History Creator / AlanMoore

* ''Cinema Purgatorio'' (2016-2019)

* UsefulNotes/TheDarkAgeOfComicBooks: Moore is often co-credited as having started this era of comics with his stories ''Comicbook/TheKillingJoke'' and ''Comicbook/{{Watchmen}}'', alongside Creator/FrankMiller's ''ComicBook/BatmanTheDarkKnightReturns''. [[OldShame He's not proud of this fact]]; he thinks ''Comicbook/TheKillingJoke'' in particular [[CreatorBacklash was weak as a story]] and ''especially'' as a basis for an industry-wide tonal shift, and overall resents the idea of having led comics into a more deconstructive and angsty direction that didn't understand the context, intent, and purpose of his example. Note that his most influential works to this era, [[UnbuiltTrope while often dark, are almost always idealistic]], and his later works [[LighterAndSofter were often lighter]] even if they did retain an edge.

* StronglyWordedLetter: His [[https://slovobooks.wordpress.com/2014/01/09/last-alan-moore-interview/ 16,000 word letter]] to an interview response in 2014 earned instant notoriety for its command of language and command of vitriol, filled as it is with TakeThat to the comics industry, select interviewees and Creator/GrantMorrison, who got on Moore's nerves by seemingly ripping off several of Moore's in-progress series.[[note]]Grant later indirectly wrote his ''own'' StronglyWordedLetter back, positing the exact opposite.[[/note]]

* BigNameFan: [[https://alanmooreworld.blogspot.com/2016/10/the-sopranos-simpsons-and-south-park.html He's surprisingly expressed admiration for, of all things,]] ''WesternAnimation/TheSimpsons'' and ''WesternAnimation/SouthPark'', and isn't above [[ShoutOut giving a quick in-joke based on them]] in his work. He even made a guest appearance on an episode of ''WesternAnimation/TheSimpsons'' [[AdamWesting to play an exaggeratedly cranky and embittered version of his usual self.]]

Novelist, artist, occultist, performing artist, musician, and public intellectual, Alan Moore (born November 18, 1953 in [[UsefulNotes/TheMidlands Northampton, England]]) is perhaps the most CrazyAwesome ComicBook writer of all time, one of the most widely recognized in the medium overall, and one of the most influential artists from TheEighties, whose work has decisively influenced artists from multiple mediums for nearly three decades.

Moore was encouraged by Creator/DCComics editor Len Wein to start work on ''ComicBook/SwampThing'', Wein's classic horror comic. Much as he did for Captain Britain and Miracleman, Moore proposed a radical revision that changed the comic from the ground-up, and leading the story into a GenreShift that gradually deepened the character and his setting. Moore took the Swamp Thing through a number of unusual adventures, that involved many run-ins with the regular DC Universe, which also saw the introduction of characters, such as ComicBook/JohnConstantine, who have since gone on to become major icons. ''Swamp Thing'' proved to be a massive success, and Moore was gradually encouraged by the editors, to take on other projects: including landmark stories for ''Franchise/{{Superman}}'' ("ComicBook/WhateverHappenedToTheManOfTomorrow" and, with Dave Gibbons, "ComicBook/ForTheManWhoHasEverything"), ''Franchise/GreenLantern'' ("Mogo Doesn't Socialize", with Dave Gibbons and "Tygers", his first collaboration with Kevin O'Neill) and ''Franchise/{{Batman}}'' (''ComicBook/TheKillingJoke''). Yet the best was still to come.

* UsefulNotes/TheDarkAgeOfComicBooks: Moore is often co-credited as having started this era of comics with his stories ''Comicbook/TheKillingJoke'' and ''Comicbook/{{Watchmen}}'', alongside Creator/FrankMiller's ''ComicBook/BatmanTheDarkKnightReturns''. [[OldShame He's not proud of this fact]]; he thinks ''Comicbook/TheKillingJoke'' in particular [[CreatorBacklash was weak as a story]] and ''especially'' as a basis for an industry-wide tonal shift, and overall resents the idea of having led comics into a more deconstructive and angsty direction that didn't understand the context, intent, and purpose of his example. Note that his works, while often dark, are almost always idealistic, and his later works [[LighterAndSofter were often lighter]] while always retaining an edge.

