Old mage-guts Alan Moore (that’s him on the left there looking a bit like a town dump operator who fell into Doctor Who’s wardrobe) has been getting unfairly treated by the fanboys at the moment. It’s also a rather confusing response from the man-bra hordes (partly because these suspicions have been published before), it’s almost as if the creator consciousness raising that happened in the 80s and 90s (the growing sense that Marvel and DC were companies designed to make shareholders a buck on the backs of poorly paid artists and writers) never happened. Suddenly it’s DC, that bastion of creator rights, who has been wronged. Yes, it’s sad that Moore has cut off Gibbons and Lloyd, but that’s Moore: he sees his relationships in black and white and is something of a law unto himself. I’m damned sure, however, he’s never cut off the creators like DC and fucked around with the lives of his friends as DC appears to have done.

So, with all that going on it’s pleasing to remember that Moore can be quite an amusing chap. Here’s part of his recent appearance on BBC Radio 6. He was asked for his message to any aliens that might be listening.

“Yeah, Hello? Uh, if you’re there pick up, okay listen it’s Alan calling, Alan from Earth. You probably don’t remember, it’s over in the western spiral of the Milky Way although obviously you might have named it after a completely different brand of chocolate. Basically just find the Oort Cloud and ask for directions from there. Anyway just calling to catch up. We’re doing alright with the carbon base lifeform thing. Kids are diversifying nicely, going through a bit of a fad for spines and brains at the minute but it’s probably the same where you are. Well, that’s about it really, we just hadn’t heard from you in a while, like when we killed Michael Rennee or Klaatu a you knew him in The Day The Earth Stood Still. So if you received this, get in touch, but actually thinking about it, don’t bother calling after about, what, 2150, because I’m not expecting anyone to be in. Oh and I’m sending this song along it’s called God Song by Robert Wyatt. I hope you like it. And that you don’t communicate through perfume or minor variatrions in your sense of balance or something. Okay, you take care and I’ll talk to you soon. Love you, Bye.”

(via VBS Blog)