Big Numbers #1

Big Numbers:  The most talked about of the unfinished Alan Moore body of work.  Part of the reason why Big Numbers is a story many Moore fans still talk about today is because it really was one pace to be another one of Moore Medium Pushing stories.  Big Numbers is a rare series to find and I only just read issue #1 for the first time yesterday.  I can truly now understand why it is sad that this series remains unfinished, when its sisters and brothers like From Hell and Lost Girls have been finished. 

What makes this a possible opus and tour de force was the fact Moore was trying to do so much within the narrative.  Concepts like Chaos Theory, Fractional Geometry and Visual communication (like sign language) as well as mathematical theories from Benoit B. Mandelbrot. Big Numbers was not just a project by Alan Moore alone, his wife Phyllis and their mutual lover Debbie both helped with research.  Canadian Mark Askwith helped as well with giving Moore articles on this such as Chaos Theory. 

Besides the research that went into the comic, Bill Sienkiewicz must be talked about because it was his "photo real" pencil art that give life to the pages.  The story of Big Numbers is a story about a big American backed Mall is coming to a small British town.  Even if this story has lost its shock (modern relevance), because companies from American are all over the place now, the visual narrative is interesting and needs to be celebrated.   The story is laid out that we see many different people and how this Mall will affect them all.  Some of the panels are very linear , while at times there are visual puns and symbols to suggest other things happening.
 
Because it is part of the big body of work from Moore at a time, when he really was being daring and experiential with the medium, I would look into seeing if your library has it.  If not maybe a  friend who is winning to lent it to you, because it is a book you should read.  It is okay not to understand it, because I am not sure if I understand it. It is a comic that was ambitious and ultimately a learning block for those who aspire to be involved in comics.  
 
Cheers
- Silkcuts