* ViewersAreGeniuses: A real believer and practitioner of this; his work rarely goes outright incomprehensible, but a lot of the references in works like ''Promethea'' and ''League of Extraordinary Gentlemen'' will fly over people's heads providing readers with a FetchQuest to unearth all the meanings and quotations themselves in the hopes that audiences have an UnconventionalLearningExperience.

* BigNameFan: Huge fan of SouthPark and frequently references it in his work.

* Disinterest in [[TheFilmOfTheBook movie adaptations]] of his work and [[HorribleHollywood Hollywood in general]]. Moore has persistently held that his works are made specifically to be comic book, and [[AdaptationDecay to transition them into other mediums would result in significant decay]]. Aside from the few exceptions (such as an adaptation of the Franchise/{{Superman}} story "ComicBook/ForTheManWhoHasEverything" in ''WesternAnimation/JusticeLeagueUnlimited'', likely because the characters weren't his own and the producers bothered to ask him for permission first), Moore has been quick to [[DisownedAdaptation disown virtually every adaptation made of his works on principle]]. His title strip of ''Cinema Purgatorio'' shows that he's quite the cynic on typical Hollywood genre conventions, which he spends time dissecting as being in some form or another harmful, exploitative, founded on lies and injustices, and are just generally bad. [[ZigZaggingTrope With that being said,]] don't think this means he writes off film in its entirety -- especially in his early works, he's shown lots of appreciation for works of classic cinema, with ''League: Century'' fondly referencing the likes of Creator/FrancisFordCoppola, Creator/OrsonWelles (whose characters often appear in ''League of Extraordinary Gentlemen'') and Creator/RobertAltman (whose [[HyperlinkStory hyperlinked]], [[LoadsAndLoadsOfCharacters cast-heavy]] deconstructions of FilmNoir and TheWestern greatly inspired ''ComicBook/{{Watchmen}}''), and given his foray into filmmaking himself following his retirement from comic books, he doesn't think the art is strictly invalid.

** Drugs are great! His works often feature characters [[HigherUnderstandingThroughDrugs using hallucinogens to positive effect]], such as Ozymandias in ''Watchmen'' and the cop in ''V for Vendetta''. Also, when Miracleman changes the world, he legalizes all drugs.

** Sex! ''Lost Girls'' and ''ComicBook/TheLeagueOfExtraordinaryGentlemen: The Black Dossier'' stand out.

* DarkerAndEdgier: Along with Creator/FrankMiller's ''ComicBook/BatmanTheDarkKnightReturns'', Moore's earlier works - notably ''Comicbook/TheKillingJoke'' and ''Comicbook/{{Watchmen}}'' - have been credited with [[FollowTheLeader leading]] [[UsefulNotes/TheDarkAgeOfComicBooks the trend.]] Note that his works, while often dark, are almost always idealistic, and his later works were often lighter (while always retaining an edge). He also very much regrets his role in driving the industry to such a dark place.
** What he regrets is the {{Flanderization}} of his ideas into GrimDark without acceptance of context, intent and purpose. That said he does feel ''The Killing Joke'' was one of his weaker works, feeling that his application of his deconstructive ideas on a story and character that did not need it was more damage than it was worth. This is not the opinion of the [[MagnumOpusDissonance book's]] fans though who consider it the definitive Joker story and one of his best works.

