Alan Moore

Alan Moore (born November 18, 1953, in Northampton, England) is a British writer most famous for his work in comics. He is the co-creator of some of the most acclaimed comic books in history, including Watchmen, V for Vendetta and From Hell.

Overview

Moore is renowned for bringing more mature, literary sensibilities to a medium often dismissed as juvenile and trivial. As well as including adult themes and challenging subjects, he also experiments with the form of comics, employing effects unique to the medium, and creating different ways to combine text and image. He brings a wide range of influences to his work, including Michael Moorcock and other authors of the New Wave of science fiction, horror writers like Clive Barker, more mainstream literary authors such as William S. Burroughs, Thomas Pynchon and Iain Sinclair, and film-editing techniques from the work of directors like Nicolas Roeg. Comics artist Bryan Talbot, whose The Adventures of Luther Arkwright anticipated the adult comics movement, is also undoubtedly a major influence.

Related Topics:
Michael Moorcock - New Wave - Science fiction - Horror - Clive Barker - William S. Burroughs - Thomas Pynchon - Iain Sinclair - Nicolas Roeg - Bryan Talbot - The Adventures of Luther Arkwright

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Moore is also a practising magician, having become a gnostic in the mid-1990s, and part of a performance art group, the Moon and Serpent Grand Egyptian Theatre of Marvels. Two of their pieces, The Birth Caul and Snakes and Ladders, have been adapted for comics by Eddie Campbell. He has written a novel, Voice of the Fire, a set of short stories about linked events in his home-town of Northampton through the centuries, from the Bronze Age to the present day.

Related Topics:
Magician - Gnostic - Performance art - Eddie Campbell - Novel - Northampton - Bronze Age

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He has written one screenplay, the unmade Fashion Beast, a recreation of Beauty and the Beast commissioned by Malcolm McLaren. Two of his comics, From Hell and The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen, have been made into Hollywood movies, and the film Constantine was based upon the character John Constantine, which Moore created during his Swamp Thing run, but Moore has been disappointed by the adaptations and refused to accept any money for any future film adaptations of his work, donating it instead to the artists with whom he created the respective characters. Nonetheless, a film of V for Vendetta is in development, written by the Wachowski brothers and starring Natalie Portman. Again, Moore requested that his name not be associated with the film after seeing the script and calling it 'imbecilic'. After a press release falsely reported that Moore supported the film, Moore cut all of his ties with DC Comics, removing the last project he had with the company, The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen, from their lineup.

Related Topics:
Screenplay - Beauty and the Beast - Malcolm McLaren - From Hell - The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen - Constantine - John Constantine - Swamp Thing - Wachowski brothers - Natalie Portman - DC Comics

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A tribute and in depth biography of Alan Moore in his Fiftieth Year entitled Alan Moore: Portrait of an Extraordinary Gentleman is currently available. All proceeds of this publication will go to charity.

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