Watchmen and V for Vendetta writer Alan Moore has jumped into the political controversies in the comics biz (see “Occupy Movement Roils Comics”) with both feet, criticizing Frank Miller’s comments on the Occupy Wall Street protests and agreeing to contribute an illustrated prose piece to Occupy Comics, the Kickstarter project to raise money for the protests.  The Kickstarter project, which is in its final week, now includes not only contributions from Moore, but also from Moore’s V for Vendetta co-creator David Lloyd, Mike Allred, Shannon Wheeler, Eric Drooker, Ryan Ottley, Dean Haspiel, Guy Denning, Dan Goldman, Amanda Palmer, Darick Robertson, and others (some referenced in the article link above). 

The Occupy Comics Kickstarter project offers floppy, hardcover, and digital versions for contributors.  Distribution plans are still sketchy, and may not expand beyond pledgers and a limited pre-order period.

Moore first began speaking out about the connections between his work and the protests in connection with the V for Vendetta masks, which have become a global symbol of protest (see “Moore Talks Vendetta Mask”).  More recently, Moore spoke out in another interview (this one with HonestPublishing) about Frank Miller’s comments on the Occupy protestors (see the “roils” link above).  Moore, a self-avowed anarchist said of their respective views, “So yes I think it would be fair to say that me and Frank Miller have diametrically opposing views upon all sorts of things, but certainly upon the Occupy movement….”  He continued, “It’s a completely justified howl of moral outrage and it seems to be handled in a very intelligent non-violent way, which is probably another reason why Frank Miller would be less than pleased with it.  I’m sure if it had been a bunch of young, sociopathic vigilantes with Batman make-up on their faces, he’d be more in favor of it.”

While comments from comic creators about politics have stirred outrage from those who disagree, including vows to change purchasing habits due to the creator’s stance (and Moore’s latest are not likely to be an exception), others, including Mark Millar and Neil Gaiman, have urged readers to separate the work from the creator and to ignore the creator’s political views when deciding what to buy or read (see “Millar Defends Miller”).