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| Wednesday, March 14th, 2007 | | 11:23 pm |
| | Tuesday, March 13th, 2007 | | 2:04 pm |
The Alphabet of Horror
 I haven't seen the TV series that Clive Barker's A-Z of Horror book is based on and going by his website you're much better off reading the book instead of seeing the TV version. Using arbitariraly chosen words starting with each letter of the alphabet the topics covered are: American Psycho - Ed GeinBeelzebub - The ExorcistChaos - HP LovecraftDevil Rides Out - Dennis WheatleyEscape - Halloween, John CarpenterFlesh - H R GigerGrim Tales - Brothers Grimm Harlequinade - Clowns Innocents - The Bad Seed, Village of the DamnedJapan - TetsuoKilling Joke - Grand GuignolLynch Mob - Gravediggaz, Black Horror Mistress of the Night - Barbara SteeleNigthmare ...on Elm StreetOpen Vein - DraculaPain - Tom Savini, Makeup Quiet Men - Vincent Price, Boris Karloff, Peter Lorre, Roger CormanRictus - Messerschmidt Sorceress - Shirley JacksonTorso - Boxing Helena, CronenbergUnborn - Rosemary's Baby, Larry CohenVice Versa - Clive Barker Window - Edgar Allen PoeXploitation - William CastleYear Zero - From Hell, Lord Horror Zombie - Night of the Living DeadFor me the most interesting chapter is the penultimate one covering both Alan Moore's From Hell and David Britton' s Lord Horror. "I believe that history is one subject that responds well to a comic book treatment" is a quote from Alan about From Hell. It is relatively easy to find marterial about From Hell elsewhere but for me the great revelation is information about the much harder to obtain Lord Horror. David Britton's Lord Horror is described as a revisionist account of the rise of Nazism as seen through the eyes of a madman. Originally a novel it was later adapted by Savoy Books into Lord Horror and Hard Core Horror comics by artist Kris Guido and then John Coulthart. It shows us the glamour of violence and is losely based on the career of William Joyce a British born Nazi propagandist of the second world war who was nicknamed Lord Haw Haw. The fictional version is a Byronic character or a metropolitan Hamlet mixed up of parts of Sweeney Todd, Jack the Ripper, Count Dracula and Nosferatu. There are a couple of cover artworks and two very good illustrations by John Coulthart from Lord Horror shown. One shows silhouettes of Lord Horror disposing of two would be attackers and another of him arm in arm with British actress Jessie Matthews both showing why he is according to Kris Guido "... a hairdresser's nightmare - you couldn't look like that and not be a romantic to some extent". John Coulthart's Lord Horror work is set to be reprinted in book form sometime next year which should make it much more accesible to the public than it now is. | | Thursday, February 15th, 2007 | | 3:02 pm |
| | Thursday, February 8th, 2007 | | 7:03 pm |
| | Friday, February 2nd, 2007 | | 12:54 pm |
The Moon and Serpent Bumper Book of Magic by A & S Moore
 Splendid news for boys and girls, and guaranteed salvation for humanity! Messrs. Steve and Alan Moore, current proprietors of the celebrated Moon & Serpent Grand Egyptian Theatre of Marvels (sorcery by appointment since circa 150 AD) are presently engaged in producing a clear and practical grimoire of the occult sciences that offers endless necromantic fun for all the family. Exquisitely illuminated by a host of adepts including Kevin O'Neill, Melinda Gebbie, John Coulthart, José Villarrubia and other stellar talents (to be named shortly), this marvelous and unprecedented tome promises to provide all that the reader could conceivably need in order to commence a fulfilling new career as a diabolist. Its contents include profusely illustrated instructional essays upon this ancient sect's theories of magic, notably the key dissertation "Adventures in Thinking" which gives reliable advice as to how entry into the world of magic may be readily achieved. Further to this, a number of "Rainy Day" activity pages present lively and entertaining things-to-do once the magical state has been attained, including such popular pastimes as divination, etheric travel and the conjuring of a colourful multitude of sprits, deities, dead people and infernal entities from the pit, all of whom are sure to become your new best friends. Also contained within this extravagant compendium of thaumaturgic lore is a history of magic from the last ice-age to the present day, told in a series of easy-to-absorb pictorial biographies of fifty great enchanters and complemented by a variety of picture stories