This September sees the fruits of a collaboration between
comics legend Alan Moore and punk rock pioneer Malcolm McLaren, thanks to
Avatar Press. Originally a screenplay, the ten-issue maxi-series has been
adapted to comics by Antony Johnston (The Courtyard, Daredevil) and illustrated
by Facundo Percio (Anna Mercury). FASHION BEAST is a reinvention of the Beauty
and the Beast fable set in "a society held together (quite literally) by a
needle and a thread."
FASHION BEAST introduces young Doll Seguin, a spirited
and sassy coat-checker working at a trendy nightclub. While the world outside
fears an oncoming nuclear war, Doll escapes into the carefree lifestyle of
music and decadence, a fantasy inspired by the fashion designs of the
mysterious Celestine. Catching the deformed recluse’s eye, Doll is drawn
helplessly into a sordid tale of tragic lies, false identities, fear, and
violence.
"The screenplay that I turned in was just what he
wanted,” said Moore. “I remember him saying that I really ought to leave
something for the director to do, because I was writing the screenplay the way
I would one of my comics, where you’re talking about camera angles, you’re
talking about composition. But yeah, it was fun."
FASHION BEAST was developed into a comic book series after
the 2003 meeting of McLaren and William Christensen, president of Avatar Press,
but never published...until now. FASHION BEAST #1 is in stores September.