Amazing Heroes #71 (1985)

“Are you quite ready for the Alan Moore Interview?” The cover of Amazing Heroes tries to tantalize readers as so many publications do when featuring Alan Moore, even to this day. Fans are used to reading catchy headlines relating to Moore and his opinions. The headline pairs well with Stephen Bissette’s manic looking portrait of Moore. Unfortunately the hype surrounding his notoriety and his sometimes abrasive demeanor can overshadow his great work. I tend to ignore what I hear about Moore. I appreciate that he has opinions about the industry and his past work, but I enjoy focusing on his efforts related to Swamp Thing. I love reading about his process and understanding what went into the run. The creative team worked their tails off, executing some of Comics most ambitious and well executed books. This Moore interview is full of great content and insightful Swamp Thing information. It’s quite long so I’ll only be featuring the pieces that reference Swamp Thing.

Kim Thompson conducts the interview and is quite thorough. Moore’s career is chronicled and his career highlights are discussed. Below are portions of the introduction that relate to Swamp Thing.

Thompson begins the interview by asking Moore about the current success and acclaim that the Swamp Thing title is experiencing. Moore has a humble and almost sweet response to the question.

Below, Moore attributes part of Swamp Thing’s success and appeal to adding “emotional depth and reality to the stories.”

“I’m just baffled by the entire phenomenon–sitting back and watching it with complete bewilderment.” – Alan Moore

Thompson asks Moore if he scares himself while writing.

Alan Moore is asked about his weak plotting. I appreciate his mention of exposition. It’s something that tends to lose my interest in literature and film, but I understand it’s often crucial in telling a story. I enjoy Moore’s balance of exposition and movement in his writing.

Moore continues, talking about his writing process. I thought it was really cool that he talks about Brian Eno & Peter Schmidt’s Oblique Strategies. I bought a set a number of years ago because A) I work in Design and like things that take my mind out of the present moment and B) I’m a big fan of Brian Eno. If you’re unfamiliar with the cards, check them out here. Moore helps to clarify how they help to expand his frame of thinking, below.

Thompson asks Moore about working within parameters.

Moore is asked what his favorite Swamp Thing book is so far.

The article features a few images from the Swamp Thing books but nothing too exciting except for the image below. It’s fun to see the refined drawing after the sketch.

Besides the Moore Interview, the book features two more fun Swamp Thing highlights. Toward the beginning of the book, Warren Drummond illustrates a funny therapy session between Swamp Thing and Man-Thing. “My books keep flopping” …that’s rich.

Toward the back of the book, within the “Amazing Readers” section, Swamp Thing is the featured illustration.

Carl Taylor is the illustrator