You have to give Alan Moore credit: he not only talks the talk like no one else, he walks the walk like no one else. In an interview for Rich Johnston's Lying in the Gutters, Moore explains why he's not associated with the V for Vendetta film and permanently cut off relations with DC.

I won't go into the history between Moore and DC - it's described succinctly in Johnston's article and, like Al Pacino in The Godfather III, Moore gets pulled back in just when he thought he got out. However, the catalyst for this departure should be mentioned: Moore was angered that V for Vendetta movie producer Joel Silver falsely claimed that Moore is positive about the movie so far. In fact, Moore thinks it's a horrible adaptation and demanded that DC - who now own the V for Vendetta property, though it was originally owned by Moore and artist David Lloyd - demand a retraction from Silver. When DC did not - either because they couldn't or wouldn't - Moore decided he has had enough of movie adaptations of his work and had enough of DC.

I'm not going to see the movie. Not because I want to strike a blow against anybody - though I still resent the Wachowski Brothers, who're also involved with the film, for making such a horrible mess of the last two Matrix films. Rather, I won't see it because it looks like a bad movie. If Moore thinks it'll be a horrible film with ridiculous plot holes, he'd know better than anybody.

Movie adaptations don't have to be held to a higher standard if the audience isn't aware of the source material. When the source material is familiar, however, one can't help but compare - the merits are inextricably tied to how well it captures the spirit of the source material. On its own, the movie version of From Hell is a trite little thriller which grotesquely misuses its fine cast and source material. Compared to From Hell the graphic novel, it sinks many levels and becomes an abomination of hamfisted ignorance applied to a major comics masterpiece. I have yet to see the movie version of League of Extraordinary Gentlemen and doubt I ever will.

I expect the same will be the case for V the movie.

I've been trying to think of a down side for Moore in cutting himself off from the V for Vendetta movie and DC Comics. He won't make as much money but he doesn't care. He won't have the marketing support of media juggernauts - but he doesn't want (or really need) that, either. The big plus is that he can sleep at night knowing his future work will not be maligned by corporate ignoramuses or well-meaning fanboys who don't understand his work or his vision.

I hope Moore stays away from DC forever. Not because I believe DC should be punished - my libertarian leanings make me woefully lax when it comes to judging corporate misdeeds and there's very little Moore can do to truly punish DC Comics as a whole - but because Moore as an individual and artist and businessman is in a much better situation by avoiding them altogether.

Moore once made a joke along the lines of, When choosing between money and artistic integrity, stick with artistic integrity - it pays more in the long run. It's always stuck with me and, indeed, his negotiations have often borne this out as a truism. Of course, it helps that he's Alan Moore and has a body of work that makes him worth pursuing and throwing huge amounts of cash at.

The truth, as should be apparent to everyone now, is that Moore has always preferred artistic integrity and doesn't give as much a damn about money as most of us. He's passed up hundreds of thousand - perhaps millions - of dollars in other people's attempts to buy his unearned approval for their shoddy behavior. He's refused time and again and finally had enough.

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