Alan Moore's latest project mixes prose with photography, biography and geography and the history of South London with the life of his close friend and mentor Steve Moore. If nothing else, Unearthing is exactly the kind of book that will demonstrate that, even after three decades in the business, Moore is continually pushing the boundaries of the combination of words and pictures.The 184 page book, which will be released in three formats (Paperback, limited edition oversized hardcover and very limited -- 300 copies! -- edition signed and numbered hardcover), started life as an essay written for Ian Sinclair's London: City of Disappearances anthology in 2006, before being adapted for a number of Moore's live spoken-word performances and recorded releases. Now, the acclaimed writer of League of Extraordinary Gentlemen, Miracleman and Watchmen is bringing the work to print, the culmination of five years of work with photographer Mitch Jenkins.

Top Shelf, which is co-publishing Unearthing with the British publisher Knockabout, describes the book as "an intensely poetic and innovative work of biography, [that] maps the lifetime of author, orientalist and occultist Steve Moore, while simultaneously investigating the extraordinary history of South London with which that life has been intertwined." If Steve Moore's name sounds familiar, it's because he has long been cited by Alan Moore as his mentor when the latter was getting started in comics, as well as one of the major influences in his introduction to magic (He's unrelated to Alan, if you were wondering). "Integrating text with haunting and exquisite imagery," Top Shelf's description continues, "Unearthing excavates a territory at the margins of a city, of reality, and of human imagination."

The book will be released in December, but is available for pre-order - including the signed and numbered hardcover - online.

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