Black Mercy - Background and Context

Background and Context

Between 1980 and 1984, Alan Moore became a recurring presence in the credits of the comic books published in England. Both the British division of Marvel Comics, as Fleetway (responsible for magazine 2000 AD ) and Quality Communications (responsible for the magazine Warrior) hired Moore to write for them. On more than one occasion this would be with artist Dave Gibbons, and the two enjoyed working together.

Gibbons's talent caught the attention of DC Comics still in 1982, and in that year Len Wein hired Gibbons to design the magazine Green Lantern Corps. The following year was Moore's turn to be hired by Wein, who was seeking a writer for Swamp Thing, which had been facing low sales. Alan Moore reinvented the character Swamp Thing, who stars in the series, and introduced new themes, and experimental ways of dealing with social and environmental issues Moore took over in 1984, and his scripts soon attracted the attention of audiences and critics.

Both before and while working with Swamp Thing, Moore submitted numerous proposals to the publisher, seeking to work with characters like Martian Manhunter and the Challengers of the Unknown, but all ended up being rejected because they had already developed projects with other writers involved with the characters which he intended to work. When the editor Dick Giordano finally approved the project that would become Watchmen, Moore and Gibbons began working on the planning of the stories. Shortly after, the editor Julius Schwartz questioned Gibbons about his ability to draw a Superman story. Gibbons said he was available. When Schwartz told Gibbons that he could choose who wrote the story, he immediately requested Moore, and quickly For the Man Who Has Everything began to take shape.