http://www.northantsnews.co.uk/ViewArticle2.aspx?SectionID=317&ArticleID=1865011

NORTHAMPTON writer Alan Moore is to feature in a forthcoming episode of The Simpsons.

Moore, aged 53, recorded his lines at The Lodge studios in Abington Square last month for an episode which will be called Husbands and Knives.
The Simpsons’ production team are long-time fans of Moore’s, whose reputation in the world of graphic novels is legendary.
A chance meeting with his fiancée Melinda Gebbie got the project rolling.
Mr Moore said: “Mel was in America promoting our new book The Lost Girls and one of the Simpsons producers spoke to her and asked if I would be in the show.
“She said: ‘Why don’t you give him a ring he’s very approachable’. “I was happy to do it. I’m a big fan of The Simpsons.”
He features in a sub-plot which sees a new ‘cool’ comic shop opening in Springfield in competition with the Android’s Dungeon, run by Comic Book Guy who is voiced by Hank Azaria.
The new shop has persuaded Moore to make a public appearance. In reality, Mr Moore rarely makes publicity appearances, preferring to concentrate on his prolific output of work.
This has earned him a reputation in America as a recluse although in Northampton he has a wide network of long-time friends and family.
Mr Moore’s latest work, The Lost Girls, has garnered rave reviews around the world although it is not due to be published in the UK until 2008 due to a legal dispute with Great Ormond Street Hospital.
The Lost Girls features elements of the Peter Pan tale, which Great Ormond Street owns the rights to and he has agreed to delay publication while Great Ormond Street promotes its own sequel to JM Barrie’s original, Peter Pan in Scarlet.
Mr Moore also wrote The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen, V for Vendetta, From Hell and Constantine, which were all made into Hollywood movies.
The Watchmen, a tale of dysfunctional superheroes, cemented his reputation in the 1980s and was credited with opening up the graphic novel as a medium for adult stories.
steve.scoles@ northantsnews.co.uk

08 November 2006