The Alan Moore Cast

This week on The Alan Moore Cast, we have our very first compilation episode, collecting the first eight guests and their individual Alan Moore origin stories.

Guests include: Van Jensen, Dan Watters, Paul Jenkins, Dave Baker, Tim Callahan, Jean-Marc Lofficier, Joe Casey and Peter Hogan.

What's your Alan Moore origin story?

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© Nathan Cabaniss

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Writer/artist Benjamin Marra (OMWOT, Jesusfreak) joins us this week to discuss 1963, Alan Moore’s pastiche of silver age Marvel Comics with Rick Veitch, Steve Bissette and Jim Valentino.

We examine Moore’s deliberate return to Silver Age sensibilities, awe over the pitch-perfect recreation of classic Marvel Comics and consider what would have been if the fabled 1963 Annual had actually come out.

Theme music by Michael Pflug

© Nathan Cabaniss

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Writer/Artist Jim Rugg (Street Angel, Hulk: Grand Design) joins us this week to discuss Brought to Light/Shadowplay, Alan Moore and Bill Sienkiewicz’s secret history of corruption and cover-ups within the CIA.

We discuss the use of nonfiction and documentary stories in comics, break down Moore’s extensive research on the work and awe at the unforgettable artwork of Bill Sienkiewicz.

Theme music by Michael Pflug

© Nathan Cabaniss

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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

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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!

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© Nathan Cabaniss

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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

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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

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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

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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

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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

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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

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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

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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

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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

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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

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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

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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!

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© Nathan Cabaniss

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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

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Writer/artist Dave Baker (Mary Tyler MooreHawk, Halloween Boy) joins us to talk about Tom Strong, Alan Moore and Chris Sprouse’s homage to the pulp heroes of old from America’s Best Comics.

Dave knows a thing or two about pulp adventurers thanks to his work on Halloween Boy, leading to a lively discussion over a comic that’s gotten a lot of recent attention thanks to James Gunn listing Tom Strong as an influence on Superman. We dissect pulp hero iconography, marvel at artist Chris Sprouse’s work, and ask the question: Is Tom Strong a top-tier Alan Moore comic, or just merely okay?

Theme music by Michael Pflug

© Nathan Cabaniss

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Writer Paul Jenkins (The Sentry, Inhumans) joins us to talk about Big Numbers, Alan Moore’s unfinished masterpiece with artist Bill Sienkievicz.

Paul actually worked on Big Numbers as an editor early on in his career, and he has stories to tell. What happened with Big Numbers that led to it being unfinished? How far along did Alan Moore get before the project was abandoned? And is it true that replacement artist Al Columbia actually destroyed the art for Big Numbers #4? Paul discusses it all in a pretty incredible interview that you will not want to miss.

Theme music by Michael Pflug

© Nathan Cabaniss

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Writer Dan Watters (M.A.S.K., Nightwing, Batman: Dark Patterns) joins us to talk Swamp Thing, Moore’s first work for DC Comics, and the title that helped turn him into a comics superstar. We talk “The Anatomy Lesson,” the amazing collaboration with artists Steve Bissette and John Totleben and the overall influence that ultimately led the creation of Vertigo. 

Theme music by Michael Pflug

© Nathan Cabaniss

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Praise Glycon… The Alan Moore Cast is here!

For our debut episode, we’re looking at Moore’s unforgettable Green Lantern tales from the early eighties, and we’re delighted to be joined by a writer who knows a thing or two about the Corps himself: Van Jensen, the former writer of DC titles like Green Lantern Corps and The Flash and the best-selling author of the soon-to-be-a-TV-series Godfall.

Join us as we uncover the horrors awaiting the Green Lantern Corps in “Tygers,” ponder how the Green Lanterns patrol the areas of the universe where there’s no light spectrum, and ask the question: why Doesn’t Mogo Socialize?

It’s all here in The Alan Moore Cast, the ONLY podcast where your favorite comic book creators and pop culture aficionados break down Alan Moore’s greatest works. New episodes drop weekly on Thursdays!

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© Nathan Cabaniss

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