Big Numbers 2

Painted cover from the second and final published issue of the ill-fated series by Alan Moore and Bill Sienkiewicz, which set out to tell the story of the upheaval caused to the inhabitants of a small English community when an American corporation decides to build a mega-mall in their town. Moore's plans were, by all accounts, ambitious and sprawling, incorporating fractal theory as a framework on which to interweave the various character arcs.

The story behind the series' beginnings and unfortunate demise has been well-documented elsewhere (including, quite humorously in the pages of Eddie Campbell's semi-autobiographical "Alec"). Moore and Sienkiewicz completed one more issue, which was never published, although scanned photocopies of the issue can be found at various sites online. After Sienkiewicz dropped out of the project, the art chores were hastily handed over to his art assistant, Al Columbia, who, according to legend, completed the art to issue four but then destroyed the pages rather than turning them in.

The whole saga would make for a fascinating graphic novel in and of itself. Ah, what could have been...