Staff Pick (July12): Fashion Beast #1

Publisher: Avatar Press
Item Code: JUL120796
SRP: $3.99
PREVIEWS Page #252
In Shops: 9/26/2012

Forget before Watchmen, I’m more interested in what happened after Watchmen. The stars of the landmark series published by DC in the 1980’s weren’t just the characters themselves; a good portion of the credit has to be given to the creative talent that brought them to life. In hindsight, there were few creators bigger than Alan Moore in the 80’s, he continually delivered memorable story after memorable story, and Watchmen was just one offering from this creative juggernaut. Heck, it’s not even my favorite . . . I’m a Swamp Thing guy myself. After Moore completed his work on Watchmen, he set to work on developing a screenplay that re-imagined the classic Beauty and the Beast fable and the result was Fashion Beast!

This September, Avatar Press unearths this vintage Alan Moore gem and gives it the sequential re-imagining it deserves. Painstakingly adapted for comics by Moore collaborator Antony Johnston, the series preserves all of Moore’s original dialogue. For my money, it’s hard to imagine a more intriguing prospect than an unpublished work from Moore at what’s arguably his creative zenith. This is big folks. Any comics fan worth their salt owes it to themselves to plunk down $3.99 and take a peak; you just might find yourself sticking around for the whole ride.

~ Tim Lenaghan