Alan Moore. I’m sure everybody whose picked up a comic book has heard of his name. Whether it be his revolutionary works like Watchmen or V for Vendetta, Moore is one of just a few comic book creators who fundamentally changed the medium. His eighties contemporary, Frank Miller, is another. Moore became known for writing different superhero comics. These weren’t your ordinary run-of-the-mill stories. Beginning with Swamp Thing in 1984, Moore radically altered the very concept of the star character and scripted many tales that dealt with adult themes. It isn’t so much the sex or blood in his stories which other writers misunderstood for adult, but more so experimenting with more realistic and timely issues in the fantasy genre. Before all that, however, how did Alan Moore enter American comics? He’d become known for his work at 2000AD and other British comic book companies, but it was DC editor Len Wein that eyed him early. Moore’s first non-Swamp Thing DC work was For The Man Who Has Everything in Superman Annual 11 (which I reviewed a very long time ago with his other Superman stories). After decades of samey Superman stories, Moore had written something unique and throughout his tenure at DC, he himself effectively travelled across the universe to meet and write characters of all-kinds. Some of them are here…
Detective Comics 549-550, Green Lantern (vol 2) 188, Vigilante 17-18, and The Omega Men 26-27 were published from April to June 1985. Obviously, all stories are by Alan Moore, with art by various pencillers and inkers. I’ve read all these stories in the DC
Universe: The Stories of Alan Moore trade paperback.
Night Olympics --- Written by Alan Moore with art by Klaus Janson
Green Arrow and Black Canary were two characters that were side-lined during much of the eighties, and they usually appeared in forgettable backup stories by Joey Cavalieri. Night Olympics is a story that proves Alan Moore can be highly rated as a writer who takes something old and shows it in a new light. In the dark back alleys of Star City, Green Arrow and Black Canary heroically take out some low-level thugs that aren’t even deserving enough to stand alongside Killer Moth. Moore does well in basically presenting Green Arrow and Black Canary as amateur heroes. They may be skilled and linked to the JLA, but without powers, all they have to fight is the small fry. Nearby however, an ordinary citizen named Pete Lomax begins his plan to unleash himself as a new supervillain on the streets of Star City. After their patrols, Green Arrow and Black Canary come to the conclusion that the thugs of today are pathetic and not much of a fight. Canary speaks too soon however, as Lomax watches her from the rooftop. In a matter of seconds, Lomax’s arrow hits Black Canary in the chest and Green Arrow chases him onto the rooftops. The archers meet face to face, but Lomax is no different from the other criminals. Moore may give him his villainous moment, but in the end, as the sun dawns and the light shines upon him, Lomax is another coward. Green Arrow treats him like one and that’s that. Miraculously, Black Canary somehow quickly makes it to the hospital despite the risk of bleeding out and with that, this great story ends, and I don’t think it’s ever mentioned or referenced again. Then again, Black Canary suffers a far worse injury in Green Arrow: The Longbow Hunters. Regardless, elements of Moore’s Watchmen are present here. Even though there is more humour here, you can see Moore’s take on grim vigilantism and the dark world that heroes find themselves in. But, because of Green Arrow’s more energic and humorous character, it makes the story more entertaining. Watchmen was engaging, but not exactly much fun. Moore’s realistic take on vigilantism works with characters like Green Arrow and Black Canary and overall, Night Olympics is a fun story that explores superheroes in a different way that would later become fashionable.
The art may be dramatic and moody, but Klaus Janson’s art just doesn’t look that good. Really, he needed an inker over him who could reign him in, as it looks like he has inked over rough pencils. It looks scratchy, amateur, and rushed. Even in his 1980s work, Klaus Janson wasn’t one of my favourites and his work gets far worse as the years go by.
