On Fashion Beast, deities for the 80s and celebrity

Below, selected excerpts from Fear magazine, issue n.3, November-December 1988.  

Alan Moore: [...] I did write a screenplay recently [Fashion Beast]. It was an enjoyable enough experience but I didn’t get anywhere near the same control in working in the movie industry that I do producing comics. Control is the most important thing, so I think the prospect of any films in the near future is a slight one. But that's not to say that I mightn’t mess around in various media.

[...] I don't know if it will ever be made. Hollywood, to some degree, is like a Bermuda triangle for screenplays — a lot of them go in and are never seen again. I don’t know what the odds are of any film being made. The Watchmen film might be made or might not. The same goes for Fashion Beast.
The idea, as presented to me by Malcolm MacLaren, was to do a reworking of the Beauty and the Beast fable but to tie it in with the life-story of the designer Christian Dior and to come up with something aimed at a very young teenage audience. Malcom said he wanted the film to have the depth, power and dark resonance of a film like Chinatown and the youth appeal of a film like Flashdance.
I don’t know whether the thing fell through or not. It's something I did for the artistic experience of writing a film, to see what it was like, and I was satisfied, I got out of it what I wanted and I was paid really handsomely.

[...] you mentioned how interested you are in mythology, but in Superman, Batman and the Swamp Thing you've taken individual mythologies and twisted them around; and with the Watchmen you did this to the whole superhero genre. Why?
Alan Moore: Because the old ones don't work anymore, because mythology, as a pure thing in itself, is powerful nd potent—but not as much as it was. We can imagine the power that those myths had when they were more current and contemporary.
Doctor Manhattan [from the Watchmen series] is an attempt to portray a quantum god in much the same way that Swamp Thing was an attempt at portraying an environmental god. They owe a lot of their aura, if you like, to the gods and legends that I read about as a child. 
At the same time they're expressed in a way which is wholly modern. Before the atom was split you could not have had a quantum god; quantum thinking is a modern phenomenon. In the last book of Miracleman I explored that very thoroughly, in that we have a super-heroine who is taking on the role of a modern Aphrodite. She runs a cable porn network. As devotional objects she distributes pornographic videos of herself and Miracleman. She has a computer network which is basically a global lonely hearts network which works at 100 percent efficiency and, basically, she’s trying to heal the sexual and emotional problems of the entire planet.
It's deities for the Eighties, and if you're working in the superhero genre, it’s important to remember that the actual root of the superhero stories is in mythology.

[...] I don’t think there's any need for me to be a big celebrity. I think the only real need for me is to be a better writer and I don’t see that the two things are connected in any way. So I'm much happier sitting behind a typewriter than sitting in front of a set of lights in some studio. I've got a blissful home life with a wonderful family, I've got my work which is a tremendous source of pleasure and I've got friends, so I don't really need to be on the Jonathan Ross show. 

Alan Davis 1985: Cap. Britain, Marvelman, The Fury

Above, selected excerpts from an interview with ALAN DAVIS, conducted by Les Chester the 26th of September 1985, published in Amazing Heroes n. 85, December 1985. It's a must-read! 

[...] Amazing Heroes: What is the difference in your approach to Marvelman and Captain Britain?
Davis: Well, I try to get into any character I work on, so that I don't have to resort to stock figures and poses. I feel that if you understand the character, the movement and body language suggest themselves.
Marvelman was meant to be the perfect male, with a godlike presence. So I focused on his grace, and gave him a slightly effeminate face since a male face that is neither rugged nor tough appears more feminine. It also added to the perfect
serenity that a being with so much power might generate. Captain Britain on the other hand is a brawler, he is arrogant in a childish fashion, he is big, bulky and swaggering. Totally without the grace that personifies Marvelman. The process is more complicated and thorough than the simplified version I've described, but that's basically the way I handle it.
It's nothing terribly original; I think a lot of artists must work that way.

