4. The Serious Content Matter
Moore's assertion that comics were "originally in the hands of writers who would actively expand the imagination of their 9 13 year old audience" is not entirely wrong. Comics were mainly for children when they were first made, even Batman as originally conceived by Bob Kane was not completely above this. There was then the campy period of the 50's- early 70's where many comics from both DC and Marvel drastically became very campy and cheesy, but the industry started to shift in the mid-70's to focus on more serious tales. Batman, for instance, reverted back to his roots as the Dark Knight Detective rather than the Caped Crusader, focusing on serious storytelling rather than relying on funny ideas. During this time Green Arrow was also re-envisioned as a political left wing activist and Speedy, his sidekick, became addicted to heroin, tackling the growing societal issue of drug abuse. This shift in comics continued and reached a peak during the 80's where Moore contributed greatly to the evolution of comics for more mature readers. Swamp Thing was his big break, eventually allowing him the chance to write for Superman in two stories titled 'For The Man Who Has Everything' and 'Whatever Happened to the Man of Tomorrow?', the latter of which was designed as the 'last' Superman tale before DC's cross-wide reboot. It is also notable for being one of the darker Superman stories told as it was significantly more violent than most Superman stories and dealt with mature themes of fate, loss and hope. His biggest pieces, though, were V for Vendetta, Batman: The Killing Joke and Watchmen. These three stories all involved deep themes and serious subject matter that were most definitely not meant for a 9 13 year old audience. Had they been, I'm sure many children would have been emotionally scarred to see The Joker shoot, cripple and strip Barbara Gordon/Batgirl naked all in an attempt to make Commissioner Gordon insane. If that's not enough, many of the scenes in Watchmen were similarly not meant for children as gruesome murders, attempted rape and a naked blue man are depicted throughout the story. Its themes of identity, fear and societal issues may have gone over any child's head who only saw a typical superhero adventure, but they were not Watchmen's intended audience. If Moore despises the comic/graphic novel audience by believing they are a bunch of old men who are, in his own words, emotionally subnormal he certainly hasn't stopped writing for them as he writers another volume of The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen every few years.