lan Moore's Watchmen is one of two graphic novels credited with changing the very nature of the comics industry (the other, of course, is Frank Miller's The Dark Knight Returns). This is a major achievement, and one with which many writers might be content ... but not Moore, whose
current projects include Promethea, Terra Obscura and the deservedly renowned League of Extraordinary Gentlemen.
The Alan Moore Fan Site has set itself the daunting task of tracking the ever-more-prolific creator of all these amazing comics, keeping up with the news on all of Moore's projects and their various media spinoffs. Curious about the prospects for a Watchmen movie? AMFS has the skinny. Want to see what Moore has had to say, in interviews, about From Hell or his Swamp Thing days at DC Comics? Check the index of interviews.
AFMS has a FAQ, a lengthy biography of Moore, listings of all his writings, art projects and interviews, information on awards won by Moore's works, news on upcoming projects, and fan reviews of graphic novel projects and the movies based on them. The site also maintains an e-mail newsletter, as well as a store that aids collectors in finding current works and back issues of hard-to-find comics.
The wealth of data at this site is incredibly rich, a must-see resource for Moore fans who want to be up on all the latest news, or anyone wishing to know more about one of the comic world's greatest living artists.
— A.M. Dellamonica
Site of the Week—April 12, 2004
lanetary Scorecard chronicles Earth's attempts to send probes to planets within the inner solar system, awarding Terra a point whenever it successfully orbits or lands a craft on another planet. Earth's celestial opponents score whenever they manage to block an attempt.
The scorecards for Mercury, Venus and Mars list each attempted mission, when it was launched, the Earth nation (or "player") responsible for it, a link to the mission profile and a brief summary of what went right—or wrong.
With the amount of bad press that the various planetary space programs get when something does go wrong, visitors might expect Earth to be trailing most of its solar kin, but in truth it's 1-0 with Mercury, 23-18 with Venus and trails Mars by only three (total score: 17:20). Of the three scorecards, the Mars one is the most intriguing. It starts off tongue-in-cheek with the Martian "invasion" of Grover's Mills, N.J., in 1938, and then switches over to real missions, beginning with Russia's Marsnik 1 in 1960. Reading through the summaries is a blast—the sports metaphor works well, and the light, amusing style is as entertaining as it is educational.
— Ken Newquist
Site of the Week—April 5, 2004
isitors to Neil Gaiman's weblog won't find Dream or Death or any of the rest of his Endless. Nor will they find questing Norse gods or lost underground cities. What they will find is an author freely conversing with his fans on a wide variety of subjects, news about current and upcoming projects, and occasional posts about life in the modern age.
Aspiring writers will find plenty of advice and commentary from Gaiman, who frequently comments on the industry, and what it takes to become a professional scribe. Topics have included the value of master's-level writing programs, life as a mid-list author and the pathetic nature of plagiarists. He covers a variety of other subjects as well, including comic books, theater and even The Muppet Show.
Elsewhere on the site, fans will find an "Exclusive Material" section featuring essays by Gaiman, including "I, Cthulhu," a amusing ode to Lovecraft's work; "Where Does Neil Get His Ideas?" in which he describes his writing process; and even an essay about cities written for SimCity 2000. There are also essays about Gaiman's work by other authors, including the very useful "Sandman Summary," which provides a comprehensive overview of the series. "The Stories" is a bibliography of his work, while "Message Boards" provides fans a place to chat about the author. Finally, the site includes an extensive archive of Gaiman's postings, dating back to his original 2001 entries in support of his novel American Gods.
— Ken Newquist
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