Toonhound - Alan Moore

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    An extraordinary fellow...   Selected works...   On the web...
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    An extraordinary fellow

    Alan Moore, comic book writer, straddles the great comic book divide between
    Britain and America like a colossus. Over the last twenty-plus years, he has
    taken a specifically American artform and dragged it kicking and screaming
    out of its cliched world of spandex supermen and apple-pie heroes into fantastic
    alternative and subterranean realms. And not only has he helped revitalize the
    content, he has also lifted the humble comic itself out of geeky backstreet
    shops and into High street stores the length and breadth of the UK and beyond.

    This man has reinvented the comic book genre over and over. His characters
    crawl out of a creative miasmer and into three dimensions. Of course, they
    couldn't do this without the artists who draw them, but that is another of
    Moore's unique skills: he can adapt his writing to suit the artist - nay - to
    compliment the artist as required.

    Moore started his career in 1980, writing for 'Dr Who Weekly'' and '2000ad'
    wherein he later introduced us to life on The Hoop with 'Halo Jones'. 'V for
    Vendetta' followed the freedomfighter V in his efforts to change our political
    thinking. And then came 'Swamp Thing'. Moore took over writing duties on this
    previously fading DC Comics title in 1983. By the time he had finished with it,
    the comics world had changed forever. Moore imbued the humongous marsh
    monster with a complex and intelligent mind, bringing this Frankenstein creation
    in to life off the page and showing us all that comics didn't have to be just 'for kids'.

    If 'Swamp Thing' was a revelation, 'Watchmen' topped it. The series turned the
    world of the superhero on its head, and Moore worked brilliant full-page inserts
    and background articles in to the strip to present us with an unparralled comics
    'experience'. Still today, it is is hailed as a benchmark for would-be artists
    and writers in the field.

    Since then, Moore's stature has grown unstoppably. 'From Hell' reworked the
    story of Jack The Ripper, 'Promethea' has taken a microscope to comic book sex
    and 'The League of Extraordinary Gentleman' have taken us away on grand
    galactic adventures. Each new work continues to be a revelation, thought-provoking,
    daring. Little wonder his efforts have been rewarded in spades by his peers,
    colleagues and fans. Moore's trophy cabinet is surely groaning with Kirby awards,
    Eisner awards, Harvey awards, Eagle awards and more. But just as surely, you
    can bet that Mr Moore doesn't actually own a trophy cabinet to kepp 'em in.

    Mr Moore himself remains something of an enigma. He shuns the razzle-dazzle
    of the comics scene, prefering to remain in his Northampton home. Photos
    depict him as a brooding, long-haired, celtic figure. Certainly, he appears to
    have a foot in that seventies-specific era of Jethro Tull, Catweazle and Michael
    Moorcock. But look beyond that persona and you'll find a deep-thinking, articulate
    fellow. He strives to bring literary values to the comics world, eschewing the cliche
    and the formulaic and replacing them with subtlety, texture and depth. Take his     masterpiece 'From Hell', which re-examines the myth of Jack The Ripper. Moore
    has us lingering on the grizzly details of the killings. We are inside the head of
    the killer as he kills, and it's not some jollied up vaudeville scene, with
    whistle-blowing policemen and pretty prostitutes all a-flutter. It's bloody. It's
    ugly. It's affecting, upsetting and almost too real.

    Away from his comics work, Moore writes regularly for 'The Fortean Times'
    and 'Wizard Magazine' and at any one time has his fingers in numerous fantastic
    creative pies including a number of audio and spoken word recordings. Each new
    project sees him grabbing the genre by the scruff of the neck and shaking it
    vigorously. And we eager hounds lap up every last morsel that falls...