[...] AH: How do you feel about the characters D.R. & Quinch?
Davis: I'm very proud and fond of them; they're easy to draw, they look funny no matter what they are doing, and it was fun to see what they could do and how far I could push them.
They had taken me a long time to design, and they evolved, as all characters do, as I familiarized myself with them and learned how to use them to best effect. I also enjoyed the fact that the characters and set-up owed a lot to the film Animal House.
It's one of my all time favorite comedy films.

AH: What was it like working all the time with Alan Moore?
Davis: We had a good working relationship. We exchanged a lot of ideas and it was very fulfilling for me to be able to contribute to stories and not just be the artist on the job. I think it's only natural to have ideas involving the character you spend a lot of time drawing. It was good to be able to get our heads together and plan issues ahead. It was much more involved than just receiving scripts. It was very fulfilling.

AH: How do you rate Alan Moore's talent? 
Davis: As a writer, very highly. Apart from his inventive use of words and dialogue, he can think laterally and see old situations from new angles.

[...] AH: Could you give specific examples of ideas or stories you've contributed to the “Captain Britain" strip?
Davis: The "Captain Britain" story in Daredevils #2 was based on a solution I suggested to Alan [Moore]. The problem was that Alan wanted Brian Braddock to return home to Braddock Manor, but it had been destroyed by S.H.I.E.L.D. bombers in a previous story. My solution was that since the Manor had contained a computer that was capable of creating holograms, it would have projected a decoy image of the Manor that was bombed whilst it concealed the real Manor. Then, when the danger had passed, the Manor would take on the appearance of a bombed-out ruin. .
In contrast to this, my only input to the story in Daredevils #3 prior to the script was to give Betsy purple hair which would be a shock to Brian who had been in other dimensions for a number of years. In that story I made a few post-script changes, which are usually totally visual, window-dressing that have no effect on the story content. I gave Slaymaster a rubber mask disguise instead of a slouch hat and a trench coat, and substituted "The Jazzler," an electrified knitting needle, for the knife that was to have been his assassination tool. Another, less obvious, contribution, was for the story in Mighty World of Marvel #7, "The Candlelight Dialogues.” Alan was having problems trying to come up with a structure to carry the elements of the next storyline. l'd just read Batman #347 and suggested that we use the storytelling device used in "The Shadow of Batman"; that is, eaves-dropping on a conversation that connects the events.
As I've already said, it was exciting, interesting and very fulfilling to be involved in the stories on such a basic level. Alan was always prepared to listen to any ideas, which was refreshing since some writers see artists soley as "laborers" to bring their ideas to life.

AH: Was there any similar input on "Marvelman"?
Davis: Nothing major; "Marvelman" was really Alan's baby, though I did influence general characterization and more specifically, the nature of the alien ship. The only really direct input l supplied was second-hand. That was "Out of the Dark" [Warrior #9] where Marvelman is attacked by the S.A.S. I have a friend who is an ex-Regimental Sergeant Major and l explained the situation in the story to ask his advice on how to handle it realistically. He, incidentally, thought the whole story was absurd and childish; he doesn’t like comics. However, his outline for the troop deployment and battle plan eventually featured in the story.

[...] AH: What about the Fury [...]?
Davis: The aspects of The Fury I'm most proud of concern its “eyes.” As the series progressed, I refined the external pattern of the sensors so that they became a motif that was instantly recognizable. As another point of interest, I gave the Fury's "view of the world" an indicator of speed and distance, heartbeat and brainwaves, plus infra-red and X-ray vision, so that each character could be registered in an interesting way, usually displaying an aspect of the target's power.
This eventually led to the ruse where Zeitgeist attacked the Fury and didn't register on any level. [...]

Miracleman by Mark Badger

Art by Mark Badger

CAF site is full of awesome material to discover. 

So... above, an interesting, unpublished piece by the great MARK BADGER, featuring... Marvelman/Miracleman!

I confess I have a soft spot for Badger since his... Excalibur's issues. Long time ago! 

 

For more info about the artist, visit his Instagram.

Miracleman and a democratic art-form

Excerpts from Amazing Heroes Preview Special n.2, published by Fantagraphics in 1986.

