Here I am stepping on my own upcoming diary, (the conclusion of my series on Roger Zelazny's Lord of Light, also running this evening), but I came across this article and wanted to share it. A couple weeks ago we read about comic book creator Frank Miller's rants against the Occupy Wall Street Movement. Well here are some thoughts on the subject by a comics writer who has a personal interest in it: The man behind the V-for-Vendetta mask, Alan Moore.
The British newspaper Guardian has published a very good interview with Alan Moore in which he discusses his story V for Vendetta, the Occupy Wall Street movement and the intersection between the two. Much of the interview discusses how the mask worn by the protagonist of his graphic novel has been adopted by OWS.
"I suppose when I was writing V for Vendetta I would in my secret heart of hearts have thought: wouldn't it be great if these ideas actually made an impact? So when you start to see that idle fantasy intrude on the regular world… It's peculiar. It feels like a character I created 30 years ago has somehow escaped the realm of fiction."
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"That smile is so haunting," says Moore. "I tried to use the cryptic nature of it to dramatic effect. We could show a picture of the character just standing there, silently, with an expression that could have been pleasant, breezy or more sinister." As well as the mask, Occupy protesters have taken up as a marrying slogan "We are the 99%"; a reference, originally, to American dissatisfaction with the richest 1% of the US population having such vast control over the country. "And when you've got a sea of V masks, I suppose it makes the protesters appear to be almost a single organism – this "99%" we hear so much about. That in itself is formidable. I can see why the protesters have taken to it."
He also comments on the irony of the fact that all these protestors against corporate greed are buying masks designed as a movie tie-in to do their protests:
"I find it comical, watching Time Warner try to walk this precarious tightrope." Through contacts in the comics industry, he explains, he has heard that boosted sales of the masks have become a troubling issue for the company. "It's a bit embarrassing to be a corporation that seems to be profiting from an anti-corporate protest. It's not really anything that they want to be associated with. And yet they really don't like turning down money – it goes against all of their instincts." Moore chuckles. "I find it more funny than irksome."
There's a lot more to the interview, and it's worth reading. Moore sometimes comes off in his public utterances as a weird and bitter crank, because of the battles he's fought with the comics industry. It's good to see him in a comparatively good mood for a change.
And the interview makes a nice refreshing antidote to Frank Miller.
Alan Moore -- Meet the Man Behind the Protest Mask.
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