looking, and with more intimidating physical energy. [...] 

[...] tend to enjoy works that are a few paces beyond my personal boundaries, that will entail a little bit of personal effort, which will therefore expand those boundaries. I believe that the most affecting kind of art is one where the audience does part of the work, making the experience almost a collaboration between reader and writer. To that end, I try to make my work as understandable as I can, while also subscribing to the idea of literary difficulty, whereby you are prepared to potentially alienate part of your readership in the knowledge that those who remain will have been made to engage with the work on a deeper and hopefully more rewarding level. I always try to pitch my work at a level that won’t be beyond the reach of an averagely intelligent person. [...] 

More info HERE. Pdf of the whole issue available HERE.

Joe Quesada and Watchmen

In his interesting investigation on The Invisible Language of Visual Storytelling, Part 11, Joe Quesada talks about "Reveal" and... Watchmen! 

You can read the whole thing HERE. 

I highly recommend reading Quesada's Substack! 

[...] Nothing Changed. Everything Did.

Before the reveal, the audience is assembling pieces.

After the reveal, everything organizes.

Cause and effect become clear.

And the audience feels the shift immediately.

Watchmen might be the clearest example of this in comics.

Throughout the story, every piece is already in place.

Ozymandias’ intelligence.
His resources.
His obsession with saving the world.
The missing scientists.

It’s all there.

You just haven’t connected it yet.

Then Ozymandias begins to fill in the gaps. 

You’re still processing what he’s saying.

Trying to understand the scope.
Still catching up.

Then comes the line that changes everything.  

“I did it thirty-five minutes ago.”

No buildup.
No countdown.
No chance to stop it.

The event is already over.

And suddenly it’s undeniable.

The plan. The scale.
Then the inevitability.

You weren’t waiting for it to happen.

You were already too late. [...] 

Read the complete piece HERE.

Magic, Comics and... Long London upcoming books

Art by Nicola Testoni

Excerpts from an interview posted yesterday on RetroFuturista.com. A great one! 

Highly recommended! 

Alan Moore: [...] My understanding of magic has evolved massively over the thirty-three years since I commenced my study and practice. For one thing, I have come to understand that magic and the arts, particularly writing, are to all intents and purposes synonymous. Thus, while magic is the way in which I see the world and therefore affects every area of my life, nowhere is this more true than in my writing. Indeed, these days, writing is pretty much my only form of magical expression. My guess is that this, writing being the most powerful instrument of magic, has been true for most self-identified magicians – and what other kind is there? – since the dawn of human consciousness. [...]

Nothing against middle-class people, of course. It’s simply that the comic strip form was originally conceived as by, for and about the working classes, who were its audience and, for my money, its very best creators. That is the comics field I’d like to see, brimming with new ideas and available to everyone, but, realistically, I don’t imagine that is ever going to happen, so I’ve chosen to put my remaining energies elsewhere. [...]

If you like, I see myself as a piece of language that is somehow generating other pieces of language. [...]

To be honest, I’ve never really thought about the audience’s reaction too much, as it’s something I have no say in or control over. The only audience I’ve ever been attempting to please is, perhaps selfishly, myself. [...]

I’m currently nearing the end of the third book in my Long London quintet, this being titled Blow Away, Dandelion and set in the late 1960s, whereas the next book, In England’s Dreaming, will set in the late 1970s. The final book, And No River of Fire, will be set in 1999, on the eve of the current millennium. I have genuinely no idea what I’ll be doing after that point, so we’ll all just have to wait and see.  

Read the complete interview HERE! 

The Mandrill is here!

Art by Bobby Campbell.

Above, Moore in the guise of his character from Mandrillifesto.

Art by Bobby Campbell.

Thanks Bob for sharing it! 

Ai Weiwei by Alan Moore!

Art by Alan Moore

It's known that Alan Moore draws special X-Mas cards to be sent to a his circle of friends. 

Recently one of them has been offered and immediately sold on eBay... featuring the acclaimed Chinese artist Ai Weiwei (see below), dated 2015. It's simply... fantastic! 'Nuff said!

ALAN MOORE drawn Christmas card, printed on A4-sized card, folded in half. Front reads AI WEIWEI, IN A MANGER and has ALAN MOORE '15 in the lower right-hand corner.

Inside reads 'To Padraig + Diedre, have a great Christmas, with loads of love from Alan + Mel XX' written in black ballpoint pen in Alan Moore's distinctive handwriting. Received by me in December 2015, but has been living in a box for a decade now.

The card depicts Chinese contemporary artist Ai Weiwei sitting in a straw-filled manger, with a golden halo around his head.

More details HERE. 

2000AD & the comic career of Alan Moore

Excerpt from a profile posted at Comic Scene.

Read the complete piece HERE. 

[...] In the nerve centre of modern storytellers, few figures loom as large as Alan Moore. With his long beard, occult rings and voice that sounds as though it has been steeped in pipe smoke and centuries of folklore, Moore has cultivated an image somewhere between a Victorian mystic and a punk-era radical. But the mythology around him risks obscuring something simpler and more astonishing: Alan Moore is arguably the most influential writer comics have ever produced. That’s why ComicScene readers voted him the Best Comic Writer ever in the ComicScene Awards 2026, alongside Jack Kirby as your favourite artist of all time. [...]

Alan Moore’s legacy is both immense and deeply paradoxical. On one hand, he elevated comics into a form capable of literary complexity and cultural critique. Without Moore, the modern graphic novel might look very different. On the other hand, he remains one of the most vocal critics of the industry that celebrates him.

He has denounced the corporate exploitation of characters, distanced himself from adaptations of his work and eventually announced his retirement from mainstream comics altogether. [...]