At the time Eclipse was publishing Miracleman, reprinting for the US market the Marvelman episodes previously presented in UK Warrior magazine, in b/w. Starting from issue n.6, Miracleman included (then) new material continuing the stories of the British hero. 

Alan Moore: What we’re attempting to do with Miracleman is strip away a lot of the accumulated cliches and dross that have built up around the super-heroes, and try to get back to what we perceive as the original idea - which was probably something very closely akin to the original function of the Greek and Norse legends. When those particular legends were current, when they had just been evolved, they were contemporary: they weren't set in an exotic faraway land or faraway time, they were happening at the end of the street. What we are trying to do is reinterpret the idea of a god amongst people, which is basically what the idea oi the super-hero is, even though the original idea has been diluted.
We're trying not to go over the more conventional background of the super-hero, like... you won't find a lot of super-heroes in Miracleman. With the exception of Kid Miracleman, whom you've seen already [in the first two issues], there are not any villains planned for the immediate future of the book. I find it more interesting not to see how powerful, exaggerated characters react to each other, but how one powerful, exaggerated character - Miracleman - reacts to the human race in general.
We'll also be going into the psychology of the character, trying to get into what would feel like to actually do all this bizarre and miraculous stuff. Anytime someone jostled you in the line at cafeteria you could just throw them into orbit. I think it would probably change your view of society slightly.
Those are the areas that we're going to get into: what it feels for the person himself being a god amongst creatures that must look to him like animals.
What it feels like for the humans suddenly being confronted with something that's a million times better than they are. [...]

[Talking about the inflated prices on the premiere issue of MM] 
Miracleman #1 is a comic book, a throwaway comic book, that should be bought for 75 cents and briefly enjoyed. The thing I like about comics is that they are a democratic art-form - often with very good art - that is in the price range of anybody who has 75 cents. He can just go down to the corner news agent and buy a comic. That is one of the things that attract me about comics.
When you start getting to the point where something with a cover price of 75 cents changes hands for 10 dollars, I certainly don't want anything to do with it. I find it a bit distressing, I certainly wouldn't pay that much. Quite frankly, I would advise other people not to, although obviously, what they do is up to theme. It seems like a wholly false, manufactured, and artificial situation to me. 

Who is…? Miracleman

Who is…? Miracleman Infinity Comic n.1 has debuted on the Marvel Unlimited app February 8, 2023, written by Ram V with art by Leonard Kirk and colors by Edgar Delgado.
Is it simply a recap (in vertical scrolling comic format) of Miracleman's classic adventures or... are they planning something? You can read more HERE.

Who is…? Miracleman Infinity Comic n. 1 is available to read on Marvel Unlimited: here. 

Miracleman by Ian Churchill

Art by Ian Churchill

Above, a picture posted by British artist Ian Churchill on his FB page, the 1st of February.

Churchill writes: "I re-read my old copies of Miracleman over Christmas to refresh my memory before reading the long awaited new stories by Neil Gaiman and Mark Buckingham. Marvel have never asked me to do a Miracleman variant cover (and I'm a big Miracleman fan!)- So, I decided to draw one for fun over the festive period."

For more about the artist, visit his site HERE.

Kimota! vs. Shazam!

Art by Kerry Callen

Above and below, two fabulous commission pieces by MAD contributor and freelance illustrator Kerry Callen.

 

For more info and news about the artist: Blog - Twitter - Instagram

Art by Kerry Callen

Steve Gerber on Miracleman and Moore

Cover art by Garry Leach

Excerpt from the introduction written by American comic book writer Steve Gerber for Miracleman Book One, published by Eclipse in 1988.

[...] There is, however, a scene in this book that stayed with me since I first read it almost seven years ago, and a line in that scene that's equally unforgettable.
Mike Moran, having recently rediscovered his super-human abilities, is placed in the awkward position of having to explain to his wife Liz that is, in effect, a living cartoon. [...] When Liz reacts the only way any reasonable human being would, with involuntary giggles, you can hear those, too.
The voices are real, and so are the emotions. Poor Mike can barely believe the words he's speaking; poor Liz doesn't want to snicker, but can't help herself.
Finally, overcome with embarrassment and frustration, Mike explodes: "Damn you, Liz, you are laughing at my life!"
When I read that bit of dialogue, I knew Alan Moore was to become one of the most important writers in comics.
[...] What impressed me was that Moore had actually thought about the characters --- and understood them. [...]

