Advertise on podcast: The Alan Moore Cast

Writer Marc Sobel (Reading Love & Rockets) joins us this week to discuss Brighter Thank You Think, his 2016 collection of Alan Moore stories. We break down each of the ten stories included, reflect on the different stages of Moore’s career and marvel at the versatility the writer displays across multiple styles and genres. Theme music by Michael Pflug © Nathan Cabaniss Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Writer/artist Tom Scioli (Godzilla Monsterpiece Theatre, Fantastic Four: Grand Design) joins us to discuss Twilight of the Superheroes, Alan Moore’s unmade DC Comics crossover proposal from the 1980’s. We dig into the various ways Moore designed this to be the perfect crossover, discuss the story’s role as the “ultimate end” to the DC Universe and reminisce on a time when Alan Moore seemed genuinely excited to work with DC Comics. And to check out Tom’s animated version of the pitch, click here! Theme music by Michael Pflug © Nathan Cabaniss Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

West Coast Davengers joins us this week to break down one of Alan Moore’s most controversial works: Batman: The Killing Joke, with artist Brian Bolland. We get into the story’s lasting impact on the Batman mythos, discuss the controversial fate of Barbara Gordon and ask the question… does Batman really kill the Joker in the end? Theme music by Michael Pflug © Nathan Cabaniss Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Writer/artist Michel Fiffe (Copra) joins us this week to break down one of the big ones: Miracleman #15, by Alan Moore and John Totleben. We get into the apocalyptic fight between Miracleman and Kid Miracleman, marvel over artist John Totleben’s mastery of superhero carnage and quiet moments alike and reflect upon the overall influence of the story on every superhero comic that followed thereafter. Theme music by Michael Pflug © Nathan Cabaniss Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This week on The Alan Moore Cast, we’re taking a look at Alan Moore’s work for Marvel Comics… or, more specifically, the lack thereof. Some of Moore’s earliest professional work was for the Marvel UK imprint, but after the early 1980’s, the writer’s work for the House of Ideas was few and far between. What happened between Moore and Marvel that ultimately caused Moore to swear off working for the publisher? How close did Moore come to writing for Marvel again in the early 2000’s? And which Marvel hero was Alan Moore most interested in tackling? EPISODE BIBLIOGRAPHY: Fantasy Express #5, “An Interview with Alan Moore,” Eddie Stachelski, 1983 Arken Sword #11, “Alan Moore: Part Two,” Paul Duncan, 1984 BLIMEY!: The Blog of British Comics, “The Daredevils (1983),” Lew Stringer, 2015 Escape Magazine #6, Alan Moore, “An Impossibly Rich Celebrity’s Guide,” 1984 Speakeasy #54, “Moore and Claremont Speak Out on Writing,” Unknown Author, 1986 Miracleman #2, “M^^^^^^MAN: FULL STORY AND PICS,” Alan Moore, Eclipse Comics, 1985 KIMOTA!: The Miracleman Companion, “Revival and Revelation,” George Khoury, TwoMorrows Publishing, 2001 The Extraordinary Work of Alan Moore, George Khoury, TwoMorrows Publishing, 2003 “The Alan Moore/Marvelman Interview Part II: A Crumpled Letter from Archie Goodwin,” Pádraig Ó Méalóid, comicsbeat.com, 2013 Wizard: The Comics Magazine #119, “The Buzz Bin” in “News & Notes,” Wizard Staff, 2001 “#46: Friendless,” Tom Brevoort, Man with a Hat, 2023 Wizard: The Comics Magazine #125, "2002 Preview,” Mike Cotton, 2002 Wizard: The Comics Magazine #130, “The Wizard Q&A: Alan Moore,” Mike Cotton, 2002 Theme music by Michael Pflug © Nathan Cabaniss Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Editor Scott Dunbier joins us this week to reminisce about his time as the main editor for America’s Best Comics, Alan Moore’s exclusive imprint set up at Jim Lee’s WildStorm Studios. Scott tells us all about how the ABC line came to be, talks about what it’s like being Alan Moore’s editor and tells the full story of how he and Jim Lee broke the news to Moore that WildStorm was being sold to DC Comics. Theme music by Michael Pflug © Nathan Cabaniss Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Writer/filmmaker Bryan Hill (Ultimate Black Panther, Blade) joins us this week to dissect From Hell, Alan Moore and Eddie Campbell’s epic historical masterpiece. We get into what the Jack the Ripper case says about our own modern world, discuss the challenges facing the creative mindset when working on dark material and consider the lengths that power will go to protect itself. Theme music by Michael Pflug © Nathan Cabaniss Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Bleeding Cool’s Rich Johnston joins us this week to talk about The Great When, the first installment in Moore’s Long London fantasy novel series. We talk about Moore’s transition from comics to prose, look into the real-life historical figures that Moore populates throughout the narrative and come to the realization that Liam and Noel Gallagher will absolutely show up at some point