Alan Moore

from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Alan Moore (2008)

Alan Moore (born November 18, 1953 in Northampton , Northamptonshire , England ) is a British novelist and comic book writer .

life and career

Moore comes from the British working class and grew up in poor conditions. His mother was a printer while his father worked in a brewery. At school he stood out for his poor grades and massive conflicts with his teachers. In his free time, however, he devoted himself to literature and read countless comics, especially the British strips from the The Beezer and Topper series , but also books imported from the USA such as Blackhawk and The Flash .

At the end of the 1960s, Moore published his own texts and self-illustrated strips in various fanzines for the first time , while he made a living with odd jobs. In 1973 he married his childhood sweetheart Phyllis Dixon. Both moved to a prefabricated housing estate, whereupon Moore accepted a job with a local gas supplier. Disaffected by conventional work, Moore finally decided to try his hand at writing full-time. After his daughter Leah was born in 1978, he also received unemployment benefits.

Up until 1986 Moore lived mainly from self-written and illustrated strips that he sold to magazines. He wrote under the pseudonyms Jill de Ray and Curt Vile . From the late 1980s he gave up drawing and concentrated on just scripting comics. In this way he celebrated his first successes as the author of the series Tharg's Future Shocks . In the mid-1990s, Moore turned privately to Gnosticism . His later works reflect his newfound interest in the awareness of mysticism and magic . Among other things, he performs performances and public rituals with the Moon and Serpent Grand Egyptian Theater of Marvels .

The biography Alan Moore - Portrait of an Extraordinary Gentleman appeared in his fiftieth year. All proceeds from sales were donated to charity. In 2008 Moore was awarded the Max and Moritz Prize for his life's work . Moore has been married to Melinda Gebbie since 2007 . They had grown closer during the years of working together on Lost Girls . One eye and one ear of the author are damaged, presumably as a result of working in a tannery during his youth.

Moore is an anarchist and has only voted once in his life. In 2017, the TV channel Arte dedicated the eight-part program to Alan Moore - At the Beard of the Prophet - Moore's Weltanschauung , in which he takes a stand on political, socio-economic and religious issues and clearly criticizes populism and Brexit, among other things .

comics

At the beginning of his career, Moore drew short strips for magazines. He later created influential comics such as Marvelman (published in the US as Miracleman ), V for Vendetta , Watchmen , From Hell and The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen .

After making a name for himself with his work in UK magazines, he was hired by DC Comics in 1983 to work on the Saga of the Swamp Thing series . He laid the foundation for the world of the later imprint Vertigo and invented the character John Constantine , the protagonist of the later series Hellblazer . Moore's The Killing Joke is also considered by many, along with Frank Miller's The Dark Knight Returns, to be one of the best Batman publications ever, even though Moore himself classifies it as a work without depth.

As the creator of pioneering comics he won his reputation with the superhero mini-series Watchmen (illustrated by Dave Gibbons ), which together with the already mentioned by himself and Miller works created the genre defined new of superhero comics and to the level of graphic novel raised . Watchmen is considered the first comic series to be published in this closed form. She received numerous prizes, such as the prestigious Hugo Award .

Moore's style enriches the medium of comics. His stories often contain topics or deal with things that have never been touched upon in mainstream comics before . For example, the ninth edition of Miracleman includes the depiction of a natural birth, something that until then was taboo in comics . He experiments with symbols instead of texts, places more emphasis on background and details, while minimizing or leaving out "sound effects", speech bubbles and signatures. His scripts are heavily influenced by the techniques of modern cinematography and literature.

Moore tries to expand the boundaries of the medium and thus indirectly to increase the quality of the mainstream comics, which he sees extremely critically. Readers should experience more than endless repetitions of battles between costumed superheroes. He has implemented this claim primarily in projects such as Lost Girls (a sophisticated erotic comic with characters from the youth literature of the Victorian era ), From Hell (a carefully researched story about Jack the Ripper ) and Big Numbers (a so far unfinished series in which Moore deals with modern socio-economics).

In the late 1990s, Moore briefly devoted himself to superhero comics again, creating The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen , in which countless figures from Victorian literature meet, especially series such as Tom Strong , Tomorrow Stories , Top 10 and Promethea , one of magical thinking influenced comic.

Moore has worked in other media as well, including an experimental novel, Voice of the Fire , based in his hometown of Northampton and spanning several thousand years .

Film adaptations

From Hell (with Johnny Depp ), The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen (with Sean Connery ) and Watchmen (with Billy Crudup ) were filmed in the USA, V for Vendetta (with Natalie Portman and Hugo Weaving ) was made in Babelsberg in London and Potsdam Film studios shot.

