“It’s a bit surprising when some of the characters you thought you made up suddenly seem to escape into ordinary reality,” said Moore, who visited what Channel 4 characterized as an “anti-capitalist” protest in London. “I’m amazed, I’m very impressed, and I’m rather touched. The people here are amazing. I think this is the best organized and most forward-thinking protest I’ve had any experience of.”
In the clip, Moore comes into contact with a masked protestor and asks, “What is it about the mask - is it just useful or what?” The protestor answered, “The whole character is very relevant to what we’re doing. We’re going against a system that we feel is corrupt. We’re doing the same thing as what happened in the movie.” (Don’t worry, the Channel 4 reporter was quick to point out that Moore objects in the strongest possible terms to Warner Bros.’ V for Vendetta film (and also discusses the irony of the Guy Fawkes mask as a profitable enterprise for WB).
Contemplating the sheer volume of people who’ve sustained the Occupy movement for these many months, Moore compared the protestors to a tidal wave. “I don’t think that they are the cause of the wave,” he said. “They are simply the medium it is moving through. A tidal wave cannot be said to have succeeded or failed. All that it can be said to have done is to have changed things. Often monumentally.”
[Via Robot 6]
‘V for Vendetta’ Writer Alan Moore Comes Face-to-Guy-Fawkes-Face with Occupy Protestors [Video]
By Andy Khouri
As the co-author of V for Vendetta, the classic anarchist graphic novel whose anti-hero V’s Guy Fawkes mask has become an indelible symbol of the Occupy protests that have manifested in cities around the world, it was only a matter of time before Alan Moore toured the scene for himself. Although the writer and his V collaborator David Lloyd had previously expressed approval of and support for the protestors and are contributing to the Occupy Comics anthology, Moore had never visited a protest in person until the U.K.’s Channel 4 News offered to introduce him to some of the young people he’s inspired to take to the streets.
Alan Moore to Contribute to ‘Occupy Comics’ Anthology
By Andy Khouri
Alan Moore will join his V for Vendetta co-creator David Lloyd among the ranks of Occupy Comics, the forthcoming Kickstarter-funded anthology project inspired by Occupy Wall Street and its sister protests around the world. The news comes just days after Moore made a heavily proliferated response to comics creator Frank Miller’s dramatic condemnation of the protesters, some of whose activities are in some measure inspired by Moore and Lloyd’s work. For Occupy Comics, Moore will contribue a prose piece that according to Wired will “explore the Occupy movement’s principles, corporate control of the comics industry and the superhero paradigm itself.”
![‘Occupy Comics’ Anthology: Exclusive Creators, Kickstarter and Social Change Through Art [Interview]
By Andy Khouri
Occupy Comics: Art & Stories Inspired by Occupy Wall Street is a forthcoming comic book anthology featuring work created in response to the Occupy movement taking place at multiple sites around the world, most notably in New York City. Led by filmmaker Matt Pizzolo (Warren Ellis: Captured Ghosts, Godkiller), the project is intended to be “a time capsule of the passions and emotions driving the movement” and “tell the stories of the people who are out there putting themselves at risk for an idea.”Featuring such popular creators as Charlie Adlard, Marc Andreyko, Tyler Crook, J.M. DeMatteis, Joshua Dysart, Joshua Hale Fialkov, Joseph Michael Linsner, Steve Niles, Steve Rolston, Tim Seeley, Ben Templesmith, Dan Goldman, Amanda Palmer and Darick Robertson, Occupy Comics has already received $10,000 in pledges via the Kickstarter fundraising platform. ComicsAlliance can confirm exclusively that Occupy Comics will also containmaterial by Mike Allred, Shannon Wheeler, Eric Drooker, Ryan Ottley, Dean Haspiel, Guy Denning and, perhaps most auspiciously, David Lloyd, whose work has already had a demonstrable influence on the Occupy movement, with many protesters wearing the Guy Fawkes mask he designed for his and Alan Moore’s anarchist anti-hero in V for Vendetta.Occupy Comics is distinct from other comics-based Kickstarter campaigns in that it will pay its contributors from the funds raised, but those contributors have promised to “immediately” donate their wages to the protesters as they see fit, and before the final product is released. The plan requires some explanation, so with nine fundraising days remaining in the campaign, ComicsAlliance connected with Matt Pizzolo for a candid interview about the philosophy, goals and financial particulars of Occupy Comics, and to discuss the controversial protest movement that the book represents.
Read the interview at ComicsAlliance.](http://24.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_lvfth4dclz1qcw9rdo1_500.jpg)
‘Occupy Comics’ Anthology: Exclusive Creators, Kickstarter and Social Change Through Art [Interview]
By Andy Khouri
Occupy Comics: Art & Stories Inspired by Occupy Wall Street is a forthcoming comic book anthology featuring work created in response to the Occupy movement taking place at multiple sites around the world, most notably in New York City. Led by filmmaker Matt Pizzolo (Warren Ellis: Captured Ghosts, Godkiller), the project is intended to be “a time capsule of the passions and emotions driving the movement” and “tell the stories of the people who are out there putting themselves at risk for an idea.”
Featuring such popular creators as Charlie Adlard, Marc Andreyko, Tyler Crook, J.M. DeMatteis, Joshua Dysart, Joshua Hale Fialkov, Joseph Michael Linsner, Steve Niles, Steve Rolston, Tim Seeley, Ben Templesmith, Dan Goldman, Amanda Palmer and Darick Robertson, Occupy Comics has already received $10,000 in pledges via the Kickstarter fundraising platform. ComicsAlliance can confirm exclusively that Occupy Comics will also containmaterial by Mike Allred, Shannon Wheeler, Eric Drooker, Ryan Ottley, Dean Haspiel, Guy Denning and, perhaps most auspiciously, David Lloyd, whose work has already had a demonstrable influence on the Occupy movement, with many protesters wearing the Guy Fawkes mask he designed for his and Alan Moore’s anarchist anti-hero in V for Vendetta.
