Today we’ve got some great news for you – as we all struggle into a fretful New Year, shrug off the seasonal over-indulgence and try and get ourselves back into gear its good to have something to look forward to and boy, have we got something that fits that bill. One of the highlights of 2008 here on the blog was having Albion’s Graphical Wizard in Extraordinary as a guest; now Pádraig Ó Méalóid is planning a follow up to his in-depth interview with Alan from last year (part one here, part two can be read here) ahead of the first part of Century, the third volume of The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen, being published by Knockabout and Top Shelf. There will be three books for Century covering three different periods, starting with 1910 and including gentleman thief Raffles and the eternal Orlando. And even better, readers have a chance to take part:
“In March, before the publication of League of Extraordinary Gentlemen: Century 1910, I’ll be doing another interview with Alan Moore, once again to appear on the FPI Blog. As well as talking to him about Century 1910 and other forthcoming work, he has agreed to a suggestion I made, which is that I should ask for questions from the general public. So, if you’ve any questions you’ve been burning to ask Alan, either comment here, where I’ll see them, or send them to me directly at pomealoid[at]yahoo[dot]com.
I should point out that, while I’ll do my best to ask Alan as many questions as I can from what I receive, I do reserve the absolute right to not ask something if I so choose.”
Now there is a present that goes on giving! Obviously Pádraig can’t guarantee all questions sent in will be asked (or answered), and as he says, he may have to exercise some discretion in choosing which ones can be put to Alan (which is only common sense), but its still a rare opportunity to try and put a question to one of the most gifted and influential scribes in the medium, so I hope some of you take advantage of it.
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January 13th, 2009 at 7:01 pm
In your many years in comics, what work/s are you proudest of?
January 13th, 2009 at 7:44 pm
What would you do if someone knocks on your door one day and says: Hey Mr Moore, my name is blah blah blah. I bought a plane ticket from Peru and came to Northampton just to meet you. Would you
a) laugh?
b) Shut the door in his face?
c) Talk to him/her about whatever?
January 13th, 2009 at 9:43 pm
Hi Alan,
First, thank you for autographing my Graphitti Watchmen book during the Mustard mag interview. I now have it on my bookshelf next to other signed novels like Catch-22. Glad to hear you liked the Irish McCalla Sheena photo I sent you.
My question is: Will you please write a Sheena story for either Devil’s Due Sheena or Frank Cho’s Jungle Girl? (Frank Cho’s was originally meant to be Sheena but they lost the license at the last minute.)
Frank from Chicago Illinois USA
January 13th, 2009 at 10:40 pm
Here’s a random one:
I recently read Alan’s Star Wars stories written for the UK Empire Strikes Back magazine in the early eighties…how did he end up writing in the Star Wars milieu, and does he have any particular memories about approaching such a cultural juggernaut from a writing perspective? Did he have any contact with folks at Lucasfilm about his stories, which are quite wonderful and weird?
January 13th, 2009 at 10:47 pm
This one’s plagued me for years:
Beyond illustrating the architecture of history, does Netley’s echo of William Gull’s father in ‘From Hell’ (ch.4, p.31; cf. ch.2 p.2) also provide a motive for Gull’s behavior re: Netley? Was Gull using Netley as a proxy for his working-class father with the intent of making his father a conspirator in diabolism? Was Gull, in effect, taking revenge on his da for departing too early by abusing an illiterate coachman?
I asked Eddie Campbell a couple of years ago and he said he’d never noticed the echo prior to my pointing it out.
January 13th, 2009 at 11:14 pm
BIG NUMBERS: It must have been frustrating for you not to have been able to finish this, did you ever consider getting a new artist and just starting the whole series again? How about a collection of the 3 finished issues along with a plot synopsis for the rest of the series?
January 14th, 2009 at 9:59 am
Which do you prefer, The Wire or The Sopranos?
January 14th, 2009 at 10:45 am
Are there any characters you’ve written that you would like to revisit? Personally, I’d love to see what became of Halo Jones.
January 14th, 2009 at 12:12 pm
It’s no secret that you are a devotee of Glycon, an ancient Roman snake-god, and you’ve given him appearances in Promethea, Tom Strong, and your Grand Egyptian Theatre of Marvels CD. What are you getting out of this relationship? To put it bluntly, you’re giving Glycon PR; what’s he done for you?
