Alan Moore on Ezquerra

[JayzusB.Christ]

I was listening to an interview with Alan Moore a few years ago, where he was asked if he'll do anything for 2000ad in the future.  His exact words were 'the hell I will' - he then went on to explain how the higher-ups in the house of Tharg once fired Carlos Ezquerra by sending him a note.

Did this ever happen?  (If so, he was clearly unfired since.)  I don't remember a time Carlos wasn't working for the prog for more than a few months.  Anyone know if there's any truth in Moore's story at all?  (I love Alan Moore but he clearly will never be happy as an employee.  Which,being self-employed, I fully understand.)

[TordelBack]

Presumably this refers to Carlos being bumped from Dredd at the very beginning?  Lot of water, owners, managers and Thargs under the bridge since then...

[JayzusB.Christ]

Presumably this refers to Carlos being bumped from Dredd at the very beginning? 

You're probably right there.  Not exactly a sacking, to be fair - and the editorial of the time couldn't really be expected to know just how valuable either Carlos or Joe would be to the future of the the prog.

And yeah, I think the modern-day prog overlords treat their creators pretty well.

[TordelBack]

And yeah, I think the modern-day prog overlords treat their creators pretty well.

Not another one who thinks Droid Life is supposed to be a comedy...

[Frank]

Presumably this refers to Carlos being bumped from Dredd at the very beginning? 

Ezquerra and Mills disagree about the specific reason for Carlos moving from Dredd to El Mestizo - Mills says money, Carlos says exclusivity - but both creators agree Carlos made that decision. So no 'note' from IPC.

Maybe Moore means IPC/Fleetway in general, rather than Tharg himself? I can believe Carlos might have got the push from Lion or something, but he was an in-demand artist by the time Mills poached him for 2000ad (and Hunt poached him back).

The only other time I can remember King Charlie being absent from 2000ad for an extended period was when Simon Harrison took over Strontium Dog and Carlos moved over to Third World War in Crisis.

When we discuss such things, that's usually framed as Carlos refusing to draw the death of Johnny Alpha, but presumably Carlos was enticed by the more equitable creator contracts on offer to the Crisis Crew. I don't think I've ever read Carlos's take on that, though ...

[Richard]

It's kind of irrelevant what 2000AD did in the '70s, '80s or '90s, because it was acquired by Rebellion in 2000. Someone needs to tell Moore that so he can write Halo Jones books IV to IX. Maybe his daughter can explain it to him.

[Leigh S]

Didnt he have a conversation with Rebellion soon after they took over that went something like "give me my characters back and I'll write them", which understandably, Rebellion mightnt have been too keen on taking him up on, given they had just paid for said characters, and the precedent that would set

It's a fair enough stand I suppose, and it;s fair enough in return that Rebellion havent done a "Before Watchmen" on him

[Leigh S]

I have a strong memory of reading somewhere Carlos requested/demanded a 10 year exclusivity thing on Strontium Dog after being burned with Dredd, though I'm damned if I can find it now and it seems a bit odd in retrospect.  Tht said, it was about 10 years after Stronts started that he went off to do Crisis, though that was only after Gibson bailed....

[TordelBack]

It's kind of irrelevant what 2000AD did in the '70s, '80s or '90s, because it was acquired by Rebellion in 2000. Someone needs to tell Moore that so he can write Halo Jones books IV to IX. Maybe his daughter can explain it to him.

Not sure I'd want to read anything that Moore had to be talked into writing work-for-hire as if he was being offered a great deal... As I hurtle on in years I increasingly value being my own boss, even when I have to deal with controlling or idiotic clients or contractors, even when it means work can be spotty and involve endless unpaid hours of tendering and similar profit-eating financial drudgery. And I'm not even my generation's greatest comics writer, or the creator of several multi-million dollar properties, and originator of almost every direction DC comics have followed for the last 30 years.

So I can well understand Moore turning his nose up at anything other than full ownership of his creations, and control of his own work.

And as he has said, if Rebellion do that, then they have to do the same for Wagner and Grant, and Mills and GFD - and then what is 2000AD worth to anyone?

[Eric Plumrose]

From what I've gleaned over the years, Moore's stance does seemed to have changed. With regard to HALO JONES he's gone from polite impasse perfectly aware he's unlikely ever to own something he knowingly did as work-for-hire to moral outrage at having his (just his, or his and Gibson's?) creation 'stolen'.

How fair an assessment is that?

[Professor Bear]

It's kind of irrelevant what 2000AD did in the '70s, '80s or '90s, because it was acquired by Rebellion in 2000. Someone needs to tell Moore that so he can write Halo Jones books IV to IX. Maybe his daughter can explain it to him.

Not sure I'd want to read anything that Moore had to be talked into writing work-for-hire as if he was being offered a great deal...

Personally, I'd like Moore to take a stab at some work-for-hire stuff, as his takes on owned properties usually end up injecting a bit of life and creativity into stagnant works, or at the very least try something different for reasons other than desperation.

[TordelBack]

Well this is very true. However, I can't imagine Moore ever putting his back into work-for-hire again, so any inducement us onlybgoing to result in lavklustre output and bitterness.

[Adrian Bamforth]

[Geoff]

Bit off topic...so sorry about this..

But, can anyone recommend a few things Moore has done in the last 5-10 years that are really engaging?

I found that the League of Extraordinary Gentlemen became rather bland and haven't really got into Tom Strong. I managed to stomach a Crossed book recently, because his name was on it, but it was no more than average. 

The last AM book I really enjoyed was something called Top 10 I think, with the childhood story of a big blue alien policeman who came from a fairytale type world.  It was a surprising and moving tale.  I've not read anything really impressive by him since I don't think.  This must have been about 10 years ago.

I don't mean to criticise Moore, as I love his work, I'm just keen to read anything of his that I'm missing out on (I've got Providence, but not read it yet..)       

[JOE SOAP]

The Nemo trilogy was engaging but your mileage may vary.