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A review by rickklaw
Fashion Beast Issue 4 by Alan Moore
4.0
Sometime in the late 80s, the already legendary Malcolm McLaren, musician, impresario, visual artist, performer, clothes designer and boutique owner, contacted Alan Moore about working on a movie project. After discussing several ideas (including Surf Nazis which featured an aboriginal hero with the ability to summon waves and an Oscar Wilde in the Wild West tale that somehow morphs into the story of a 19th century female performer in the mode of the 20th century Madonna), they settled on Fashion Beast, an amalgamation of the life of Christian Dior and "Beauty and the Beast," both the fable and the haunting Jean Cocteau adaptation. Moore completed the screenplay but it was never filmed. Avatar publisher William Christensen discovered a copy of the screenplay and asked to convert the story into a comic.
Writer [a:Antony Johnston|12863|Antony Johnston|http://d202m5krfqbpi5.cloudfront.net/authors/1263977433p2/12863.jpg] converted the story into a more comics-friendly format and [a:Facundo Percio|2879832|Facundo Percio|http://d202m5krfqbpi5.cloudfront.net/authors/1354586250p2/2879832.jpg] handled the art chores. The artist deftly enhanced the lurid and at times disturbing near future tale.
After losing her job as a coat checker at a trendy club, the androgynous Doll literally stumbles into a modeling job for a reclusive designer. Moore and McLaren delve into the warped perceptions of the fashion industry, while society literally crumbles. The fears of Thatcher's conservative late 80s England sadly still resonate with the 21st century reader. The reality of a decaying society with the poor being crushed under the weight of the super rich and privileged remains a very real reality.
The graphic novel reads much like a typical 80s Alan Moore piece, complete with the obvious tropes and in your face symbolism. And much like that decade's work, the compelling Fashion Beast toys with ideas and concepts that simultaneously thrill, terrify, and intrigue.
Writer [a:Antony Johnston|12863|Antony Johnston|http://d202m5krfqbpi5.cloudfront.net/authors/1263977433p2/12863.jpg] converted the story into a more comics-friendly format and [a:Facundo Percio|2879832|Facundo Percio|http://d202m5krfqbpi5.cloudfront.net/authors/1354586250p2/2879832.jpg] handled the art chores. The artist deftly enhanced the lurid and at times disturbing near future tale.
After losing her job as a coat checker at a trendy club, the androgynous Doll literally stumbles into a modeling job for a reclusive designer. Moore and McLaren delve into the warped perceptions of the fashion industry, while society literally crumbles. The fears of Thatcher's conservative late 80s England sadly still resonate with the 21st century reader. The reality of a decaying society with the poor being crushed under the weight of the super rich and privileged remains a very real reality.
The graphic novel reads much like a typical 80s Alan Moore piece, complete with the obvious tropes and in your face symbolism. And much like that decade's work, the compelling Fashion Beast toys with ideas and concepts that simultaneously thrill, terrify, and intrigue.