January 14th, 2009 at 4:34 pm
What is your opinion of Grant Morrison?
January 14th, 2009 at 4:58 pm
What do you think of webcomics, and the idea of building an interactive universe of escape online for readers? Not crap “digital comics” from Marvel or reprinted old books scanned in. I mean original works created and delivered over the web direct to the people.
January 14th, 2009 at 6:44 pm
Politics of late have been quite chaotic and transformative. Your takes on cultural/social issues provide vibrant and thought-provoking backgrounds in your work, and have touched me more that many of the major story lines. Are there any major world events that are inspiring you for future creations?
January 14th, 2009 at 7:11 pm
What is your favorite Bob Dylan song?
January 14th, 2009 at 7:13 pm
Dear Alan Moore,
Are you a wizard? If so, what rank is your fireball?
January 14th, 2009 at 7:14 pm
I know your relationships with both Marvel and DC have deteriorated over the years, but I’m curious to know if there are any characters at either of those companies that you regret not getting a chance to write?
January 14th, 2009 at 7:15 pm
What works, be they Movies, Books, or Graphic Novels, do you consider most influential upon your own style and ideas?
January 14th, 2009 at 8:21 pm
Hello; I’m an avid fan of V for Vendetta; I discovered the graphic novel in ~2005. I’m fairly forgiving so I thought the movie was fun, if not as cerebral as the novel or focusing on Anarchy vs Fascism.
At any rate, I saw some parallels between that debate and, well, modern science fiction fandom and conventions like worldcon. Think about it: frequently a small group of elitists run all the fansites and convention panels. So 5 years ago I was just Everyman Q. Public and was convinced I wasn’t smart enough to run panels at conventions because I wasn’t smart or talented enough; then I got so frustrated at the “lunatics, embezzlers, and madmen” in charge who were doing a very bad job, that I donned a Guy Fawkes costume and signed up to run my own panel. Surprisingly, I was playing to standing room only audiences, and it highlighted for attendees just how poorly things had been run before.
What does this have to do with V for Vendetta? Well I earnestly believe in the whole “be your own boss” message from it that I’m trying to convey. Essentially….while dressed in a full V costume, I recite the “VTV” speech from the graphic novel, saying “…who *elected* these people? it was you! you who gave them the power to make your decisions for you!” etc.
….but here’s my conundrum: I earnestly believe in that part later on when V points out that “Anarchy” means “without Leaders”, not “without Order” (that’s Chaos)
So for example, using the paradigm of a scifi convention or online messageboard….in a perfect world there would be no rowdy troublemakers and a bunch of people would just rationally sit down and start discussing a show they enjoy in an orderly fashion. But conventions still need “security” and messageboards still need “administrators” and “moderators”, to keep abusive people from ruining it for everyone else.
So we’re not at the point of “voluntary Order” yet; how at my panels can I live up to the principles I preach of “the people in charge are a bunch of elitist ruling you like kings, stop giving them the power to control you but stand up for yourselves” while at the same time, not *becoming* just another set of elitists?
Others questions: Was V supposed to be a woman in the original drafts of the comic? We hear rumors that it was rejected as a “transexual superhero” or somesuch.
Neil Gaiman has recently been involved in supporting this legal battle, but basically a man in the US bought some manga (Japanese graphic novels) containing child nudity. Actually, as Gaiman points out, Japanese comics just don’t like to draw pubic hair so they look younger than they are in the story. Anyway, the police raided the man’s home and found these, declaring that they fell under the jurisdiction of child porn laws, and the man was sentenced to 20 years in prison. It had never been previously established that drawn materials (not actual photographs of real people) were counted under these laws. Gaiman sided with manga production people fighting this, because as he points out, he would have been arrested for certain parts of “Sandman” under the same laws. Are you aware of this legal battle? and if so, your thoughts?
Would you be willing to sign my copy of “Watchmen Babies in V for Vacation”?
