History Creator / MichaelMoorcock

In the 1960s he became editor of ''New Worlds'' magazine, evolving its format from a fairly conservative science fiction magazine into an anarchic counter-cultural outlet, bringing a much-needed waft of swinging-London "hipness" and progressive sensibility to fantastic and fantasy fiction and touching off the so-called "{{New Wave|ScienceFiction}}" of science fiction (not [[Music/NewWave that one.]])

* {{Sidekick}}: Some notable examples include Moonglum (Elric), Jhary-O-Conel (both Corum and Hawkmoon), and Rakhir (Elric), who also doubles as an incarnation of the Champion.

He strongly dislikes Creator/JRRTolkien's works despite having met him personally and finding him sympathetic on a personal level (although he has also stated that certain accounts have overstated his dislike of Tolkien's works; notably, he did use ''TheLordOfTheRings'' as a favourable reference point for the inventiveness of UrsulaKLeGuin's ''TheLeftHandOfDarkness''. However, there is also the essay "[[http://www.revolutionsf.com/article.php?id=953 Epic Pooh]]", which spells out what he ''does'' dislike about Tolkien's works). He also loathes [[http://flag.blackened.net/liberty/moorcock.html C.S. Lewis and Robert Heinlein]]. These people's opinions on him are unreported. On the other hand he greatly admires Mervyn Peake and considered the ''Literature/{{Gormenghast}}'' trilogy an injustly-overlooked masterpiece.

* {{Anorgasmia}}: In Gloriana" the titular queen is forever bemoaning the fact that she can't have orgasms, and because of the palace's peculiar acoustics the entire court can hear her. Of course, when she finally does the entire court gets to hear that as well.

* CanonWelding: Originally named "The Moorcock Effect".

The Eternal Champion also has a (typically doomed) love-interest: the Eternal Consort. Their love affair is often doomed because of the interference of the Eternal Enemy, who has manifested in many forms: quite often with dark desires for the Consort. the Enemy has been Yyrkoon, evil cousin of Elric; Frank Cornelius, the evil brother/cousin of Jerry Cornelius; Johannes Klosterheim, who usually appears in more "modern" stories and generally represents a corrupt and depraved figure of apparent order; and reaches his epitome as Gaynor, Prince of the Damned. (There is a suggestion that Gaynor is a manifestation of the Eternal Champion who went "wrong" in some way, becoming the Champion's evil counterpart. When Corum tears the helmet from Gaynor's face, it mutates through untold changes and faces - including, briefly, Corum's - before he dies, leaving his Chaos-armour empty).

* CaptainErsatz: In Moorcock's more {{Steampunk}}/{{Dieselpunk}}-flavoured works, Sir Seyton Begg and Count Zodiac are Captains Ersatz of Sexton Blake and his recurring villain Zenith The Albino. This is partially a {{Homage}} acknowledging that Moorcock was originally inspired to make Elric an albino by his fandom for Zenith.

The Eternal Champion also has a (typically doomed) love-interest: the Eternal Consort. Their love affair is often doomed because of the interference of the Eternal Enemy, who has manifested in many forms: quite often with dark desires for the Consort. the Enemy has been Yyrkoon, evil cousin of Elric; Frank Cornelius, the evil brother/cousin of Jerry Cornelius; and reaches his epitome as Gaynor, Prince of the Damned. (There is a suggestion that Gaynor is a manifestation of the Eternal Champion who went "wrong" in some way, becoming the Champion's evil counterpart. When Corum tears the helmet from Gaynor's face, it mutates through untold changes and faces - including, briefly, Corum's - before he dies, leaving his Chaos-armour empty).

He strongly dislikes Creator/JRRTolkien's works despite having met him personally and finding him sympathetic on a personal level (although he has also stated that certain accounts have overstated his dislike of Tolkien's works; notably, he did use ''TheLordOfTheRings'' as a favourable reference point for the inventiveness of UrsulaKLeGuin's ''TheLeftHandOfDarkness''. However, there is also the essay "[[http://www.revolutionsf.com/article.php?id=953 Epic Pooh]]", which spells out what he ''does'' dislike about Tolkien's works). He also loathes [[http://flag.blackened.net/liberty/moorcock.html C.S. Lewis and Robert Heinlein]]. These people's opinions on him are unreported. On the other hand he greatly admires Mervyn Peake and considered the ''{{Gormenghast}}'' trilogy an injustly-overlooked masterpiece.

He is one of a number of writers that GamesWorkshop (and TSR) ripped off shamelessly.

He has also written songs for Music/BlueOysterCult and {{Hawkwind}} and occasionally performed with the latter band. During his brush with Hawkwind he seems to have befriended Lemmy Kilmister, who later went on to found hard rock/heavy metal seminal ensemble Music/{{Motorhead}}. He has dedicated a recently-released Hawkmoon omnibus to "his friend Lemmy".

