Steve Moore (11 June 1949 – 16 March 2014) was a Britishcomics writer.[1]
Moore was credited with showing writerAlan Moore (no relation), then a strugglingcartoonist, how to write comic scripts. His career has subsequently been quite closely linked with the more famous Moore – the pair collaborated under pseudonyms (Steve's pseudonym was "Pedro Henry", Alan's was "Curt Vile") on strips forSounds, including one which introduced the characterAxel Pressbutton, who was later to feature in theWarrioranthology comic, as well as a standalone series published byEclipse Comics.
Moore has long been linked to Alan Moore, who has known him "since he [Alan] was fourteen" referring to him as "a friend... fellow comic writer [and] a fellow occultist".[2] The two have so often been linked together that Alan joked that Steve would have 'no relation' engraved on his tombstone.[3]
Moore was an editor ofBob Rickard's long-running UK-based "Journal of the Unexplained"Fortean Times. In later years, he also edited that publication's more academic sister-publicationFortean Studies. He is listed as a 'specialist contributor' to theChambers Dictionary of the Unexplained, which also notes that he compiled theFortean Times' General Index, and several derivative books. He was a freelance writer on diverse topics, and said he "lives in London [where he] interests himself mainly in ancient and oriental subjects".[4]
Steve Moore began working forOdhams Press' comics division while still in his teens, and in 1971 he created the UK's first comics fanzine,Orpheus. Moore's comics work has featured in most of the major British comics, particularly in anthologies. He was involved with2000 AD from its earliest days, writing the second story-arc of theirDan Dare-revival "Hollow World" (Progs 12–23), and devising theFuture Shocks format for Prog #25 with his "King of the World".
Later work for2000 AD includes "Red Fang" (with artistSteve Yeowell), "Valkyries" (with American artistJohn Lucas) and a series of one-off short fantasy stories collected under the nameTales of Telguuth (with multiple artists).
He wrote the earliest back-up stories, focusing on supporting characters or aliens, forDoctor Who Weekly (laterDoctor Who Magazine), before also taking over the main strip featuringthe Doctor from issue #35, co-creating the characterAbslom Daak (with artistSteve Dillon) for the publication. Many stories were reprinted byMarvel andMarvel UK, including as back-up features toJamie Delano'sCaptain Britain inThe Daredevils. Also for Marvel UK he wroteHulk andNick Fury, Agent of S.H.I.E.L.D. stories inHulk Comic.
He also wrote several stories inWarrior, including, as Pedro Henry, a revival of his Axel Pressbutton character fromSounds.
He was featured in the anthologyA1 (including a strip with fellow-ForteanHunt Emerson onFortean Times in #2).
Steve Moore had an abiding, and scholarly, interest in the history and mythology of China. Somehow, in the early 1980s this came to the attention ofBob Guccione who commissioned a three-part series onBrothels of the Orient for his soft-porn magazinePenthouse. Steve objected that he had never even been to the Far East, let alone resorted to its brothels. Guccione's advice was to 'just make it up.' While Moore found the subject matter distasteful, he was promised a very substantial fee. Consequently, Moore accepted the commission on condition that it be published under the pseudonym "Pedro Henry". This name was an amalgam of Pedro McGregor (author ofBrazilian Magic, a book which he was reading at the time) andO. Henry, the short-story writer. The articles appeared under Moore's own name, causing him no little embarrassment. He claimed that his subsequent use of the 'Pedro Henry' pseudonym was an attempt to distance himself from Steve Moore the lascivious denizen of oriental houses of ill-repute.[6]
Moore was also a dedicated student and practitioner of theI Ching and consulted it every morning, without fail, from 1969 onwards, recording the results in his 'I Ching diary'.[6] In 1988, he published "The Trigrams of Han: Inner Structures of the I Ching". This scholarly work led Moore to be inducted into theRoyal Asiatic Society as a Fellow.
From 1995 until its final issue in 2002, Moore editedThe Oracle, The Journal of Yijing Studies.[7]
He was a co-author ofI Ching: An Annotated Bibliography, published in 2002.
His work has also been published byEclipse Comics in the US, much of it reprinted fromWarrior. He wrote most of the stories forJohn Bolton'sHalls of Horror, as well asAxel Pressbutton andLaser Eraser and Pressbutton.
Alan Moore wrote a long biographical essay about Steve Moore, entitled "Unearthing" and included in theIain Sinclair-edited anthologyLondon: City of Disappearances.[8] In early 2008, it was reported that this essay was being adapted into a "photo-illustrated hardcover novel, with some fumetti elements and visuals by Mitch Jenkins," to be published byTop Shelf Comics.[9]
Later work includesHercules: The Thracian Wars atRadical Comics which wasadapted for cinema byBrett Ratner in 2014.[10] He followed that withHercules: The Knives ofKush, a 5-issue limited series set in Egypt.[11] At the time, Moore said this was his final comics work for now, although he was still writing in other areas:
for the last couple of years I had to care for a disabled relative [his older brother, Chris, who suffered from ALS], which meant that I had little time for any other work than Hercules. As he’s recently passed away, I now find myself in a position where I can retire from writing mainstream comics, so once I’ve seenKnives of Kush through the press, I’ll be gone. [...] As far as comics are concerned, I’m hanging up my hat and turning to non-fiction. A couple of short pieces forFortean Times, hopefully dusting off my research for a book onSelene, maybe some more stuff on theYijing.[12]
In October 2011, Moore released a novel,Somnium: A Fantastic Romance, published bynthposition press. The story follows a young man who is trying to write a book based on the legendary romance of Endymion and the moon goddess Selene. It is thus, in part, self-referential as Steve was writer who worshiped Selene and who saw himself in the role of Endymion, her mortal lover. The parallels are limited though, as he did not, for instance, have a sister.[6] The book is set in a real inn, called The Bull, at the summit of Shooters Hill. It was Steve's "local", being within five-minute's walk of his home. The story is remarkably static as it happens entirely within the confines of this inn but includes excursions into the 16th, 18th, and 19th century episodes (also occurring in The Bull) which reflect the obsessions of the central character.
Moore was portrayed, as himself, inAlbion #1 (WildStorm, Aug. 2005); the six-issuelimited series aimed to revive classic IPC-ownedBritish comics characters, all of whom appeared in comics published byOdhams Press and laterIPC Media during the 1960s and early 1970s, such asSmash!,Valiant, andLion.[13] In the comic, the fictional Moore admits to having signed the so-called "Official Secrets Act," which ensured that the fact that IPC characters were actually real would be kept secret from the public.Albion was plotted byAlan Moore, written by his daughterLeah Moore and her husbandJohn Reppion, with art byShane Oakley andGeorge Freeman.