After his experiences with the film version of the League of Extraordinary Gentlemen , which was strongly distorted compared to the original , Moore distanced himself from the film version of V for Vendetta as far as possible and asked the production company not to associate his name with the finished film under any circumstances bring; In return, he agreed to forego any participation in the proceeds. In particular, he criticized the lack of the important political debate in the submission and said that the comic V for Vendetta dealt specifically with things like fascism and anarchy . But the words 'fascism' and 'anarchy' do not appear anywhere in the film.

Both in the film adaptation of From Hell and V for Vendetta , the respective passages in which the main characters experience drugs were not taken into account.

In 2008 an animation of the comic Watchmen was created under the title Watchmen - The Complete Motion Comic . The comic The Killing Joke , titled Batman - The Killing Joke , was also filmed as animation in 2016 .

Works (selection)

comics

  • 1963 (1993), 6 volumes, Image Comics ; illustrated by Stephen R. Bissette , Rick Veitch and others
  • Alan Moore's Shocking Futures (1986), Titan Books; Reprint of some Future Shocks short stories, originally published in 2000 AD between 1981 and 1983, illustrated by various illustrators
  • Alan Moore's Twisted Times (1987), Titan Books; Reprint of some Time Twisters short stories, originally published in 2000 AD between 1980 and 1983, illustrated by various illustrators
  • Albion (2005), 6 volumes, Wildstorm ; together with Leah Moore and John Reppion
  • The Ballad of Halo Jones (1984-1986), 2000 AD; illustrated by Ian Gibson
  • Batman: The Killing Joke (1988), DC Comics ; illustrated by Brian Bolland (German edition: Hethke, Panini)
  • Big Numbers (1990), 2 volumes of planned 12, Mad Love; illustrated by Bill Sienkiewicz
  • The Complete BoJeffries Saga (1992), collection of the various "BoJeffries" short stories written between 1983 and 1992, Tundra; illustrated by Steve Parkhouse
  • Brought to Light (1989), Eclipse Comics; with Paul Mavrides, a historian and critic of the CIA's covert operations during the Cold War , illustrated by Bill Sienkiewicz and Tom Yates
  • Captain Britain (2002), Marvel Comics ; Reprinted from various Marvel UK publications from 1983 to 1984, illustrated by Alan Davis
  • DR and Quinch (1983-1984), 2000 AD; illustrated by Alan Davis (German edition: Nona Arte )
  • From Hell (1989-1998), 10 volumes, Eddie Campbell Comics; illustrated by Eddie Campbell (German edition: inter alia Cross Cult )
  • Green Lantern Vol. 2 No. 188 (1985) DC Comics; illustrated by Dave Gibbons
  • The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen (1999–2003), 12 volumes, DC Comics / WildStorm / ABC; illustrated by Kevin O'Neill
  • Lost Girls (1995–2006), 3 volumes, the first five chapters originally appeared in the period from 1991 to 1992 in Taboo , Kitchen Sink Press; illustrated by Melinda Gebbie (German edition: Cross Cult Verlag, Asperg 2008, ISBN 978-3-936480-00-9 )
  • Marvelman (later MiracleMan ) (1982–1989), Quality Communications / Eclipse Comics ; illustrated by Garry Leach , Alan Davis, John Totleben, and others
  • Maxwell the Magic Cat (1986-1987), 4 volumes, Acme Press; A weekly comic strip reprinted in Northants Post, originally published between 1979 and 1986
  • Meatcake # 9 (1999), Fantagraphics Books; illustrated by Dame Darcy
  • Neonomicon (2010–2011), 4 volumes, Avatar Press ; illustrated by Jacen Burrows (German edition: Panini)
  • Promethea (1999-2005), 32 volumes, DC Comics / WildStorm / ABC; illustrated by JH Williams III and others
  • Skizz (1983), 2000 AD ; illustrated by Jim Baikie
  • A Small Killing (1991) Victor Gollancz Ltd; illustrated by Oscar Zarate
  • Smax (2003-2004), 5 volumes, DC Comics / WildStorm / ABC; illustrated by Zander Cannon
  • Spawn : Bloodfeud (1995) Nos. 1-4, Image Comics, illustrator Tony S. Daniel
  • Spawn : Violator (1994) 3-part series, Image Comics
  • Superman : For the Man Who Has Everything (1985), DC Comics; illustrated by Dave Gibbons
  • Superman: Whatever happened to the Man of Tomorrow? (1986) DC Comics; illustrated by Curt Swan (German edition: Ehapa, Panini)
  • Supreme (1996–1998), 17 volumes, Image / Maximum Press / Awesome Entertainment; illustrated by various artists (German edition: including Nona Arte)
  • Supreme: The Return (1999–2000), 6 volumes, Awesome Entertainment; illustrated by Chris Sprouse , Rick Veitch and others
  • Swamp Thing (1983-1987), DC Comics; illustrated by Alfredo Alcala , Stephen R. Bissette, John Totleben, Rick Veitch and others; Collected edition in 6 volumes (German edition: including Panini):
    • Saga of the Swamp Thing (1987)
    • Swamp Thing: Love and Death (1990)
    • Swamp Thing: The Curse (2000)
    • Swamp Thing: A Murder of Crows (2001)
    • Swamp Thing: Earth to Earth (2002)
    • Swamp Thing: Reunion (2003)
  • Terra Obscura (2003-2005), 12 issues, DC Comics / WildStorm / ABC; illustrated by Peter Hogan and Yanick Paquette
  • This is Information , 9/11: Artists Respond Volume 1 (2002), DC Comics; illustrated by Melinda Gebbie
  • Tomorrow Stories (1999–2002), 12 volumes, DC Comics / WildStorm / ABC; illustrated by various artists
  • Tom Strong (1999–2006), 36 volumes, summarized in 6 edited volumes, DC Comics / WildStorm / ABC; illustrated by Chris Sprouse and others
  • Tom Strong's Terrific Tales (2002–2005), 12 volumes, summarized in 2 anthologies, DC Comics / WildStorm / ABC; co-written with Steve Moore , illustrated by Arthur Adams and others
  • Top 10 (1999–2001), 12 volumes, summarized in 2 edited volumes, DC Comics / WildStorm / ABC; illustrated by Gene Ha and Zander Canon
  • V for Vendetta (1982–1989), the first two volumes originally appeared as a series between 1982 and 1985 in Warrior No. 1–26, Quality Communications; the remaining 10 volumes from 1988 to 1989 at DC Comics; illustrated by David Lloyd (German edition: including Panini)
  • Voodoo No. 1–4 (1997–1998, Image Comics, illustrated by Al Rio and Trevor Scott)
  • Watchmen (1986-1987), 12 volumes, DC Comics; illustrated by Dave Gibbons (German edition: Carlsen, Panini)
  • Wild C. ATs Nos. 21-34, 50 (1995-1998), Image Comics; illustrated by Travis Charest and others (German edition: including Panini)
  • Youngblood No. 1-2 (1998), Awesome Entertainment, illustrated by Steve Skroce
  • Yuggoth Cultures and Other Growths (2003), 3 volumes, Avatar Press; together with various artists

