Alan Moore's sacrifice

[NatGertler]

Unless the money comes with a contract saying that that bans you from expressing an opinion on the film, it's not hush money or buy-off money. It's money you earned with your work, even if it's indirect money, and it's yours by right. Not taking it just keeps it in the pockets of people who deserve it less than you do. (The other option, donating it to charity, while noble and a good example and all, is still taking the money; you're just spending it differently than most people would.)

To my understanding, this isn't quite right - the money for the DC-owned properties that would otherwise go to Moore is being given to his artistic collaborators, and while Moore deserves his share, it'd be hard to find a better second choice for who deserves that money than the artists.
It may explain why David Lloyd and Dave Gibbons seem eversomuchmoreso happy about the films. (Well, that and that the movies do a good job of bringing what they did to the screen, even if V - obviously, the only of the two I've seen - did only so-so in capturing what Moore did.)

[Steven Grant]

It's still his money and he's still spending it as he chooses...

- Grant

[bookguy]

Well, he can give it to me if he doesn't want it.

[Paul McEnery]

It's still his money and he's still spending it as he chooses...

- Grant

No, exactly. He IS doing what you suggested, he just doesn't want any of it in his own pockets, thank you very much.

And he's very funny about it.

[Dennis]

I think Ditko and Moore are complete opposites. Moore is a lot closer to Britney Spears and Lindsay Lohan than Ditko. Ditko is just a weirdo. I said in the art thread that the primary purpose of the artist is to make himself feel better. What makes Ditko feel good is mysterious and odd. What makes Moore feel better is much more common and understandable.

Artists and celebrities are basically mini-corporations. They're a brand. When a celebrity gets drunk and drives backwards on the freeway, that's just another episode in her show, another attempt to stay in the public consciousness. Britney and Lindsay and Paris are masters at this. The CDs and the movies are just products within the brand. These artists have made running errands and walking around a product - it generates income. They're just maintaining and extending their own brand.

Which is what Alan Moore does. Maybe he doesn't care about money, but I think he does care about one thing: maintaining his reputation of Greatest Graphic Novelist Ever and Super Genius. Even a bad movie is part of his brand and still generates income for the comics.

The Watchmen movie looks like the worst thing ever, but the trailer has proven to be the most effective commercial in comic book history. The trailer should have been even bolder by claiming Watchmen to be the greatest graphic novel ever; more books would have been sold. He was already considered the best ever, but the crazy sales has made it official.

Like Britney, Alan Moore does a good job of staying in the limelight. He's always doing interviews - fluff pieces and lengthy ass kissing sessions. There's that documentary where he talks about being a magician. Anything that attracts more attention to him is a good thing, that's why even the dreadful movies are essential.

[Steven Grant]

Dennis, trust me. I know Alan enough to know that you're completely full of crap on this one.

- Grant

[FunkyGreenJerusalem]

When a celebrity gets drunk and drives backwards on the freeway, that's just another episode in her show, another attempt to stay in the public consciousness.

Actually, that's just them getting drunk and driving backwards - I don't think they would put any thought into it at all before doing it.

Britney and Lindsay and Paris are masters at this.

No, their 'people' (agents, managers etc) are masters at spinning an embarrassing event into something positive - it's still an embarrassing event.

[Brenz]

What makes Moore feel better is much more common and understandable.

You say this about a man who wrangled a happy ending out of an incestuous marriage.

[Dennis]

You say this about a man who wrangled a happy ending out of an incestuous marriage.

All the modern comic book greats are pervs.

[Steven Grant]

All the modern comic book greats are pervs.

It's nice of you to think so, but most of them aren't that interesting.

- Grant

[CBikle]

Moore is a lot closer to Britney Spears and Lindsay Lohan than Ditko.

Never, ever EVER compare Alan Moore to Britney Spears (even though both Alan and Britney have an ongoing feud with Christina Aguilera).

[The Crime Dentist]

I think Ditko and Moore are complete opposites. Moore is a lot closer to Britney Spears and Lindsay Lohan than Ditko. Ditko is just a weirdo. I said in the art thread that the primary purpose of the artist is to make himself feel better. What makes Ditko feel good is mysterious and odd. What makes Moore feel better is much more common and understandable.

Artists and celebrities are basically mini-corporations. They're a brand. When a celebrity gets drunk and drives backwards on the freeway, that's just another episode in her show, another attempt to stay in the public consciousness. Britney and Lindsay and Paris are masters at this. The CDs and the movies are just products within the brand. These artists have made running errands and walking around a product - it generates income. They're just maintaining and extending their own brand.

