Twilight of the Superheroes

Is it real?

• Date: Sun, 02 Jul 1995 00:40:14 GMT

Kurt Busiek

"Based on the Internet discussions of the proposal, it sure sounds like the one I've read, which is quite traceably Moore."

Warren Ellis

"Well, it has Moore's voice. Fascinating document."

Neil Gaiman

"Well, your description sounds exactly like the description of Twilight I got from Alan one afternoon in 1986, so I'd assume it's the same thing."

Dave Gibbons

"I've had a look at the Twilight file and have no hesitation in declaring it the real McCoy. I can't recall if I ever actually read it way back then or if Alan told me about it (which amounts to the same thing, content-wise!) in one of our three-hour phone calls. I vividly remember the bit with Dollman in the vivarium!"

Chris Miller

"I have no idea where the original was obtained, but I have an Nth-generation photocopy courtesy of a friend in CAPA-alpha. It's 39 pages long, and definitely genuine Moore. He proposed it circa 1986, right after Watchmen. He worked out everything in tremendous detail, including merchandising possibilities, a springboard for a (then-nonexistent) John Constantine series, and even a very clever time bubble idea that would have 'opened up' DC's single-earth continuity without actually undoing the effects of the Crisis."

Alistair Robb (unconfirmed)

"Just read Twilight and it sounds like something that Alan told me about once over a couple of jars in the Greyhound."

Other Comments

Oblivion

I read an article in a fairly recent issue of Overstreet Fan about Alan Moore's "Twilight" proposal. The article said that the text was floating around the net, so I went searching with my browser and found the site that's linked to Negative Space.

An interesting story about Twilight: I first discovered it 4 or 5 years ago when I was a comics retailer. We would occasionally have comic creators do signings in our store, and on one occasion the group we hosted included a Malibu editor. (This was before Marvel purchased and gutted it.) The editor had with him a copy of a proposal he was supposed to read and evaluate on the trip. Seems it was Alan Moore's idea for a Watchmen-style story involving the future of DC's superheroes. DC for one reason or another was not going to be publishing it, and so it had found its way to Malibu. The editor was to examine the proposal and see if it could be made to work with Malibu's superheroes (I can't remember if this was before or after Ultraverse) replacing DC's (Just like Alan had created the Watchmen characters as replacements when DC wouldn't let him use the Charlton characters). I had a chance to flip through it, and it is indeed the same document that I found on the Internet (not that anyone would doubt its authenticity after Neil Gaiman confirmed it). I remember some of the text verbatim. What I can't remember is why I didn't make a mad dash for the nearest xerox machine...

Obviously the Malibu deal never panned out, which was fine with me. I couldn't imagine it working without the DC characters, and I've never been a fan of Malibu's superhero efforts. But I thought it an interesting story nevertheless.

Rich Johnston, creator of Dirtbag and X-Flies

I can confirm Twilight as the real thing. Alan Moore confirmed it to my face. You can't get more real than that.

Comments?

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