Below are annotations for The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen Volume IV: The Tempest –collected edition – 216 pages plus covers, released December 2019 in the UK, January 2020 in the US.

Writer: Alan Moore, Artist: Kevin O’Neill, Letterer: Todd Klein, and Colorist: Ben Dimagmaliw

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Note: some of this stuff is obvious. If there’s stuff we missed or got wrong, let us know in comments, or email linton.joe [at] gmail.com

General summary: The collected Tempest includes a new here-to-fore-unpublished four-page epilogue “Retiring Types” – plus new cover, endpages, etc.

Cover:

The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen , as a title, has become increasing anachronistic and inaccurate. considering that by the time we reach 2010, where this volume is mostly set, there are no actual men, gentle or otherwise, in the group.

, as a title, has become increasing anachronistic and inaccurate. considering that by the time we reach 2010, where this volume is mostly set, there are no actual men, gentle or otherwise, in the group. The setting, as evidenced by the window sign is a “JUNK SHOPPE”. The “shoppe” spelling of “shop” is a cliched (and inaccurate) way of making something “sound medieval”. This may allude to Moore’s (former) love of the comic book medium as a “junk genre” that was ignored by mainstream society. The sign on the door reads “CLOSED”. Since this is the inside of the shop, presumably the other side says “OPEN”. The “CLOSED” may be an allusion to the finality of this story. Looking in from outside is James Bond. It appears to be snowing outside.

At top left, seated behind a lectern, is Prospero, with his 3-D glasses. Prospero is holding a magnifying glass which seems to contain an independent eye. The glass eye is staring at a small humanoid figure. This may be meant to evoke the classic image of children burning ants to death with a magnifying glass. The figure appears to be standing on a cardboard box. Behind Prospero are many signs discouraging people from reading. xxx Prospero appears to be wearing dark socks and no shoes. In front of Prospero’s desk/lectern is a copy of International Times, featuring Jerry Cornelius on the cover (with needle gun?). (See note to Tempest #4, P8.)

To Prospero’s left, Hugo Coghlan (aka Hugo Hercules) seems to be browsing through men’s magazines: “SWEAT BOOKS”, “TRUE SWEAT”. In front of Hugo is an old-fashioned “spinner” comic book rack, complete with the traditional “HEY, KIDS” sign on top. Comics include ZOM, DYNAMIC FURBALL (?) , CRASH, and M– (?). Observing the ceiling, the shop seems to bend into a little bulging alcove behind Hugo. But see note on floor, below.

Center background, Jack Nemo looks into a mirror with an ornate gilded(?) frame. Jack’s reflection is replaced by a black-and-white image of Prince Dakkar, his great-grandfather, the original Captain Nemo. Prince Dakkar’s image is actually reaching past the edge (panel border?) of the mirror. In the mirror, behind Prince Dakkar, is a female figure, possibly Janni Nemo, his daughter and Jack’s grandmother. Jack’s collar features a stylized “N” for Nemo. Behind the mirror, a bust on a plinth – Commenter Steven Kane notes that this is probably the bust of Moriarty that Harry Lime is seen contemplating in Black Dossier.

Center left is Emma Night (aka Mrs. Peel), wearing the jumpsuit that Jack gave her, and also 3-D glasses. Emma is examining a tome labeled “3-D”. It has tentacles emerging from within its pages. It’s cover features a human face (with tentacular tongue), recalling many mystic tomes from film, notably in the Evil Dead franchise.

Center right is Mina Murray, holding a word balloon saying “ALAN MOORE”. Mina’s outfit seems original to this drawing, as has been true of many Tempest covers. Instead of her traditional scarf, it features a high red collar that connects to a short red cape (suggestive of the superhero element of Tempest. There is a question mark on the breast. The lower half of the outfit is slightly translucent. Other credits for the book are contained in a pile of word balloons (one “shouty”) to her left. Near the bottom of that pile are a number of loose punctuation marks.

