The Extraordinary Works Of Alan Moore [Paperback]

George Khoury (Author), Alan Moore (Author), Neil Gaiman (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: August 25, 2003

More than just a tribute book, The Extraordinary Works of Alan Moore tells Moore's story, as the reclusive British author speaks enthusiastically and passionately about his life and work in an extensive series of interviews. Moore displays his trademark wit and shares his unique insight on the comics that have shaped his legendary career - from his beginnings on Swamp Thing to the present day success of his own comic book universe in America's Best Comics. Within this tome, readers will find rare strips, scripts, artwork and photographs of the author, most never published before. Also features Moore's closest collaborators elaborating in comic strip form on their relationships with Moore, including Neil Gaiman (New York Times Best Selling Author of American Gods), Dave Gibbons (Artist of Watchmen), Sam Kieth (creator of MTV's The Maxx), Kevin O'Neill, Brian Bolland and others!

Editorial Reviews

From Booklist

Khoury marks Alan Moore's exalted status in the comics world on the occasion of Moore's fiftieth birthday. The centerpiece of the volume is a lengthy interview with the reclusive writer, touching upon everything from his early days as an aspiring comics fan to his recently announced retirement from mainstream comics. More compelling, perhaps, is the bounty of rare material reprinted here, ranging from strips a teenaged Moore wrote--and drew (!)--for the British music press to obscure stories, photographs, and examples of his famously detailed scripts. Tributes from some of Moore's most renowned friends and collaborators, including Neil Gaiman, Dave Gibbons, Brian Bolland, Rick Veitch, and Alex Ross, round out the text, and a comprehensive bibliography of Moore's work should delight collectors even as it makes them despair of ever acquiring all the prolific writer's publications. This celebration of comics' most acclaimed author should prove exhaustive enough to satisfy even the most obsessed of Moore's legion of fans. Gordon Flagg
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

Product Details

• Paperback: 224 pages
• Publisher: TwoMorrows Publishing (August 25, 2003)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1893905241
• ISBN-13: 978-1893905245
• Product Dimensions: 10.8 x 8.4 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,575,796 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

George Khoury has written and edited the Eisner-nominated Kimota!, The Extraordinary Works of Alan Moore, True Brit, and The Age of TV Heroes (with Jason Hofius). He served as senior editor to the award-winning Comic Book Artist magazine and as a regular contributor to the popular Modern Masters series. In the last 20 years, he's been a freelance writer for magazines, newspapers, and internet. He was born and raised in New Jersey.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars An Extraordinarily Worthy Tribute to a Master, August 26, 2003

By 

Jeffrey Newelt "JahFurry" (NY, NY) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Extraordinary Works Of Alan Moore (Paperback)

Just outstanding. The longest most in-depth interview with Alan Moore ever takes up the bulk of this tremendously impressive effort and makes this book Moore's almost-autobiography...
Tributes in comic book form are smattered throughout, by some cohorts-in-creation including Neil Gaiman/Mark Buckingham (who provide an utterly charming, affectionate 2 page strip; Rick Veitch (a sublime dreamy sequence); Dave Gibbons and Brian Bolland who each write/illustrate warm fuzzy funny one-pagers... Also peppered throughout the book are rare works by Moore including Pictopia, a powerhouse short story-comic that illustrates the state of the industry from the 80's until recent times, that Moore's current ABC line (Tom Strong, Promethea, Top Ten, etc) provides the antidote to...

If you've never read anything by Moore, this book is the perfect launching point into his ouvre; if you've read everything by him, you'll enjoy it even more...

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars An Extraordinary Conversation, May 24, 2005

By 

Cal Godot "cal" (Los Angeles, CA United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Extraordinary Works Of Alan Moore (Paperback)

This is more a book-length conversation between two friends than an interview. But it is a thorough and enjoyable conversation, enhanced by the obvious intimacy of the participants. Khoury is able to get stories from Moore than no journalist would be able to elicit. Various artists who've worked with Moore contribute graphic retellings of their experiecnes with him. In addition there is a substantial bibliography in the back of the book which would prove useful to colelctors and scholars. This book is a must-have for any serious fan or student of Alan Moore's work.

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The story of a master writer, January 21, 2004

By 

SPM "scott_maykrantz" (Eugene, Oregon) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Extraordinary Works Of Alan Moore (Paperback)

This is the autobiography of Alan Moore, in a way. George Khoury has taken the 50th birthday (and semi-retirement) of Alan Moore as an excuse to conduct a massive interview that stretches from his childhood to today. Moore's personal life, career ups and downs, and all of his stories and characters are discussed. It's exhausting --- but in a good way. For the Alan Moore fan, this is the Holy Grail.

Most of this information has been covered before elsewhere, but not with this kind of depth and inter-connection. Take Moore's family, for example. In other interviews, he's spoken about his marriage, divorce, and daughters. But here, with years of hindsight, he describes these events in a way that is respectful, humorous, and free of gossip. It's all very matter-of-fact, but never dull. The more important topics --- the comic books --- are approached in the same way. Moore is proud of his body of work, but he is honest about disappointments and unrealized ideas.

In the later sections, he gets into his exploration of magic and occultism. He sounds like a professor who has decided to experience his topic of study first-hand rather than reading about it. He's trying to find the source of human creativity, but without pretension. It's fascinating to read about. It gives you an insight into how and why he's created so many amazing comics over the last few decades.

Finally, this book is full of extras. Alan Moore's daughters get the first and final word of the book. Collaborators get small interviews and comic pages to comment on their relationship with Moore. There's a long bibliography at the end that covers 99% of everything he's done, and a sample of one of his scripts (which has never been illustrated).