Write Club! - Write Club! "Alan Moore!" V. 3, Ep. 3

Write Club! "Alan Moore!" V. 3, Ep. 3

09/15/10 • -1 min

This is what happens when the theme of the next issue of Slice Magazine is Villains: You get a crazy idea in your head that just won't leave. At the last Slice Magazine editorial meeting I was asked if I wanted to contribute an interview for their upcoming Villains issue, issue 7. I'm pretty sure they asked me because A) I'm into comics B) I'm into comics C) Most, if not all of my friends are either into comics also, or work in the comic industry.As soon as they announced the theme I immediately knew who I wanted to interview. I wanted to talk with Alan Moore. I tried to get such a crazy idea out of my head, I mean...Alan Moore? Me? How could that happen?? Suffice it to say, I couldn't get the idea out of my head. I had a great spin on the interview, I'm a tremendous fan of Moore's work, and here was the perfect reason to try and contact him. So I set to work. Moore doesn't have an agent, he doesn't have any official representation, so I just sent out an email to pretty much every publisher he'd ever worked with. Blanketed the field, and heard nothing back.Until. Until some nice folks at Avatar emailed me and told me that they'd forwarded my request to Top Shelf comics, which is his main publisher here in the US. Not long after, Chris Staros over at Top Shelf emailed me back to let me know that he'd contacted Alan with my request, and that I should be hearing something soon. Let me pause for a moment here to say how awesome Chris Staros is, because he is. In all of my communications with him he's been nothing but friendly, and professional. A true gentleman. Eventually I was contacted by Mr. Moore's assistant editor at his magazine Dodgem Logic, Joe Brown, and Mr. Brown said that Alan would love to speak with me. He gave me a time and a date. I threw up. Well, almost, because I had about a week to prep.Background: One of the first comics I can remember reading (and understanding) was Swamp Thing #40, which was about this woman who was a werewolf. The central idea was that werewolves and women both cycle with the moon, and it was horrifying, and sad, and human, and amazing. And written by Alan Moore. Alan Moore is pretty much responsible for my comic book obsession.So, I had a week to prep to talk to one of the most influential figures in my life.Here is the result. Write Club and Slice Magazine presents Alan Moore:

Previous Episode

Scott Pilgrim vs. Hollywood: a Scott Pilgrim Experience Review

Scott Pilgrim Trailer redone using comic panels.

I absolutely loved Bryan Lee O'Malley's 'Lost At Sea', from the teenager angst to the simply beautiful, solemn and quirky artwork, but when his next series, 'Scott Pilgrim' came out I thought it seemed to silly or something, and it never really caught my attention.

Until one day my good friend Reilly Brown said that I HAD to read it. There were just too many similarities between Scott's life and my own. Granted I wasn't an early 20's bassist in Canada, but I was a slacker with a young ex with a penchant for blades, and relationship drama mixed with oblivious comedy sounded about right.

The comic melted my brain. It was an indie book, with characters that just hung out, went to parties, and meandered through their lives. It was a battle book where suddenly a duel would take place with superpowered kung fu. Scott was clueless and yet you couldn't keep him down for long. It was rock'n'roll mixed with subtle video game moments. What was this?

The comic makes you love the characters, from the bitchy Julie Powers, to snarky Kim Pine, to vulnerable Knives Chau. Stephen Stills cowboy shirts, Young Neil's haircuts, and Wallace Wells dry wit, these were all iconic people in Scott Pilgrim's universe, well rounded and each given their moments, their personalities developed organically through the volumes.

Now, I must say, I love Edgar Wright. I've seen his BBC series Spaced at least three times through, and. Shaun of the Dead was brilliant in its skirting of the fine line between horror and comedy. Hot Fuzz was a sophmore dip, but it had tons of fun moments. This was an amazing storyteller of a director with a ton of geeky influences and a plethora of visual tricks.

So when I heard that he was directing Scott Pilgrim vs the World, it was like nothing I've experienced as a fanboy. My favorite superheroes have yet to make it to the big screen, and the closest I got to having one of my all-time favorite graphic novels translated to film well was V For Vendetta, which I quite liked. But this was different.

Here we had excellent source material with loveable characters, fun violent action, and a director that seemed to be perfectly suited for the lighthearted tone this adaptation would need. It features a bunch of actors I really enjoy, and with the teaser images Wright posted on his Flickr all last year while filming, it appeared it was devoutly faithful. Would it live up to the trailer that gave me chills when I first saw it?

Next Episode

Write Club! "MOOREatorium" V. 3, Ep. 4

The big brains behind Write Club tackle the life, work, and reputation of outspoken and ofttimes problematic comic legend Alan Moore. If you haven't listened to the previous episode, where Tim Mucci interviews Moore, you may want to do so; it does come up and you will be tested.Kurt Christenson, Phil Gelatt, and Tim Mucci discuss Alan Moore. Intro: "Oh Somba!" Electrelane
Outro: "Write Club Theme" Scott St. PierreWhat do you think of Moore? Let us know in the comments!