In front of the window is Orlando, wearing dark green. Orlando is holding what appears to be a sheaf of very large comics pages. The page facing us depicts Orlando in the white bikini she wears for parts of Tempest. Much of the page forms the outline of Orlando holding up the page! It is unclear whether any or all of panels 2, 3, and 5 of that page are cutouts, x-rays, or just presciently drawn; it certainly seems that panels 2 and 3 (both depicting Orlando’s head) cannot both be happening at the same moment. All of these puzzling panels seem to display the snowy background visible through the window. It is possible (albeit very unlikely) that the figure holding these pages isn’t even Orlando, since, if the pages are indeed solid, we don’t see the holder’s face at all! Behind Orlando’s legs is a somewhat damaged painting of a female figure wearing pearls – Suggest??

At right is the aged Electro Girl. Her hair is standing out due to static electricity. She sits on a pink cushion with green fringe. Behind Electro Girl is the helmet of Vull the Invisible. It appears to be levitating. Perhaps it is resting on a manikin head which it has rendered invisible. In front of Electro Girl is a doll of Captain Universe, who may have once been her lover. Given the frequent references in Tempest to the works of Gerry and Sylvia Anderson, perhaps this is actually a marionette? It does seem somewhat in their style. O’Neill’s signature appears on the base of this figure. In front of Captain Universe is the red version of Flash Avenger’s hood and goggles. (See note to Tempest #5, P20,p1.) In front of that is an ashtray with a lightning bolt (possibly the Seven Stars logo?). The ashtray is quite full, and one cigarette is still burning, as if the spirit of Flash Avenger was present, and still chain smoking.

Bottom left quadrant A stack of books covered in spiderwebs, the top one with a question mark and skull cover. A toy version of the Dugong (see Tempest #1, P8,p5). A wooden soldier and toy horse from Toyland (see Tempest #3, P12-13,p7). Patterned black and white cloth sticking out of drawer – Suggest?? A blue and white comic book page labeled #-D, which is 3-D, and has a hand emerging with a ray gun. A wooden crate lid(?) that Emma is standing on. A pink tome labeled 4-D, whose cover seems strangely distorted, and which seems to have unusually thick pages.

Observing the floor and the character’s legs closely, the composition doesn’t seem to quite be physically consistent. This seems likely to be deliberate, as a subtle cue that this scene is, in many senses, impossible.

Inside Cover Front Flap

Illustration “Balloonatics 1999-2019” shows Alan Moore and Kevin O’Neill. (Balloonatics happens to be the name of a 1998 Winnie the Pooh episode, though this is probably not the reference the authors intended.) The years 1999-2019 are those over which League was published. Moore seems to be dressed as Neptune, while O’Neill is dressed as Britannia (a frequent motif in LoEG). The trident staff features a center pencil. Moore smokes a characteristic large joint, the smoke forms thought bubbles. O’Neill smokes a cigar.

Text “a war between Victorian super-villains” – LoEG V1. “the battlefields of a 19th century Mars” – LoEG V2, #1 “post-Big Brother London” – The framing story of Black Dossier. “a hundred years of warlocks, criminals and spies” – LoEG Century. “the globe-spanning chronicles of a remorseless pirate queen” – The Nemo trilogy. “an ingenious culmination […] tempest” – Tempest.



Front endpaper

Front endpages depict (left to right) Mina Murray, Orlando, and Emma Peel.

The left hieroglyph depicts early LoEG team-member Allan Quatermain. Quatermain holds a rifle, emphasizing his prowess as a marksman. The date “1872” is when the crossover She and Allan took place. That may be one of the earliest LoEG-type crossover fiction events.

The flap folds over Quatermain, making it appear that Murray is looking up at Moore and O’Neill.

took place. That may be one of the earliest LoEG-type crossover fiction events. The flap folds over Quatermain, making it appear that Murray is looking up at Moore and O’Neill. Pink snake – suggest?? (It appears that ape-like figures are swinging on vines towards its mouth.)

Fallen statue of a pharaoh – suggest??

Female statue on right – suggest?? (Ayesha of She?)

