Alan Moore's Writing For Comics Volume 1

I enjoyed the book mostly, until the last chapter, which he wrote 15 years later and in which he basically says "Forget everything I wrote about 15 years ago. Things have changed, and those observations don't apply anymore." After absorbing the rest of the book, it kind of dampened my enjoyment. I am now left with the thought that he should have just written a new book with his updated views, using the benefit of the years of experience since the first book. It being the first book I have read on this subject, I don't have anything else to compare it to, but I feel sure there are better books out there that don't contradict themselves.

As the band "Killing Joke" sings, "Alan Moore knows the score" -- but as much as I love comic books, and appreciate Mr. Moore, I was disappointed with this purchase.

It's a comic book format reprint of an article by Moore about comic books from 2004 or such.

Not that Moore isn't the best of the best of writers, but this is not "a book" and this is not something written for fans or wannabe writers to gain tremendous insight into writing comic books from Alan Moore's perspective.

Instead, it's a clumsy attempt to score some sales based on Moore's name and legacy, by merely reprinting and repackaging an interesting article.

Even with current comic book prices being what they are, I'd rather buy two comic books than this one.

A brief pamphlet (hilariously described as a "graphic novel" on the back cover -- I think they meant to call it a "trade paperback") reprinting a 1985 essay, followed by an afterword from 2003 in which the author says that everything he wrote earlier was rubbish.

Moore was young when he wrote the original essay, and he has the young creator's fascination with his own processes and successes, as well as the timidity of someone who's not entirely sure whether he's getting by on talent or luck, and whether it will all be swept away soon enough. He also demonstrates the cynicism of someone who knows he's cobbled together some hackwork on occasion to meet a deadline or collect a paycheck: "Cor, I have to write a Superman story right away, and I'd like it to be vaguely interesting, but mainly it's got to fill 40 pages, a third of which must be fight scenes." Moore takes us through this exact task of his, one step at a time, from the first germ of a workable Superman idea through the plotting of each chunk of the final story, and how he solved certain problems of pacing and plotting along the way.

Parts of this book almost read like a blog, specifically the blog of someone making a webcomic and dashing off some paragraphs about how they wrote this week's strip. So in that way, it's no more or less fascinating, and no more or less artful, than listening to this week's Penny Arcade podcast detailing how Jerry and Mike put together today's strip from scratch -- something I also enjoy on occasion. It turns out Alan Moore is just another writer, just another guy -- and maybe that's the most useful thing that can be gleaned from Writing for Comics.

Dear other Writer, i forgive you. I forgive you for comparing Alan Moore to Millar, Ditko and Stan Lee! Argh. The other three dorks are not even in the same league.
Nonetheless, it`s true what you said about Alan Moore`s Writing for COmics: It's a very facinating view into the mind of one of the best writers in the western hemisphere. It`s baffling what he writes, because it's very simple, reminds you of your own doubts about your writing and pushes you to constantly change your views and perspective. I find his remarks about the damn neurosis very helpful, in which he acknoledwges that sometimes he finds his own works very distateful and can't even bring himself to admit that the one who wrote this has even an ounce of talent.
It's very familiar, isn`t it? Writers have a difficult time seeing their works objectively. We tend to exaggerate the quality or diminish it. It's very reassuring that one of the great writers has the same troubles and problems. It's very comforting, because you know it doesnt mean youre crazy or a bad writer when you find your own stories sometimes unreadable.
So this "book" is not a how do to in the common sense, but two masterful essays for the more experienced writer who has mastered basis storytelling and writing processes. Very helpful, indeed...

I bought The Bojeffries Saga because I'm a fan of Steve Parkhouse.Through that book I became interested in Alan Moore and bought
Alan Moore's - Writing for Comics. It's a thin volume but I felt he said all he needed to say. I would have been flipping through pages to get to the meat of it if it had been puffed up with filler. It was worth the money for me.

Sure, it's a comic-book format book on comics, and an expensive one to boot. But, if you can forget the medium and focus on the message Moore is trying you get across, you'll be surprised to find that it's more than just a guide to writing funny books. It's a guide to the creative process.

This is one of the most succinct and eloquent books on the creative process I have ever read, and I've read plenty. If you are new to the creative process, Moore outlines what it takes to tell a good story in a way that connects to the reader, tights or no. If you are already a creator, the last chapter tells you the questions you'll find yourself facing when you have mastered the form.

I really can't recommend this title enough, even if the cost seems a little steep for what you appear to be getting.

This tool is very useful to the novice and expert writer. It allows you to see writing in a completely visual perspective, something very much needed for all of the boring writing styles the 21st century is flooded with.

This book came highly recommended to me from a friend who has produced comics, but it is more of an essay on Alan Moore's philosophy behind why he writes comics than a how to on writing comics.

This book came highly recommended to me from a friend who has produced comics, but it is more of an essay on Alan Moore's philosophy behind why he writes comics than a how to on writing comics.

ALL rambling text. I sent it back. No form, Any book with with subject matter should offer several templates to show a writer HOW to write in well defined spaces. This books fails miserably at that.