depicting events ranging from the Paleolithic origins of art, magic, language and consciousness to the rib-tickling comedy exploits of Moon & Serpent founder Alexander the False Prophet ("He's fun, he's fake, he's got a talking snake!"). In addition to these manifold delights, the adventurous reader will also discover a series of helpful travel guides to mind-wrenching alien dimensions that are within comfortable walking distance, as well as profiles of the many quaint local inhabitants that one might bump into at these exotic resorts. A full range of entertainments will be provided, encompassing such diverse novelties and pursuits as a lavishly decorated decadent pulp tale of occult adventure recounted in the serial form, a full set of this sinister and deathless cult's never-before-seen Tarot cards, a fold-out Kabalistic board game in which the first player to achieve enlightenment wins providing he or she doesn't make a big deal about it, and even a pop-up Theatre of Marvels that serves as both a Renaissance memory theatre and a handy portable shrine for today's multi-tasking magician on the move. Completing this almost unimaginable treasure-trove are a matching pair of lengthy theses revealing the ultimate meaning of both the Moon and the Serpent in a manner that makes transparent the much obscured secret of magic, happiness, sex, creativity and the known Universe, while at the same time explaining why these lunar and ophidian symbols feature so prominently in the order's peculiar name. (Manufacturer's disclaimer: this edition does not, however, reveal why the titular cabal of magicians consider themselves to be either grand or Egyptian. Let the buyer beware.) A colossal and audacious publishing triumph of three hundred and twenty pages, beautifully produced in the finest tradition of educational literature for young people, The Moon and Serpent Bumper Book of Magic will transform your lives, your reality, and any spare lead that you happen to have laying around into the purest and most radiant gold. A 320-Page Super-Deluxe Hardcover, co-written by Alan Moore and Steve Moore, and illustrated by various luminaries from the comic book field. Cover design by John Coulthart. A 2009 RELEASE! ISBN 978-1-60309-001-8  Alan asked for something that looked a bit like an old children’s annual, since that’s the direction the contents are taking. Fun and inviting not gothic and scary like much modern occultism. You can’t see at small size but the border design is made of tiny moons and serpents. The boy was based on an old magazine illustration; Alan had also asked for some sort of period figure as the focus.
Stars can be pentagrams, of course. And they happen to be a feature of anything to do with stage conjuring and what people today think of magic. Most people don’t realise that playing cards are derived from Tarot cards and the stage magician’s wand has a far older significance. A circle with a dot in the centre is the occult symbol for the sun, which was one reason for choosing the font. - John Coulthart | | Saturday, January 20th, 2007 | | 6:02 am |
1973
... was a good year for both Lou Reed and Roger Waters. Lou came out with what has been described as the most depressing rock album ever produced and Roger penned most of the songs on the longest charting rock album of all time.
  Now over 30 years later both of them are touring live version of the entire albums here in Sydney. Unfortunately I missed out on Lou tickets and good seats for the Roger ones were too expensive not to mention that the venue is so big it would be like attending one of Hitler's Nuremberg Rallies so I've missed out in both cases. I did get to see both of them perform last time they were in Sydney though. .Shame I didn't wake up early enough this week to win a double pass to one of Lou's 3 concerts on a radio show where you had to guess the title of the song given lyrics such as Standing on the corner
Suitcase in my handwhich I would have gotten from just the first four words alone. The review of the first Lou concert made the front page of the Sydney Morning Herald yesterday along with a nice photo. Not surprising given that it was the world premiere of the staged version of the album. Tickets for the concerts were the hotttest thing at the Festival of Sydney. I hadn't realized there were so many Lou fans here in Australia. | | Wednesday, January 17th, 2007 | | 9:53 pm |
God
The other day a friend of mine asked "If people stop believing in Santa Claus why don't they stop believing in God?" which I thought was a very valid question. 