Alligator-face statue – suggest?? (Possibly the deity Sobek?)

Page 1

Figure in upper right – Prospero.

The center helmet (of Britannia) includes two of the League’s characteristic question-marks.

Similar to the Prospero’s Men section in #2 (P10-11), this page is in a red and black duo-tone, a colouring combination that was common in UK comics.

The page seems to be divided into 3 “panels”, for reasons that aren’t entirely clear. The top left panel just shows indistinct wind and surf, but with an ordinary panel border. The upper right “panel” focuses on Prospero, but has warped border edges that are explicitly broken by both the surf and Prospero’s costume.

Page 2

“Northampton Al” and “”London Kev” clowns are, of course, Alan Moore and Kevin O’Neill.

“Cor” is an informal British exclamation expressing excitement.

Page 3 “This book belongs to”

Left to right are:

– The clown is James Bond, played by Roger Moore in the 1983 movie Octopussy. Watch the clown scene. (Thanks commenter Teatime)

– stilt-walking juggler (who has dropped a couple of dynamite sticks – Orlando??

– trapezist with elephant: Hugo Hercules

– woman in top hat – Mina Murray (neck covered)

– woman in blue – Emma Peel

– The clown is James Bond, played by Roger Moore in the 1983 movie Octopussy. Watch the clown scene. (Thanks commenter Teatime) – stilt-walking juggler (who has dropped a couple of dynamite sticks – Orlando?? – trapezist with elephant: Hugo Hercules – woman in top hat – Mina Murray (neck covered) – woman in blue – Emma Peel The crocodile with the clock is perhaps Captain Hook’s nemesis from J.M. Barrie’s Peter Pan stories. For what it’s worth the clock hands show the time 10:10 which is a common symmetrical default display time typically seen on new clocks and watches.

Page 4 “Thus is the course of fable’s river run…”

“The curtain of the stars” perhaps references Moore and O’Neill’s fate being spaced in Tempest #6 P24. It might also reference the fact that every issue ends with a Seven Stars letters page.

The upper windows form comics panels – including the 9-panel grid Moore used prominently in Watchmen. The comics panels are shown again on Prospero’s lower scroll.

The figure is Prospero.

Prospero holds a paper reading “scene 1 2-D or not 2-D?”. This refers to the Shakespeare play Faerie’s Fortunes Founded, seen in #4, with a pun on the classic Hamlet soliloquy, “To be or not to be”. It also refers to Prospero’s own dimensional nature, which is sometimes portrayed in 2-D, but often in 3-D.

The bellows and oven form a sort of Rube Goldberg-style ouija board. The letters spell out “Alan Moore” and “Kevin ONeill” plus an extra “B” and “T” (apparently for colorist Ben Dimagmaliw and letterer Todd Klein.) “Tempest” is written in lettering which suggests electricity (and thus Electro Girl). The stylized “7” is the logo of The Seven Stars.

Bee – suggest?? (May refer to Sherlock Holmes retirement as a beekeeper – depicted on page 1 of issue 6.)

See individual pages for annotations of chapters/issues one through six

Epilogue: Retiring Types

Page 1

panel 1

The story continues from when Moore and O’Neill’s put out into space in Tempest #6 P24. Moore and O’Neill tour the sets of earlier LoEG stories in a conceit somewhat similar to Moore’s imagined tour in his ABC comics sampler.

“Stone the crows” is “an exclamation of incredulity.” “Shoot the woodpidgeons”, though similarly formed, does not appear to be a pre-existing phrase, nor does “harass the conservationists”. It’s possible that these last two are in reference to a minor controversy about conservation.

“Ellafitzgerald, my dear Kev!” is a take-off on Sherlock Holmes common phrase “elementary, my dear Watson.”

“Peckham” is an area in South London.

“[W.] Heath Robinson” is a British cartoonist known for drawing elaborate machines. Commenter martin C points out ““Here’s to you Mr Heath Robinson” echoes the Simon & Garfunkel song Mrs Robinson.”

