Quite obviously I am never ever going to be writing a massive saga for Archie Comics featuring The Mighty Crusaders.
Equally obvious is the fact that I am never going to be writing a wondrous epic featuring the old Seaboard Atlas Comics characters.
There are a very few characters I would like to write scripts for that belong to other companies -some companies no longer around. But "Dan99" asked "What characters outside of your own would you like to write a series for?"
Didn't take long to answer that: the characters from Image Comics 1963 series -Mystery Incorporated, The Fury, The Hypernaut, U.S.A., N-Man, Johnny Beyond and Horus. And just in case you did not know (jeez there are a lot of youngsters out there!)....
1963 was a six-issues series from Image Comics and published in 1993. It was written by Alan Moore and with some of his old collaborators on art chores such as Steve Bissette, John Totleben and Rick Veitch. Other artists included some guy named Dave Gibbons as well as Jim Valentino and Don Simpson. The whole series was an homage to the US Silver Ages of comics and, it has to be said, Marvel Comics in particular. A great blend of sci fi, fantasy, supernatural and downright regular super heroics.
The series began with Mystery Incorporated with reference to 'previous' issues to give it the feel of an established series. If you don't get it, MI are, basically, the Fantastic Four!
Then there was No One Escapes The Fury with The Fury a rather like a Daredevil-Spiderman cross with the S.H.I.E.L.D.-like L.A.S.E.R. (Law And Security Enforcement Reserve).
Then, we had Tales Of The Uncanny with the VERY weird Hypernaut and his two-faced (literally) alien chimp companion and the USA -Ultimate Special Agent who was a cross between Captain America and the Shield.
Tales From The Beyond featured hep-cat Johnny Beyond, a kind of beatnik Dr Strange and, of course, N-Man who, despite being a big red power-house was the 1963 version of The Incredible Hulk (yeah, well before the Marvel group got a red hulk!).
Oh, and then came Horus Lord Of Light who was the 1963 version of...Thor!
The whole series finished off with book 6 which featured all the characters in The Tomorrow Syndicate: From Here To Alternity!
The later League of Extraordinary Gentlemen parodied old magazine advertisements and the 1963 series did like-wise and if you read comics in the 1960s you might get some of the jokes!
But Book Six was not the actual end of the series. There was supposed to be an 80 page giant drawn by Jim Lee and in this the 1963 characters were to be sent some thirty years into "the future" where they were to meet up with the contemporary 1993 characters published by Image Comics. "Moore intended to make a commentary on how the air of "realism" brought to Marvel Comics in the early 1960s had paved the way for the "mature" and "grim and gritty"American comics of the 1990s."
Now, Moore claims to be solely responsible for this mature, gritty and grim trend while at the same time falsely accusing Stan Lee of claiming to have created everything by himself. He seems to forget that Frank Miller's The Dark Knight Returns appeared at the same time and was just as influential in creating this "new take". Now, Moore seems to be stuck in a groove on this brighter, 1960s comics turning nastier shtick. In #2 of Anything Goes December 1986), appeared Moore's story that has that same theme running through it in a story titled Pictopia -drawn by Donald Simpson.
The facts are that Moore had a falling out with Jim Lee over the selling of Wildstorm Studios to DC Comics as Wildstorm owned Moore's Americas Best Comic line. In fact, Moore seems to have had a falling out with a number of people including Bissette.
So the 80 pager never appeared and Moore simply kept rechurning that bright comic characters to dark comic characters idea. But - but- he did still write some cracking stories including the Tom Strong series for a while.
But I do love those characters and...hey, I guess I'll never get a chance to write the 1963 characters into a great (ego) story.
A theme is developing.
I remember buying a Moore-scripted comic associated with Tom Strong - it was the one that 'paid homage' to the first Superman/Spider-Man team-up cover - can't remember what it was called. Wasn't too impressed, to be honest. Did like the cover 'though. Anyway, basically the 1963 run featured stand-ins for Marvel characters, eh? He does a lot of that sort of thing for someone who complains about others using 'his' characters (that is, stand-ins for Charlton heroes), don't you think? Why don't you take a leaf out of his book, Terry? Create stand-ins for his stand-ins and then let yourself loose.
ReplyDeleteHi, Kid. Moore did a lot of "borrowing"/homage in Tom Strong. The character was ship-wrecked on an island and eventually, after his father died, had to be raised by the robotic Pneuman (I think I spelt that right!). Very Tarzan of the Apes. I think everything since Watchmen at DC (changes characters sex -the Question, Judo Master etc are or were all female rather than male) proves that DC knew Charlton were VERY dodgy to deal with and had no real copyrights (as I discovered waaay back). Rorschach was the Question with elements Alphaville and Lemmy Caution...in fact, I just realised how much homage there is in Watchmen -which I still love. Moore does exactly what he accuses Stan Lee of doing with one exception: Stan Lee really DOES have a poor memory, especially for names as he's admitted and people who worked for him attest to. Its why Peter Parker/J.Jonah Jameson and all the other other -I forget the word!- initial matching names -Sue Storm, Reed Richards,etc. Stan went on the record in an interview stating that his memory was so bad that when asked if he created such-and-such a character he usually responded "I have no idea -you decide!" And even Roy Thomas interviewing him for Alter Ego HAD to keep answering Stan's questions for him on the comics. Despite what Moore says I don't think Stan sat back laughing saying "I created it all!" while piling the caviar on his cracker! Moore really is a pretend "intellectual peoples hero" (oh, and 'real life magician' of course).
ReplyDeleteBut let's not make this about Moore -it's what he wants!
I mean, I have this character called Tim String who gets stranded in a remote location with his super scientist father who gets killed so Tim is raised by a tribe of fearsome geckoes.....hmmm. (c)T. Hooper!!
oh it would be too easy.....
I wish I had seen the '1963' series. It sounds like a great idea - to go back and revisit those old style superhero (and non-super hero days) of 'Weird Tales' and 'Uncanny Tales' et al. For us, basically, the Alan Class era. Although I've only seen the covers, it looks like the art was also a homage to that era.
ReplyDeleteAlan Moore may deserve some 'bashing' on some points, but the guy did make some great stories
( I say did, 'cos I haven't read much since the very early 90's ). Anyway - time for my drip ! Bye.
Art styles vary as you'll have guessed but it was a fun little series. Of course, when Moore set up his own comic company what happened? It nose-dived. There are a lot of Moore stories that are still good all these years later and I never take that away from him. I don't think there are many companies or creators he hasn't fallen out with left! Hey, Alan -there's me!! But I just don't think there are that many fun comics that all ages can read and we really DO need to still grab the next generation before they think "comics" consist of advertising, merchandise related pages and a crappy Chinese made toy.
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