Nearly forty years after Watchmen, the comics industry is still grappling with the implications of that insight. And somewhere in Northampton, the bearded magician who started the argument continues to loom over the medium he transformed as a reluctant comic legend.

Mina and Mr. Hyde by Bruce Timm

Art by Bruce Timm

Above, a stunning illustration by phenomenal Maestro BRUCE TIMM featuring Mina Harker and Mr. Hyde from The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen. Enjoy!

V by Nick Derington

Above, a stunning V portrait by the amazing Nick Derington.

"Ideas are bulletproof."

 

Visit the artist's official site HERE. 

The Magician is present

Above and below, the awesome art that I received from the extraordinary BEN WICKEY: that brand new Alan Moore portrait and the Moores from The Moon and Serpent Bumper Book of Magic!

I am speechless. Grazie mille, Ben!

Totems & Taboos

From ‪Stephen R Bissette‬, posted few days ago on his Bluesky account: 

Finished this book 6 years ago; still haven't published it. Too many misgivings, but a lot of time has passed, so maybe this year. Cover art by me (painted in 1984 for Kim Thompson, AMAZING HEROES interview w/Alan issue); cover design, logo Cayetano "Cat" Garza, Jr. 

I'd love to read it!

The Unquotable Trump

Above, page from The Unquotable Trump by American artist R. Sikoryak, published in 2017 by Draw & Quartely. 

The absurdity of his pre and post election speeches form the source material for The Unquotable Trump, a limited edition publication by satirical artist R. Sikoryak. Real quotes are blended into faultless reproductions of classic comic book covers, perfectly mirroring the original source material while framing Trump’s hubristic comments as the ramblings of a solipsistic supervillain. [from Broken Frontier]

Alan Moore on Philip José Farmer

From the back cover of Philip José Farmer's The Other Log of Phileas Fogg, published in 2012 by Titan Books:

"If only a few of our modern writers were as brilliant as Philip José Farmer, then I think the world of culture would be a much better place." - Alan Moore

Silent Pictures by Kevin O’Neill

From Gosh! site: 

“One of the finest and most original talents ever to emerge from the comic industry.” – Alan Moore, from his introduction.

Silent Pictures by Kevin O’Neill is the capstone to an extraordinary career in comics – two ferocious new books that flicker through the very dreams of art and imagination. Without words, O’Neill conjures an astonishing pair of feverish stories, brimming with detail on every page, packed with some of the most exciting, twisted artwork ever put to paper. Gorgeously painted in luminous colour, no fan of his work can afford to miss out.

In Feartreland we tag along as the son of Dick Whittington flits through a series of pantomime tableaus, splash pages and tortuous punning images. Crocodiles gambol with giant apes, and genies promise adventures on the high seas. An explosive entertainment, bright and bold as the stage that it draws its inspiration from. Meanwhile, The Balaclava Kid invites us into the dreams of the artist’s youth, as his imagination gives him escape from the bullies of a bombed-out London into a dreamscape built of Wild West iconography and Tex Avery action. Demonic cowboys and infernal machines populate shimmering mesas and haunted mines. An adventure like no other!

Presented as a slipcased set of two luxurious hardback volumes, each with a new introduction by frequent collaborator and friend Alan Moore, a total of 800 copies of this stunning duo of books are available from both Knockabout’s retail website, and Gosh! Comics of London, online and in store, kicking off a year of celebrations for the shop’s 40th anniversary.

This is a fantastic must-have work and a final gift from a legendary creator whose incredible Art will remain forever in the hearts of readers. 

 

More info at DownTheTubes.net, here.

Review at The Comics Journal, here.  

 

Magical Moore by Ben Wickey

Above, a simply astounding brand new portrait of our beloved British Magician by the extraordinary BEN WICKEY. 

Thank you, Ben! You know the score too!

On Joe Hill's King Sorrow

A short text to praise Joe Hill's new novel, King Sorrow.  

With King Sorrow, Joe Hill gloriously resurrects the doorstop horror blockbuster for a startling new century - ALAN MOORE, author and creator of WATCHMEN

Double celebration: Portraits donation & 15th anniversary!

Below, the communication that I sent the 24th of December 2025 to all the generous and amazing  contributors of the 2023 Alan Moore: PORTRAITS of an extraordinary gentleman volume.

Project Alan Moore 70: update 15 DONATION DONE

Dear friend and contributor,

We are pleased to announce that we recently donated €1,000 to the Italian branch of Doctors Without Borders/Médecins Sans Frontières. This is the result of the sale of roughly 300 copies of our Moore book - each copy generated approximately €3 in royalties. The donation was rounded up, excluding some additional expenses we incurred. 

You may see the attachments for details. In Italian, sorry. [Attachments not included in this post, sm]

We are aware that this result is far from what we expected, but it must be acknowledged that our book was a self-published initiative to which, for various and, I believe, easily understandable reasons, we were able to devote limited marketing and promotional efforts. Despite everything, we believe and hope that this small donation, like all donations, large or small, will be useful to the cause.

For this reason, we thank you again for your generous contribution. Grazie mille.

Over the next few weeks, the book will be removed from the store and will no longer be available. 

We take this opportunity to wish you Happy Holidays. 

We remain at your disposal.

Angelo & smoky man

So, we did it! I think the book should remain available for purchase until the end of January - mid February.

 

Furthermore, in this same day, 15 years ago I posted for the very first time on this blog! 

15 years are, well, like an entire eon in our digital reality. So... let's celebrate! 

We are in 2026 and... keep going! HAPPY NEW YEAR to all of you!