CBR: Where The Hell Am I - Jan 5, 2011

[Comicbookfan]

You hit the nail on the head Jason. You are the brotha love the comics you make.

[Dace1314]

Aaron too rashly interpreted Moore's words and saw an opportunity to create controversy.

Dropping an F-Bomb like he did is such an obvious "look at me" tactic. It's a way to get his name more well known.

He has much to gain by publicly saying such a thing to Alan Moore. People like Karen Berger and many others have no doubt wanted to say such things to him, and my guess is that they relish in seeing this from Aaron.

So I don't buy it Jason. This isn't about sticking up for your friends. It's about getting your name out there.

[Tenacious_AA]

What an egotistical self center thing for Jason Aaron to post.

I read that interview a long time ago, and when I did, Jason Aaron was not the first writer that popped into my mind. In fact, I personally hadn't heard of Scalped when this came out, or of Jason Aaron.

What Moore said I don't think was meant to be insulting to individuals but was asking a question of DC and insulting DC... in general for being so stupid as not to see that it has plenty of good stories to tell without messing with his characters that he created.

Nothing that Jason wrote has changed my mind about Alan Moore, BUT it has changed my opinion of Jason Aaron.


Now ...Jason might have thought this would have been a funny post to start out or end the year, but it didn't come across as such.

Jason needs to understand that anything he says or publishes will be held against him and miss quoted for the rest of his life. Think about it.

Just like... Moore can't take back anything he says ...once it's out...the delete key doesn't work...and it's out of your control and this interview will follow him to his dying day.

[ShaunN]

Jason Aaron has a remarkably thin skin. I don't think that Moore was singling him out and the man is certainly entitled to make some broad generalizations if he wants to do so. As far as I'm concerned, Moore may be a jerk, but he is also a brilliant creator and writer. I did not buy his work because I cared about his personal life or his opinion on other things. Mr. Aaron should just ignore what Moore has to say and enjoy his work. There is no need to be so upset about this.

[Namora]

I'd tell Jason Aaron to go fuck himself, but he really needs to develop reading comprehension skills. He should have read more than Alan Moore comic books growing up. Alan Moore's comments were a battle cry, but to an industry where artists and writers who play with the corporate trademarks call themselves creators; and are too stupid to unionize themselves (at least for health care. How many comic book creators have died before age 50?) What does one expect?

[upickafrigginname]

As is all of these comments, this is simply a matter of opinion. But I think that Alan Moore is simply playing the part of the grumpy old man. Once Todd McFarlane said that as an artist the worst thing is for people to ignore you. With the amount of time that has passed, and the continuing growth in new talent in the comics industry, I think that Alan Moore sees that his name no longer holds the power it once did. Infact many people out there may not know who he even is. So it seems to me that he is out there saying the things he is to keep himself relevant. I am sure that he does believe some of the things that he says, but I also think that a lot of it is just talk.

As far as Jason Aaron and the rest of the talent that had posted on it, well to them I think they are pretty much doing the same thing. A "fight" with Alan Moore may just bring more people to wonder who this Jason Aaron is, and want to check out what he writes. I mean in the end, why would you put out there such harsh comments and opinions unless you are looking to get some attention.

The comics industry is just like any other industry out there, it's all about politics and publicity. It has it's share of childish behavior and butt kissers. The thing that some of these creators need to remember is that you are being paid to write and draw about men and women who run around in their underwear and beat each other up. It's a dream job to those of us who want to be there, and I would think that most of us would have too much time working on the books to get caught up in childish name calling and bickering. But again this is all just a matter of opinion.

[Ted Naifeh]

It's easy to take offense at Alan's words, and I can see why you would. But I think the jab is aimed more at the DC editorial world for not allowing anything like Watchmen to come into being in the 25 years since its publication. Something as free and unencumbered by editorial direction as Watchmen was could never get published today, even if the current crop of talent had the chops to create it. Writers of the caliber of Moore simply don't have the patience to put up with our industry with it's crossovers, editorial control etc. If they exist, they write novels, or movies, or television for cable.

I'm sure you're an excellent writer, Jason, but you're no Alan Moore. He's the kind of writer that appears once in a generation to transform the medium. We had a couple in the eighties. We're still waiting for the next one. But it's not you, and it's not me. It's not even Grant Morrison, though he comes close. I think the real issue is that Moore doesn't even realize how significant his work was. He and Frank Miller and a few others changed the nature of comics forever. Moore's reward for his labors is dubious at best, though one could argue that it was his own fault. If the guy had an agent all those years ago reading his contracts for him, maybe he wouldn't be so bitter. Regardless, making a stink because you feel dissed by your idol won't make you a better writer. I say go out and prove him wrong, create that iconic work of genius by which all other comics are compared. Make him notice you. Now if you'll excuse me, I'm going to go make a pathetic attempt to take my own advice and get back to work.

Yours in fellowship,
ted

[NickFury90]

so after someone has raped you years ago, meet u some day and ask "may i rape u again"....what will u say.."yeah sure."

