A couple of weeks ago I was hanging out in Montreal and picked up a graphic novel called V for Vendetta by Alan Moore in a great comic book store. Partly, I admit, influenced by the amazing cover (by David Lloyd) I bought it and got stuck in.
It blew me away. Comic book heroes are supposed to be, well, heros not anarchist, terrorist criminals who dress up as Guy Fawkes. And comic book plots are supposed to be simple escapism. But not V. The whole thing is laced with politics and social commentary.
Then this evening I was listening to Chain Reaction. The concept for the series is simple: starting on 30th December one entertainment personality (it started with Jenny Eclair) interviews somebody of their choosing (she chose Jimmy Carr). Then that person gets to interview somebody of their choosing the week after. Having missed a few weeks I have no idea how it got from there to Alan Moore. But anyway, he was brilliant — well worth a listen again.
Even more extraordinary is that next week Alan Moore will be interviewing Demos friend, Long Now founder and musical genius Brian Eno. I can’t wait.
