Moore’s ‘Beat Poem’ Finally Published

By John Freeman on 11 November 2008

US publisher Avatar Press has announced publication of Light of Thy Countenance, an adaptation of Alan Moore’s damning poem/essay on television, fully painted by Felipe Massafera, five years after the script was written.

Moore wrote might best be described as a freestyle beat poem for the anthology Forbidden Acts in 1995, which was adapted five years ago by Antony Johnson, who describes it as a damning essay and historical treatise all in one, “condemning both the bland, commercial and hypocritical disgrace that has usurped the medium’s potential, and the sheep who accept such dross without criticism.

“I wasn’t sure would ever see the light of day (no pun intended),” he comments on his web site, after Avatar Creative Director Mark Seifert announced the book would be published in January 2009 in a thread on Whitechapel, Warren Ellis’ message board.

“[It’s] a piece which is both enlightening and disturbing,” says Antony, whose numerous credits include Wasteland, Dead Space and other adaptations of Moore’s work such as The Hypothetical Lizard and The Courtyard. “I actually finished the script for this book more than five years ago but finding someone capable of illustrating it has been tough — it’s a very demanding script that requires a fanatical attention to detail, enormous amounts of visual research, and a somewhat surrealist imagination. I’m glad to see it’s finally on the way.”

Artist Felipe Massafera also painted the cover to The Hypothetical Lizard: he’s a hugely talented painter whose work includes covers of Doktor Sleepless, Lady Death and more. He recently donated a painting of Bizarro to the Siegel & Shuster Society, to save the house in which Superman was created for more access to the site, which sold for $255 on eBay. More information on that campaign on the OrdinaryPeopleChangeTheWorld web site.

• More information on Antony Johnson’s web site
• Flickr gallery for Light of the Countenance

About the Author
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John Freeman

John is the founder of downthetubes, launched in 1998. He is a comics and magazine editor, writer, and Press Officer for the Lakes International Comic Art Festival. He also runs Crucible Comic Press.

Working in British comics publishing since the 1980s, his credits include editor of titles such as Doctor Who Magazine and Overkill for Marvel UK, Babylon 5 Magazine, Star Trek Magazine, and its successor, Star Trek Explorer, and more. He also edited the comics anthology STRIP Magazine and edited several audio comics for ROK Comics; and has edited several comic collections and graphic novels, including volumes of “Charley’s War” and “Dan Dare”, and Hancock: The Lad Himself, by Stephen Walsh and Keith Page.

He’s the writer of comics such as Pilgrim: Secrets and Lies for B7 Comics; “Crucible”, a creator-owned project with 2000AD artist Smuzz; and “Death Duty” and “Skow Dogs”, with Dave Hailwood.