Alan Moore

[Suzanne]

Salon has an excellent interview with Alan Moore, the man behind Watchmen, From Hell, V for Vendetta et al.

Salon.com:
One of the other similarities between "V for Vendetta" and our current situation is that the populace is cowed by fear, to an extent, through the media, whether it's television propaganda or electronic surveillance.


Alan Moore:
Of course. One of the reasons we singled out media in "V for Vendetta" was because it is one of the most useful tools of tyranny. We invite it into our own home every night; I'm sure that some of us think of it as a friend. That might be a horrifying notion but I'm sure there are people who think of television as perhaps one of their most intimate friends. And if the TV tells them that things in the world are a certain way, even if the evidence of their senses asserts it is not true, they'll probably believe the television set in the end. It's an alarming thought but we brought it upon ourselves. I mean, I think that television is one of the most diabolical -- in the very best sense of the word -- inventions of the past century. It has probably done more to degrade the mind and intelligence of its audience, even if they happen to be drug addicts or alcoholics; I would think that watching television has done more to limit their horizons in the long run. And it has also distorted our culture.

Read full interview

(via BoingBoing)

[heretic]

Wußtet ihr das V for Vendetta ursprünglich von den Wachoski-Brüdern (den Leuten die für die Matrix-Trilogie verantwortlich sind) als abendfüllender Blockbuster umgesetzt werden sollte.

Die finale Version wurde allerdings, so weit ich das mitbekommen habe eingestampft, da das Ergebnis nicht so berauschend war. Der Film schien kaum mehr der Vorlage von Alan Moore zu entsprechen und war laut offizieller Seite "todlangweilig und unlogisch" (was das betrifft habe ich allerdings schon mehr Blockbuster gesehen, die diesen Kriterien entsprachen). Schade eigentlich. Ich schätze Alan Moore sehr, die Wachowski-Brüder ebenfalls. Aber wir haben es ja schon bei der "League of extraordinary gentlemen" gesehen, dass Hollywood es anscheinend nicht wircklich hinbekommt - mit einigen herausragenden Beispielen - Anspruch, Unterhaltung und schwarzen englischen Humor unter einen hut zu bringen.

Schade, schade kann man dazu nur sagen

[Suzanne]

Actually, I read that short SALON interview again and I realized that there's really no Moorophilia that could ever beat Barry's interview for Blather. So go and read it, dammit!

[Suzanne]

UPDATE!

Full interview transcript of the recent BBC Radio 4 interview with Alan Moore now online over at Comic Book Resources!

[Suzanne]

Alan Moore tells DC Comics to get bent

Comic writer supreme Alan Moore tells DC Comics to piss off and takes the next installments of the multi-award winning 'League of Extraordinary Gentlemen; to indy publisher Top Shelf.

BoingBoing has the story

[Suzanne]

ALAN MOORE SPELLS IT OUT

My old friend Bill Baker’s written a book called ALAN MOORE SPELLS IT OUT, focusing on the creative process of the author of FROM HELL, WATCHMEN and V FOR VENDETTA.

The PR says: “Alan Moore Spells It Out marks the first print appearance of one of the most in-depth interviews ever conducted with this celebrated writer. Even better, its focus is Moore’s approach to creating art, with special attention paid to his thoughts on magic, its relationship with language and with creativity, and tons of stuff on making good comics…. This is something that’s more like overhearing a great conversation between a couple of good buddies than reading an interview, however good it might be. Bill managed to provide Alan with the perfect forum for the kind of discussion which is rarely heard these days, much less captured on tape. Everyone who’s read the mock up, or even had a chance to glance through the Alan Moore-approved transcript, has gotten pretty excited by what they’ve seen.”

Alan Moore Spells It Out will be an 80 page, sparsely illustrated trade paperback measuring 5 1/2 x 8 1/2 inches, and retail for $9.95 US. And it’s out in November. If you’re near a good comics store, ask for it now and they’ll pre-order it for you. It’s released by Airwave Publishing.

(Thanks, Warren!)

[Suzanne]

ALAN MOORE vs BRIAN ENO

Alan Moore:
Welcome everybody. My name's Alan Moore. I'm a comic writer and warlock, and I'm lucky enough to be interviewing somebody that I've admired for far too long... Brian Peter George St John le Baptiste de la Salle Eno was born in Woodbridge, Suffolk in May 1948. Pronouncing his own name gave him the breath control that he would later employ to such startling effect upon his 1975 recording Miss Shapiro. Sprung from a long line of postmen, he received a 1960's education, experimenting with a tape recorder as his primary instrument, the young artist moved to London during 1969, before bumping into a former acquaintance named Andy Mackay, somewhere along the Northern Line. Joining Roxy Music, the new band with whom Mackay was currently engaged in playing saxophone, Eno burst upon public awareness as the central pillar of the decadent, inventive, glam rock period of British pop. Setting his stall out as a non-musician, he abruptly parted company with Roxy Music to produce a string of stunning and extremely influential solo albums, casually inventing ambient music, and the trend for sampling along the way, he has worked on pivotal productions with artists who range from Devo, David Bowie, Robert Wyatt and the new wave scene, to Pavarotti and U2. One of our modern fin de siecle most extraordinary minds, his interest gleefully embracing perfume, science, futurology and ladies bottoms. I am delighted to introduce... Brian Eno.
[Audience applause]

Read on

(Chain Reaction is © BBC, 2005.)

[Suzanne]

Dave Itzkoff from the NYT reviews Moore's "Absolute Watchmen".

[Suzanne]

The NYT on The Vendetta Behind 'V for Vendetta'

[Suzanne]

Alan Moore interview over at The Beat.

[Suzanne]

The German Telepolis has an interesting article on "V for Vendetta"

[Suzanne]

The NYT asks: Who Is This Masked Avenger? Guy Fawkes, Count of Monte Cristo or a Clone?

[Suzanne]

First part of Cinescape's Alan Moore interview

[Suzanne]

Susanna Clarke, the novelist and long-time Moore devotee, speaks to him about sex, magic, and why he prefers his home town to Hollywood