The machine appears to operate on pen and ink. These are, of course, what this fictional universe was constructed with.

Note the asteroids left over from Tempest #6, P24, p7.

Al’s “cigarette” appears to have gotten larger.

panels 1-5

Panelwise, the first five panels are entirely black and white, perhaps suggesting the mundane-ness of Moore and O’Neill’s actual lives compares to the fantastic worlds of fiction plumbed in LOEG? Color enters Retiring Types in the next panel and saturates the following pages.

panel 2

“Merciful crikey” is not a pre-existing expression. “Crikey” is a euphemistic way of saying “Christ”, and “merciful Christ” is an expression.

“Twenty years back” was when Moore and O’Neill first issues of LoEG were published.

panel 3

The construction crane and statue appeared in the first pages of LoEG V1.

panel 4

The airship (belonging to Moriarty) appeared in LoEG V1. This drawing seems specifically based on the full-page image from Tempest #6 P2.

Costume with rose-question mark and long gloves – Suggest??

Costume with stripes – Suggest??

panel 5

O’Neill drew plenty of robots in early issues of 2000 AD.

panel 6

“Limehouse” was the setting of much of LoEG V1.

Pages 2-3

panel 1

These two pages essentially contain a single very long panel, as the end of the first and second rows continue onto the start of the second and third rows. (Also the beginning of panel 1 is a continuation from page 1, and the end of the third row continues onto the fourth page.) Each row is a long panel, broken into four moments. These annotations treat each of these as four panels.

“Forget it, Kev. It’s Chinatown.” parodies the famous concluding line from the 1974 movie Chinatown. During the era when LoEG V1 was set, Limehouse was the “Chinatown” of London.

“Long, tough couple of minutes” parodies the fact that Moore’s writing takes much less actual time than what is spent by his collaborator artists.

The kite and red lantern appeared in LoEG V1, #6 page 7.

Similar to the Prospero’s Men section in Tempest #2 (P10-11), this panel is in a red and black duo-tone, a colouring combination that was common in UK comics.

panel 2

The setting changes into Mars, the locale of LoEG V2. The two moons of Mars are visible in the sky.

Cavorite is a fictional metal with anti-gravity properties, from H.G. Welles’ The First Men in the Moon. It was a significant plot element in LoEG V1. “Thirty-pages-plus-footnotes dissertation on the economics of cavorite” do not appear in the LoEG V1 script printed in the Absolute Edition. The script proper merely describes the cavorite as “A TENNIS-BALL SIZED NUGGET OF GLOWING WHITE ROCK, JUST HANGING THERE SUSPENDED IN SPACE INSIDE THE GLASS CASE,” and later as a “FLOATING, GLOWING INGOT”.

“Barsoom” is Edgar Rice Burroughs‘ fictional name for the planet Mars.

The helmet in the foreground is a Thark helmet. Examples of similar ones can be seen in LoEG V2 #1, P10-11,p1.

panel 3

“Banths” are lion-like Martian creatures, from Burroughs. They appear in LoEG V2 #1 (P10-11 shows several).

“Tripods” (shown in gray), from H. G. Wells’ The War of the Worlds, appear throughout LoEG V2.

panel 4

The setting becomes LoEG V3 Black Dossier‘s spaceport.

The smashed red car is the one commandeered by “Jimmy” in Black Dossier, then destroyed by Quatermain’s elephant gun. It may originally be from Dan Dare, though this is difficult to confirm.

The blue spaceship and green structure(?) do not appear to be specific references. – Suggest??

panel 5

Bloomsbury is a district in London (including the British Museum), where much of LoEG has been set. There may also be an allusion to the “Bloomsbury Group“, a group of associated English writers, intellectuals, philosophers and artists in the first half of the 20th century; as a sorrt of “super-group”.

Justice League refers to the popular DC superhero group, here used to stand in for the very idea of “group of superheroes”.

