After shitting all over the idea of a feature film adaptation, and never wanting anything to do with a sequel or prequel, I can only imagine that British writing genius and angry wizard Alan Moore can’t be thrilled with DC’s latest announcement. Seven Watchmen prequels are due out this summer (called ‘Before Watchmen’), each focusing on a different character’s backstory.
But how do you feel about it? Is it time to dust off the characters from 1986 and bring them back with some fresh new stories, or should it have just been left as a stand-alone series, as previously intended?
The covers for the issues have been revealed, along with the teams that will be working on them.
Here are the teams on the different issues:
Rorschach by Brian Azzarello and Lee Bermejo
Comedian by Brian Azzarello and JG Jones
Minutemen by Darwyn Cooke
Silk Spectre by Darwyn Cooke and Amanda Conner
Doctor Manhattan by J Michael Straczynski and Adam Hughes
Nite Owl by J. M. Strazynski with Andy and Joe Kubert
Ozymandias by Len Wein and Jae Lee
Adam Hughes and Jae Lee give me a comic-gasm, so I will be on board for this regardless…but I do have some moral issues with this proejct. Comment below and let me know what you think!
I will definitely give them a try!
As much as I’ve enjoyed some of JMS’s writing, I just can’t buy this.
If Watchmen isn’t written by Alan Moore, it’s just not Watchmen.
Being a pragmatist I’m not sure if this should be done, but I’ll pick up the first issues and see how the characters are portrayed. As to Mr Moore having a rant, maybe if he actually held onto the rights of some of his creations he would have a right to moan. To my mind it’s a bit like selling a classic car then moaning cos the new owner changed the paint job.
Looking forward to Cooke’s Silk Spectre, that should be fun. The rest look ok, what I’m not looking forward too is all the people that will hate it no matter what. Gotta be better than Legion Lost and O.M.A.C., eh?
I don’t think it should be done without the creator but if he sold away any sequel rights to the comic when he did it through DC or whatever the situation was, if he, for lack of a better term, sold out, then he can’t complain what they do with it. It would be nice if someone can clarify the issue for me.
I will probably not get these. Mostly it’s a funds issue, but it’s also because I am not a Watchmen fan. I read and enjoyed the original for what it was, but I wouldn’t call myself a fan of the property. That said, if I were to check out any of the prequels, they would be:
Minutemen – I haven’t seen or read New Frontier, but Darwyn Cooke is a top creator, and the chance to see the Minutemen in their “prime” with Cooke on creative duties would be a hard one to pass up. That’s actually one thing I felt that Watchmen had going against it..who wants to read about the downfall of, say, the Avengers, if they haven’t been following the Avengers all along. This book actually makes the most sense to me, as far as prequels go.
Dr. Manhattan – Given the nature of Manhattan’s powers, is this one really a prequel? I thought the whole point of Manhattan was that he was god-like and experienced all time simultaneously. Considering that, this one also makes a lot of sense, to see more of how Manhattan percieves his past.
Rorschach – Well, it’s Rorschach. I admit, I’d rather have a Rorschach/Deadpool crossover (like the action figure videos on YouTube), but I can’t complain about more Rorschach in any form.
To me, however, prequels just aren’t as interesting in general. I don’t want to know how the Watchmen world became the way it is, I want to know what happens next. If they really want me to fork over any money for more Watchmen, I’d want to find out what the world became like after the ending of the first series. Everything else is, IMHO, a waste of time.
Actually, I just looked at the list of creators again…Joe Kubert?
Argh, guess I’ll be getting Nite Owl…
Watchmen was supposed to be a self contained, complete story. I just can’t see this doing anything for the franchise that the Matrix sequels and Star Wars prequels didn’t do to their respective series.
Yes Watchmen was a one-off, but the story was built on history and stories there were never told, so there is a void open for stories to take place. Not getting into the ethical debate, but just like any other mini-series I’m interested in, I’ll try an issue or two and come back for more if they are good.
My initial reaction was no but I have to admit the Minutemen series is enticing.
After seeing the covers I’m in! ‘m just not a purist! like the writers too!
I’ll probably give at least a few of them a try. At the end of the day, Moore created some fascinating characters, and I’m looking forward to seeing some of the biggest stars in today’s industry do new things with them. I hope they will be smart and respectful enough to leave Moore’s story alone. Any book that fails in this regard will be dropped like a hot potato.