Nerd Culture Meets Drag Culture: Fashion Beast

I read the oddest comic book over the weekend: Fashion Beast, a collaboration between Alan Moore (Watchmen, Swamp Thing, V Is for Vendetta), punk pioneer Malcolm McLaren, and Antony Johnson, about a sassy drag queen named Doll Seguin working as a coat check girl at a trendy nightclub. From Avatar Press: “While the world outside fears an oncoming nuclear war, Doll escapes into the carefree lifestyle of music and decadence, a fantasy inspired by the fashion designs of the mysterious Celestine. Catching the deformed recluse’s eye, Doll is drawn helplessly into a sordid tale of tragic lies, false identities, fear, and violence.” Apparently, it was written as a screenplay way back in 1985, after Malcolm approached Alan and asked if he’s like to write for film. It then languished in a drawer somewhere until 2003 when Malcolm met with William Christensen, president of Avatar Press. Then it took yet another nine years to make it to shelf. But it’s kinda worth the wait. It’s freakish and peculiar and still vaguely subversive and just might make a great movie after all.