A little follow up from Joe’s post on Friday about Pádraig’s amazing find of a complete Big Numbers 3, long thought lost forever.
Eddie Campbell has joined in with his recollections of the matter and his strange connection with the project. This was 1990 something and Eddie was working away on Alan Moore’s other magnum opus, the ten years in the making From Hell. The post is interesting as it covers Eddie’s recollections of the time and his reaction to the Sienkievicz / Columbia artwork. But then, right at the final paragraph, we get this:
Another thing I remembered, and I don’t think I ever mentioned it to Alan, but I always felt a certain resentment that Billy the Sink got Big Numbers and blew it while i was stuck drawing Jack the bloody Ripper for ten years (I once described it as a penny dreadful that costs thirty five bucks). I stand by my opinion that Big Numbers was the superior idea and would have been Alan’s masterpiece. Of course it is also true that Sienkiewicz is a world class illustrator and there’s no way I could have done a job that complicated in 1992. I could have taken a crack at it later (post-Birth Caul/Snakes and Ladders), and offered, but Alan wasn’t up for that.
That’s right. Eddie Campbell offered to finish Big Numbers. Wow. Of course, like Eddie goes on to say in the comments, it’s very much a thing of it’s time. Going back and reading issues 1 & 2 shows me that. I’m sure issue 3, when I settle down to read it later tonight will be just the same. But it’s an intriguing proposition nonetheless.
Update 11am: More from Eddie:
1. A comparison between Padraig’s photocopied complete Big Numbers 3 and a few originals (unlettered) that are floating around – makes me wish even harder that I could see the finished product.
2. More talk of Big Numbers 3 and a link to this interview from 2000 with Alan talking Big Numbers: “I’ve got the whole thing plotted. I’ve got an enormous sheet of A1 paper with the whole plot on it, almost like a graph.” That’s something I’d love to see.
March 28th, 2009 at 11:20 pm
““I’ve got the whole thing plotted. I’ve got an enormous sheet of A1 paper with the whole plot on it, almost like a graph.” That’s something I’d love to see.”
Well now, funny you should say that…
And if you go look in the comments on Eddie Campbell’s post, you’ll see I’ll be doing an interview with him soon to appear here. It’s good to be me!