* ''TheHistoryOfTheRunestaff'' (Dorian Hawkmoon)

* ''TheCorneliusChronicles'' (Jerry Cornelius)

Some members of Hawkwind helped him record a music album under the name of "Michael Moorcock and the Deep Fix" (in the mid-70s). When, with the advent of Internet, enough fans began pestering him for a reissue he made his own personal copy downloadable from his website (the masters apparently having been forever lost). A CD (Dojo Limited DOJOCD88) was released in 1995, audio source unknown (although the sound quality isn't bad).

Some members of Hawkwind helped him record a music album under the name of "Michael Moorcock and the Deep Fix" (in the mid-70s). When, with the advent of Internet, enough fans began pestering him for a reissue he made his own personal copy downloadable from his website (the masters apparently having been forever lost).

* AntiHero: Nearly every one of his main characters pretty much [[SlidingScaleOfAntiHeroes defines a type of anti-hero]]; covering all variations.

In the 1960s he became editor of ''New Worlds'' magazine, evolving its format from a fairly conservative science fiction magazine into an anarchic counter-cultural outlet, bringing a much-needed waft of swinging-London "hipness" and progressive sensibility to fantastic and fantasy fiction and touching off the so-called "New Wave" of science fiction (not [[Music/NewWave that one.]])

* [[GodAndSatanAreBothJerks Law And Chaos Are Both Jerks]]: In several works, the best end for humanity is to {{Kill The God}}s and be free of their meddling forevermore.

* ItGotWorse: Pretty much guaranteed, especially when characters [[HopeSpot look like they're headed for a good ending]].

* SlidingScaleOfIdealismVersusCynicism: Tending strongly to the cynical side; although a few Champions manage to maintain a fairly strong Idealism despite living in a Crapsack World, most notably Jherek Carnelian, whose idealism actually increases as the [[ItGotWorse situation gets worse]].

The Eternal Champion also has a (typically doomed) love-interest: the Eternal Consort.

* ''Behold the Man'' (Not originally an Eternal Champion novel, it was later [[RetCon retconned in]]).

In the 1960s he became editor of ''New Worlds'' magazine, evolving its format from a fairly conservative science fiction magazine into an anarchic counter-cultural organ ([[HehHehYouSaidX heh, heh. Moorcock. Organ]]), bringing a much-needed waft of swinging-London "hipness" and progressive sensibility to fantastic and fantasy fiction and touching off the so-called "New Wave" of science fiction (not [[Music/NewWave that one.]])

Most of his work centers around the concept of the "Eternal Champion"; a being who undergoes repeated incarnations throughout time, and is destined to maintain [[BalanceBetweenGoodAndEvil the balance between Law and Chaos]]-- whether [[IJustWantToBeNormal he wants to or not]]. Many of his earlier works were written as stand-alone works; but have been [[{{Retcon}} retroactively]] added to the Eternal Champion mythology, mainly through later crossovers.

Some examples of the Eternal Champion works below:
* TheElricSaga (Elric of Melnibone)
* The Eternal Champion Saga (Erekosë / John Daker)
* TheHistoryOfTheRunestaff (Dorian Hawkmoon)
* Count Brass (Earl Aubec)
* TheCorneliusChronicles (Jerry Cornelius)
* The Dancers at the End of Time (Jherek Carnelian)
* TheChroniclesOfCorum (Corum Jhaelen Irsei)
* A Nomad of the Time Streams (Oswald Bastable)
* Von Bek (various members of the von Bek family)
* The Second Ether (Jack Karaquazian)

* Kane of Old Mars (Michael Kane)

Notable works not part of the Eternal Champion mythology:

* The Pyat Quartet (aka Between the Wars)

Both he and his other works [[NeedsWikiMagicLove could use some Wiki Love.]]

!!MichaelMoorcock's works provide examples of:

He strongly dislikes J.R.R. Tolkien's works despite having met him personally and finding him sympathetic on a personal level (although he has also stated that certain accounts have overstated his dislike of Tolkien's works; notably, he did use ''TheLordOfTheRings'' as a favourable reference point for the inventiveness of UrsulaKLeGuin's ''TheLeftHandOfDarkness''. However, there is also the essay "[[http://www.revolutionsf.com/article.php?id=953 Epic Pooh]]", which spells out what he ''does'' dislike about Tolkien's works). He also loathes [[http://flag.blackened.net/liberty/moorcock.html C.S. Lewis and Robert Heinlein]]. These people's opinions on him are unreported. On the other hand he greatly admires Mervyn Peake and considered the ''{{Gormenghast}}'' trilogy an injustly-overlooked masterpiece.