This one really shouldn’t be labeled as a graphic novel. It’s more like a novel with some comics and pictures thrown in here and there.

Even if one accepts the existence of gods and demons, there were times when believing we'd ever see the long-promised Moon And Serpent Bumper Book Of Magic felt like a stretch. Appropriately, I did start out with an immaterial copy, courtesy of Netgalley. But there was never any question that I'd also be picking up a physical iteration once it fully manifested – though, again appropriately, it ended up not being at the launch event, where neither magus was physically present and the cult was charging extra for copies that bore additional tokens of having been in the Presence. It is, more than anything, a beautiful artefact, absolutely living up to the Moores' original concept: when you're a kid, and first encounter the notion of a wizard with a magic book, doesn't that sound like the most exciting book ever, and when you encounter the dense, crabbed, wilfully obscure stuff that usually passes for occult writing, isn't that a massive disappointment? So why not make something more like the former?

In terms of commitment to the bit, the Bumper Book does not disappoint. There is a small note on the back that it's for adults only, but the carnival atmosphere suggests the best annual you ever found in a stocking, or perhaps on a relative's shelf, cartoon strips and stories jostling with avuncular articles suggesting Things to Do on a Rainy Day. But instead of making a rudimentary radio, or learning card tricks, these articles seek to induct the reader into constructing a shrine (a pseudo-cut-out example is included at the back) and communing with spirits. The suggestion that one should, say, ask a grown-up for help when crafting one's magical weapons does fade out a little as the book goes on, and some components never altogether fit; the serial prose narrative The Dweller In The Abyss, while undoubtedly a useful dramatisation of pathways and pitfalls, is in a similar vein to Steve's decadent novel Somnium, and I liked Somnium, but I can't see the hypothetical boys and girls doing other than skimming or skipping it.

Still, being envisaged as a reference book, as well as an introduction, the Bumper Book is happy to repeat key information where necessary, so if you don't take to one of its strands, you still shouldn't get your soul eaten. Probably. More of an issue is its resolute objection to any attempt to use magic for direct operation on the physical world, which it insists is impossible, and if not impossible immoral, and even if neither then still liable to go horribly wrong. At which point one might be forgiven for asking, well, what use is it, then? An element of creative practice, say the Moores; an inspiration, a way of better integrating the self, a means of changing the outer world indirectly by creating work that changes minds. Which, sure, is not nothing, but it does reduce magic to self-help and artistic tips. Less annoyingly written than most, for sure; I'd much rather read about Asmodeus than who moved my cheese's parachute. But even so. It also, like the advice that creating one's own incantations and altarpieces will make them more meaningful, feels blind to the fact that even before they became properly practising sorcerers, the Moores were already one good and one generationally great writer, and at least passable visual artists into the bargain. This does occasionally leave the project, lucidly argued and beautifully presented as it is, feeling uncomfortably close to those Success Tips Of Someone With Enormous Pre-Existing Advantages books that so forlornly cram the bookshelves of the noticeably less successful.

Still, I'm not sure there was ever a book, magical or otherwise, that didn't have its own biases and blind spots. Even if just considered as an introductory history of an overlooked but influential field, from which much of the rest of human culture is essentially a spin-off, it's a good read, for all that they're kinder to Crowley than I'd be, and kinder to Edward Kelly than I thought anyone was. As a sort of alternate take on psychology, there's some stuff I've found very useful at a trying time, even without being a full practitioner. And if you are thinking of becoming one, the introduction to the Kabbalah and Tarot in particular (and to the interplay between the two) are unusually elegant and helpful. Not to mention, and I know I keep saying this, beautiful to behold; as well as past collaborators of Alan's such as Steve Parkhouse and (with some of his last work) Kevin O'Neill, the design of the book and the bulk of the illustrations are by John Coulthart, hitherto a figure I'd known was respected but not really known. Well, now I do, and yes, he's excellent. Curiously, for all that they insist on the separation of magic from direct practicality, the Moores don't then follow the same line with the Tarot; yes, they say, it is an aid to consideration and contemplation, a way of finding new angles on a situation, all that – but it does definitely tell the future too. A pleasingly bold note in a wonderful tome sometimes let down by its quietism, though gods know I'd be wary of any scrying after this week.