Story: 9/10
Art: 2.5/10
Mogo Doesn’t Socialise --- Written by Alan Moore with art by Dave Gibbons
Before arriving in the American comic book industry, much of Moore’s work in 2000AD were Future Shocks. These four-page stories were effectively a story with a shock at the end and its how Moore started his long career. Mogo Doesn’t Socialise is a prime example of this and ultimately, it proves to be one of Moore’s best short stories. Bolphunga the Unrelenting is a fierce alien warrior that takes pride in bloody fights and murdering famous begins from across the galaxy. His next target? Mogo, the famous Green Lantern. Bolphunga arrives on Mogo’s home planet and for years, searches the never-ending forest that mysteriously surrounds him. As time passes, Bolphunga grows infuriated with his apparent failure, until he suddenly realises. At speed, Bolphunga heads back into his spacecraft only to look back at the planet and learn that Mogo is the planet. Moore develops the story well by using the trees (continued)
stealthily. They follow Bolphunga during the story and by the end, you realise that the trees are Mogo’s defence. It does raise some questions, like how can a planet be a Green Lantern? Regardless, it’s a novelty and a revelation that works really well. Its length is also an asset here, as the story grips you for enough time to make the ending more satisfying. Moore is great at doing shocks like this and Mogo Doesn’t Socialise continues to be one of my favourite stories of his…
As is the usual, Dave Gibbons tells this story using his brilliant and classic art. Particularly with this Green Lantern story, his art reminds me very much of Gil Kane and he uses his talent to go along with Moore’s storytelling to make the ending even better. Gibbons always works brilliantly with Moore and while Watchmen may be the more famous of their works, Mogo Doesn’t Socialise and For The Man Who Has Everything should never be forgotten…
Story: 10/10
Art: 10/10
Father’s Day --- Written by Alan Moore with art by Jim Baikie
After Watchmen and The Dark Knight Returns, comics began to explore more grim and “realistic” topics. Vertigo became a product of that type of writing and the 1990s of comics was effectively full of stories about serial killers, violent murders, and rapists. Moore himself believed (possibly rightly) that writers since 1986 have misunderstood his work and what “adult” material is in comic books. Well, if you want to see a very grim Moore story that you’ve come to the right place. Originally a spin off title from The New Teen Titans, the Vigilante featured a court judge named Adrian Chase who spends much of his time violently delivering justice where the law cannot. Moore only wrote two issues, but the story has always stuck with me. In the night, Adrian Chase receives a phone call from a scared Joanne Linnaker. Her abusive husband has been let out of prison and he has returned her for. However, it’s all too late. As Chase becomes the Vigilante, Carl Linnaker arrives home and kills Joanne, but her young daughter Jodie escapes onto the streets. In case you’re wondering, yes, all Vigilante stories are this grim. Even the ones written by Marv Wolfman are explicitly moody and bloody. Regardless, Jodie finds company with two prostitutes, Louise and Laverne, while the Vigilante finds Joanne’s body. Here, it’s heavily implied that Jodie’s father beat and sexually abused her. No wonder the Vigilante was one of the few titles from this era that squeezed past the Comic’s Code. Anyway, Laverne manages to contact Chase with Jodie’s help basically just to get rid of the kid. Why? Because these two prostitutes are hiding a huge stash of Columbian weed. This all doesn’t matter anyway as Louise goes to the shops and Carl follows her home, only to kill her and
kidnap his daughter. The first part is very plot orientated. It’s written like a thriller and one that never slows down. Moore rarely ever makes a story boring or dull. The second part on the other hand is my favourite as it focuses more on character. A letter from Carl to his daughter is found in the captions throughout and it really changes the story. From the outside, Carl appears to just be an evil mindless killer, which to some degree he is. Moore expands on that heavily. The Vigilante and Laverne, now tagging along as she wants revenge for her dead friend, search the city for a purple Mustang. Meanwhile, in that car, Carl blames his dead ex-wife for Jodie’s fear of him and doesn’t consider that his stealing violently from a gun store may be more to do with it. Regardless, the relationship between Carl and his daughter is complex. She is obviously terrified of him, but Moore writes Carl as if everything he is doing is for her, even if it isn’t. It’s all down to a once peaceful and lovely past that is now shattered and irreparable. The letter and the photos show that Jodie once looked up to her father, and that is why the second part’s ending is brilliant. After some time, the Vigilante and Laverne find the purple Mustang and after a dramatic chase that leads to an industrial plant, Carl fights back and discovers the Vigilante’s real identity. As the man who put him behind bears, Carl isn’t best pleased, but just as the Vigilante punches back, Jodie shoots Chase with her father’s gun. Just as you think things couldn’t get more complex, Laverne drives through the wall. In a fit of rage, Laverne crushes Carl with her car and his body effectively explodes. Jodie begs her father to get up, but it’s too late. She blames Laverne; she believed that everybody wanted Carl dead. You have to remember that Jodie is only eight years old and her father, although an abuser and killer, is still her father. That’s what makes the story complex. Laverne’s killing of Carl isn’t so much about Jodie, but more about Louise and what he did to her. Her take on everything is radically different and because of that, it makes for a fantastic ending. In the end, Laverne disappears into the ether, while Adrian Chase investigates the case and finds the letter from Carl. Despite everything he did, Carl still loved his daughter and blamed her mother for what happened. Moore takes you on something of an emotional rollercoaster. At times as a reader, you see Carl as the villain, while by the ending, a part of you wishes that he survived. The Vigilante story may be dark, and it may be evidence that Moore was writing extremely dark stories that he would later say swamped the comic book industry, but it’s different from any other story I’ve read. It’s a brilliant story that only Moore could write. No offence to the other writers at the time, but they would never have written something like this, something that’s both so clever and so emotional.