Novels and illustrated books

  • Voice of the Fire (1996), Victor Gollancz Ltd.
  • The Mirror of Love (2003), Top Shelf Productions
  • Jerusalem (2016), Knockabout

CDs

  • The Birth Caul (1996), DOR
  • The Moon and Serpent Grand Egyptian Theater of Marvels (1996), Cleopatra
  • Brought to Light (1998), Codex Books
  • The Highbury Working (2000), RE
  • Angel Passage (2002), RE
  • Snakes and Ladders (2003), RE

Movies

literature

  • Annalis Di Liddo: Alan Moore: Comics as Performance, Fiction as Scalpel , University Press of Mississippi, Jackson 2009, ISBN 9781604732139
  • Sven-Eric Wehmeyer: One Man Against The System. The catastrophic fantasies of Alan Moore, world's greatest comic book writer. In: The Science Fiction Year 2005 , ed. by Sascha Mamczak and Wolfgang Jeschke , Munich 2005, ISBN 3-453-52068-8 , pp. 879-898

Web links

Commons : Alan Moore  - collection of images, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Nominations / award winners since 1984 . Erlangen Comic Salon . Retrieved August 8, 2012.
  2. ↑ We wanted to recapture pornography , Der Tagesspiegel
  3. ^ "V for Vendetta" was specifically about things like fascism and anarchy. Those words, "fascism" and "anarchy", occur nowhere in the film. in Vineyard, Jennifer: Alan Moore: The Last Angry Man . Movies on MTV.com., Accessed July 5, 2010
personal data
SURNAME Moore, Alan
BRIEF DESCRIPTION British novel and comic book writer
DATE OF BIRTH November 18, 1953
PLACE OF BIRTH Northampton