Big Numbers (comics)
| Big Numbers | |
|---|---|
 The cover of the first issue of Big Numbers. Art by Bill Sienkiewicz. |
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| Publication information | |
| Publisher | Mad Love |
| Format | Limited series |
| Publication date | April – August 1990 |
| Number of issues | 2 (of 12) |
| Creative team | |
| Writer(s) | Alan Moore |
| Artist(s) | Bill Sienkiewicz |
| Letterer(s) | Bill Sienkiewicz |
| Creator(s) | Alan Moore Bill Sienkiewicz |
| Editor(s) | Debbie Delano Phyllis Moore |
Big Numbers is an unfinished comic book series by writer Alan Moore and artist Bill Sienkiewicz. Two issues, of a planned twelve, were published in 1990 by Moore's short-lived imprint Mad Love. Moore described this series as a potential magnum opus.[1]
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[edit] Publication history
The first two issues were produced by Alan Moore's personal publisher Mad Love, with writing by Moore and artwork by Bill Sienkiewicz. However, the workload for the comic was intense, and Sienkiewicz stalled on the third issue. By the time he backed out of the series, the third issue was still incomplete and rising overhead crippled the production.[2][3] Afterwards Kevin Eastman, creator of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, stepped in and attempted to publish Big Numbers on his Tundra imprint.[1] Moore and Eastman asked Sienkiewicz' assistant, the teenage Al Columbia, to become the series' sole artist. After working on the artwork for the third and fourth issues, Columbia also withdrew from the series, and it was rumored that he destroyed or absconded with what work he had completed. [1] The reasons behind his departure remain unclear. [2] Big Numbers #3 and #4 were never published, and the series remains unfinished.[1] An account of these events is included in Eddie Campbell's 2001 graphic novel Alec: How to Be an Artist.
In 1999, ten pages of art by Sienkiewicz made for Big Numbers #3 were published in the first (and only) issue of the magazine Submedia.[4] In 2009, a photocopy of the complete lettered art for Big Numbers #3 surfaced on eBay. The purchaser contacted Moore, and with his permission published scans of the art on LiveJournal.[5]
[edit] Plot
In the two issues which were published the broad story is about the effect of a new US-backed shopping centre development on an English town (based on Moore's hometown of Northampton). Moore tells the story from a number of perspectives, using a range of disparate characters.
Another level of understanding Big Numbers is through fractal geometry, chaos theory and the mathematical ideas of Benoît Mandelbrot.[citation needed] The series intended to show that patterns existing at the large scale (the effect of the town) would have existed at a micro scale (the effect on individual characters' lives).[citation needed]
The story is told in an entirely real world.[clarification needed] This is emphasized by Sienkiewicz's use of "photo-realistic" pencil drawings for the series.
[edit] Adaptations
In a 2001 interview Moore indicated that he did not believe Big Numbers could ever be completed as a comic.[1] However, he spoke of the possibility of the comic being adapted as a television series by Picture Palace Productions, as he had the whole story mapped out on a sheet of A1 paper, and five episodes written.[1]
[edit] Awards
The series won the Squiddy Award for Favorite Limited Series in 1990.[6]
[edit] Notes
- ^ a b c d e f Kavanagh, Barry (October 17, 2000). "The Alan Moore Interview: Malcolm McLaren and Big Numbers". Blather.net. http://blather.net/articles/amoore/big-numbers.html. Retrieved March 6, 2009.
- ^ a b Cronin, Brian (September 27, 2007). "Comic Book Urban Legends Revealed #122". Comic Book Resources. http://goodcomics.comicbookresources.com/2007/09/27/comic-book-urban-legends-revealed-122/.
- ^ Hendrix, Grady (March 5, 2009). "Culturebox: Why Watchmen Failed". Slate.com. http://www.slate.com/id/2212884/. Retrieved March 5, 2009.
- ^ "Big Numbers." Submedia 1.1 (1999), p. 54.
- ^ Edelman, Scott (March 26, 2009). "Lost, never-before-published Alan Moore comic book found". Sci Fi Wire. http://scifiwire.com/2009/03/lost-alan-moore-comic-boo.php. Retrieved March 27, 2009.
Ó Méalóid, Pádraig (March 26, 2009). "Big Numbers #3". LiveJournal. "glycon". http://glycon.livejournal.com/11817.html. Retrieved March 27, 2009. - ^ Comic Book Awards Almanac
[edit] References
- Big Numbers at the Grand Comics Database
- Big Numbers at the Comic Book DB
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