* HumansAreFlawed / CrapsackWorld: Every major character in his stories will always be guaranteed to have some kind of obvious flaw or otherwise unlikable trait, a variant of HumansAreBastards and HumansAreMorons perhaps being the two most common (but certainly not the only ones), while the city/world/universe his stories take place in are very grim and despairing places; no one ever really has much hope for anything in Moore's stories, let alone hope for their own personal ambitions or goals in the story (even if the story concludes with a genuinely happy ending).
** EarnYourHappyEnding: A more common refrain in his works, is that humanity can endure whatever tragedies and [[NothingIsTheSameAnymore world-historical social changes]] that technology and new social values will create, with the breakdown of the old order giving momentum for radical change. However, this is still carefully qualified and not entirely definite.

* MugglePower : In his introduction to the special edition of ''Watchmen'' and in later interviews he noted that his interest gradually shifted from explorations of superheroes towards this. He stated that the development of technology effectively gave normal people some of the abilities and capacities that we ascribe to superheroes. This led to ''Top Ten'' a city where everyone has powers and nobody's special.
--> ''" 'Look, we are all crappy superheroes,' because personal computers and mobile phone devices are things that only Franchise/{{Batman}} and [[ReedRichardsIsUseless Mr Fantastic]] would have owned back in [[TheSixties the sixties]]. We've all got this [[HumansAreSpecial immense power]] and we're still sat at home watching pornography and [[MundaneUtility buying scratch cards]]. We're rubbish, even though [[DareToBeBadass we are as gods.]]”''

* {{Reconstruction}}, especially considering how some of his more famous deconstructive works ushered in UsefulNotes/{{The Dark Age|of Comic Books}}. His works such as 1963, his runs on Supreme and Youngblood as well as Tom Strong are clear examples.

* RousseauWasRight: Surprisingly so.

* SlidingScaleOfIdealismVsCynicism: Alan Moore has been called "The Cynical Optimist"

* ViewersAreGeniuses: A real believer and practitioner of this, though never to TrueArtIsIncomprehensible levels but a lot of the references in works like ''Promethea'' and ''League of Extraordinary Gentlemen'' will fly over people's heads providing readers with a FetchQuest to unearth all the meanings and quotations themselves in the hopes that audiences have an UnconventionalLearningExperience.

* Disinterest in [[TheFilmOfTheBook movie adaptations]] of his work and Hollywood in general. He has stated explicitly that he does ''not'' think as poorly of them as he is generally reputed to. Generally, his opinion is more along the lines that his works are made specifically to be comic books, and will [[AdaptationDecay not hold up in transition]]. This was an opinion that Creator/TerryGilliam shared as well. Moore admired his work and when they met, both agreed that a movie adaptation would be a bad idea.
** However, he ''did'' allow the writers of ''WesternAnimation/JusticeLeagueUnlimited'' to adapt his Franchise/{{Superman}} story "ComicBook/ForTheManWhoHasEverything". This was possibly because they weren't his characters, and the producers bothered to ask him first. Notably, his name actually appears in the credits for the episode.
** ''Cinema Purgatorio'', his strip in his anthology serial of the same name, suggests that his disinterest in cinema has gradually become active hostility, as every issue focuses on a particular genre of classic cinema to explore why it's really harmful/exploitative/founded on lies and injustice/just bad in general really. In general, even beyond criticisms of adaptations of his work, he generally seems to not be particularly fond of film and cinema. That said, his earlier works makes references to classic movies, ''League: Century'' refers to many good films of TheSixties and in his earlier career he expressed admiration for Creator/FrancisFordCoppola, Creator/OrsonWelles (whose characters often appear in ''League of Extraordinary Gentlemen'') and Creator/RobertAltman (whose HyperlinkStory featuring LoadsAndLoadsOfCharacters and deconstructive approaches to FilmNoir and TheWestern greatly inspired ''ComicBook/{{Watchmen}}'') [[http://thecreatorsproject.vice.com/blog/we-talked-with-alan-moore-about-movies-comics-and-magic and recently]] Creator/AlfredHitchcock.
** Not to mention his announcement that he is retiring to pursue a career in filmmaking.

