Before Watchmen, After Moore
DC's announcement that a slew of prequel Watchmen comics were in the pipeline caused quite the fuss in February. The latest issue of The Drink Tank, a Hugo award winning fanzine, has just gone live with a Before Watchmen special - you can read my contribution on page 17.
The "Watchmen moment", as my lecturer in Comic Studies describes it, is when we read a comic so great and revolutionary that we have to rush out and tell everyone we know to read it and share in the experience. In comics history, these moments are few and far between. What is perhaps more common is the "Before Watchmen moment", when we discover that our beloved medium has been pressed once more into chasing profitability through the ashes of past glory and ethical wrongs.
Comic Review: Neonomicon by Alan Moore and Jacen Burrows
The trade collection of Alan Moore's Neonomicon is out, and the reviews have started to trickle in; the more knowing ones from those who read the single editions, and the utterly horrified gasps of those who didn't. The latter reaction is understandable, Neonomicon is a horrible story – not horribly written, but horrible in itself.
This is HP Lovecraft with all that the old master of pulp horror kept implicit, made explicit. Lovecraft was racist, even for his time, and incredibly uncomfortable with sexuality. In some respects, Moore has taken those "indescribable" horrors and made manifest what Lovecraft himself feared most. But Neonomicon is more than that; Moore, like Grant Morrison, never simply lays the facts out for the reader. Instead the reader is part of a collaboration of meaning and intent; do a bit of work yourself, and the experience is that much richer.
Neonomicon then, as I see it, is more than a horrible story, and more even than a knowing look at what horrors really plagued Lovecraft; it's a surge of anger and horror at the comics industry itself, as well as the racism, misogyny and lack of imagination within. But can a horrible story ever be more than simply horrible?
Please note, Neonomicon features an extended and brutal rape scene which is referenced (not explicitly) and condemned in this review.
Full and Uncut Interview with Alan Moore
Last month I had the fantastic experience of interviewing Alan Moore for the Independent on Sunday. Restricted in print to 1000 words and with Alan chatting for an hour on the phone, there was a whole heap of material left over.
My full and uncut interview with Grant Morrison was received so warmly, I have once more slaved over a full transcript for my fellow comic geeks. You can read the printed article here, and the full interview after the jump!
Sadly I could have done with another hour at least to expand more fully on some of my questions, but Moore is of course tremendously busy writing his novel, Jerusalem, and a good interview for the Indie was my priority. Still, I managed some of the women in comics angle!
Comic Review: Century 1969 by Alan Moore, Kevin O’Neill and Todd Klein
It's been three years since the last League instalment from the high priest of comics himself, Alan Moore, and finally the much teased Paint it Black chapter has arrived. Century 1969, the second part of the time-spanning Volume 3, is an appropriate farewell to Victoriana, with eye-splatting colour and psychedelic trips assaulting our immortal trio as they return to a swinging London.
As with Century 1910, this latest League of Extraordinary Gentlemen adventure will have you cracking open your Black Dossier and re-reading past exploits in order to spot more of the dots to connect and hidden clues to decipher, as well as the usual blink and you'll miss it cultural nods: from the Weatherfield Wives to a certain boy wizard.
The enormous time leap from a more conservative era is truly shocking, and the book willingly embraces the sexual revolution of the sixties: Century 1969 is a veritable penis-palooza!
About a Grrrl
Freelance writer. Comic geek, film addict, metal head, book worm, gamer. I sell books and write. I'd prefer to write books and sell.
This is a collection of my writing, thoughts and interesting links about my geeky interests.
Oh, and I'm not a guy. A woman reading comics still surprises some people...
Recent Tweets
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@tddfn He got a rubbish deal compared to Thor, I'd be angry too :P
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Re-watched Thor last night to get ready for Avengers... reminded myself I totally root for Loki.
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RT! Comic Review: Twisted Dark http://t.co/C4Gl6ELL #comics #horror