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British comics writer Alan Moore (b. 1953) has a reputation for equal parts brilliance and eccentricity. Living hermit-like in the same Midlands town for his entire life, he supposedly refuses contact with the outside world while creating his strange, dense comics, fiction, and performance art. While Moore did declare himself a wizard on his fortieth birthday and claims to have communed with extradimensional beings, reticence and seclusion have never been among his eccentricities. On the contrary, for long stretches of his career Moore seemed to be willing to chat with all comers: fanzines, industry magazines, other artists, newspapers, magazines, and personal websites. Well over one hundred interviews in the past thirty years serve as testimony to Moore's willingness to be engaged in productive conversation. Alan Moore: Conversations includes ten substantial interviews, beginning with Moore's first published conversation, conducted by V for Vendetta cocreator David Lloyd in 1981. The remainder cover nearly all of his major works, including Watchmen, V for Vendetta, Swamp Thing, Marvelman, The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen, Promethea, From Hell, Lost Girls, and the unfinished Big Numbers. While Moore's personal life and fraught business relations are discussed occasionally, the interviews chosen are principally devoted to Moore's creative practices and techniques, along with his shifting social, political, and philosophical beliefs. As such, Alan Moore: Conversations should add to any reader's enjoyment and understanding of Moore's work.… (more)
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This is a collection of interviews that the famous writer/provocateur/shaman Alan Moore gave between 1982 and 2009. Moore is well-known for his volubility, and fans of this aspect of his personality will not be disappointed by the material collected herein. There is a slight
One of the great pleasures of this collection is the numerous bon mots that Moore creates with such apparent effortlessness. Some examples:
On writing as propaganda: "I'm aware of how words can change people's minds, can change the way people think. So are all of the advertisers, so are all of the politicians, so are all of the people who run our lives. They're not pulling any punches. I would say it is beholden unto any writer to equally not pull any punches on the other side. If you believe something, if you believe something is right or something is wrong then yeah, try and convince other people. Spread the idea around like a designer virus. Make it so other people will repeat it."
On genres: "My experience of life is that it is not divided up into genres. It's a horrifying, romantic, tragic, comical, science-fiction, cowboy, detective novel. You know, with a bit of pornography if you're lucky."
On the film adaptation of Watchmen: "Putting it cruelly, I guess it's good that there's a children's version for those who couldn't manage to follow a superhero comic from the 1980s."
Briefly put, this book is a kick in the pants. It's also a valuable resource for Moore fans and scholars. If you are one, you'll want to have a copy of this.