Alan Moore Guide, Meaning , Facts, Information and Description
Alan Moore (born November 18, 1953) is a British writer and co-creator of comic books such as Watchmen and V for Vendetta.Beginning his career writing strips for publications such as Doctor Who Monthly (or Weekly as it was then), Moore went on to work on influential UK comics such as 2000 AD (including strips such as The Ballad of Halo Jones, Skizz, D.R. and Quinch and Time Twisters) and Warrior (including Marvelman (known as Miracleman in the US) and V for Vendetta). Moore wrote a series of Captain Britain stories for the UK imprint of Marvel Comics that re-defined the character. Having achieved a reputation for producing ground-breaking material in a largely formulaic medium, Moore was later hired by DC Comics to work on the fairly unknown comic book Saga of the Swamp Thing, in which he laid the groundwork for what was to become the Vertigo Universe. In 1986 he wrote the dark superhero miniseries Watchmen (illustrated by Dave Gibbons), which, together with Frank Miller's The Dark Knight Returns, redefined the medium of the comic book and raised it to a new level of graphic literature.
Moore's style of writing stretched the boundaries of the comic book medium, putting it to use in ways that are quite unlike other forms of storytelling. His stories often contained adult themes and touched on subjects that had never been approached in mainstream comic books before (issue #9 of Miracleman included a graphic depiction of a natural childbirth, something that had been strictly taboo in comics before then). He experimented with symbolism in the medium through placement of comic strip panels and text, an increased emphasis on backgrounds and detail, while attempting to cut down and eventually eliminate the use of "sound effects", thought balloons, and captions; he worked in the same way that film editors use the medium of motion pictures to manipulate the audience.
Moore stated that he wanted to expand the medium of the comic book, so that readers could experience more than endless rehashes of costume-clad superhero battles. To this end, he began such projects as Lost Girls (an adults-only comics reinvention of Victorian era characters), From Hell (a story about Jack the Ripper), and Big Numbers. He spent the early 1990s attempting to finish these projects, but only From Hell reached completion, with the final chapter of the novel published in 1999. However, after several years work, Lost Girls is soon to be released by Top Shelf, probably aided by the fact that Mr Moore's artist on this work is Melinda Gebbie, now his partner.
Moore converted to Gnosticism in the mid-1990s. His later writings reflect his renewed interest in consciousness, mysticism, and magick.
Moore returned to 'superhero' comics in the late 1990s, founding the ABC (America's Best Comics) titles The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen, Promethea, Tom Strong, Tomorrow Stories, and Top 10. These are more lighthearted than his earlier work. In part they are an attempt at a Pulp revival, but both League and Promethea explore serious dimensions as well.
From Hell and The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen have both been made into Hollywood movies.
A tribute and in depth biography of Alan Moore in his Fiftieth Year entitled Alan Moore: Portrait of an Extraordinary Gentleman is available from most comics stores. All proceeds of this publication will go to charity.
Alan Moore is blind in one eye, and deaf in one ear.
Moore resurrected Marvelman, an obscure British comic which was a thinly disguised ripoff of the American superhero Captain Marvel. The strip, which ran from 1953–1963, followed the adventures of Micky Moran, a young boy who was given the power to become a full grown superhero by a recluse astro-scientist who discovered "the key word to the universe." The strip, which maintained a childish innocence and purity, has the distinction of being the first British superhero comic.
Moore's revival, which began in 1982, is perhaps the first example of postmodernism in comics, featuring a strong loss of innocence theme. Micky is now an adult, entangled in the problems of everyday life. He has forgotten his entire life as Marvelman. Caught in the middle of a hostage situation, he remembers the key word "Kimota" and becomes Marvelman once more.
Mickey soon realizes that the memories of his youth do not match up with reality. There are no records of his time as Marvelman; the world has no memory of his existence. Living in a world far more complicated than his "four color memories", Mickey begins a search for the answers to his past.
Due to a trademark conflict, Moore's Marvelman was published as Miracleman in the United States.