I am a big fan of Alan Moore so when I saw he wrote a magic book I was sold. There is a lot of interesting information. It can be a bit overwhelming at first, but this is a book that you will want to revisit many times.

4 stars

A staggeringly thorough yet utterly accessible introduction to the history, philosophy, and practice of magic, delivered with incomparable style. An excellent read for curious seekers and experienced practitioners alike.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ / ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

A grimoire, set up in such a way that it comes across as an instructional workbook for children? Perfection.

Gorgeous to look at and glorious to read, this ticked off every single box I didn’t realize I had for a dream book. It’s a book that I wish had existed when I was a teen.

I pre-ordered this in hardcover once I had completed my initial perusal because a physical copy of this is absolutely necessary for our bookshelves.



Thank you to Top Shelf Productions and NetGalley for the PDF

My thanks to both NetGalley and the publisher IDW Publishing for an advance copy of this study and history of esoteric knowledge, told by one of the premier writers of our time, working with both his mentor, and a collection of famous artists, told in a style that is both unique and incredibly educational.

I like to think that many people have an Alan Moore story. This one is mine. In the late eighties, maybe early nineties I attended a comic book convention that I can not prove ever really happened. I am sure it was on the East coast, though I remember a drive. The people I went with are not people I know anymore. I know I acquired some items, but they are scattered in different boxes, and I have no proof of their provenance. I remember meeting David Wenzel, before his graphic adaptation of The Hobbit came out, and bought something. Clive Barker was pushing his comics with Epic, and told a story about Doug Bradley, Pinhead from the Hellraiser movies, having a child and calling him Safety-PinHead. Though I know I heard that story at a later convention. Christopher Fowler might have been there talking about Roofworld as a comic, but I have no idea what came of that. And Alan Moore spoke about Legends, Myths and Comic Writing. I remember the room, the stuffiness, and the people. But I don't know if it happened. I doubt Moore was doing comics then. Maybe the Superman story? I clearly remember the speech. The problem is if asked I can't say it, in my head it is clear, coming out my mouth its a series of uhhhs, ahhhs and blather. So did it happen? Did I share a moment at a convention with people all thinking about Alan Moore? It's these weird little things that make me think there are bigger things in the world, moments of coincidence, lost moments, found moments, and of course magic moments. Honestly with Alan Moore anything is possible. Including a rainy day activity book that is a history of magic. Written with his mentor Steven Moore, The Moon and Serpent Bumper Book of Magic is a look at esoteric knowledge from the days we lived in caves until today which might be the end of days, with illustrations from many famous creators.

Bumper books are books made from cheap paper featuring old ideas, with are that is usually recycled aimed at kids who will easily destroy them and move on. A book for rainy days before the Internet, even before television and radio. This book is written in that style, starting with a look at the magic alphabet, a discussion of what the book is about and what one will learn. There are rainy day activities to get one into the world or magic, and things to do while one is there. Fictional stories in the style of Weird Tales, that share knowledge in a breathless kind of way. Biographies of famous magicians, done in a European style some of a page in length, some longer, depending on the person and their history. And of course a long history mixing in thoughts and ideas from all over the globe, all over time and inner space.

This realy is not a graphic novel. I think there are more words on one page here than in entire Jonathan Hickman X-Men run. The pages do have illustrations, and again the lives of magicians are illustrated in full, but this is a very dense book about an important subject. However, being a history by Moore it has its own unique way of being presented. The writing is very much written as a child instructional manual, with jokes asides, some blue some not, but told in a way that makes the mind absorb more than if it was written as a real study. There is a lot to read here, and again take in, but the breaks, the activities, the story, make it easy to stop and think. And practice, and study.

One of the more interesting books about real magic that I have read. The feeling of being a primer for kids helps with the lessons, as one can get the feeling in a lot of books like this, that this knowledge is super important. A book that might not be for fans of V for Vendetta but a book that many people who are fans of Moore have been waiting for. I wonder if any of this was thought out at that convention oh so many years ago. I'll never know.