January 14th, 2009 at 8:21 pm
Mr. Moore,
Although it’s rare in the comic book/graphic novel medium due to the realities of commercial publishing and corporate ownership of your creations, it’s certainly common in many other art forms (classical music, painting, etc.) for artists to return to earlier works for much later revision. I know that your positions on many elements of the medium have progressed over the years. I was curious if you ever had any desire to return to any of your older work to revise or drastically reimagine it, and if there were any stories that you would particularly like to change. As a corollary to that, I was wondering whether you had ever made any overtures to make such changes, and whether the publishers expressed interest or reservations about such revisions.
January 14th, 2009 at 8:23 pm
Since movie adaptations of your comics have been unsatisfactory, would you consider writing a script for a movie, in such a way that makes it impossible for movie studio executives to change any element of the plot?
January 14th, 2009 at 8:26 pm
What are you reading both comic and prose wise? Anything your looking forward to?
January 14th, 2009 at 8:47 pm
Can talk about what you’ve drawn from the ideas of Crowley and how you’ve applied them to your own world view and how it has influenced your work?
January 14th, 2009 at 8:56 pm
You’ve expressed your disappointment with post-Watchmen comics in the past. Specifically, you said that you had “hoped for more with comics”. Given the rise in the quality, variety, and accessibility of comics in the past decade, do you maintain your disappointment, or have your hopes been reignited at long last?
Thank you for your work. I cherish it and it never ceases to inspire me.
Alex
January 14th, 2009 at 9:06 pm
What is your working relationship with artists? How does it work? I assume it differs from artist to artist–if so, how? Has it evolved over the years?
How much do various individual artists contribute creatively? Do you have creative veto power (and do you exercise it much, assuming you do)?
Which artists did you work most closely with? Which least closely with?
How was the experience of being an artist using Harvey Pekar’s acript feel?
January 14th, 2009 at 10:03 pm
Do you expect that series X will ever be finished? Are you still talking with artist Y? How bad a disappointment was the film of Z? Did you even watch it? Will you ever work for Alpha Corporation again? Why not? Were you really annoyed when Madonna got into Kabbalah?
January 14th, 2009 at 11:31 pm
Alan:
How would you like to be remembered (as far as your comic book work is concerned), after you’re gone? If you could write your own obit, or the first paragraph of the Wikipedia entry for you, what would it say?
January 15th, 2009 at 12:50 am
Mr Moore
This question has multiple parts. Sort of. They involve the characters in the League of Extraordinary Gentlemen universe you’ve created.
How do you pick which literary characters to use in the stories? Were they favourite characters from your childhood?
What drew you to the characters you picked?
Are there any that you wanted to write but couldn’t make them interesting or different or fit into the narrative?
Would you ever consider writing about just one of the characters in a graphic novel form?
January 15th, 2009 at 12:57 am
You’re obviously a master of the comic medium, but I often find your prose interludes and “voiceover” style narrations to be the most compelling moments in your work. Do you have any plans for future work in prose?
January 15th, 2009 at 1:22 am
Hello Allan-
I was wondering if you would ever consider writing again for Doctor Who, either the television series, or the Big Finish Audios. I think the possibility would excite legions of people…
As a secondary question, do you feel that your work is affected by your magical practices? Is there a particular ritual you find usefull?
Thank you for your time and consideration,
Rodrigo Barroso
January 15th, 2009 at 4:37 am
Alan,
I am very curious as to what brought you to practice magic. Its effect on your life has clearly been very profound, as it seems to have made its way into your work, both esoterically and ostensibly.
How did you get into magic? What would you recommend to someone interested in pursuing and developing a magical practice?
Your work has meant a great deal to me. Promethea and From Hell were particularly profound. Thank you for helping to further expose the Left Handed Path to the world.
See you in the new Aeon,
Jacob
January 15th, 2009 at 6:16 am
i am a fan going back to the watchmen era. i really dig all of your work that i have read so far especially the “america’s best comics” line. i really love all of those books, especially top ten. so my multi pronged question begins….
1.have you read the cannon/ha top ten yet? and if so what do you think of it?
2.what writers and artists would you like to see take a stab at the books/characters from the ABC line?
3.will you ever write another tom strong story?
4.you sort of had a crossover event through the ending of promethea with the ABC line. if you could completely take over marvel or dc for a year to do a massive crossover event (like civil war or final crisis) what would it be about?