Some
Quotes"God is a concept by which we measure our pain" - John Lennon "The kingdom of God is within you" - JC "God is dead" - Fred "Fred is dead" - God "There ain't no devil That's just God when he's drunk" - Tom Waits "we're on a mission from God" - Elwood Blues "God grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change, the courage to change the things I can, and the wisdom to know the difference"- quoted by Kurt Vonnegut in one of his books "God sometimes you just don't come through. Do you need a woman to look after you?" - Tori Amos "You don't count the dead when God's on your side" - Bob Dylan "Our God is bigger than your God" - Eric Idle What I object to in the concept of God is why should God be A) Human B) Male and C) Old There are millions of other life forms on this planet besides human. I like to think of God as the conglomeration of everything that is alive in the entire universe so that each one of use could say "I am God" in the same sense that a single drop of water could think "I am the ocean". The universe and outer space consists mostly of empty space and following the maxim "As above, so below" on a subatomic level all these things that look so solid to us are mostly composed of empty space too. Maybe if I read Richard Dawkins latest book it might convert me to atheism. I wonder how many people can guess where this quote comes from when taken out of context? matter is energy; in the Universe there are many energy fields which we cannot normally perceive. Some energies have a spiritual source which act upon a person's soul. However, this soul does not exist *ab inito*, as orthodox Christianity teaches; it has to be brought into existence by a process of guided self-observation. However, this is rarely achieved owing to man's unique ability to be distracted from spiritual matters by everyday trivia. | | Sunday, January 14th, 2007 | | 8:59 pm |
London: City of Disappearances
 John Clare spent the last twenty-odd years of his life in Northampton in the general lunatic asylum which had just been founded and of course Alan Moore is the kind of laureate of writing about Northampton. He lives in Northampton and there is a chapter about Clare in his book Voice of the Fire so when I wanted to finish the books I decided I'd have to go to this asylum and Alan Moore can be the guide to that part of the book. It turned out that he went to school over the wall from the asylum on the other side and he'd spent a lot of his time biking along the edges of the asylum, sneaking into the swimming pool, and he knew a lot of people who worked there and so I got Alan's side of the story which was very interesting. - from this interviewAlans' contribution to the book runs to about 60 pages or so. | | Tuesday, January 9th, 2007 | | 3:30 am |
New Alan Moore Interview Book
due out next month
Alan Moore's
Exit Interview
on 25 years of creating comics
the state of the art and the industry
and what the future may hold for all concerned | | Tuesday, December 26th, 2006 | | 11:43 pm |
| | Wednesday, December 20th, 2006 | | 7:26 pm |
Alan Moore at Myspace
 I wonder who's responsible for the Alan Moore page at Myspace. I have to plead not guilty as I'm not net savvy enough or have a fast enough connection to have put up all those Youtube files. My own myspace webpage is just called Antisocial which I am. I like Leah Moore's comment: this is so weird because i have the real bona fide genuine 100% totally real Alan Moore stood right next to me at this moment and he swears he has no Myspace account, internet connection or interest in the 21st century. how marvelous that you have given him this Myspace presence. I hope it brings you great happiness and well being.