!Tropes common throghout Moore's comics include:
* AlternateCompanyEquivalent: Such characters abound in many of his works, notable instances include ''ComicBook/{{Miracleman}}'' (of Superman and Captain Marvel), and Supreme (of Silver Age Superman), ''Watchmen'' also began as one to MLJ and Charlton Comics but gradually became its own thing.

* Disinterest in [[TheFilmOfTheBook movie adaptations]] of his work and Hollywood in general.
** However, he ''did'' like the ''[[WesternAnimation/JusticeLeagueUnlimited JLU]]'' adaptation of his Franchise/{{Superman}} story "ComicBook/ForTheManWhoHasEverything". This was possibly because they weren't his characters, and the producers bothered to ask him first. Notably, his name actually appears in the credits for the episode.
*** It's worth noting that he only gave his approval of the show adapting his work. Whether or not he actually liked the finished product, on the other hand, is something that he's never stated.
** He's also stated explicitly that he does ''not'' think as poorly of them as he is generally reputed to. Generally, his opinion is more along the lines that his works are made specifically to be comic books, and will [[AdaptationDecay not hold up in transition]]. This was an opinion that Creator/TerryGilliam shared as well. Moore admired his work and when they met, both agreed that a movie adaptation would be a bad idea.

* And, of course, DoingItForTheArt. He ''never'' does it for anything else.
** Except for a period during TheNineties, which was more a case of "doing it so he doesn't starve". Also, ''ComicBook/{{Neonomicon}}''.

Novelist, artist, occultist, performing artist, musician, and public intellectual, Alan Moore (born November 18, 1953 in [[OopNorth Northampton, England]]) is perhaps the most CrazyAwesome ComicBook writer of all time, one of the most widely recognized in the medium overall, and one of the most influential artists from TheEighties, whose work has decisively influenced artists from multiple mediums for nearly three decades.

* SceneryGorn: Many of his comics shift tones and styles but several of them end in outbursts of really shocking violence on a grand scale. ''Miracleman, Watchmen, Crossed +100 (though admittedly less so than other Crossed volumes), League of Extraordinary Gentlemen'' are famous examples.

Novelist, artist, occultist, performing artist, musician, and public intellectual, Alan Moore (born November 18, 1953 in [[OopNorth Northampton, England]]) is perhaps, the most widely recognised (and ''CrazyAwesome'') ComicBook writer of all time, and one of the most influential artists from TheEighties, whose work has decisively influenced artists from multiple mediums for nearly three decades.

Novelist, artist, occultist, performing artist, musician, and public intellectual, Alan Moore (born November 18, 1953 in Northampton, England) is perhaps, the most widely recognised (and ''CrazyAwesome'') ComicBook writer of all time, and one of the most influential artists from TheEighties, whose work has decisively influenced artists from multiple mediums for nearly three decades.

* SceneryGorn: Many of his comics shift tones and styles but several of them end in outbursts of really shocking violence on a grand scale. ''Miracleman, Watchmen, Crossed +100, League of Extraordinary Gentlemen'' are famous examples.

Did we mention he's also a [[{{Polyamory}} polyamorous]], vegetarian [[UsefulNotes/{{Anarchism}} anarchist]] and an accomplished ceremonial magician. Sometimes goes by the name of Translucia Baboon to [[http://www.neilgaiman.com/mediafiles/exclusive/Audio/SinisterDucks-MarchoftheSinisterDucks.mp3 warn us all about ducks]]. Is the quintessential modern MadArtist.

