Alan Moore, Visionary

English writer Alan Moore is famous for his influential work in comics, including the graphic novels Watchmen and V for Vendetta, which treat the traditionally juvenile ‘comic book’ as adult literature with mature themes. Influences include William S. Burroughs, Robert Anton Wilson and science fiction writers such as Michael Moorcock. Reading a Moore graphic novel, one has the certainty that one is in the hands of a visionary, not just within the comics medium but as an artist. Here are some of his inspired quotes:

'No. Not even in the face of Armageddon. Never compromise.'

‘My experience of life is that it is not divided up into genres; it’s a horrifying, romantic, tragic, comical, science-fiction cowboy detective novel. You know, with a bit of pornography if you're lucky.'

'They say that life's a game, and then they take the board away.'

'People shouldn't be afraid of their government. Governments should be afraid of their people.'

'God is in the rain.’

'Behind this mask there is more than just flesh. Beneath this mask there is an idea... and ideas are bulletproof.'

'Everybody is special. Everybody. Everybody is a hero, a lover, a fool, a villain. Everybody. Everybody has their story to tell.'

'Since mankind's dawn, a handful of oppressors have accepted the responsibility over our lives that we should have accepted for ourselves. By doing so, they took our power. By doing nothing, we gave it away. We've seen where their way leads, through camps and wars, towards the slaughterhouse.'

'Artists use lies to tell the truth. Yes, I created a lie. But because you believed it, you found something true about yourself.'

'Happiness is the most insidious prison of all.'

'You wear a mask for so long, you forget who you were beneath it.'

'Knowledge, like air, is vital to life. Like air, no one should be denied it.'

'Heard joke once: Man goes to doctor. Says he's depressed. Says life seems harsh and cruel. Says he feels all alone in a threatening world where what lies ahead is vague and uncertain. Doctor says, 'Treatment is simple. Great clown Pagliacci is in town tonight. Go and see him. That should pick you up.' Man bursts into tears. Says, 'But doctor...I am Pagliacci.'

'The past can't hurt you anymore, not unless you let it.'