Steve Gerber
Burbank, California
August 31, 1988

The Magus and his Tarot cards by Carlos Dearmas

Art by Carlos Dearmas

Above a stunning portrait of Alan Moore by phenomenal Argentinian illustrator and comic book artist CARLOS DEARMAS. 

Moore is showing in his hands some special Tarot cards: 

Tarot XI – LA FORCE, featuring Silk Spectre and Bubastis (from Watchmen)

Tarot VIIII – L’HERMITE, featuring Swamp Thing

Tarot XIIII, featuring V (from V for Vendetta)
Tarot VIII – LA JUSTICE, featuring Promethea
Tarot XVII – LE TOILLE, featuring Marvelman
LE MAT, featuring The Joker

It's really an amazing piece of art! Grazie mille, Carlos.

 

For more info about the artist: 

Instagram - Blog - Facebook - Gallery

Marvelman by Drew Moss

Art by Drew Moss

Above, a blazing Marvelman by American comic book artist DREW MOSS.

More info about Moss, HERE.

Supreme and... Miracleman?

Excerpt from Kimota! The Miracleman Companion by George Khoury, published by TwoMorrows in 2001 (page 23).

Alan Moore: [...] I did have a vague idea that at one point, I remember talking to Rick Veitch: "Wouldn't it be cool if we maybe did a run of SUPREME where Supreme decides to journey to the absolute limits of reality?" Not just to the end of the universe but the limits of reality to try and find out about the nature of this strange form of reality that his universe existed with these constant revisions and the existence of Supremacy and things like that. And I got some mad idea--I don't know how I would have tied it in--that wouldn't it be cool if Supreme reached some place at the end of the universe and went into this room and there was Miracleman and maybe Rick Veitch's Maximortal and two or three other kinda clones of existing super-heroes, all trying to find the answer to the same problem, "Where are we? What are we?" That was the last time that I actually thought maybe it would be fun to have Miracleman turn up in a story. But that's never going to happen.

Source: Forgotten Awesome blog

Barry Windsor-Smith on Moore's perspicacity

Marvelman by Barry Windsor-Smith

In 2000 legendary artist Barry Windsor-Smith sent me a short text contribution for the Alan Moore special that I was running on my Ultrazine.org site (not online any more).

The intelligence and perspicacity of Alan Moore's MARVELMAN was responsible for bringing me back into the field of comics. For that, I'm torn between loving and hating him. I've admired all of Alan's work from the 1970s to the present, with the ABC line. 

Barry Windsor-Smith

 I highly recommend BWS' new book Monsters, a masterpiece 35 years in the making. 

 

 

Miracleman by Steve Rude

Art by Steve Rude

A great Miracleman by the legendary STEVE RUDE. 

More info here.

Warrior n.6: Alan Moore replies

Alan Moore replies to a fan from the letter column of Warrior n. 6, October 1982.

The Warrior Team,
I have just bought and read Warrior 1 and must congratulate you on an excellent British comic - one which can hold its head high among the best of the U.S. competition. The variety of the stories and the quality of the artwork were exceptional and the whole thing was a long and satisfying 'read'. I hope that Warrior will continue and find the appreciation it deserves.
I do however have one serious complaint, one which attaches itself to the script-writing of Alan Moore. I am a Christian, as well as a comic fan, and I find his constant use of the name of Jesus as a swearword very upsetting. Apart from this his writing is superb. I would simply plead with Alan to bear my feelings in mind (I am sure many other people would find the stories more enjoyable without the constant blasphemy) and reduce or eliminate these references.

I trust that Warrior will develop into a great comic not only in plot and illustration but also in a sense of moral respect.
--- M.L. Evans, 9 Church Street, Rhondda, Mid. Glam.

