This is the forty-first weekly episode of Lying In The Gutters, the industry's premier rumour column and gossip sheet. At all times, remember the rumour rules. Red light means it's probably bullshit, Yellow light means I think there's an element of truth and Green means you get bet your life on it. Or someone's life. Not mine, I've been wrong before. Take everything you read with a sense of increasing irony - and if you do repost information here elsewhere, please include a warning to that effect. And a link. Man does not live by hits alone - but I could do with the attention. Blame Tony Blair.

AFTER ALAN

So what happens to ABC after Alan Moore retires? The common assumption is that the line will be shut down, but it appears there may be occasional forays for the creative teams.

An Apolocalypse of the ABC story to finish off the line is expected - "Promethea" is already lining up for the title character to be involved in the end of the world. After that, it's possible that involved creators may be able to do "historical" stories, set in the ABC universe's past.

As for other projects from Alan, there has been talk of a new graphic novel or series about magic, possibly with Steve Moore. There's still the previously announced second novel "A Grammar." Moore's also recently been writing pop songs for a female singer and his friend and CD collaborator Tim Perkins, which may see commercial release. Sadly, the previously discussed "The Disco Cabala" project is unofficially dead. After his last ABC books are finished, we may also see the "Small Killing" team of Alan Moore and Oscar Zarate reunite on a new project.

As always, everything may and usually does, change.

Talking of which, in Monday's edition of Ninth Art, Moore is quoted as saying "But, yes, I will be putting distance between my mainstream comics career and my magical work, simply by closing down my mainstream comics career and becoming a full-time magician."

LEOTARDS OUT!

Before long-time DC editor Andy Helfer was dropped from Team DiDio, he'd been working up a non-costume superhero line for DC. Sadly, he was hoist by his own petard, concentration on the line, without the titles actually being published turned out to contribute to the decision to let Andy go. I understand however that, without Andy, the books and the line he instigated will continue, with some new twists.

SPACE STATION

Talking of Jenette Kahn, the book she had published before she left DC, "In Your Space: Personalizing Your Home" has an intriguing amazon.com listing. Not so much the book itself, but what people who bought the book also bought…

• Catskills Country Style by Steve Gross, et al (Hardcover)
• South Beach Style by Laura Cerwinske, et al (Paperback)
• Excelsior! : The Amazing Life of Stan Lee by Stan Lee (Author) (Hardcover)
• The Decorated Page: Journals, Scrapbooks & Albums Made Simply Beautiful by Gwen Diehn (Author) (Hardcover)
• Here Is New York: A Democracy of Photographs by Alice Rose George (Editor), et al (Hardcover)

One of these books is not like the others, one of these books is not the same…

AND YOU THOUGHT THE "STAN LEE HATES YOU" PHOTO WAS FUNNY

From Jimmy Palmiotti and Buddy Scalera's soft-core pornography, drink, drugs and rubber fetish website, Brooklyn Bizarro…

Garth Ennis in a large green leprechaun hat.

No really.

Go here.

I've been asked not to reproduce the photos away from the actual site, but that doesn't stop me linking to them.

Think it was just some prank played on his unconscious body?

No.

Check out the homepage for another shot, this time with a leprechaun sized can of beer as well.

Now print it out, and get him to sign copies.

A SHORT, SHORT RIDE FROM UK NEWSAGENTS TO EBAY

Remember that UK version of "Transformers" this column talked about months ago, that was keeping the US versions off the shelves of UK comic shops. Gutterati ArceeSwallows passes me a link to the first cover. Out April 24th every four weeks. And as promised, 14 pages of original story material, unavailable in US versions. Word is, the extras are by Simon Furman.

You can hear the eBayers chomping at the bit, can't you?

EVERYONE FROM THE BYRNE BOARD SHOULD READ THIS AND AGREE WHOLEHEARTEDLY

Captain America… Traitor? U-Decide.

ADDRESSING MY COMPETITION

So there's Walden Wong, flicking through his copy of the San Franscisco Bay Guardian newspaper and he comes across this ad.

My life's ambition achieved!

THOR FEELINGS

Was there some major conspiracy behind the new Previews listing the Garth Ennis/Glewnn Fabry "Vikings" series in their Certified Cool section?

Or did it just slip a month in the schedules and Diamond's left hand forgot what its right hand was doing?

Er, the latter.

Other slips 'tween Previews and lip include "Exiles" 26 and 27, now penciled by the new regular series artist Clayton Henry. "Daredevil: Lowlife" has lost eight pages, down from 128 to 120. And "Punisher" Vol. 4 was listed in the March Previews… when it shouldn't have been. "Hulk Legends Vol. 1: Hulk/Wolverine - 6 Hrs." has also dropped from 128 pages to 120.

TRIAL BY FIRE

Last Friday, I had a sitcom pilot broadcast on British TV, performed as part of a kind of sitcom gong show - the audience voting after seeing first halves of two short sitcoms, for which half of the second they'd like to see. Thanks to the V Forum, Millarworld and the revived-for-one-day WEF for spreading the word and giving me a "landslide vote" for Perfect 10...

Anyone fancy a line of "sitcomics?"

WAITING FOR BENDIS

Last week, Dynamic Forces published an interview between myself and Marvel flagship writer, Brian Michael Bendis. You can read the piece here. I've been told I was mean. What do you think?

Last week's plug for Deadline-writer Cindy George's site of good writing stuff had a dodgy URL, this should fix it. Go here.