Before Watchmen – Should It Happen?
Before Watchmen – Should It Happen?
As many of you know, DC has recently announced that they would be releasing a number of mini-series under the title of Before Watchmen. As the title implies, the books are prequels to Watchmen. The titles announced are as follows: Rorschach (4 issues), Minutemen (6 issues), Dr. Manhattan (4 issues), Comedian (6 issues), Silk Spectre (4 issues), Nite Owl (4 issues), and Ozymandias (6 issues). The books will all feature a backup titled The Curse of the Crimson Corsair and will conclude in an Epilogue one-shot.
My question is should it happen? On one hand, DC has lined up a group of very talented writers and artist to work on the books, but on the other hand the original Watchmen has reached a status now where it is seen as being more than just a comic book. Alan Moore is not involved with the project (big surprise there), which has been a big deal breaker for a lot of comic readers.
So where do I stand? Well part of me thinks that this is all just one big cash grab from DC, but I’ve also always wanted to read more stories with Rorschach in them. I think the worst thing that could result from this is that it may change the way we view the original title, think what Star Wars did. But like I said, there are very talented people working on this book. Alan Moore not being involved isn’t that big of a deal breaker for me, because honestly had it just been him writing we could have easily gotten another The Dark Knight Strikes Again. We all saw what happen when some tries to recaptures the magic of the classic story in that, are we going to see a repeat of it here? So not sure if I will be buying the issues, but if the reviews are good I might get the trades. I guess I just wanted to get my thoughts out there, so what do everyone else think?
Comments
Good point. Nothing will be able to touch the original work
Hi Dark Jak. I think this is a really good idea, and I'll tell you why. The Watchmen was a phenomenal book and had a lot of really great characters in it that have an epic story...and then they're gone(many quite literally) end of story...no more.....WELL I WANT MORE! I think these characters deserve to have more stories and features. I want to see these heroes in their earlier careers to see them in their prime as they develop into the characters we finally meet in Alan Moore's creation. I think as long as respect is paid to the source material, this can be a great series. Peace.
Fair point. I guess I'm just worried we will see another Star Wars Prequels
i think it will be ok but no matter what the original is to highly held by people so the new books will fall to the high expectations everyone has
The writers behind this seem like a very solid lineup, but this idea does kind of set them up for a hellacious backlash.
One ironic thing about Watchmen is that Alan Moore came to resent his own creation because of how many other comic writers tried to emulate his style without understanding the root of it. I seriously doubt he would come back to write a prequel series regardless, especially when you consider the troubles he had with DC Comics. So, in the end, Alan Moore not being on the project is rather moot.
What most people forget is that Watchmen was largely a deconstruction of superhero tropes at the time. Moore wanted to write a story taking the popular superhero comic tropes that were used back then, then subvert them by writing from the standpoint of how they might be in a real-world setting. Most companies just assumed it was the 'darker and edgier' factor that made Watchmen what it was. In reality, it was far more (and less) than that. It would be interesting to see a continuation, and for those who plan to read it, please feel free to. This, however, feels like a powder keg waiting to explode.
I don't think that this will come anywhere near the original in terms of quality, but then again I don't think anybody, not even Alan Moore could do the original justice. But I will check these stories out, but I won't buy anything until I read a good chunk of it. I didn't know that this was coming out thanks for the heads up!