Tuesday, January 27, 1987
Moore's 'Swamp TMng,'
By Chris McCubbin
Diversions Editor
There's really very little doubt that
the single best writer working in
the field of comics today is an
Englishman named Alan Moore. With
all due respect to Frank Miller and
Howard Chaykin and Los Brothers Her
nandez and a few other indisputably
brilliant comic creators, Alan Moore is,
beyond doubt, the best writer of Eng
lish prose in the industry today.
Comics Now
What makes Moore so good? Well,
there are his characters, which are, in
the best paradoxical comic tradition,
both thoroughly larger than life and
thoroughly lifelike. There are his plots,
which combine wild, unheard-of flights
of fantasy with beautifully, brutally
rational plot development.
And then there's his prose. Moore's
prose evokes many good things, among
them, things by people like William
Faulkner, Edgar Allan Poe, H.P. Love
craft and Stephen King. But Moore's
voice is uniquely his own. He doesn't
write much like anyone else at all, and
nothing whatsoever like anyone else in
comics.
Here's an example of how Moore
writes from a promotional blurb he did
CLASSIFIED ADVERTISING
CALL 472-2588
$2 75 minimum charge per day on commercial ads.
Ten words included.
$2 25 minimum charge per day on individual student
and student organization ads.
$ 75 billing charge on noncommercial ads. All
personal ads must be prepaid.
NO REFUNDS ON PRE-PAID ADS
NO RESPONSIBILITY ASSUMED FOR MORE THAN
ONE INCORRECT INSERTION.
FOUND ads may be submitted free of charge.
FOR SALE
FOR SALEand at half-price yet! Show your student
ID and buy the best imported (Haribo!) German
gummi bears for half-price at the new Gmny's Candy
Jar. downtown next to the Stuart Theater on 13th
Street. This week only!
ONE MORE TIME
Quality home furnishings at affordable prices.
850 No. 27th St.
474-2065
AIRLINES NOW HIRING, Flight attendants, agents,
mechanics, customer service. Salaries to S50K. Entry
level positions. Call 805-687-6000. Ext. A-9636 lor current
listings
2 ROUND-TRIP tickets to Chicago Leave Jan. 27 or Jan.
30. Return Feb. 1. Call Don. 476-5221 days or 483-1255
evenings.
AUTOS FOX1 SALE
1984 TRANS-AM. loaded with equipment with 1986
spoileis and stripes. White with graphite interior. S8.250.
423-7455. keep trying.
1975 CHEVY IMPALA. S600. Rusty but perfect engine.
Call 475-4002 or 464-3660 after 5:30 p.m. Ask for Stephanie.
1977 MERCURY COMET 302 V-8. Sporty, good condition.
S1.000 netotiable. 472-2699. 467-1895.
1980 VW RABBIT Diesel, white. 56.000 miles, sticks.
AMFM StereoCassette, great on gas: 35-40 mpg.
asking S1.800 Phone 476-2676 ask for Tom.
FOU REBJT
2-BEDR00M. large, clean, parking, central air. shower,
bus. 18th & Euclid. S300. 475-6669.
NEAR CAMPUS, newer 2-bedroom S295. 489-2203.
4-bedroom. 2 bath, double garage. 630 N 34th St.. S550.
489-2203.
CONVENIENCE PLUS
Located close to work AND campus Beautiful, clean, all
appliance apartments. Think summer outdoor pool.
Oft-street parking. 1-bedroom S309; 2-bedroom, 1 bath
S349: 2-bedroom. 2 bath S389 & up.
WILLOWHAVEN APARTMENTS
1800 KNOX
76-6200
Josenh E Kean Co. 474-1666
rnuTFMPn I iwrni N
2-bedroom mobile homes. S235 & up
435-6683
3601 N 1st
IINFIIRNIRHFD 2-bedroom. fireolace. carpet, paiking.
no pets. S280. 1833 Knox. 477-7684 ;
HAYWARD PLACE
9th a CHARLESTON
Excellent ur ersity location for very nice, modern. 1
bedroom apartments. Dishwashers and microwaves,
laundry facilities. Call Mega. 475-8407 or 477-1535.
