Alan Moore, �Promethea: Book 1�
Recently I had to turn in a short story into my fiction class (which Brian was supposed to get information for me for and never did � you�re outta the gang). I decided to try something I hadn�t done before � which was to write a story that didn�t have any humor in it whatsoever. This is not easy for me to do, as I make fun of EVERYTHING.
So, in order to try and restrain myself, I decided to write a story about Mia Zapata. (The singer from the Gits who was raped and killed and they finally arrested somebody after 10 years � man, you guys have short memories! Stop watching all that fucking TV!)
The story I wrote used actual names and facts from the case, but then inserted a central character named Jack. Jack was Mia�s friend in Seattle who became a cop, was there at the crime scene, and moved away to Florida to escape from the painful memories. I tried to mirror the details of the case and what happened in real life, but stretched the story so that Jack was tipped off to the culprit and then has to wrestle with thoughts of revenge against a sense of duty.
I thought it turned out pretty good, and the rest of the class seemed to think so as well, though they seemed a little shell-shocked � I think they were expecting another wacky sarcastic piece.
It was a painful smile that I had to keep on my face, however, as I listened to people make comments like, �I�m not sure I can believe the thing about ten years passing, the killer turning up across the country, and the fact that Jack would still be so distraught about her death.�
Protocol for these sessions decree the author keeps silent during the entire discussion, and is then allowed two minutes to explain motivation for the piece. The shocked looked on the rest of the class was probably pretty good as I explained that Mia, Jesus, and all the aspects of the case were true. I say probably, because I�m not sure mdash; I could only stare at the ground as I talked.
What was unusual, however, was the reaction from one classmate after I explained the piece. She thought I pulled this story out of my ass and wanted to think this was all based on imagination. She seemed disappointed to discover that it wasn�t.
Her response seems a little callous in print, but I know what she was going for. I�m constantly amazed at the imagination of others � Films like Delicatessen, Brazil, The City of Lost Children, Evil Dead, and all of the Coen Brother films.
And books! Books like Do Robots Dream of Electric Sheep, Watership Down, Fight Club and Animal Farm. Authors like Vonnegut and DeLillo, and even more reality based authors like Steinbeck and Hunter S. Thompson.
Even bands like NoMeansNo, Victim�s Family, Tom Waits and the Dead Kennedys (no link because I�m still in denial over this so-called �reunion�) continually shock the hell out of me.
There�s a sense of wonder that follow these people, which is why they�re always bombarded with questions that revolve around �where do you get your ideas?�
And that�s the same sense of wonder that I had with this book. I had no idea what it was about when I started it. All I knew was that it was written by Alan Moore. And I like Alan Moore.
Promethea deals with the subject of Muses and their role and responsibility to the world, and it constantly made my jaw drop. There is stuff in this funnybook that would put revered philosophers to shame. Here is a story line that mocks the stagnation of respected literary visionaries. And it makes me furious to think Moore is dismissed in some circles solely because his words are accompanied by pictures.
Amazing, amazing, amazing. Being as Daredevil obsessed as I am, I would usually recommend Frank Miller�s Born Again series to anybody as a testament of what can be done with the genre of comics in the right hands. I hate to say it, but this has Born Again beat, hands down.
I�m so confident of this book that I challenge anybody to read it, particularly those who dismiss comic books as something �for kids,� and not agree with me. Of course, with my dental bills, I can�t refund your money if you don�t like it, but if you don't, I will punch you in the mouth.
