This whole "Alan Moore Implores you to please vote and save our broken country from actual fucking oblivion" might've landed better if his birthday had not been spent noting that he clearly has not read any of the many wonderful modern comics that he might actually rather enjoy.

He has also clearly never watched any of the rather enjoyable comics based movies, or experienced any of the joy, support or inspiration they bring to millions of people. He hasnt sat next to a ten year old girl watching Captain Marvel or Wonderwoman for the first time.

The idea that the man who loved superhero stories so much he gave up his job and plunged recklessly into writing comics, which at that time was *insane* of him to do, loved them so much he filled every panel (and arguably every balloon and caption) with that love,

Loved them so much he tried to make them into something that provoked thought and feelings, that addressed issues, that spoke to people the way superheroes had always spoken to him. That seems crazy to me. I have his collection of Marvel comics, dogeared from reading, from love.

I heard so many times abojt his excitement at finding a stash of second hand Marvel comics in a junkshop, in a box, or buying them off the spinners in Great Yarmouth on holiday. He could not love superhero comics more if he tried. Jack Kirby was his idol, Ditko was his idol.

It was that love that made him who he was! In the 80s he brought ecology and politics into his superhero comics, in the 90s he wrote 1963 which was a glowing fizzing love letter directly to his beloved superhero comics, he wrote that at the same time as From Hell, Lost Girls...

He did not see any opposition between his ABC line of superhero comics, and his beloved mind boggling huge concept GNs. If i rang, he would spent 45 minutes explaining a cool bit of Tom Strong, a load of daft bits in Splash Brannigan, a clever thing he had done and was proud of.

His problem was that the medium he adored was ruled by corrupt despots, that the people who made that magic were abused, that their contribution was not valued, that it was stolen from them. He already hated that before Watchmen. He already knew Kirby had been shafted.

So when it happened to him, and then again, and then again, it wasnt just a business deal gone awry, or a bit of bad luck, it broke him. The thing he loved most, the thing he poured *all* his time and energy into for his whole entire life, he couldnt do it anymore.

He fulfilled his obligations to his fellow creators, he did the projects he could control and own, but he didnt want to browse comic shelves anymore. Thats so fucking sad it actually breaks my heart.

So for people who thrive now, in this amazing industry we can all find our niches in, where there are so many comics we couldnt possibly buy them all, to say that Alan Moore is out of order for hating superheroes, or what they became, for him, is unbelievable.

To see him dismissed as Crazy Old Alan Moore again and again, and people not know what made him that way? To see people dissing him when their job, their industry their medium was partly built on 40 years of his hard work? I am not heartbroken, just really fucking disappointed.

Can you imagine if he hadnt been fucked over? If instead of being Grumpy Alan Moore Shouting From His Cave he had spent the past 40 years putting out book after book for DC and the rest? Creating vast worlds full of the superheroes he loves? Enjoying comics? Its a damn shame.