How to contact Doug Moench?

[tolworthy]

How does one contact Moench to ask about his old work? Does he even want to be contacted? Failing that, does anyone have interviews he conducted where he mentions his FF work? He wrote 11 issues starting in 1980: FF219 and 222-231. Did he say anything in the comics press when he took it on? His "official" site has very little information and uses very old photos.

What I want to ask:

I am gradually working on my perverse theory that The Fantastic Four, issues 1-321, forms a single story with a beginning, middle and end. The more I look at it in that light, the more important Doug Moench becomes. His 11 issues are usually remembered as "the bad issues just before John Byrne." And they are certainly jarring: they don't fit the easy going style that came before or after. Most fans either dislike them or forget them. But the closer I look, the more I love them. In several ways they are superior to Byrne's much lauded FF work.

To me, Moench has more layers. Byrne's effort all goes into the surface appearance and events, but Moench seems to care more about the characters. Comparing Byrne's 65(?) issues to Moench's 11 issues (opinions may vary):

• Byrne is easier to read.
• Byrne is more spectacular - i.e. more spectacle.
• Byrne's dialog is more theatrical - to me, his people sound like they belong on TV or movies, they don't sound real.
• Byrne had more issues to develop his themes.
• So Byrne sold better and is more fondly remembered.
• But Moench is truer to the established characters (Byrne ignored years of continuity)
• Moench shows more character development
• Moench's issues tell a more unified story
• Moench is more layered - he rewards a close inspection in a way that Byrne does not
• Moench's characters are far more likeable - to me (personal opinion, obviously)
• Moench is more realistic (the Bill Sienkiewicz art helped, but I find his dialog more believable)
• Moench, more than any other writer, gets to the core of what the FF are. This is opinion of course, but I speak as someone who has devoted a long time to making the FF work as a single, developing story. Moench really nails it.

Obviously, the long term development was not planned. I doubt that Kirby left a secret blueprint behind. The bigger story evolved almost by accident. but I am intrigued to know what Moench was thinking at the time. If he even remembers.

In a way I feel a little guilty. As a big Jim Shooter fan I had always dismissed Moench as a man who wrote a couple of good series but was out of touch. I think I may need to eat humble pie.

[Scott Harris]

How does one contact Moench to ask about his old work? Does he even want to be contacted?

He's on Facebook and has 4995 friends, so he doesn't seem to mind being contacted.

[tolworthy]

He's on Facebook and has 4995 friends, so he doesn't seem to mind being contacted.

EDIT: do you use the Super Secret Facebook that only the cool kids have?
On my Facebook, all I can find is this:
http://www.facebook.com/pages/Doug-M...03812849658045

92 likes, no followers or other data other than a quick Wikipedia summary

[dan bailey]

A simple FB search for "Moench" yields this. I get only a cursory view, but since it shows him with 23 mutual friends with me, I assume that's the one Scott is referring to.

[tolworthy]

A simple FB search for "Moench" yields this. I get only a cursory view, but since it shows him with 23 mutual friends with me, I assume that's the one Scott is referring to.

That proves it, You're one of the cool kids. :(
When I search facebook for Doug Moench I get the earlier link (just a stub). When I search for "Moench" I get completely unrelated stuff. Googling "Facebook Moench" gets the original link. I must be blacklisted.

Do you have a direct link? FB has half a billion names, so maybe it restricts results? I'm outside America so maybe that's it?

[dan bailey]

Odd. I've never tried accessing it from outside the U.S., not surprisingly, but I haven't the vaguest idea whether that could be a factor. Are you an FB member? Presumably, not being one could affect your search results, if that's the case.

[tolworthy]

Odd. I've never tried accessing it from outside the U.S., not surprisingly, but I haven't the vaguest idea whether that could be a factor. Are you an FB member? Presumably, not being one could affect your search results, if that's the case.

I have two FB sites, one for myself (had it for years) and one for my game (more recent). I tried using FB as both IDs, but same result. Do you have a direct link? Or could I ask you a favor and get somebody to send him a quick question and see if he responds? The question would be:

"I'm a huge fan of your brief Fantastic Four run. I run a substantial FF related web site, and consider your 11 issues to have a better grasp on the core themes than any other single writer. Do you remember anything about that period and what you were wanting to achieve?

I am tempted to defend the "any other writer" thing, but that would entail a long debate over what Stan and Jack did and how the FF has its own life, and tend to ramble...

[dan bailey]

Not sure what you mean by a direct link. The hotlink in my initial response is the closest thing I've got to one, since I don't happen to be an FB friend of his (not, I hasten to add, for any particular reason). Not sure how Scott was able to glean more info than I was, since he doesn't show up (at least under that name -- I'm assuming he's not really, say, Fred Hembeck) as a Moench friend, either ... though I see that Sir Tim happens to be.

[tolworthy]

Not sure what you mean by a direct link.

http://www.facebook.com/pages/Doug-M...658045?sk=info

As far as I know the basic URL should work. I tried that link in a different browser and it worked, then asked me to sign up, so thinks I am a stranger.

[dan bailey]

And that one's different from the one I linked to -- http://www.facebook.com/doug.moench1

[thwhtGuardian]

He friended Shaxper and I and answered a few of our Questions about Electric Warrior so he might answer yours if you asked.

[tolworthy]

And that one's different from the one I linked to -- http://www.facebook.com/doug.moench1

I missed the link in your original post - sorry! Yes, this one just shows an almost blank page. :( :(

[tolworthy]

He friended Shaxper and I and answered a few of our Questions about Electric Warrior so he might answer yours if you asked.

That would be wonderful! Many thanks!

And my question is totally sincere. While Byrne's run is awesome I think that Moench was better. And I know this is a minority view.

[dan bailey]

Double post. The horror ...

[dan bailey]

I missed the link in your original post - sorry! Yes, this one just shows an almost blank page. :( :(

It does, however, give you (or at least me, being really cool & all, as we've established), the option of sending a message &/or a friend request.