Leah Moore
(your daughter) | | Monday, December 11th, 2006 | | 11:32 am |
Coulthart 2007 Calendars
 If I had a credit card (which I don't) I would probably order one of the three 2007 calendars John Coulthart has available from CafePress. I've never heard a Cradle of Filth album and I like H P Lovecraft but I'm not fanatical about him so I'd probably go for the Major Arcana one. Simplicity of design but a great reminder of the 21 Major Arcana Tarot images. Each one a bargain at only $19.99 (US) Maybe for 2008 he could come up with a Lord Horror Calendar if he manages to publish a book version sometime soon. | | Saturday, December 9th, 2006 | | 10:54 am |
The Rough Guide to Cult Fiction
 Alan Moore entry Northampton-born Moore brings daring, intelligence, politicial passion and human understanding to every genre and theme he touches. V for Vendetta (DC/Titan) is a high point, insisting on individual freedom in an Orwellian future Britain. In Marvelman/Miracleman and Watchmen (DC/Titan), Moore reinvigorates superheroes by addressing how they would affect our real world for better or worse. More recently, he masterminded his own universe of heroes, the America's Best comics line, and in one heroine, Promethea, personified the magic of creation. In Lost Girls (Top Shelf) with artist Melinda Gebbie, he celebrates explicit erotica, unveiling the sexualities of three ages of 'fairytale women' in the forms of Dorothy, Wendy and Alice. Forget the films; his Swamp Thing, League of Extraordinary Gentlemen and From Hell originals are infinitely richer reads. Moore is the medium's greatest living writer. | | Sunday, October 22nd, 2006 | | 6:04 pm |
Mindscape on DVD
Probably too late (and in my case to far away) to attend the screeing and Q&A's with the director but finally the Mindscape of Alan Moore comes out on DVD and I'll get to see it along with all the extra goodies. 
The Mindscape of Alan Moore
Screening at the ICA Cinema
(The Mall, London SW1)
Saturday 21 October 2006. 6.30 pm. With introduction by the director
and Q&A.
Sunday 22 October 2006: 2.00 pm.The DVD will be sold from the Shadowsnake website on November 18. The website is not fully up and running, but we are working on it. The targeted DVD pre-launch/pre-order and the opening of the site and online store is November 18, 2006 2006 (Alan Moore's birthday) So now we are releasing a TOTAL OF 5 HOURS OF MATERIAL ON A DOUBLE DISC EDITION, BOTH DUAL LAYER (DVD 9), which means the best compression and quality possible. There will be a PAL region 0 version for Europe and the rest of the world, and an region 0 (NTSC) version for the USA (or other NTSC countries) available. The artwork and menus are all designed by the fantastic John Coulthart, loaded with magic imagery. | | Tuesday, August 29th, 2006 | | 11:47 am |
| | Saturday, August 26th, 2006 | | 9:42 pm |
Life and Lovecraft
 John Coulthart's new edition of the Haunter of the Dark is due to be published in the middle of September. He's already posted a recent interview I did with him on his site here but I've also added some images to the interviewThe most relevant information for anyone who is in England next month and can make it into London is that John will be signing copies of the book at the Atlantis Bookshop when it is published. Check the news section of his website for further details. Alan Moore fans will be interested to know that a whole new section of The Great Old Ones is receiving its first publication in this edition. It was created originally for an abandoned Lovecraft calendar project in 2000. | | Saturday, July 22nd, 2006 | | 8:02 pm |
The Little Prince narrated by Richard Burton
In celebration of the April 7, 2004 underwater discovery of the remains of the lost airplane of Antoine de Saint-Exupery found in the Mediterranean Sea off the coast of Marseille and to commemorate the 30th Anniversary of the 1974 recording of Richard Burton narrating The Little Prince, rdkRecords has re-issued this Grammy Award Winning Audio CD about an innocent child who teaches a downed Aviator that "what is essential is invisible to the eye."
Listening to this recording was one of the most influential experiences of my youth. When I learnt how St. Exupery died I thought of this exchange to start off a story I never got around to writing
"How would you like do die?" "Under mysterious circumstance in which the body is never discovered." I think St. Exupery turned me into a solipsist for quite a few years after first reading him. Grown-ups never understand anything by themselves, and it is exhausting for children to have to provide explanations over and over again.
I lived all alone without anyone I could really talk to.
I should have liked to begin this story like a fairy tale. I should have liked to say:
"Once upon a time there was a little prince who lived on a planet hardly bigger than he was, and who needed a friend..." For those who understand life, that would sound much truer.
