Moore's first published Superman story?

 A friend of mine sent me this very early comic strip by Alan Moore (both writing and art). It came in a music magazine called Dark Star (No. 19, 1979) and this was one of only a handful of comics he did for the magazine.

 

If you can't read it, click here

Check out his Superman tie pin

This was at a time Moore was probably working a dead end office job, was married and dreamed of doing comics full time, in this underground comix style. As my friend Flavio told me, this comic got discontinued because the second comic strip got lost in the mail!

 

As you can see from this strip, Moore had an interest in Superman from the beginning. He loved Superman comics as a kid and even as he grew up. He loved playing with the ideas in Superman... but you can see that even as he's mocking Superman, it's never mean-spirited. It's just really funny.

 

Later, as Moore's dream of working in comics came true, at the height of his popularity as Watchmen was coming out, he was still interested in doing a Superman story about the bottle city.

 

From Robert Beerbohm (from a Facebook group):

By summer 1987 there seemed to be a Brit comics invasion of sorts. The Watchmen had come out. By the time of this story I think even #12 has debuted by then. San Diego Comicon when it was still at the down town "civic" center which stopped by the venue just a couple years later. A Brit guy comes to my booth space for my then selling comics stuff at my 28th SDCC.....

Seems he is looking for every appearance of the Superman Emergency Squad which lived in the Bottled City of Kandor.

He told me every appearance I had in my boxes that he did not was "sold" as I told him I had most if not all as SES was a sub-set of the Superman mythos I enjoyed a lot. Same with the Bizarro tales I said, but he replied he had little interest in them out until all Kandor was his!

So, we got to "work" having fun sifting the boxes. As we were he kept peppering me with questions. Testing my grasp of the lore.

Studying the innards of the comics I always told my employees is was will always remain "market research" so i encourage those who seek to make a living at this gig, read read read your "merchandise"

I was showing him appearances he did not (yet) know existed as back in those pre google cyber days of daze one lived or died by your grasp of the lore, or starved at times missing sales.

As we were getting down in to the nitty gritty of coming from Action Comics #242 onwards up through the years as Unca Mort kept expanding the legends & lore with his writers & artists working for him, I was showing the stuff to him in chrono order as the lore grew into all the Superman titles over time.

This entire "saga" went on for well over half an hour. We "debated" with the best of any fan boy combo you can think of.

During that time at first a small crowd had gathered in a semi half circle listening to this banter as this tall Brit and I got really into our thrill of the hunt unfolding

At first I thought to myself, Jeez, there are THAT many Kandor Superman Emergency Squad Nightwing & Flamebird fans in this room.

(Had no idea (yet) whom I was conversing with.)

What I did understand was the outer fringes of lost souls of that steadily growing half circle was crowding ever more more inwards

Their elbows were digging in to the tops of my boxes

Many elbows

I was slowly steadily getting pissed off as I began swatting at those elbows - these guys & gals listening to us so intently I knew some thing must be up

Was this a practical joke beginning to build unfold on me?

I looked around a bit to see if there was a "Candid Camera" crew set up semi-hidden. Nope.

Then I began to verbally make noises at some of the more egregious sinners. And the Crowd simply kept growing

At some point when it was some where more than a hundred, I asked this Brit what he wanted all this Kandor stuff for?

He replied it was "research" for some stories he wished to write

Slowly, those dim bulbs in my noggin began to light up, turn on

Then I asked him a query about Swamp Thing #32 testing his Pogo Walt kelly lore. He bounced right back with the right reply. it was dawning on me who I was holding court with.

A few in the crowd laughed a bit as they realized I had been talking with this guy not knowing to whom I was having such an in-depth conversation with about teaching the lore.

[Sidebar: back in the day many moons ago, I was selling original art in my Berkeley comic book store then on Telegraph Ave for this lady who was then a regular customer friend named Melinda Gebbie. I helped her get to London, or where ever in the United Kingdom they hang out in]

This is a story I am just beginning to expand for David Hathaway-Price which will have much more textured layers in it when I finish. {Hope this is OK so far]

Supreme has been called Moore's love letter to silver age Superman, which is exactly right. We've seen Moore recently bash superheroes and the comic industry left and right (probably deservedly so), but the reason I focus on Supreme is because there's a tremendous amount of love in it. Love for comics, love for superheroes and love for Superman. Love that was there from the very beginning.

 

Thanks for the share, Flavio!