DC raped alan moore years ago, they are constantly raping him. A writer like him deserves respect, not sexual assault (not literally, this is in context with jason comment),

You want alan moore to fuck himself, watch your ass becoz someone else is fucking you without even your realizing and years after you will have same amount of bitterness and someone else would be saying you to fuck yourself.

I felt a little dumber after reading this, thank you.

[parijat]

In the immortal words of alan moore

"The comics industry is afraid of me, I have seen its true face.........they will look up and say "save us", and i will look down and whisper " No" "

[king mob]

Sorry, I didn't really make myself clear. I gathered that they meant the same thing, but I don't know what "taking the piss" means. I could Google it, but I'm a lazy sort of a bastard.

EDIT: Adam C sort of explains, but I'm still not clear. So if Alan Moore is "taking the piss out of himself," he's being mocked? Or he's mocking himself - that is, being self-deprecating?

Cheers.

Oh he's very self-depreciating, & I don't think a lot of people in the US get his sense of humour so they read his comments straight.

Have a listen to Moore being interviewed by Stewart Lee to see what I mean.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l2NPwE2DFcw

[king mob]

This is all well and good.

1. I am well old enough to have read nearly everything Moore has done

But you clearly haven't but you're judging his entire body of work.

2. Its not his 'responsibility' to do anything I suppose, but simply write what he loves.

See, it's easy really once you drop the insane hyperbole isn't it.

3. I wasn't clear when I said nearly destroyed the industry. It was the big two's greed that did that implicityly in the early 90s. However Watchmen was a huge springboard in the mainstream for creator rights, which directly or indirectly led to the formation of Image, the speculators market, and susequent collapse.

It was a cog in the machine that lead to a number of things, but it wasn't Moore sitting in his house in Northampton plotting the downfall of American superhero comics.

4. Karen Berger and Jeanette Kahn are visionaries, and yes, did help cull and direct the finest comic imprint of all time.

Ask yourself why they did it, and who in particular they were trying to lure back with it's creation.

5. My main point was, and apparently I was neither clear or succinct, was that I think the industry would have benefitted from some guidance from Moore in the form of a mentor, editor, or somesuch thing.

Why? It's not what he wants to do, and his attempts at self-publishing showed that he's best as a writer. Why should Moore be at fault for the Big Two's lack of imagination?

6. I have no sympathy for the man, and the fact that he presents himself as selfless in the face of money is laughable. Placing ego, vanity, and self importance above even that is far worse.

Artistic integrity my 'arse'.

You are quite the angry person! Have a nice day.

I'm angry because people like yourself jump on a post like 'fuck you Moore' as it's a dog whistle for the hard of thinking, but as you've shown when you actually think about it, Moore's case is well founded.

I'd like to know how refusing to accept payment or credit for his film adaptations is vanity? How the bloody hell does that work then?

[king mob]

I still maintain Dodgem Logic is a weird, failed conception which is putting a great opportunity to waste. It is disappointing that Moore didn't take his royalties and do something similar to Tundra or Taboo which helped break out Moore & Campbell's From Hell among many others.

Check out Steve Bissette's excellent blog as to the problems he had with Taboo, and how difficult it'd be today to do something even remotely similiar. Also you've missed out the fact that Moore's done with mainstream comics, and also, he's trying to do more in his local community. Dodgem Logic is simply a part of what he's doing, and it's not perfect but there's some excellent stuff in there.

[king mob]

I personally could care less if Moore "proves" himself again. I think his past is all the proving he needs. I enjoyed Killing Joke but I found his Superman work alright. Swamp Thing would still be my favorite work from him. And regardless of what he does in the future, it doesn't take away from anything he's done in the past.

And although he has written plenty of well received stuff since Watchmen, none has had the impact that he wants others to achieve. That's the only problem I have with what Moore says, mainly because I agree that others should write something on the level of Watchmen. But Moore himself hasnt' written anything that impactful since then. Not From Hell, not League, not Lost Girls, not Promethea...none of that has the same impact he is expecting other writers to have.

Watchmen changed an entire industry along with Dark Knight. there was nothing like Watchmen prior to it in terms of impact, and it's unlikely they'll be anything else like it coming from the Big Two in the future.

However From Hell is one of the best works of comics of the post-Watchmen era; Prometha is a fantastic but flawed experiment in comics and LoeG is mutating into something very different indeed. They may not have the same overall impact, but to hint they're lesser works because of that is disengenuous to say the least.

[king mob]

I don't know. To me, the author seems to have confirmed Moore's analysis of the comic book industry with this kind of petulant, entitled and vulgar rage he's displayed in this essay. A better "f*** you" would have been to write a story as good as or better than WATCHMEN.

The thing is Aaron is an incredibly talented writer and is capable of writing excellent work, which I think is why so many people are bloody angry he's acting like the school bully with his drunken mates egging him on in the background.

[king mob]

As a seperate point and just to clarify: Image continued the boom that basically started with Spider-Man #1, X-Men #1, Death of Superman, etc.

Death of Superman was several years after the early 90's speculator boom.

I'll just make it concise for the internet: I wish DC had not pissed him off, and he had stayed on in an editorial capacity. It would have been badass.

So you realise the problem has always been with DC, not Moore.