For over four decades Alan Moore has been creating some of the most groundbreaking graphic fiction in the English language, receiving every possible accolade and award during his long career. The writer behind Watchmen, V for Vendetta, From Hell, and The Killing Joke (from which he later distanced himself), it is no exaggeration to say that his impact on the culture of comic books is incalculable, and yet in 2019, with the release of the final issue of The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen: The Tempest, Moore officially retired from comic writing.
In fact, Alan Moore’s relationship with mainstream comics has always been contentious, while his attitude towards film (and television) adaptations is notoriously hostile. He has always held strong opinions and convictions about the role that art, and especially writing, plays in society. It’s only natural, then, that his move away from the comics industry should be motivated by the very same ethos that caused friction between him and the mega-corporations that own the biggest comic book publishers in the world.
With the recent release of the trailer to his feature film The Show, directed by Mitch Jenkins, Alan Moore sat down for an interview with Deadline, and had this to say about his recent retirement:
I’m not so interested in comics anymore, I don’t want anything to do with them. I had been doing comics for 40-something years when I finally retired. When I entered the comics industry, the big attraction was that this was a medium that was vulgar, it had been created to entertain working class people, particularly children. The way that the industry has changed, it’s 'graphic novels’ now it’s entirely priced for an audience of middle class people. I have nothing against middle class people but it wasn’t meant to be a medium for middle aged hobbyists. It was meant to be a medium for people who haven’t got much money.
On the point of comics being made for working-class people, the kind of folk who couldn’t afford the price of a new hardcover novel, the current comics market bears Moore out. The story of comic book publication is one in which publishers are always looking for new gimmicks that can justify an inflated price tag. Comic books are as much an extension of pulp fiction novels of the early 20th century as they are an expansion of newspaper strips. The fact that weekly comic drops are only available in specialty stores - and no longer found in grocery stores, airport newsstands or Costco stores - constitutes a massive restriction of their access to the casual consumer.
At the same time, Moore is no stranger to making money from comics. The availability of his Providence series with Avatar Press was hampered by delays that favored the limited hardcover collections, and The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen: The Black Dossier was originally intended to be published with a vinyl record (and did publish with pop-out 3D glasses and a "Tijuana Bible" insert) - not exactly price-conscious choices for a creator whose reputation comes with at least a little bargaining clout.
Whether current state of mainstream graphic novels, a singular persona in the annals of comic history has exited the stage - by all appearances, for good.
Source: Deadline