Occupy Comics is distinct from other comics-based Kickstarter campaigns in that it will pay its contributors from the funds raised, but those contributors have promised to “immediately” donate their wages to the protesters as they see fit, and before the final product is released. The plan requires some explanation, so with nine fundraising days remaining in the campaign, ComicsAlliance connected with Matt Pizzolo for a candid interview about the philosophy, goals and financial particulars of Occupy Comics, and to discuss the controversial protest movement that the book represents.
Frank Miller Was a Cranky Old Man All Along: A Retrospective
By Chris Sims
By now, you’ve almost certainly heard about the statements about the Occupy protests by legendary comic book creator and hat enthusiast Frank Miller, in which he referred to the protesters as “louts, thieves and rapists” and suggested that they “go back to your mommas’ basements.” They are undoubtedly pretty polarizing statements, but we here at ComicsAlliance have been a little perplexed by people saying that they were surprised by them. If you’ve been reading his comics closely over the years, you could spot this coming a mile away. That’s why today, we’ve decided to take a look back at Miller’s earlier works and identify the moments where these ideas begin to emerge.
![Mark Millar Defends ‘Favorite Writer’ Frank Miller from Fan Backlash [Op-Ed]
By Laura Hudson
Batman: The Dark Knight Returns and 300 creator Frank Miller has faced a great deal of criticism lately for his controversial behavior and commentary, from the anti-Muslim sentiment of his self-described “propaganda” graphic novel Holy Terror, his admitted ignorance about the faith of the people he wants to “burn in hell,” and his comments labeling the Occupy Wall Street protestors “pond scum” and “louts, thieves and rapists” for distracting America from what he believes is an Islamic threat.Miller’s screeds have shocked many comic book fans and even professionals, not just because his ideas are ideologically different than their own, but because his “analysis,” as Wanted and Kick-Ass writer Mark Millar called it, amounts to little more than ugly, emotional tantrums comprised almost entirely of name-calling. Millar has nonetheless stepped up to defend Miller, berating his “favorite writer’s” critics for… well, being so mean to him.
Politically, I disagree with [Miller’s] analysis, but that’s besides the point. I wasn’t shocked by his comments because they’re no different from a lot of commentators I’ve seen discussing the subject. What shocked me was the vitriol against him, the big bucket of sh*t poured over the head by even fellow comic-book creators for saying what was on his mind.
Apologism is a common reaction, or tactic, by the supporters of great men and women whose profound personal flaws or misdeeds have been exposed, and an understandable one. It’s difficult to watch your heroes fall, especially by their own hand. But let’s get real: the problem here is Miller and the things he has said and done, not the fact that other people have failed to protect him from the consequences of his very public and deliberate actions.Read more at ComicsAlliance.](http://24.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_lurqcvS1Dd1qcw9rdo1_500.jpg)
Mark Millar Defends ‘Favorite Writer’ Frank Miller from Fan Backlash [Op-Ed]
By Laura Hudson
Batman: The Dark Knight Returns and 300 creator Frank Miller has faced a great deal of criticism lately for his controversial behavior and commentary, from the anti-Muslim sentiment of his self-described “propaganda” graphic novel Holy Terror, his admitted ignorance about the faith of the people he wants to “burn in hell,” and his comments labeling the Occupy Wall Street protestors “pond scum” and “louts, thieves and rapists” for distracting America from what he believes is an Islamic threat.
Miller’s screeds have shocked many comic book fans and even professionals, not just because his ideas are ideologically different than their own, but because his “analysis,” as Wanted and Kick-Ass writer Mark Millar called it, amounts to little more than ugly, emotional tantrums comprised almost entirely of name-calling. Millar has nonetheless stepped up to defend Miller, berating his “favorite writer’s” critics for… well, being so mean to him.
Politically, I disagree with [Miller’s] analysis, but that’s besides the point. I wasn’t shocked by his comments because they’re no different from a lot of commentators I’ve seen discussing the subject. What shocked me was the vitriol against him, the big bucket of sh*t poured over the head by even fellow comic-book creators for saying what was on his mind.
Apologism is a common reaction, or tactic, by the supporters of great men and women whose profound personal flaws or misdeeds have been exposed, and an understandable one. It’s difficult to watch your heroes fall, especially by their own hand. But let’s get real: the problem here is Miller and the things he has said and done, not the fact that other people have failed to protect him from the consequences of his very public and deliberate actions.
Read more at ComicsAlliance.
Cartoonists Occupy Webcomics in ‘Beginning of the American Fall’ and ‘Occupy Sketchbook’
Known to ComicsAlliance readers for publishing Susie Cagle’s What Every Woman Should Know — about the faith-based “crisis pregnancy centers” that have been cropping up in California — and several pieces in support of assaulted cartoonist Ali Ferzat, Cartoon Movement has quite naturally been all over the Occupy Wall Street protest in New York City and elsewhere. The site and its contributors have been documenting scenes and anecdotes from the controversial protests around the United States, and the results so far have been the first seven-page installment of Minimum Security cartoonist Stephanie McMillan’s “The Beginning of the American Fall” and the first Occupy Sketchbook, featuring work by Cagle as well as Shannon Wheeler (Too Much Coffee Man, I Thought You Would Be Funnier) and Sharon Rosenzweig (The Comic Torah).