Is it bad to say that I don’t really have much of an opinion on the art? Jim Baikie’s art is very typical of titles like this. It’s grim, scratchy and bit amateur. It may fit the urban and grim mood of the title, but the inks could have been much better. Also, if you’re going to do blood, then do blood. I might have been down to quality control, but all the blood looks like pink yogurt or old Pepsi. Still, it wouldn’t improve much.
Story: 10/10
Art: 5/10
Brief Lives --- Written by Alan Moore with art by Kevin O’Neill
Brief Lives is one of two very short backup stories from The Omega Men. Although I don’t know the details, the Omega Men team were created by Marv Wolfman and Joe Staton as a team of alien heroes as they defend strange and unknown intergalactic planets. Moore’s backups are just two examples of several short stories that aim to expand the Omega Men universe. Brief Lives focuses on two motionless giants on the surface of some alien planet. A group of malicious insect invaders arrive to claim the world, but the giants take no notice. Even the insects inflicting pain onto the giants does nothing. For the insects, time passes, and they all grow insane as their efforts fail. As the last insect dies and its body decomposes, its dusty remains are taken by the (continued)
wind. Suddenly, the giants notice, before returning to their usual duties of doing nothing. The point is that time moves differently for different creatures. The two giants read the events of the story quicker than we did. Time is shorter for the insects because of their short lifespan, therefore every second of their life feels like an hour of ours. The cleverness aside, Brief Lives is a less than noteworthy story. It’s only four pages and it’s difficult to achieve anything of huge note in such a small number of pages. However, it’s an intriguing story and not at all dreadful.
Kevin O’Neill’s art very much reminds me of Klaus Janson, another whose art I don’t really like. There’s something about the inks and quality that just look poor to me. O’Neill’s storytelling may be fine, but the finishes look rough and lack structure.
Story: 6.5/10
Art: 4.5/10
A Man’s World --- Written by Alan Moore with art by Paris Cullins and Rick Magyar
A Man’s World is, quite possibly, one of the weakest pieces of Alan Moore’s comic book career. It isn’t because its only four pages long, but because there’s nothing unique or interesting about it. On a world of warriors, Mopi, one of the fighters, begins to wonder how men are born as the planet is full of them. He learns the secret that men are born from women and, with the help of Leelyo (another alien), Mopi has sex for the first time and becomes renowned among his tribe. Perhaps this would have made more sense if it was longer and if there was more about the tribe, but either way, it's pretty unnoteworthy. It’s typical of Moore however, since it doesn’t explore something that has been looked at before, but I just don’t think it really works. The previous Omega Men story was at least interesting, despite its issues. Here, there’s not much that really energises the story.
The art by Cullins and Magyar is actually a lot more presentable than O’Neill’s work in my view. It not only looks more alien and distinctive, but it just looks cleaner and more appealing. Magyar has a great record of cleaning up messy pencillers, like Denys Cowan, but Cullins isn’t a bad artist by any means…
Story: 3/10
Art: 8/10
VERDICT
Overall, this first set of Alan Moore’s DC stories are obviously great. He writes stories that are different and writes them in a unique way. Night Olympics takes two old characters and places them in a new and different story, while Mogo Doesn’t Socialise will always be a favourite of mine to read. Father’s Day may be very grim indeed, but it’s a very emotional story that explores a new area which comics never did before. It’s flawless in its storytelling and Moore’s display of different characters. Both The Omega Men stories are unnoteworthy and pretty unmemorable, particularly the second one. They aren’t bad, but there not much to write home about. The art here sees Moore working with some of the best artists from the 1980s, like Dave Gibbons, along with some mediocre ones like Jim Baikie. Therefore, it’s mixed, but they all contribute to Moore’s scripts well enough…
Stories: 9/10
Art: 6.5/10
Next Week: The DC Universe by Alan Moore (Tales of the Green Lantern Corps Annual 2-3, Secret Origins (vol 2) 10, Batman Annual 11). Written by Alan Moore with art by Kevin O’Neill, Joe Orlando, Bill Willingham, Terry Austin, and George Freeman.
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