There are those who create comic books, and then there are those who adapt them to the big screen. These two groups are rarely in agreement with each other. Alan Moore falls in the first category. One of his more prominent works includes Watchmen, the 1980s reality where superheroes lived among us. In 2019, HBO developed Alan’s comic book maxiseries into a series with the same name. As you can probably guess, Alan had something to say about it.
Alan Moore on the Current Industry
Aside from Watchmen, the 66-year-old creator’s legacy also includes V for Vendetta and The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen, all of which have movie adaptations. In a recent interview, he shared his critical views on the matter while announcing his retirement from the world of comics. He explained that the origin of comics was to entertain working-class people and their kids. It was for people who didn’t have much money. And nowadays, the so-called “graphic novels” wave is entirely priced for middle-class people who can afford a lot more.
Alan says that nowadays most people equate comics with superhero movies, which are two things that should be kept separate in his opinion. That’s why they have blighted cinema and popular culture, too. To him, it is worrying that hundreds of thousands of adults are lining up to see superhero characters that were created half a century ago to entertain 12-year-olds. It’s a form of escapism that shows people want to detach themselves from the complexities of the modern world and sink into a nostalgic childhood they loved.
HBO’s Watchmen Saw Unprecedented Success
Judging by how successful HBO’s Watchmen has been among adult audiences, Alan may be right. The series got a whopping 26 Emmy nominations and won 11 of them, including for Best Limited Series, Best Actress (for Regina King as Angela Abar / Sister Night), and Best Supporting Actor (for Abdul-Mateen as Calvin “Cal” Abar).