Comments on: The Alaska Mink

By: Rajesh

Rajesh — Tue, 02 Dec 2008 16:19:17 +0000

My favourite of the lesser known Moore works is the ballad of Halo Jones. It starts off very fluffy and then gets more of a character study with fairly dark themes.

By: Ray

Ray — Mon, 01 Dec 2008 10:52:42 +0000

I don’t think The Birth Caul and Snakes and Ladders (?) are technically collaborations with Eddie Campbell. They were originally spoken-word performances, and his collborators were the people (whose names I can’t remember) who provided music and visual effects. Eddie Campbell adapted them later from the scripts.

By: Martin G.

Martin G. — Sun, 30 Nov 2008 07:03:59 +0000

While Watchmen was definitely more influential, of his long-form works I’m more fond of From Hell, V for Vendetta and Promethea. The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen series feels like charming but less substantial works.

From Hell, in particular, seems to me to be his biggest achievement. The resonances with the historical references and the extra layers added by the author’s stated awareness of uncertainty in the appendix makes it a very rich work. And the graphic essay at the end adds another level of awareness.

Any thoughts on the other Eddie Campbell collaborations? The Birth Caul, for instance?

By: Matt

Matt — Sat, 29 Nov 2008 22:11:06 +0000

That’s a good one about Sandman being “the sort of thing I might write”. I feel the same way about much of Hume’s work! (In truth, though, while I still like the story of Sandman quite a lot I now find that I like the dialog a lot less then when I first read it.) As for Alan Moore, my favorite stuff by him was the first 10 or 12 issues of Miracle Man, though they came out so rarely that it was really a pain to wait for them, and I’d mostly given up by the time Neil Gaiman took over, so I don’t know how his time on them was.

By: Brian Jennings

Brian Jennings — Sat, 29 Nov 2008 07:47:56 +0000

Well, I don’t think Watchmen is overrated, though occasionally overpraised in certain sections, and I have loved the titles mentioned here, to miss “From Hell” and “Lost Girls” is to miss significant works. And, I didn’t like Promethea at first, but after a few rereadings, I became a convert.

And his work on Swamp Thing (where I first discovered him) pretty much changed the face of mainstream comics.

But that’s just my opinion.

By: jholbo

jholbo — Fri, 28 Nov 2008 14:40:17 +0000

Actually, I don’t like “Sandman”. I was just rereading it. It’s just not that good. It’s the sort of thing that I might write. On the other hand, I adore most other Neil Gaiman stuff.

By: Rich Puchalsky

Rich Puchalsky — Fri, 28 Nov 2008 13:45:18 +0000

Puerile? You clearly haven't read Alan Moore's other creation -- strangely enough not often mentioned in threads like these -- D.R. and Quinch. The mind boggles, but Alan Moore started out doing Animal House in space. John, your not-that-fondness of Swamp Thing is indeed odd. Without it, Sandman wouldn't exist. But then you never seemed to like Vertigo.

By: Francis

Francis — Fri, 28 Nov 2008 12:14:19 +0000

Supreme looked to me like a brilliantly crafted and superbly written series both homaging and lampooning something I simply wasn’t that interested in (Pre-Crisis Superman). Watchmen IMO is very good but overrated. Swamp Thing is just very good. As is Top 10 (which is IMO underrated). And for another favourite Moore of mine that no one has mentioned: his work on Wild C.A.T.S.

And what I’ve seen of the non-Moore Top 10 lacks just about everything that made Top 10 good.

By: Katherine Farmar

Katherine Farmar — Fri, 28 Nov 2008 08:47:21 +0000

I took a look at Supreme and wasn’t all that impressed—there was a bit about Supreme’s superdog that was funny, but a bit… puerile, which is not what I expect from Alan Moore. I don’t have much time for superhero-comics-about-superhero-comics; it’s such a well-worn subject that I have trouble believing that anyone has anything new to say about it.

I had my mind thoroughly blown by his Swamp Thing run, though. I read it in the Titan black and white reprint, and when DC eventually brought it out in colour, I was a bit shocked at how garish the colouring was. I still prefer the black and white version for all of it except “My Blue Heaven”, which obviously doesn’t work in black and white.

For my money, Moore’s best work is From Hell.

By: Ray

Ray — Fri, 28 Nov 2008 08:37:03 +0000

Supreme is out of print, has art by Liefeld, and is about superhero comics and continuity. I like it, but I’m not surprised that no-one has read it.
Top Ten really is brilliant, the best of the ABC line.

By: ArC

ArC — Fri, 28 Nov 2008 08:22:46 +0000

I’ve avoided his Supreme run since Rob Liefeld (or his band of even less talented employees) drew it. I am indeed this shallow.

By: Doctor Memory

Doctor Memory — Fri, 28 Nov 2008 07:27:57 +0000

Hm. I love, love, love Supreme, and I think it’s a good contender for his best work ever, but I also sort of understand why it’s not as well-known as his other stuff. You probably have to be a pretty serious pre-Byrne Superman (and pre-Crisis DC continuity in general, especially the JLA/JSA crossovers and the Titans) ephemera geek to get a lot—maybe most?—of the jokes in Supreme. Read cold, without that context, I suspect it appears like a cute riff on Superman but not much more.

By: john holbo

john holbo — Fri, 28 Nov 2008 03:59:52 +0000

Oddly, I don’t really like Promethea all that well. But you are right: Swamp Thing was where it all started. But, oddly, I’m not that fond of Moore’s Swamp Thing.

By: Rich Puchalsky

Rich Puchalsky — Fri, 28 Nov 2008 03:47:40 +0000

Watchmen wasn't even Moore's most influential work. His run on Swamp Thing was. And recommending Tom Strong while not mentioning Promethea seems a bit odd.