Alan Moore replies: The Comics Code Authority. Right. I remember that while I was growing up I found it curious that the characters who populated my four-colour reading material, upon being hit by an Ultra-Beam, Theta-Blast, or just-plain-old-fashioned hail of machine gun bullets, would respond with nothing more spirited than an exclamation along the lines of 'Great Scot!' or, a personal favourite, 'Sockamagee!'
Comparing these to the less restrained exclamations that I heard from my tousle-haired playmates made a couple of facts very plain. Firstly, whatever an Ultra Beam was, it didn't hurt much. Secondly, that these splendid characters in the tights and capes were not in the least bit like the real people of my acquaintance, and thirdly, that nothing they said or did mattered very much in the long run as a result of that. They weren't meant to be real people. They were cut outs.
Now that I have, arguably, grown up and find myself in the enviable position of being paid for something that I would probably do as a hobby anyway, I'm in a position to change that situation a little bit. As a script-writer, I want readers to care about my characters, and to care about what happens to them. I believe that the only way to do this is to make them as real as my meagre talent allows ... real in the way they think, real in the way they act, and real in the way they talk. If they are hurt then they feel pain, they bleed, they need time to recuperate. They don't grit their teeth and say 'It's okay, Sarge, that armour-piercing devastator bullet only grazed my scalp.' If they are in love, they might, on occasion, feel the need to express that love physically. Real women and men don't express their affection for each other by trying to uncover the secret identity of their paramour. If they get hit by an Ultra-Beam, or even get one dropped on their foot, they are liable to sum up the situation in language a little more forceful than 'Holy Broken Bones'.
The Warrior audience, as I see it, is made up of adults of all ages. From the moment a child starts school he, or she, is likely to become rapidly conversant with language far stronger than anything likely to appear in the pages of Warrior. To imply, by means of strict censorship, that there are words or concepts that are just too grown up for the feeble little minds of children is both patronising and insulting. I won't be a party to that, and I imagine my creative colleagues on Warrior feel the same way.

The question of whether the usage of words such as 'Jesus' or 'Christ' is permissible is a slightly more complicated one and deserves a serious answer. I think my position is this: That while I respect the right of anyone to follow their own particular faith, it is not realistic to portray a world in my writing which is only populated by Christians and Christians alone. Surely, a knowledge of the way people speak needn't be seen as an instruction to speak that way yourself? Surely, it doesn't affect your faith one way or the other to know that there are people who do not share it, people to whom words like 'Jesus' and 'Christ' are merely to be used as exclamations with little thought for the ideology behind them? I would have thought that in all Christian literature, the Bible included, there are examples of anti-Christian behaviour of a far more serious nature than that of taking the name of the Lord in vain. I notice also that you voice no objection to the wholesale killing of several human beings throughout the various stories in Warrior 1. Surely this too is anti-Christian behaviour, and, as a Christian, upsetting to you?
Like I said, I respect your sentiments entirely and was very pleased by the polite and civilized way in which you raised your objections. Unfortunately, I don't see what I can do to make you any happier about the situation and remain true to my intentions as an artist to portray reality in the way that I see it. Perhaps other readers may have some thoughts on this issue which might be helpful?

Miracleman commission by John K. Snyder III

Art by John K. Snyder III.

Above, you can admire a fantastic Miracleman commission by comic book writer and artist John K. Snyder III. The illustration is a sort of recreation of the cover he did for Miracleman n. 10 in 1986.

He writes: "Miracleman commission based on my original cover for Miracleman #10 (Eclipse Comics). Featuring Miracleman in full costume and a host of characters written/co-created by Alan Moore. Great fun! Pen and ink, ink wash, prismacolor, paint, on strathmore illustration board." Check HERE.

You can recognize several characters such as: Miracleman, V, Halo Jones, Captain Britain, Swamp Thing and more. So, get them all! :)

Art by John K. Snyder III.

Miracleman by Travis Charest

Art by TRAVIS CHAREST.

Above, a convention sketch or a commission featuring Miracleman by the great TRAVIS CHAREST, date unknown.

Charest contributed to several issues of Moore's WildCa.t.s run.

