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johncwright, agrumer, and "anonymous", re Alan Moore
Nov. 5th, 2006 06:22 amfpbI aplogize for deciding not to post the essay on Alan Moore I had intended to write. The reason is simple: I could not develop the themes I intended - mainly of the mental conflict between Alan Moore as a father and Alan Moore as an ideologue - without giving a detailed account of a number of Moore items - WildC.A.T.S, Spawn vs. WildC.A.T.s, Top Ten, Tom Strong, Supreme and Moore's few, gorgeous issues of Youngblood, which, I understand, none of you has read yet. Most of these series are unmitigated masterpieces, some with startlingly unexpected and powerful conclusions; and while to discuss their ending would not be exactly like giving away the ending of a detective novel, since these the literary merits of these series go far beyond merely having great endings, nonetheless it would spoil some of the first impact of them for you. Instead of which, I recommend, I urge you all, to read all of these; most are masterpieces, and all ought to be known by anyone who cares for comics or good writing.
There is a story about a group of actors who had made friends with an intelligent but uneducated grocer. After a lot of half-joshing pressure, they managed to get him to his first ever night at the theatre, and of course it would have to be Hamlet. And it happened that half-way through the play, the grocer started guffawing at a most inappropriate place. His friends all stared, and he said: "Sorry, boys, it just occurred to me - there must be 1500 people here, and I am the only one who does not know how this will end!" Well, it is so much better for everyone to experience the ending of Hamlet, at least once in their lives, without preparation.
There is a story about a group of actors who had made friends with an intelligent but uneducated grocer. After a lot of half-joshing pressure, they managed to get him to his first ever night at the theatre, and of course it would have to be Hamlet. And it happened that half-way through the play, the grocer started guffawing at a most inappropriate place. His friends all stared, and he said: "Sorry, boys, it just occurred to me - there must be 1500 people here, and I am the only one who does not know how this will end!" Well, it is so much better for everyone to experience the ending of Hamlet, at least once in their lives, without preparation.