Which is what Alan Moore does. Maybe he doesn't care about money, but I think he does care about one thing: maintaining his reputation of Greatest Graphic Novelist Ever and Super Genius. Even a bad movie is part of his brand and still generates income for the comics.

The Watchmen movie looks like the worst thing ever, but the trailer has proven to be the most effective commercial in comic book history. The trailer should have been even bolder by claiming Watchmen to be the greatest graphic novel ever; more books would have been sold. He was already considered the best ever, but the crazy sales has made it official.

Like Britney, Alan Moore does a good job of staying in the limelight. He's always doing interviews - fluff pieces and lengthy ass kissing sessions. There's that documentary where he talks about being a magician. Anything that attracts more attention to him is a good thing, that's why even the dreadful movies are essential.

If Alan Moore wanted to write X-Men, Detective Comics & Spider-man, he could. And if the spotlight was really that important to him, that's what he'd be doing. That's what Paris Hilton would be doing if she were reincarnated as a comics writer. Instead he's off writing a bunch of stuff that barely - if at all - cracks the top 100 like Birth Caul.

He's a human being, I'm sure he cares what people think of him, and yes, he certainly markets a certain image of himself. But that's not the same thing as being a media whore desperate for attention; he certainly doesn't seem to be going out of his way to be that.

[NatGertler]

Instead he's off writing a bunch of stuff that barely - if at all - cracks the top 100 like Birth Caul.

Birth Caul? That's about a decade old, and not a great example of what Alan's been producing lately. His recent releases have been direct to book (and thus won't show up on the individual issue charts), and while they've not sold Spider-Man numbers, they sell quite well. LOEG: Black Dossier was in the top 50 graphic novels in the direct market for its first 2 months of release. and thats as a $30 book (they haven't yet released the chart that would include the $99 Absolute edition) and part of a series that has had strong sales outside of the DM. Lost Girls sold over 40,000 copies in its first six month for a $75 boxed set.

But yeah, Alan Moore answers people's questions, and some folks react like he's buying airtime to make pronouncements.

[Dennis]

If Alan Moore wanted to write X-Men, Detective Comics & Spider-man, he could. And if the spotlight was really that important to him, that's what he'd be doing. That's what Paris Hilton would be doing if she were reincarnated as a comics writer. Instead he's off writing a bunch of stuff that barely - if at all - cracks the top 100 like Birth Caul.

He's a human being, I'm sure he cares what people think of him, and yes, he certainly markets a certain image of himself. But that's not the same thing as being a media whore desperate for attention; he certainly doesn't seem to be going out of his way to be that.

There are different levels of media whore. It's like how a thousand dollar call girl has different standards than a twenty dollar crack whore. And the twenty dollar crack whore has different standards than a ten dollar crack whore. But they're all in the same line of work.

Alan Moore doesn't need to do X-Men. He gets far more attention and praise than Scott Lobdell did. It's far more gratifying and sometimes more lucrative to succeed with your own creations. Not everyone cares about money. I had a friend who was always talking about what's more desirable: money or power. He said power was more desirable. And this was when we were ninth graders.

I'm googling Birth Caul. It was originally a "spoken word performance," a "lengthy autobiographical poem." How do you feel about the words "performance artist"? Is that not attention whoring?

It all comes down to this: who do you want to love you. That decides what kind of art one pursues. A single glowing review from the New Yorker could make you feel better than a bunch of customer reviews from Amazon.

[Steven Grant]

A single glowing review from the New Yorker could make you feel better than a bunch of customer reviews from Amazon.

I'm quite sure Alan doesn't give a rat's ass what the New Yorker thinks of his work. It really doesn't come down to who you want to like you or your work, it just comes down to what stories you want to produce. Most people with half an ounce of maturity gave up being interested in being liked a long time ago; you'd be surprised the number of people who really couldn't care less. Alan doesn't. Seriously. Neither do I. I mean, sure, I'd just as soon there aren't hordes of motivated people out there looking to string me up or shoot me on sight, but like me? Not worth the effort.

If you like me (or my work), that's fine. If you don't... eh. I'm not going to hold it against you, I'm not going to lose any sleep over it, it's not going to ruin my day. With very few exceptions, it's pretty much irrelevant to my existence. Alan's on that page. On the other hand, he does earn a living from his work; when he's got new work out, he's going to make some effort to publicize it. If that's being a media whore, there ain't no other kind of person in the world today...

- Grant