January 15th, 2009 at 8:01 am
I was wondering if Mr. Moore had considered using a version of Gregory House (himself a Holmes variation) when he writes his modern version of Extraordinary Gentlemen.
Thank You.
January 15th, 2009 at 8:49 am
How can Rorschach see anything if his mask doesn’t have any eyeholes?
January 15th, 2009 at 1:57 pm
Mr. Moore,
With the number of “new” talents coming into writing comics who turn out to possess screenwriting credits before they were invited to take on a book, do you think it’s tougher now for writers without artictic skills to get noticed by comic publishers?
January 15th, 2009 at 5:18 pm
Mr. Moore.
Are there any writers in the comic book industry that you would like to collaborate with? Who?
Also
Even though there are potential copyright concerns, are there any current popular literary characters you would possibly be interested to include in some sort of contemporary League of Extraordinary Gentlemen?
i.e. Tyler Durden, Harry Potter, etc?
January 16th, 2009 at 2:53 pm
Greetings and Blessings,
seclusion in order to find inspiration has proven to be a mighty high obstacle for my partnerships. Would You like to share some of Your experience concerning the matter, without feeling like Dr. Lambshead?
(Please don’t mind my perhaps exotic English grammar, the ‘BLACK DOSSIER’ showed that Your german ain’t much better).
By the way, not all of us regard art as a shopping-opportunity for some bigwigs to buy into the revolution, so maybe at some point in the foreseeable future one can get Your Performance-Broadcasts(?) to affordable prices…
Best wishes,
Mohammad Maria Mandelbaum
January 16th, 2009 at 10:56 pm
Pleased to digitally meet you, Mr. Moore.
How has ritual magick played a part in your life, your career and your work?
January 18th, 2009 at 3:11 am
The entire comics world has known your position on Hollyweird adaptations of your work. In the case of Watchmen, I was wondering if you’d be so kind as to discuss someof the devices you used to ensure that it would be “unfilmable.”
Thank you, kindly.
January 18th, 2009 at 11:57 am
Alan, can you offer any updates on the progress on “Jerusalem” and/or the GET’s “Bumper Book of Magic”?
Really looking forward to both. Ta!
January 19th, 2009 at 3:28 pm
Our dear Mr. Moore-
You’ve said in interviews that the major sources behind Century 1910 include The Threepenny Opera, Moonchild, the Raffles stories and the Carnacki stories. What are some of the major sources behind the 1968 issue and the 2008 issue? Basically, what should be reading/watching to get the most out of those issues when they arrive?
And- in the summary to the upcoming 2008 issue, it’s said that the Moonchild/Anti-Christ has “grown up to to claim his dreadful heritage”. Come on, it’s Harry Potter, isn’t it?
January 19th, 2009 at 7:21 pm
Hi Alan,
For a long time now, I have been a big fan of your work, and especially admire the diversity of it. Ever since you started talking about magic, I got interested in the subject, particularly the relation between magic and language. On multiple occasions, you’ve stated that magic and language can in fact be related. As Crowley said, to cast a spell is in fact ‘to spell’.
However, as I understand it, related to, for example, the text of the wonderful lithograph “Alphabets of Desire”, you can defend that experiences and ideas involve more than can be caught inside a word, or a sentence, such as the experience of eating an apple. In this light, where do you see the place of magic? Is it bound by language, which would imply that some ideas cannot be created or expressed by magic? On the other hand, if magic involves creating something out of nothing, or realising an idea, then a medium like for instance comics could be viewed as a means to perform magic through. But arguably, comics encompass more than language, because of the visual component, hence one could create more with magic than one could express with words. Of course, with painting, one could even make a stronger argument, since that medium is even further removed from the written word. What are your thoughts on this, are there real limits to the possibility to create with magic or not?
Thank you, and I’m looking forward to “The Moon and Serpent Bumper Book of Magic”!
January 20th, 2009 at 1:05 pm
I’ve got lots of questions, mostly about my biggest fixation, Orlando from ‘The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen’. Even my LiveJournal username is an anagram of ‘Orlando’ with an eight added! I’m autistic, you see:
1) Could you please, please put LOTS and LOTS of Orlando?