For more info about his art visit his site, HERE.

Marvelman by Mark Buckingham

Art by MARK BUCKINGHAM.

Above, a great Miracleman sketch that the fantastic MARK BUCKINGHAM drew for me during Bristol Con 2003 in the special plate he created for the event.
Grazie, Mark! :) Kimota for all!

Miraclemen by Jim Mahfood

Art by Jim Mahfood. Chatting about Miracleman n.4.

Above and below, some amazing Miracleman drawings by fantastic artist JIM MAHFOOD, posted in January and February on his Facebook page.

The illustrations have been realized for the Read Moore comics videos by the Cartoonist Kayfabe crew (Ed Piskor, Tom Scioli, Benjamin Marra and Mahfood)! about Miracleman series (Epic Comics). Watch them ALL! ;)

Follow Mahfood on social media @jimmahfood and jimmahfood.com. 

Art by Jim Mahfood.

Art by Jim Mahfood. Chatting about Miracleman n.6

Art by Jim Mahfood. Chatting about Miracleman n.7.

Art by Jim Mahfood. Chatting about Miracleman n.9.

Hip Hop Marvelman Family by Ed Piskor

Art by Ed Piskor.

January 2018, from his Facebook profile.  

ED PISKOR: "Before X-Men: Grand Design I hooked up with Marvel to do some Hip Hop variant covers. I did 3 but my best one never surfaced until now. If I ever worked in a collaboration Alan Moore and Neil Gaiman would be at the top of my list. Plus, Just-Ice rules!"

Art by Ed Piskor.

Cover of Back to the Old School, Just-Ice debut album, 1986.

Veitch on The One, Marvelman, Greyshirt & Moore

Page from The One by Rick Veitch.

Excerpt from an interview with the great Rick Veitch posted on Vulture the 28th of February 2018. Veitch talks about the new edition of his amazing The One series published for the first time in colour by IDW.

The complete interview is available here.

[...] If I recall correctly, you had already read some of Alan Moore’s Marvelman at that point, right? It deals with similar concepts.
Rick Veitch: Right. Marvelman had appeared and had been like a lightning bolt to all of us who were in comics, working in superheroes at the time. [Moore] really was sort of like the Big Bang of the modern superhero — and I should include his artist with him, Garry Leach. They succeeded in — just like the Rolling Stones succeeded in taking old blues music and repackaging it for an American audience, Alan and Garry and the other artists on Marvelman succeeded in doing that. A lot of people recognized it, but didn’t quite know how to make that work. I was probably one of the first, I think, to try to take that inspiration into my own work, and again, try to push the superhero thing in a whole new direction. When I was a kid in art school, at the Kubert School in the ’70s, we would sit around, and we would go, “These superheroes, they’re so infantile. If someone just approached them with the depth of a modern science-fiction novel, like Isaac Asimov or Stanislaw Lem, one of those guys, it could be really amazing.” I think Alan and his partners were the ones that first pulled it off, with Marvelman.

[...] Have you stayed in touch with Alan Moore at all?
Rick Veitch: Oh yeah, yeah. We talk all the time. It’s been fantastic working with him. It’s been sad seeing some of the shit he’s had to deal with, because of his stardom. He’s a lovely guy. He’s always amazing. I’m quite fortunate to have worked with him.

DC just introduced two America’s Best Comics characters into their mainstream universe: Tom Strong and Promethea. Will yours and Alan’s character, Greyshirt, do that anytime soon? Or is he safe from the corporate clutches?
Rick Veitch: I don’t think it’s safe. I think all of them might get inhaled, but I have to go back and revisit the contracts and talk to DC’s legal about what it all means. I’m not sure yet. I haven’t really dug into it. I doubt Greyshirt is one of the first ones they want to get in there, because I think Tom Strong and Promethea were the star characters. I hope they don’t, I really do. I think it’s not good, how they have treated Alan and his creations. I wish, especially … Actually, I probably shouldn’t say anything. Other than to say, I wish they’d leave Alan alone and let him be creative.

[The complete interview is available here.]