Possibly worried about the mature elements of Moore's work -- for example, an issue of Marvelman graphically depicted childbirth -- DC hired Moore to work on a fairly unpopular character distanced from their Superhero line. But Swamp Thing, a title starring a man turned into a vegetable monster by an experimental plant growth formula, was soon given an Alan Moore twist.
In Moore's second issue, 'The Anatomy Lesson,' the title character is shot and dissected by a scientist. The scientist soon concludes that Swamp Thing is a superficial imitation of a man, his lungs cannot pump air, his brain does not contain neurons. He concludes that the swamp creature is a plant which had absorbed the memories and imitated the life of a dead man; Swamp Thing was never human.
A strong arc in the series is Swamp Thing's search for identity. Swamp Thing, discovering the scientist's report, loses his sense of self. Most of Moore's plotlines deal with social ills as seen through horror metaphors. Sexual discrimination, racism, violance, fear of nuclear energy, and pollution are all themes addressed in his work.
Moore's Swamp Thing was enormously influential in showing a larger audience that genre comics could address serious issues and take on literary pretentions.
Many of the storylines in Neil Gaiman's World Fantasy winning series, The Sandman, were influenced by Alan Moore's Swamp Thing work.
Moore's most popular comic work, Watchmen, is about superheroes who have been affected by real world politics. McCarthyism, The Vietnam War, and the Cold War have unhinged the current superhero generation.
Watchmen deconstructed the superhero, looking at the moral, psychological, and sexual implications of their activities. His most far reaching work to date, Watchmen addressed such issues as free will, the nature of time, human psychology, global politics, and moral relativism.
Watchmen incorporated cinema style transitions and voice overs. It avoided the then typically-used comic book thought bubble.
Watchmen is the only comic to be granted an honorary Hugo award. Moore said that it was his final statement on superheroes, and, upon completing his commitment of Miracleman, retired from mainstream comics.
Moore did a short comic, Brought to Life about a number of dirty dealings by the CIA.
Big Numbers was an attempt to do a book as intricate as Watchmen outside of the superhero genre. The story revolved around the building of an American style shopping mall in a small British town, and the unforeseen causes and effects. The story would have dealt with chaos theory, and the large effects small incidents can have.
Alan Moore's attempt to self publish Big Numbers ended in financial failure due to delays in the art. The book never saw print past the second issue, and Moore has stated no intention of reviving it.
Moore felt that his influence on comics had in many ways been detrimental. Instead of imitating the more innovative parts of his work, creators of the Image moment initated the violence and grimness. Disturbed that the Superhero genre has completely seperated from its innocence, Moore concieved of 1963, a series of comics pastiching Marvel's early output.
Tapping into the early issues of Spider-Man, Doctor Strange, Iron Man, Captain America, and the Avengers, Moore wrote the comics according to the style of the time. The comics include the sexism and pro-capitalist propaganda that, though serious in their time, appeared quaint to a 90's audience.
The series was to have concluded with an annual in which the heroes time travel to the 90's era to meet the prototypical grim, ultra-violent Image (comics) character. Even the change in art from four colors to gray shading would have shocked the 1963 heroes. Although Moore had gotten a number of pages into the annual, the splitting up of the Image partners spelled the end of the project. There has been some talk recently of a possible concluding chapter, re-conceived as more contemporary commentary.
This is an Article on Alan Moore. Page Contains Information, Facts Details or Explanation Guide About Alan Moore Major works
Marvelman/ Miracleman
Swamp Thing
Watchmen
The interim: Brought to Life and Big Numbers
A return to Genre comics: 1963
Partial bibliography
Comics
Novels
Recorded works (available on compact disc):
Films
External links
"They say that awareness is an emergent property of complexity. Could that be true on a purely immaterial level, about ideas? If you had a complex enough idea form, could it become aware? Could you have things that were ideas but were alive? I mean, I've certainly encountered things that seem to be ideas but act as if they're alive."