EAST CAMPUS
3600 Huntington. Large 2-bedroom. fireplace, appliances,
laundry, parking. S300. 489 9916
2-BFDR00M appliances." ail electric Laundry room,
tr ee cable, no pets. S345 19 1 0 Kno x 46 083 nr 47 7684
2-BEDROOM "unfurnished, near campus, with stove and
rjtjjeroj285Jeaj;eJ75J927
1722 N. 28
One bedroom house, clean, parking, basement, no pets,
available Feb 1 S215. 464-6613
2627 VINE
Attractive 1-bedroom, smaller unit. S245 plus electric.
464-4862 or 474-1380
CCUNTY
ARNOLP
SCHMRMM60CR...
MY OOP...M MM'S
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T
for "Swamp Thing."
"And there was a teenage girl who
also came, her despair so fierce and
black that the midges would not gather
to her. The shopping bag in her hand
contained something small and still
and cold and a stone to weight it down
with. Her heart contained the same
things, but after a different fashion.
The first she let slip beneath the iri
descent scum. The second she took
away and carried with her always."
All right, maybe a whole novel full of
this sort of stuff would start to sound
pretty dumb. But Moore doesn't write
novels, he writes comic books, and this
baroque, unabashedly purple style, this
snaky, sultry, scary sensuality, is per
fect for the unbridled explosion of fury
and emotion that is a well-done adven
ture comic. And yet somehow Moore
manages to create all these worlds and
things and moods using fewer words
than 75 percent of comics writers today
would use to say "Monster A slugged
Hero B."
Moore has written many, many com
ics. In all styles and genres. But he's
dofng three series of special interest to
American readers right now.
"Miracleman" (Eclipse)
"Miracleman" has roots that go back to
the very first days of the comic book
industry. I wish I had space to run
down this character's fascinating pre
Alan Moore history, but I don't. Suffice
NEAR CAMPUS
NICE 1 2 BEDROOM UNITS. NO RENT UNTIL
FEBRUARY 1. FROM S265MO. PLUS DEPOSIT.
421-3989. 474-1064
S165 EFFICIENCY7S200 i-bedroom. 10th & X." Newly
remodeled. Most utilities paid. 423-7455. keep trying.
1-BEDROOM DUPLEX
Furnished or unfurnished S225 & up. Nice, clean units.
435-6683. 3601 N 1st St.
CLEAN AND CLOSE
2-bedroom apartment located close to East Campus and
Uni Place shopping All appliances. Laundry facilities.
Off-street parking
HUNTINGTON SQUARE APARTMENTS
3300 HUNTINGTON AVE.
466-B611
Joseph E. Kean Co. 474-1666
If the new Ginny's Candy Jar. downtown next to
the Stuart Theater on 13th St.. rented you some of the
best imported (Haribo!) gummi bears, you'd have
trouble returning them later. Youd have enjoyed
eating them instead. But you can buy them this
week only for half price by showing your student
ID
HELP WANTED
SUMMER EMPLOYMENT at Camp LincolnCamp
Lake HUBERT-Minnestoa resident summer camps. A
strong commitment to working with children required
along with activity skills and teaching experience.
Specific job information and applications are available at
Financial Aids Office. 113 Admin. Bldg. Sign up. in
advance, for personal interviews to be held on campus.
Thursday. February 5th and Friday. February 6th. 1987.
- FAQ CS33
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'Miracleinax
it to say that this character starred in
an immensely popular line of British
kiddie comics at about the same time
tha Moore was a British kiddie.
During the '60s the series went away.
In the early '80s Moore was working for
a comic magazine for grown-ups called
"Warrior," and he took this beloved old
character, as well-known to British
audiences as Superman or Snoopy, and
started doing things to him things
that had never been done to a super
hero before.
"Miracleman" is a very deep work, in
some ways. It's really a very tight piece
of speculative, sociological science fic
tion that just happens to look a lot like
a superhero comic book.
Moore gets his themes from the big
guns. Most notably, in "Miracleman,"
Jung and Nietzsche. In one early issue
a young boy stumbles upon Miracleman
in a secluded glade in a park. Under
standably, the lad wants to know if this
huge, unhumanly beautiful stranger in
a skintight blue body suit, surrounded
by a faint, shimmering halo of light, is
really the superbeing he appears to be,
or just a large and potentially danger
ous sissy-boy. So the kid asks him. But
his thick London accent distorts the
word "hero." What Miracleman hears
is: "Are you a pouf, or are you a nero?"
