He’s not really retiring, just scaling back his comics work. There are concrete plans for at least one more LOEG series.
As for V For Vendetta: He kinda lost me when it turned out V, not the oppressive government, locked up Evey. Evey’s only direct experience with fascistic oppression didn’t come from the government, it came from V. To any normal critical thinker, this would damage V’s credibility, not strengthen it.
Moore’s stories are vastly entertaining, but there’s some sloppy thinking going on in there. Frankly, I wish Moore would spend a little more time honing his craft and a little less time being a “character.”
Would it have been a stronger story if he’d been Evey’s father? I don’t think so, He was just “somebody” who got his consciousness raised whilst being Fascist Britain’s bitch boy. That’s about the extent of it.
As for Tomorrow Stories: I love and recommend “Jack B. Quick,” but not much else about it. “Greyshirt” occasionally rocked. “Cobweb” and “First American” were okay. “Splash Brannigan” was a waste of ink.
Was anyone here entertained even the slightest bit by Lost Girls? I don’t want to come down too hard on Melinda Gebbie, I just haven’t seen any professional-level work out of her to date. I was surprised to find out she was Moore’s girlfriend. She’s not “Aline Kaminsky” awful, but she isn’t a great artist.
Thanks for the reference, RealityChuck - I just found and ordered the 1963 six issue series online for $15. Worth a try, right?
As for Miracleman, I have searched but even the trade paperbacks are collectible and the cheapest I have seen go for over $80 or more. Buying the individual issues could be about the same or even more. I will hold out for now - maybe the TPs will be reissued sometime soon…
Another Moore Update: Read two more of his works - Promethea - Ugh. Worst of his material I have read so far. To me, it embodies the worst of Moore’s tendencies - all talky/thinky with minimal action and progress, densely worded with purposefully confusting layouts and illustrations, characters who are barely fleshed out, etc… I am open to someone convincing me that I should give it another shot, but I am inclined to move on…
From Hell - wow. Ambitious much? Interesting approach to depicting the Ripper history. Overall I am glad I read it and think, for what it was trying to accomplish, it was well-rendered. My issues with it are:
The illustrations can be confusing, but, more importantly to me, just not to my taste. They are rough and crude, purposely, and that style gets tiring after a while.
The plot of From Hell (not particularly a spoiler, since the murders happened over 100 years ago and the suspects have been explored a ton, and Moore shows who JTR is early on and never tries to hide who the he is) with Gull as JTR seems to brush over the whole controversy that is the main reason that the Ripper murders have remained in the public consciousness. I guess I am disappointed that Moore chose to pick a specific explanation and use that to explore his themes - which he did an excellent job of - instead of using the controversy to point out other themes. In other words, I went in with the expectation that the controversy would take center stage, when it was not used at all in the main book (although it is wonderfully explored in the 2 appendices). I know, my expectations are my issue, but since the controversy is such an integral part of the Ripper lore, I don’t think I am off base in expecting it to be part of the main story.
I don’t collect Tomorrow Stories regularly but it’s nice to pick up from time to time when you have a light week. Jack B Quick I love (along with everyone else), but I always found Greyshirt very interesting because Moore often uses it to experiement with the form. First American and Splash Brannigan are both cute but I wouldn’t buy a solo book on them.
I’m not a huge Promethea fan, but I love how the artists make her beautiful even though she has the least idealized physique of any superheroine (Short legs, thick waist and hips, no bust). She reminds me of Nani from Lilo & Stitch in this regard.
You mean, like in the Smax mini-series that hits the stands on the 25th? There are also apparently a couple more mini-series due out at a later date.
Moore also did some fine work in his days with 2000AD.
Skizz: Spielberg can go fuck himself with ET’s glowing finger - * this* is how to do the story right.
The Ballad of Halo Jones: The tale of an 18-year old girl from New York who goes out and does everything. Probably the pinnacle of Moore’s writing; any fan should read it.
Swamp Thing is among my favorite of Moore’s works. It’s strange, eerie, horrifying and sometimes even beautiful. I think the series reached its peak with the amazing American Gothic storyline, which, as a plus, introduced John Constantine.
Regarding comparisons to Sandman… well, first of all, Sandman started out as basically Swamp Thing with dreams instead of plants. ‘24 Hours’ in particular is a very Swamp Thing-influenced story.
Personally, I don’t think Neil Gaiman is quite as good he’s cracked up to be. I think he’s a good creative mind with a knack for imagery, but when people talk about the amazing depth and profound themes in Sandman, I just have to shake my head. Also, I have to confess I find a lot of Sandman horribly twee and cutesy.
I recently weeded out and pared down my comic book collection
to a mere 9 longboxes, arranged in complete runs (and missing issues I need to fill in), and sorted by company – with the exception of one longbox, which simply says “Alan Moore.”
Swamp Thing was the first Moore series I actively collected, followed by Warrior, Miracleman/Marvelman, The Ballad of Halo Jones, Watchmen and V for Vendetta.
V is a favorite look at a post-apocolyptic fascist Britain as written by an anti-Thacherite. I generally cannot bring myself to criticize much if any of Alan’s work, so things like Evey’s father being V –
It always struck me as an obvious solution and Moore often avoids those. Moore addresses this himself through V’s command as he lay dying that Evey can never know his face.
V is supposed to be an everyman.
I remember much if this whole series word for word including the interlude where V is sing:
“They say that there’s a broken heart for every light on Broadway/ They say that life’s a game and then they take the board away/ They give you masks and costumes and an outline of the story / Then leave you all to improvise this vicious cabaret.”
Yes, I can pretty much type that whole ditty word for word.
Other Moore faves include his three Superman stories, For The Man Who has Everything," “The Jungle Line”, and the two-parter, “Whatever Happened To the Man Of Tomorrow?”
DC Comics did a great service by collecting and reprinting the lesser accessible stories in “Alan Moore across the DC Universe”
Just got through book 2 of Promethea, and I’m trying to summon up the energy to read 3 & 4. Visually stunning, no doubt… but… it’s like… edutainment for the graphic novel set!