“Too much book-reading” refers to text stories in LoEG. The first two volumes of LoEG did feature significant chunks of prose text; these were relegated to the rear of the book and could be easily ignored. Black Dossier, by contrast, integrated them throughout, making them more intrusive to those who wanted “just comics”.

Kev is floating through a reinterpreted version of Captain Universe’s fortress “The Universarium”, as seen in Tempest #3 P26, p1. This is in some senses out of sequence, but the fortress was first mentioned (though not by that name) in the text backup to Century: 1910.

panel 6

Though they are discussing Century, the visual setting is now back to Black Dossier, specifically the thirty-nine steps leading up to Greyfriars School.

panel 7

Moore is making fun with his own attitude toward servicing fans’ requests. See his famous quote that begins “It’s not the job of the artist to give the audience what the audience wants.”

panel 8

The “Antarctic city” background appears loosely based on the “Mountains of Madness” sequence from Nemo: Heart of Ice.

“Sunken Yu-Atlanchi” was a prehistoric city whose sunken ruins formed an obstacle in Nemo: River of Ghosts. It comes from the novel The Face in the Abyss. It does not appear to be depicted in this sequence.

Lizard-like statue or vehicle at top -Suggest??

panel 9

“Knees-up” is British slang for a lively party or gathering.

The background remains the Antarctic city from the previous panel.

panel 10

panel 11

The Flash Avenger zeppelin appears in LoEG Tempest #4 starting on page 26. Moore has snatched Flash Avenger’s (currently gigantic) cigarette to replace his own, which seems to have dissolved in the previous panel.

Cavorite – See panel 2.

Al’s fuzzy word balloon may be meant to indicate the effects of smoking The Flash Avenger’s cigarette/beacon. Kev’s word balloon terminates in a pen nib, alluding to his primary artistic tool.

panel 12

The submarine is Captain Nemo’s Nautilus, which appears in LoEG volumes 1, 2, Black Dossier, etc.

Moore’s “speech bubbles always read like you might have overheard some real people talking once, perhaps during infancy” is self-deprecating humor.

Page 4

panel 1

“Militarized Teddy-bears” are seen in the Toyland sequences of Tempest #3. The “ark” in the background is also from there.

The panel background continues from the previous page, though what had appeared to water is now some kind of blue floor.

panel 2

“Sloppy comic-book ‘universes'” references how a “universe” should be all-encompassing and consistent, but comic-book universes obviously are not.

The robot in the background is The Iron Warrior, a member of the “Warralson Team” seen in Black Dossier.

The monkey with large banana is also from Toyland, Tempest #3, P16, p4.

panel 3

“Bonjo” was an early 2000 AD comics feature written and drawn by Kevin ONeill.

“Captain Klep” was a 2000 AD superhero parody, also by O’Neill.

The appearance of these collected volumes of minor O’Neill works may have been in reference to an actual collection of O’Neill’s early work that was released in 2019, Cosmic Comics.

panel 4

“Salome Einstein” as noted, is a letter-writer from Tempest #6, inside back cover letter page.

panel 5

“Lazoons” are monkeylike creatures from the planet Colevio (misspelled “Colvio” on the crate), from the Gerry Anderson TV show Fireball XL5.

panel 6

No notes.

panel 7

If the story about O’Neill’s grandfather is true, it wasn’t found on an internet search.

panel 8

No notes.

panel 9

It is pretty unusual for Moore to use thought balloons.

It, of course, does get worse on the back endpaper.

Back Endpaper

The endpages continue/conclude the “Retiring Types” story.

Alan Moore drives the “Al and Kev’s Removals” truck, which is flying due to cavorite shown at the front grille. The characteristic green glow of the cavorite’s energy also emerges from the headlights and bumper. Moore wears a Cthulhu tank top.

On the right, Kevin O’Neill struggles to hold onto an unraveling piece of The Invisible Man’s bandage wrap.

“In the post” apparently refers to the car registration being expired, and payment allegedly having been made by mail. It might also be a sly reference to Al delivering scripts late.

“ANK1” license plate is apparently for “Al ‘n Kev.” Similarly the logo on the door combine A and K.