** ''Cinema Purgatorio'', his strip in his anthology serial of the same name, suggests that his disinterest in cinema has gradually become active hostility, as every issue focuses on a particular genre of classic cinema to explore why it's really harmful/exploitative/founded on lies and injustice/just bad in general really. In general, even beyond criticisms of adaptations of his work, he generally seems to not be particularly fond of film and cinema. That said, his earlier works makes references to classic movies, ''League: Century'' refers to many good films of TheSixties and in his earlier career he expressed admiration for Creator/FrancisFordCoppola, Creator/OrsonWelles (whose characters often in ''League of Extraordinary Gentlemen'') and Creator/RobertAltman (whose HyperlinkStory featuring LoadsAndLoadsOfCharacters and deconstructive approaches to FilmNoir and TheWestern greatly inspired ''ComicBook/{{Watchmen}}'') [[http://thecreatorsproject.vice.com/blog/we-talked-with-alan-moore-about-movies-comics-and-magic and recently]] Creator/AlfredHitchcock.

* Disinterest in [[TheFilmOfTheBook movie adaptations]] of his work and Hollywood in general.
** However, he ''did'' like the ''[[WesternAnimation/JusticeLeagueUnlimited JLU]]'' adaptation of his Franchise/{{Superman}} story "ComicBook/ForTheManWhoHasEverything". This was possibly because they weren't his characters, and the producers bothered to ask him first. Notably, his name actually appears in the credits for the episode.
*** It's worth noting that he only gave his approval of the show adapting his work. Whether or not he actually liked the finished product, on the other hand, is something that he's never stated.
** He's also stated explicitly that he does ''not'' think as poorly of them as he is generally reputed to. Generally, his opinion is more along the lines that his works are made specifically to be comic books, and will [[AdaptationDecay not hold up in transition]]. This was an opinion that Creator/TerryGilliam shared as well. Moore admired his work and when they met, both agreed that a movie adaptation would be a bad idea.
*** Though he certainly fed this reputation with his statement on Zack Snyder's ''Film/{{Watchmen}}'' movie. After Snyder commented that the most he could hope for at least was that "He'd accidentally catching a couple seconds of it while changing channels in [[BritainIsOnlyLondon London]]".
---> '''Moore''': [[DeadpanSnarker Well I don't know who's got my DVD player in ''London]]''- [[note]] Moore famously lives in '''Northhampton'''[[/note]]
---> '''Moore''': -but I'm ''never'' watching the fucking thing!
** ''Cinema Purgatorio'', his strip in his anthology serial of the same name, suggests that his disinterest in cinema has gradually become active hostility, as every issue focuses on a particular genre of classic cinema to explore why it's really harmful [=/=] exploitative [=/=] founded on lies and injustice [=/=] just bad in general really. In general, even beyond criticisms of adaptations of his work, he generally seems to not be particularly fond of film and cinema. That said, his earlier works makes references to classic movies, ''League: Century'' refers to many good films of TheSixties and in his earlier career he expressed admiration for Creator/FrancisFordCoppola, Creator/OrsonWelles (whose characters often in ''League of Extraordinary Gentlemen'') and Creator/RobertAltman (whose HyperlinkStory featuring LoadsAndLoadsOfCharacters and deconstructive approaches to FilmNoir and TheWestern greatly inspired ''ComicBook/{{Watchmen}}'') [[http://thecreatorsproject.vice.com/blog/we-talked-with-alan-moore-about-movies-comics-and-magic and recently]] Creator/AlfredHitchcock.
** Not to mention his announcement that he is retiring to pursue a career in filmmaking.
* Freemasonry, often with ominous undertones.
* And, of course, DoingItForTheArt. He ''never'' does it for anything else.
** Except for a period during TheNineties, which was more a case of "doing it so he doesn't starve". Also, ''ComicBook/{{Neonomicon}}''.
* Along with this, BlackAndGrayMorality is pretty much a given.

In 2016, Moore announced his retirement from comics. He plans to finish the series he was working at the time, ''Comicbook/{{Providence}}'' (which is now finished) and ''Cinema Purgatorio'', then do one last volume of ''The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen''. He plans to focus on novels for the foreseeable future.

* ''Cinema Purgatorio'' (2016-2018)

* ''ComicBook/TheLeagueOfExtraordinaryGentlemen'' (1999-present)