Scotland on Sunday sounds the alarm over the arrival in the of Alan Moore and Melinda Gebbie’s Lost Girls. The U.K. release of the unashamedly pornographic graphic novel had been held up by the copyright of J.M. Barrie’s Peter Pan, which expired on Jan. 1.
That makes some people extremely unhappy:
Sandra Affleck, a historian who leads Barrie themed tours in his hometown of Kirriemuir, was appalled by the idea of a pornographic Peter Pan.
She said: “This book sounds horrific. It is the complete antithesis of what Barrie thought and put on paper.
“Barrie’s work is all about the magic of childhood and this new book is a pollution of that.
“I would support any measures which would stop it appearing on shelves.”
Barrie enthusiast and Conservative Kirriemuir councillor Ian Mackintosh added: “I am appalled by the idea of the innocence of the original Peter Pan story being sullied by a seedy work like this.”
Elsewhere, the newspaper notes that on Jan. 1 the works of H.P. Lovecraft, Edith Wharton and Don Marquis also moved into the public domain.
Related: The Guardian’s Michael Faber reviews Lost Girls
January 7th, 2008 at 9:51 am
“This book SOUNDS horrific”
This is my favorite part. Ms. Affleck obviously has not even read the book. Way to make an intelligent, informed decision about something without even experiencing it yourself.
January 7th, 2008 at 11:06 am
Even better: The comments. See comment #9 on the page, where the commenter basically suggests that everyone buying the book be added to a sex offenders registry because they must be “a bit odd (at best).”
“Some of the drawings are a rip off of Aubrey Beardsley.”
Score one for “Doreen’s” comprehension of artistic homage! Wow, it’s not like the comic itself openly discuss some of the illustrated sections being forgeries of Aubrey Beardsley OH WAIT THEY DO.
January 7th, 2008 at 12:36 pm
Usually I would agree with you, Sluggo. In general, not reading something before they condem it would be a bad thing.
But it doesn’t seem completely necessary in this case. The book does use Wendy from Peter Pan. Moore himself says that it is porn. If Ms. Affleck doesn’t like the idea of Wendy being used for porn, then her opinion probably isn’t tht different from what it would be after reading the book.
January 7th, 2008 at 1:28 pm
I wonder if anyone would like this book if it didnt have Alan Moore written all over it
January 8th, 2008 at 10:33 am
I wish Ms. Affleck would have read the book. She probably would have been so bored by it that making a fuss wouldn’t have even occured to her. As it is she’s making the book sound exciting and interesting and people will go pick the damn thing up with those mistaken impressions.