Promethea and Sin City

Alan Moore- Promethea

I must be honest when I first read Promethea, I wasn’t particularly taken by the imagery, and it seemed a little zingy. As I’ve read further into his work, I am more and more impressed by Moore’s genius in creating a short story with incredible punch and meaning. After watching the interview The Mindscape of Alan Moore, I was immediately struck with the kind of concepts and symbolism that I am naturally drawn to as an artist. I would consider myself to be open-minded with topics as large as the ones Moore tackles, however with that mindset I ironically became close-minded to his conceptualizations. Needless to say the tides have changed. The imagery, even though it is not particularly what I go for typically, works, beautifully. The way that Moore refocuses the audience to topics that pertain to us as individuals and indeed as a whole, in a tangible/physical and malleable realm such as ours is quite brilliant. The idea of greater consciousness and materialism is something that I feel has been swept under the rug. Through contemporary media we are willingly blinding ourselves to the idea of non-local consciousness and abstract concepts of that nature. Physical temptation is now considered in a new light by the way in which Moore delivers his message. The story I read was about a girl (Sophie)who passed out and was able to access this dream-state of knowledge as a result of coming across Promethea and route 32- the crossing point of physicality and consciousness. The idea of human mortality and the immortality of the soul in contrast are thought provoking to say the least. We essentially have become so consciously detached from universal ordinance, and as a result of poor judgment of freedom of choice that we have now condemned ourselves. Basically what I’m saying is I’m now a fan of Moore’s work and the depth to which his concepts/stories frequently reach.

Frank Miller- Sin City
I have read several episodes of Millers work as well as watched the movie. The illustration is amazing, the use of graphic shapes and abstraction of form is what increases the drama of the work ten fold. I can clearly imagine the characters, even had I not seen the movie. The wording in Miller's work is concise, unlike Alan Moore who tends to elaborate very clearly what's happening through wording. I feel that Miller leaves more to the reader its almost like he wants the reader to expose their dark-side to relate to the work. The composition, lighting and characterization communicates everything that is needed to be understood very quickly in these episodes. High contrast imagery heightens the tension of the scenes. This is truly a masterful collection of art and literature.