Left page objects spilling out are (left to right):

– coat and shorts with “Toby” label belong to Toby the Giant Schoolboy – seen in Tempest #2 P30,p1 and Tempest #6 P25,p2.

– round shield with D5 XX – Policeman’s shield from #1, P3, p1.

– police hat with red glasses – Ditto.

– pie plate with bones and horns – Remains of Hugo Hercules’ “cow pie” from Nemo: River of Ghosts.

– coat and shorts with “Toby” label belong to Toby the Giant Schoolboy – seen in Tempest #2 P30,p1 and Tempest #6 P25,p2. – round shield with D5 XX – Policeman’s shield from #1, P3, p1. – police hat with red glasses – Ditto. – pie plate with bones and horns – Remains of Hugo Hercules’ “cow pie” from Nemo: River of Ghosts. Right page Upper half objects spilling out (top left to bottom right):

– taxidermied elephant-man – Edward Trunk (a friend of Rupert Bear), seen alive as one of Moreau’s experiments in LoEG V2 #5.

– Quatermain’s hat – Mina is seen wearing this in Tempest #1, P8.

– marionette doll – Presumably either Peg or Sarah Jane, companions to the Galleywag.

– tentacle-coiled staff – Suggest??

– suit of armor – Worn by Don Quixote in Tempest #2.

– 3-D glasses

– red dress – worn by Murray in xxxx.

– Nemo costume

– blue and red body suit – Worn by Emma Peel in Tempest #2.

– gray and red shirt – Presumably belonging to Broad Arrow Jack.

– taxidermied elephant-man – Edward Trunk (a friend of Rupert Bear), seen alive as one of Moreau’s experiments in LoEG V2 #5. – Quatermain’s hat – Mina is seen wearing this in Tempest #1, P8. – marionette doll – Presumably either Peg or Sarah Jane, companions to the Galleywag. – tentacle-coiled staff – Suggest?? – suit of armor – Worn by Don Quixote in Tempest #2. – 3-D glasses – red dress – worn by Murray in xxxx. – Nemo costume – blue and red body suit – Worn by Emma Peel in Tempest #2. – gray and red shirt – Presumably belonging to Broad Arrow Jack. Right page lower half objects spilling out

– The U-chested uniform belongs to Captain Universe, one of the Seven Stars.

– XX airship – A German/Tomanian (Nazi) craft from Nemo: The Roses of Berlin.

– Campion Bond’s harlequin cigarette case, with cigarettes falling out. Note that this is a callback to the second panel of the very first League story.

– sword – Orlando’s sword, allegedly Excalibur.

– carpet – Flying carpet owned by Gullivar Jones, seen in LoEG V2 #1.

– The Invisible Man’s “costume”

– crocodile-headed bust – As seen in almost the same position in the front endpapers. (Possibly the deity Sobek?)

– The U-chested uniform belongs to Captain Universe, one of the Seven Stars. – XX airship – A German/Tomanian (Nazi) craft from Nemo: The Roses of Berlin. – Campion Bond’s harlequin cigarette case, with cigarettes falling out. Note that this is a callback to the second panel of the very first League story. – sword – Orlando’s sword, allegedly Excalibur. – carpet – Flying carpet owned by Gullivar Jones, seen in LoEG V2 #1. – The Invisible Man’s “costume” – crocodile-headed bust – As seen in almost the same position in the front endpapers. (Possibly the deity Sobek?) The background shows the Galleywag’s airship, The Rose of Nowhere.

An octopus-like creature (Cthulhu?) approaches the British Isles.

The color and backround details fade to the right, as the LoEG universe is torn and scattered.

