The Secret Origin of Alan Moore’s Beard

Acclaimed comics writer Alan Moore has several distinctive physical characteristics — he is over six feet tall, has long hair and a thick beard, and wears large rings on his hands. But Moore’s beard is arguably his most iconic feature; the beard is often highlighted by Moore’s caricaturists and has inspired both satire and song. But what inspired Moore to cultivate his voluminous whiskers? It turns out that the origin of Moore’s beard dates back to a challenging but eventful time in the writer’s life.

“The Merman”: Were Aquaman and the Sub-Mariner Inspired by a Pulp Science Fiction Story?

Publishers DC Comics and Marvel Comics have their respective aquatic superheroes, Aquaman and the Sub-Mariner. Both characters appeared during the Golden Age of comics and both characters have Atlantean origins. The similar origins and aquatic powers of the two characters make for a fun debate as to which character is the superior aquatic superhero, but are the characters’ similarities due to a shared source of inspiration? Might the creators of these characters have been inspired by a science fiction story entitled “The Merman”?

Warren Ellis Writes James Bond – Chapter 001

Publisher Dynamite Entertainment has hired genius storyteller Warren Ellis to write its James Bond comics. And so the genius writes…

“The name’s Bond, James Bond.”

FRIDAY FLASH FACT – The Inspiration for the Kingpin

The Kingpin, from AMAZING SPIDER-MAN #51

Created by writer Stan Lee and artist John Romita, Sr., Marvel Comics villain Wilson Fisk, the “Kingpin of Crime”, was introduced to readers in Amazing Spider-Man #50 (July 1967).  Since then, the character has become a popular villain, challenging Spider-Man, Daredevil, and The Punisher over the years.  The villain’s appearance was inspired by a real-life actor.

FRIDAY FLASH FACT – “Super-hero”

According to the Oxford English Dictionary, the first appearance of the word “super-hero” in the English language didn’t occur in an American comic book, but in the British newspaper the Daily Mail.  The dictionary defines “super-hero” as “a person with extraordinary heroic attributes; (now spec.) a benevolent fictional character with superhuman powers, typically one who features in a comic strip or film”, and notes the word’s first appearance in an 1899 newspaper article quoting French journalist and statesman Georges Clemenceau.