Complete Alan Moore’s Future Shocks, The
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Art by: Mike White, John Cooper, Paul Neary, Ian Gibson, Brendan McCarthy, John Higgins, Garry Leach, Ron Tiner, Jose Casanovas, Eric Bradbury, Dave Gibbons, Jesus Redondo, Robin Smith, Alan Langford, Jim Eldridge, Alan Davis, Steve Dillon, Boluda, Bryan Talbot
Publisher: Rebellion
First published: 2006
Originally published as: 2000AD 189-190, 203, 209, 214 217, 219, 234, 237-238, 240, 242, 245-247, 249, 251-254, 257, 265, 267-273, 278, 282, 291, 299, 308-310, 315-318, 320, 322-325, 327, 329, 331-332
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Think of Alan Moore and you’ll probably think of Watchmen, V for Vendetta and The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen. But before these literary heavyweights hit our shelves for the first time, readers of British sci-fi anthology 2000AD were marvelling at the work of this previously unknown Northamptonshire writer, who was busy cutting his teeth on short sci-fi tales for the comic.
This book collects all of Moore’s short 2000AD stories from this period, before he went on to create a handful of original series for the comic – Skizz, The Ballad of Halo Jones and D.R. and Quinch. The book could be thought of as something of a prequel to DC Universe: The Stories of Alan Moore, which also sees Moore proving his talents on a selection of DC Comics characters before finally being let loose on Swamp Thing.
The bulk of the stories collected here are mini sci-fi thrillers: short rollercoaster rides with surprise endings, like Tales of the Unexpected set in space or the future. There’s also a handful of Time Twister stories, which muck about with time and space to dramatic (and often comedic) effect. To a certain extent, these are even better than the Future Shocks, as they start to show Moore’s ability to script unexplainable, impossible science in an accessible way.
Having said this, readers expecting Watchmen in miniature will certainly be disappointed – these are mostly frivolous, throwaway tales, with a smattering of gems amongst its midst. That’s no detriment to Moore’s skill – the stories were often commissioned simply to fill gaps between the end of one long running series and the start of another.
The artists change for every story, making the book a veritable who’s who of up and coming comc talent of the time. And between them, they nake a pretty good job of bringing Moore’s work to life.
By no means his best book, this volume of short stories is really one for the collectors and the ultra-nostalgic. But if you want to see how the master of comics can squeeze his formidable imagination into five-page chunks, this is a good place to visit.
Other titles by Alan Moore:
- Watchmen
- League of Extraordinary Gentlemen, The: Volume 1
- League of Extraordinary Gentlemen, The: Volume 2
- DC Universe: The Stories of Alan Moore
- V for Vendetta
- Albion
- Alan Moore: Wild Worlds
- Alan Moore's Complete WildC.A.T.S
- Batman: The Killing Joke
- From Hell
- Smax
- Spawn: Dark Discoveries/Spawn: Evolution
- Across the Universe: The DC Universe Stories of Alan Moore
- Promethea Book 1
- Promethea Book 2
- Swamp Thing 2: Love and Death
- Swamp Thing 3: The Curse
- Swamp Thing 4: A Murder of Crows
- Mammoth Book of Best Crime Comics, The
- Swamp Thing 5: Earth to Earth
- Swamp Thing 6: Reunion
- Tomorrow Stories Book 1
- Complete Alan Moore's Future Shocks, The
- Tomorrow Stories Book 2
- Tom Strong Book 1
- Tom Strong Book 2
- Tom Strong's Terrific Tales Book One
- Best of 2000AD, The
- Top 10: Book 1
- Saga of the Swamp Thing Book 1
- Top 10: Book 2
- Top 10: The Forty-Niners
- League of Extraordinary Gentlemen, The: Black Dossier
- League of Extraordinary Gentlemen, The: Century #1 (1910)
Tags: Series • 2000AD • First published • 2006 • Rating • Story • 3 stars • Rating • Overall • 3 stars • Rating • Art • 4 stars • Artist • Boluda • Artist • Bradbury, Eric • Artist • Casanovas, Jose • Artist • Cooper, John • Artist • Davis, Alan • Artist • Dillon, Steve • Artist • Eldridge, Jim • Artist • Gibbons, Dave • Artist • Gibson, Ian • Artist • Higgins, John • Artist • Langford, Alan • Artist • Leach, Garry • Artist • McCarthy, Brendan • Writer • Moore, Alan • Artist • Neary, Paul • Publisher • Rebellion • Artist • Redondo, Jesus • Review • Genre • Science fiction • Artist • Smith, Robin • Artist • Talbot, Bryan • Artist • Tiner, Ron • Artist • White, Mike
