The Last Ever Alan Moore Interview?

Magic Words: The Extraordinary Life of Alan MoorePádraig Ó Méalóid has published a wide-ranging and, possibly, the last ever comics-related interview Alan Moore will ever give, in which he responds to recent criticism of his work online and reveals some forthright views on some members of the comics community who have given him cause for concern, including Grant Morrison.

“On 26th November 2013 there was an event called An Evening with Alan Moore, where Moore was in conversation with biographer Lance Parkin, whose biography of Moore, Magic Words, had just been published by Aurum Press,” says Pádraig of the reasons for the interview. “The evening also included two short films, Act of Faith and Jimmy’s End, both part of a larger cycle of works, as well as some of Moore’s collaborators taking the stage, and a Q&A session with the audience.

“The evening seemed to be a great success – at least, I was there, and it seemed so to me, and to anyone else I talked to – but one of the attendees was not happy, and took to Twitter to say so. He Tweeted ‘Really wish An Evening with Alan Moore hadn’t involved four white people on stage defending the “golliwog” as a “strong black character” – Followed by a short film about a young woman stripping, dressing in “slutty clothes” and killing herself on screen – Followed by Moore insulting Gordon Brown based on mental and physical disability – I then left the venue.

“Much Internet conversation ensued, and much condemnation was poured on the heads of Moore and his associates, both for the fact that they did what they supposedly did, and that nobody had taken them to task for it. The Twitterer also didn’t take them to task for any of it, mind you, although he had originally intended to ask a question: ‘I was going to tell Moore I found Killing Joke very problematic in its representation of Barbara Gordon (shooting, sex assault) and ask if he could go back in time, if he would have written TKJ differently in that respect. But after the applause that greeted his (to me) gratuitous, exploitative, slut-shaming, disturbingly graphic short film about a woman’s suicide, I didn’t think it was the right time,’ presumably fearing he’d be lynched by the baying hordes of Moore fanatics.

“People stated opinions. Sides were taken,” Padraig continues. “I was involved in some discussions about it myself, which led me to volunteer to actually ask Alan Moore some of the questions it was being said nobody dared ask him I’ve interviewed him before, numerous times, but I was still quite nervous asking him about these, but it seemed somebody had to, so it might as well be me. I got my answers, but I got quite a bit extra as well. those ‘minor points of my own that I’d like to raise‘ he mentions. So, judge for yourself.”

The interview is a long, addressing (in many cases, unfounded) claims about Alan’s writing and packed with erudite and powerfully-argued opinion from Alan on numerous aspects of comics, the comics community, the perception of Alan’s work by some within that community.

Alan also raises some important concerns about the conduct of both the mainstream media and and elements of the comic press.

Rather than publish any of it here, which I feel could lead to further misunderstandings about Alan’s opinions and views, I would urge interested parties to visit Pádraig’s web pages and read the interview, in full, for yourselves, to better form your own opinion on the basis of evidence presented, rather than extracted quotes or one line links posted on social media.

• Read the interview here: http://slovobooks.wordpress.com/2014/01/09/last-alan-moore-interview



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