Legendary Watchmen and Batman writer Alan Moore recently discussed his brand-new fantasy novel series, which has just debuted its first volume. Moore’s The Great When precedes a second upcoming volume, revealed by the author, amongst other details, to bear the name of a classic 1960 album.

In an interview with SFX magazine via GamesRadar, Moore stated that the title of Volume. 2 is I Hear A New World, named after record producer Joe Meek’s Album, which debuted in 1960. Fittingly, the sequel book is set in 1959, ten years after The Great When. Moore’s new release is set in 1949 and follows young Dennis Knuckleyard, who discovers a mysterious book that should not exist. The protagonist crosses paths with several strange characters, fictional and real, including Joe Meek. The Great When and I Hear a New World will be the first two volumes in Moore’s planned five-volume fantasy saga.

The iconic Batman: The Killing Joke writer had a blast crafting Meek’s portrayal in The Great When. “He’s an absolute gift as a character. Once I got that Gloucester accent down pat, then I started to have an awful lot of fun writing Joe,” he said. Moore also discussed another of his upcoming projects, the eagerly-anticipated The Moon and Serpent Bumper Book of Magic, a guide to the occult that arrives on October 17. The writer and the late Steve Moore co-wrote the book, featuring illustrations by acclaimed artists such as John Coulthart, Steve Parkhouse, Rick Veitch, Ben Wickey. and the late Kevin O’Neill.

The Moon and Serpent Bumper Book of Magic‘s hardback will come with Moore’s final comic works. “It’s a book that means an awful lot to me,” Moore said. “I hope that we’ve been as lucid as it is possible to be. We’ve tried to make a book that people, if they were told ‘There’s this big book of magic,’ whether they’re nine or 90, they’d perhaps somehow imagined it to be this book. That was our intention.”

Absolute Batman scribe Scott Snyder who is no stranger to penning memorable Caped Crusader stories, hopes to deliver an iconic take on history’s most popular superhero in his upcoming Absolute Universe title. The first issue will go on sale tomorrow, with DC recently heading back to the press after it completely sold out at the distributor level. The second printing of Absolute Batman #1 is available for pre-order now ahead of its October 30 release.

The second printing features all-new cover art, with a main cover by series artists Nick Dragotta and Frank Martin which will also be available as an inked variant cover. Additional variant covers include art by Mike Deodato Jr. and Jao Canola, as well as a foil variant cover featuring interior art from issue #1 by Dragotta and Martin.

Alan Moore’s The Great When is now available from Bloomsbury.

Source: SFX magazine via GamesRadar