in The Long London Quintet... Theme music by Michael Pflug © Nathan Cabaniss Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Podcaster Tom Kwei (Punnit, Battle Rap Resume, Alphabetallica) joins us this week to discuss a selection of Alan Moore’s Future Shocks stories from 2000 AD, some of the prolific writer’s earliest professional work. We focus on six stories in particular, taking an in-depth look at some of the best-known—and oft little-seen—of Moore’s Future Shocks. From genre deconstructions to meditations on the simultaneity of time, we get deep into the weeds to discover just how much of “Alan Moore” was already present in these early works. Theme music by Michael Pflug © Nathan Cabaniss Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Writer/artist Tony McMillen (Attaboy) joins us to discuss Spawn #8, Alan Moore’s introduction to the Image Comics fold. The first in the famous “Guest Writer” run of issues on Todd McFarlane’s signature character, Spawn #8 is an important comic for a number of reasons. We discuss the ways in which Moore enriches Spawn with some quality world-building, study how the writer changed up his scripting style to match McFarlane’s art process and consider that all-too brief moment in the 1990’s when Spawn conquered the world. Also, here is a link to the Escape magazine article discussed in the episode, written by Moore in 1985: https://www.timemachinego.com/linkmachinego/alan-moore-visits-new-york-in-1984/ Theme music by Michael Pflug © Nathan Cabaniss Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Writer/artist/director Kevin Mellon (Archer, Marvel’s Hit-Monkey) joins us this week to break down one of Alan Moore’s most obscure works: the short story “Act of Faith” from The Puma Blues #20, featuring art from Steve Bissette and Michael Zulli. Although it’s only four pages long, “Act of Faith” gives us plenty to chew over. We discuss Moore’s continual exploration of sexual themes in a frank, mature fashion, break down the hyper-detailed style of Zulli compared to more clean-lined comic art and finally provide a 100% definitive answer to the question: who’s more important in comics, the writer or the artist?  Theme music by Michael Pflug © Nathan Cabaniss Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Writer Peter Hogan (Resident Alien) joins us to talk about his work for Alan Moore’s America’s Best Comics imprint, specifically Terra Obscura with artist Yanick Paquette. Peter actually co-wrote Terra Obscura with Alan Moore, and remains one of a very few writers to share a co-writing credit with the legendary author. We get into their collaboration on Terra Obscura and the whole America’s Best Comics line, discuss Peter’s follow-up Tom Strong sequel series and learn what it’s like to share a writing credit with Alan Moore himself. Theme music by Michael Pflug © Nathan Cabaniss Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Writer Joe Casey (Ben 10, Terminal) joins us to take a look at the time when Alan Moore was a featured Image Comics creator, specifically his runs on WildC.A.T.s and Youngblood. We discuss how Moore’s WildC.A.T.s run helped lay the groundwork for the influential WildStorm comics of the late 90’s and early 00’s, speculate on what might have been had Moore’s Youngblood series not been cut short and get into Joe’s later runs on both teams. And also… how does the OJ Simpson trial figure into it all? Theme music by Michael Pflug © Nathan Cabaniss Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Writer Jean-Marc Lofficier (Batman: Nosferatu, Tales of the Shadowmen) joins us to talk about The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen, Alan Moore’s crossover masterpiece with artist Kevin O’Neill. Jean-Marc is an expert on the pulp and literary references that Moore and O’Neill draw upon for their epic mash-up, so he’s the perfect guest to discuss the series. He also worked behind-the-scenes on the first volume of League, and continued to help out by providing references for all of the French characters who appeared throughout future volumes, so he has a lot of stories to share. If you’re interested in more pulp/literary crossover fiction, do check out what’s on offer from Jean-Marc's Black Coat Press! Theme music by Michael Pflug © Nathan Cabaniss Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

From 2011-2012, comics journalist Timothy Callahan ran a weekly column on the Tor.com website called “The Great Alan Moore Reread,” in which he wrote about nearly everything that Moore had done up to that point. As you’d expect, Tim’s got a lot to say about Alan Moore, so I was thrilled when he agreed to come on and talk about his year-long experience re-reading Moore’s work. We talk about the insights Tim came away with after spending a year chronicling Moore’s comics, reminisce about the “Golden Age” of comics journalism on the internet in the 2000’s and take a look at the overall impact Alan Moore has had upon popular culture. Theme music by Michael Pflug © Nathan Cabaniss Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.