That's the central question of this
book. If supermen really walked among
us, would they be the harmless, helpful
OUTDOOR TRIP
PROGRAM STAFF
Position open beginning February 2. 1987 for 2 UNL
students (prefer freshman, sophomore, or beginning
graduate student) to woi k in Campus Recreation outdoor
trip program and equipment rental. Applicants must
possess or be willing to learn outdoor adventure skills
and leadership ability. Send letter of application and
resume to Mark Ebel. Assistant Director. Office of Campus
Recreation, 1740 Vine Street. Lincoln. NE 68588-0601 by
January 26, 1987.
WANTED: Full and part-time house cleaners and sales
people. Experience a plus. Must be bondable. Call 474
1129 for interview.
TAOTED
COURTSIDE BASKETBALL tickets for NU-lowa State
game 21187 on T V. S10ticket. At least 4 together. Call
423-6798
WANTED: 2 theatre seat tickets to MONU basketball
game. Call before 1 1 :30 a m 472-2475. after 483-7233. Ask
for Gary.
ANNOUNCEMENTS
LAST DAY TO APPLY FOR SAA
Turn in application at Wick Center.
TASSELS
Tonight Exec, meeting 5:30 p m.
Members 6 p.m.
Union Room 401
By GARY LARSON
Z7 it.
know? ... Maybe It's
that's gone insane."
by Die Breathed
Lie: U6TEN.
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PERSONALLY,
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best of comic prose
poufs of the comics or would they be
pitiless conquering Neros?
"Watchmen" (DC)
This is a 12-issue miniseries. "Watch
men" has been hailed as the greatest
thing ever to happen to superhero com
ics by many fans. I think that the char
acters are significantly less interesting
and the plot much more draggy than
either of the other series I'm talking
about in this column. Still, "Watch
men" is a fascinating story.
Once again the central question of
the series is: "What if comic characters
were in the real world?" This time
Moore is concerned less with superhe
ros than he is with "mystery men,"
ordinary people who put on tights and a
mask and go out to fight crime. Wrhy
would they do it? Altruism? Publicity?
Because they like to hit people? Because
they like to be hit?
The situation is complicated by Dr.
Manhattan, a bona-fide, godlike su
perman man with the power to do just
about bloody anything, who has become
the cornerstone of America's defense
policy.
At the current point in the storyline
someone is systematically killing off
the mystery men, and Dr. Manhattan, in
a fit of pique, has moved to Mars with
out telling anybody, leaving America
totally vulnerable to her enemies.
"Watchmen" is quickly building to
what promises to be a very big finish.
SYAIMlTI'S
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WEDNESDAY
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Page 7
"Swamp Thing" (DC)
In my opinion, "Swamp Thing," when
it was being done by Moore, Stephan
Bissette and John Totleben, was the
single best comic book adventure ser
ies ever done in any language. Now
Bissette and Totleben have moved on,
leaving the book in the only slightly
less brilliant hands of Rick Veitch and
Alfredo Alcala. Moore has just an
nounced he'll be leaving the series
within the next six months, so get in on
this classic in the making while you
still can.
"Swamp Thing" is a horror-adventure
book. The character was originally
created by Len Wein and Berni Wright
son in 1971. The Wein-Wrightson "Swamp
Thing" is rightly considered a classic
in its own right. Swamp Thing was the
star of a well-made and amusing "B"
movie years before Moore started on
the book. The comic book was revived
to coincide with the release of the
movie. Moore took over with issue 20 of
the second "Swamp Thing" series.
Instead of the philosophical and
social subtexts of Moore's other series,
"Swamp Thing" is founded on myth,
mysticism and superstition. Moore takes
this book into places honor fiction, let
alone horror comics, have never dreamed
of before. This is a book of contrast and
contradiction. "Swamp Thing" is often
grotesque, often beautiful, often beau
tifully grotesque.
LARGE 16" PIZZA
One Ingredient
Extra ingredient or
Cheese $1 Additional
Expires Feb. 1, 1987
TUESDAY
Nachos
$1.89
THURSDAY
Combination
Burrito
99'
V
-IX
f