What colour are Orlando’s eyes? I couldn’t see their colour in ‘The Life of Orlando’ or the 3D section.
2) What’s Orlando’s surname?
3) Orlando was turned into a cat once. How did s/he turn into a human again?
4) Could you please let me know everything about Orlando?
5) Did you decide to make Orlando look like anyone in particular? (e.g. Marlene Dietrich)
6) Will there be any more volumes of LoEG?
7) Why is Orlando so stylishly dressed if s/he’s basically a promiscuous war hero addicted to killing people?
9) Could you put in more pictures of him shirtless? *drools*
And 10) TELL ME EVERYTHING ABOUT ORLANDO!
January 20th, 2009 at 5:33 pm
Hello Alan.
Year after year we’ve of course heard disregard and disassociation from you concerning the optioning and filming of your great body of work… an unease with Hollywood rightly earned over the disasters that have been previous attempts. Do you have any interest in possibly producing film yourself? Not in a Frank Millar manner (especially after The Spirit), as I’m aware you don’t approve of adapting copy to celluloid… but have you considered, or are you considering, an original work for the screen, completely (or vastly anyway) under your creative control? The recent announcement of an in-UK Judge Dredd feature gives hope for the opening of urban fantasy and comic book films on a Terry Gilliam size commitment to presenting work to the full extent that the medium can provide… is there any hope of seeing a Moore produced masterpiece in the theatres?
Cheers,
Duste
January 21st, 2009 at 11:54 am
Alan,
how has your writing process/style evolved or changed over the years? seems to me in you’re earlier works there was a sense of showing off your cleverness, what do you think?
January 30th, 2009 at 10:46 pm
Two questions for Mr. Moore, please:
What has been your favorite book of the last ten years?
and
Do you believe in fairies?
January 31st, 2009 at 2:00 pm
I understand how you might be a little put off by your experiences of having your works turned into lame films but surely you still enjoy film as a medium. Why don’t you write an original screenplay yourself and eliminate the need for adaptation?
February 2nd, 2009 at 5:18 pm
A few geeky questions about influences
Did you ever watch Carl Sagan’s Cosmos, (my favorite science programme ever) from many years ago? I ask this because of the bit, (about three panels!) in Halo Jones with the screaming trees reminded me of the amazing story from that show of the Japanese crabs that have prospered by evolving to look like the emperor because fishermen throw them back. Was this this an inspiration?
Similarly I saw some references to ‘Who watches the watchmen’ in Arthur Koestler’s ‘Janus’ and some similar themes. Was this where the phrase came from? I know it’s an old phrase but also have noticed you namechecking this unjustly forgotten brilliant author, so was this an influences?
And conversely, what does you think of the reboot of Dr Who, if he’s seen it? I thought it borrowed a lot from your earlier attempts to reinvent superheros in a fresh interesting way, particularly your Swamp thing run. any thoughts?
Finally, what are the chances of seeing V for Vendetta published in black and white again?
February 2nd, 2009 at 7:21 pm
Alan–
You have described your current life-cycle phase as being semi-retired from comix in order to pursue a more serious study of the occult…how is that transition going and specifically, have you ever considered doing a Tarot deck (with ‘commentaries’) that condenses your studies into something other people can integrate in their own path?
February 20th, 2009 at 9:23 am
I predict if Watchmen is a hit, DC will explain that Dr. Manhattan transported Rorschach to the DC Universe and that Rorschach will now team up with Batman.
I realize you dislike DC but would you be interested in writing that comic?
February 26th, 2009 at 3:11 am
Dear Mr. Moore,
I am a big fan of the League of extraordianry gentlemen. I am anxiously waiting for the first part of volume 3 part one to come out. I was wondering however…
1. When will parts two and three be out (a general timeline, as I know how you put these things out only when you are ready)?
2. What time will we be likley to see previews of parts two and three of LoEg Vol. 3?
3. Can you give us any examples of what references you will be using in the 2009 portion? do androids dream of electric sheep by:Philip K. Dick, a clockwork orange, harry potter, and donnie darko come to mind…
Keep up the good work!
October 19th, 2009 at 12:48 am
Can you please explain why Pan is raping Selene- how can the big bang be a rape scene?