Inside Cover Back Flap

Illustration The picture shows a cyclopean Egyptian-style tomb for Alan Moore, topped by a statue of him in an armchair. Moore is wearing a bathrobe and slippers. A cloud billows behind Moore, possibly the result of his joint. The chair is adorned with comics iconography. To the left is a similarly-scaled ashtray. To the right is a tomb for Kevin O’Neill. It once was topped by a pencil, but the giant Moore seems to have broken off the upper half. This tomb is “closed”, presumably due to being much less popular. The sounds emerging may indicate that O’Neill is not dead, merely sleeping (like Cthulhu?) A crowd is gathered around the base of Moore’s tomb, though they seem to be in some peril from the ashes of his joint. One lone tourist seem to take a mild interest in O’Neill’s tomb.

Text “Al and Kev” continues to muddy the line between the actual creators and the personae they took on within the letter pages and “Retiring Types”. Both Moore and O’Neill were born in 1953, to working class families. The Beano is a popular British children’s comic from 1938 to the present. It was best known for its anarchic sense of humor. Leo Baxendale – Beano artist, see notes to Inside Front Cover of #1 for more details. Ken Reid – Beano artist, see notes to Inside Front Cover of #4 for more details. Eagle was a British children’s comic book that originally ran from 1950 to 1969 (though later relaunched). It primarily contained adventure strips. Frank Hampson was a British artist, best known for creating Dan Dare. Frank Bellamy was a British artist, see notes to Inside Front Cover of #2 for more details. “American comics shipped over as ballast” – This was largely how American comics made their way to the UK from the 1940s through the mid 80s – as incidental ballast for ships. Steve Ditko and Jack Kirby were two of the most important artistic powerhouses behind the success of Marvel comics in the 1960s, just as Moore and O’Neill were at the optimum age to appreciate them. Notable here is the absence of any reference to Stan Lee, the other huge creative force behind 60s Marvel. While he was clearly a very important contributor, his tendencies to arrogate all credit to himself, and to engage in unsavory business practices, have led many, including Moore, to give him no credit. Comic book fanzines have been around since the 1930s. Will Eisner was an innovative American comic book creator for most of his long life. His most famous early work was on The Spirit, which Moore and O’Neill would most likely have first encountered in the Harvey Comics reprints of 1966-7. Harvey Kurtzman was another innovative American comic book creator. His work on Mad would be hugely influential on Moore. E.C. Comics (who published Mad) were notable for the complexity and moral depth of their storytelling. While the comics line had been driven out of existence in the mid 1950s, a considerable fan culture centered around these comics remains to this day. In 1964–66, Ballantine Books published five black-and-white paperbacks of EC stories, which may be where Moore first encountered them. witzend was an influential fanzine, launched in 1966 by Wally Wood (an artist who worked for EC, among others). Underground Comix (usually spelled with an x) were small press countercultural comic books first published in the late 1960s. Warren Publishing was an American company that attempted to follow the pattern of EC Comics. In the 1970s, they also began reprinting Eisner’s The Spirit. 2000AD is a weekly British comic book founded in 1977. “the American market” – Moore and O’Neill were both hired by the American company DC Comics in the mid 1980s. Subsequently, they each did work for Marvel, and for smaller, independent publishers. As alluded to further in this sentence, Moore and O’Neill each experienced significant ethical disputes with DC, and with other corporate-owned comic lines, hence the use of the vague term “American market” rather than naming names. “industry had become narrower, was aimed solely at adults who possessed significantly more than ninepence” – Since the rise of the comic book direct market distribution system, mainstream comic books have indeed become more and more focused on wealthy, adult fans. Around the time this text would have been being written, the average comic book cover price hit a record high of $4.67, and has not dropped below $4 since. “parasitical Toxoplasmosis worm” – Referring to the myth that Toxoplasmosis (which, incidentally, is not a worm) causes behavioral changes in human beings that make them behave against their own best interests. This is based on the actual fact that Toxoplasmosis does affect the behavior of mice, making them more reckless so that the parasite can get into a cat’s digestive system to complete its own life-cycle. This is reminiscent of Moore’s use of a since-discredited planarian worm experiment as a pivotal plot point in issue #21 of Swamp Thing. A good story can last a lot longer than the correction!



Back Cover

This image was used on the cover of the early LoEG Tempest Ashcan.