Language is the source of misunderstandings.
You know, when you're feeling very sad, sunsets are wonderful..."
People haven't time to learn anything. They buy things ready-made in stores. But since there are not stores where you can buy friends, people no longer have friends. If you want a friend, tame me. ... You become responsible forever for what you've tamed.
What is essential is invisible to the eye.
Reading the Myth of Sisyphus and then the complete works of Philip K. Dick later on only confirmed this as my outlook on reality. Sometimes I wish that I'd never been born
In a roomfull of people I still feel alone.
Non parlez vouz Francais | | Friday, July 21st, 2006 | | 2:37 am |
In the Realms of the Unreal
Henry Darger (1892-1973) lived a virtually friendless existence, but his imaginary life was as exciting and colorful as his real life was tedious. By day, he scrubbed floors, attended Mass, rummaged through garbage cans. By night, he ruled a world in which the forces of innocence and good fought a bloody battle against the forces of treachery and evil. By juxtaposing Henry Darger’s parallel but opposite universes, the film shows how he forged magic out of the bleakest of lives, leaving a legacy that has inspired other artists around the world.
| | Wednesday, July 19th, 2006 | | 2:47 pm |
Haunter of the Dark (new edition)
Release date is set for September 15th. My interview with John about the book should be out in early August. Padraig O Mealoid plans on having Puny Earthling #1 ready to sell at Mecon in Belfast. Click on the banner below for the latest news about it.  John will be signing copies of the book at the Atlantis Bookshop in London when it is published. Signed prints of Haunter artwork are also available from his website at Oniomania**************************************
In my To Read Basket at the moment:
| | Tuesday, July 18th, 2006 | | 3:11 am |
What I did on my Winter Vacation
With two weeks of school holidays took the wife and girls (just turned 4 and not quite 6) on an almost 1,000 kilometere car trip each way from Sydney to Brisbane and back. Staying at a friends' place about halfway there and with over a week of accomodation sleeping in a tent in my sister's back yard we only ended up paying for 3 nights at different caravan parks. Highlights for the girls would have been visits to two of the three major theme parks on the Gold Coast namely Movie World and Sea World. When the boy picked out from the audience to pat dolphins was asked where he was from his answer was Ireland and there was a nice joke about our harsh aussie winters. It was lovely and sunny for most of the trip and only rained a couple of days when we were driving back. Note that a 4D movie means that on top of wearing glasses for the 3D effects you also get sprayed with bursts of air and water at appropriate places. Our girls were too young to go on the more dangerous rides so we just did the easier ones which were much less stressful for us middle aged parents. Other theme parks I would like to see would be an Asterix one in France, one based on Tintin's Herge and another on Tove Jansson's Moomintroll books. Jasper Fforde has ads for a Sommeworld in one of his Thursday Next novels (based on one of the most famous battle of WWI) and I remember reading about a theme park based on Hieronymous Bosch paintings somewhere too. I wonder what the strangest theme park anyone could come up with would be. HP Lovecraft World, Marquise de Sade World ? The other highlight for the girls was probably just climbing up and down on the bunk beds at the caravan park homes. My sister and her family have a very tidy house but spend too much time watching videos of TV shows they've recorded and their kids just play PC games all the time so took the nephews and one niece out on picnics and playing ball games etc to get them some exercise and out of the house while we were there. all in all quite a nice trip. Shame to have to go back to work tomorrow. One thing I learnt is that you can survive for a fortnight without accesing your emails or looking at the internet. TIPS FOR TRAVELLERS If you do go to a theme park take your own food. What they sell is overpriced and not very good anyway. When staying in a tent make sure you crouch down low when you get out in the morning otherwise the top of your head will brush up against the outside roof and make it all wet with all the dew it's collected overnight. *********************
Word Play "The prepetual sexual intellectual write another entry in his infernal eternal journal"Gold Coast - Cold Toast |
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