In what critics will surely hail as a brilliant and groundbreaking deconstruction of Hayao Miyazaki's 1989 anime Majo no Takkyubin (Kiki's Delivery Service), where a witch uses her powers for the benefit of her community, influential comic book writer and sometimes magician Alan Moore has made news by making a generous Christmastime donation to the needy in his hometown of Northampton, England. The co-creator of such memorable graphic novels as Watchmen and The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen will make a gift of 300 Christmas baskets (valued at £3,000) in December.

Mince pies, coffee, sugar, puddings and canned food will be among the items contained in Moore's gift baskets, according to the Northampton Chronicle. The package will be made of re-usable cloth bags provided by Northampton's own Co-op supermarket, who are also putting up 12 percent of the cost for the charitable endeavor.
"This particular issue is dear to my heart as it's the area I grew up in and it is one of the most deprived areas in the whole country," said Moore. "Those people who are living in sheltered housing and those going to the Salvation Army, who often don't have homes, are living in very difficult circumstances and I think that any sign that they have been remembered and not forgotten is going to mean something to them."
Moore sees this Christmas gift as an extension of his ongoing efforts to support his beloved town. "Dodgem Logic," the magazine Moore produces, is headquartered in Northampton. He said, "A big part of the magazine is to be able to put back into the community like this and hopefully inspire people in other parts of the country to do the same for areas like Spring Boroughs. There are lots of deprived areas like it in the country."

[Via Northampton Chronicle]