DC has announced Before Watchmen. 7 mini series with a continuing backup in all of the books. Plus an Epilogue issue at the end of the whole thing.
While there are going to be various opinions on whether or not these should even be produced...they are coming, and I for one am actually looking forward to the event. It really takes nothing away from the original work...if it actually sucks, ignore it. If it's really good, it adds to the overall story.
Alan Moore needs to understand that he wrote this as a work for hire, that had the possibility of reverting rights to him and Dave Gibbons of it was out of print for a certain amount of time...from what I understand.
Too bad for him that he wrote one of the better stories of all time, and it has been in print ever since. It's the price of doing business. He based the original story in the Charlton characters, and only changed it when DC decided that they wanted to do something else with them.
I'm on board for this whole thing, and am looking forward to this event. For whatever reason, I think it looks pretty good, and there is some great talent involved.
I'm going to comment on each of the series below. There is a little order to my choices for best being first, and then going down in interest...but I am looking forward to all of them.
From: Turn around... | Registered: Jul 2003
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I'd but this book no matter what it was about. Darwyn writing and drawing a period piece such as this with no real rules to follow is a guarantee to be a good fun read, and be totally beautiful to behold.
I think with him being involved, it gives the whole thing a bit more of a positive spin. He says in one article I read that he initially did not want to be involved, but then an idea hit him that he could get behind...that says a lot for me about this project.
(4 issues) – Writer: J. Michael Straczynski. Artists: Andy and Joe Kubert
This is the second book that I am really looking forward to. I like the Nite Owl character, and while Straczynski can sometimes be hit or miss, I think this is a great arena for him. Plus the Kuberts on art...WIN!
From: Turn around... | Registered: Jul 2003
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(4 issues) – Writer: Brian Azzarello. Artist: Lee Bermejo
Azzarello writing Rorschach?!?!?! I cannot think really of a better writer. Lee Bermejo, artist of the Joker Graphic Novel...this looks to be good, and could easily bounce to #2 on my favorites list.
(6 issues) – Writer: Brian Azzarello. Artist: J.G. Jones
Okay...they got him to write 2 of the baddest characters in the series. This looks great as well, plus J.G. Jones on art makes this another winner.
From: Turn around... | Registered: Jul 2003
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Cooke + Conner = Another great book. This should probably be higher on my list and probably will as it comes closer.
(6 issues) – Writer: Len Wein. Artist: Jae Lee
Gotta say, not too sure on this one...I liked Len's stuff way back when...not sure what he has done recently though. Jae Lee will give this a good look no matter what though.
back-up written by Len Wein and illustrated by John Higgins
The book that will be in all of the books. This might be interesting, it has worked with such books as the original Rune story from the Ultraverse. It could be too disjointed though being only a couple pages an issue though. I know that John Higgins did one of the War Story books with Garth Ennis, so that means I like him.
From: Turn around... | Registered: Jul 2003
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posted
Beat me to the punch starting this thread, Dev! Here are my thoughts:
On one hand, I agree with Alan Moore that these prequels are cash-grabs and curiously-timed ones at that. I mean, Watchmen popularity probably peaked in the late '80s and '90s and had interest re-swirl around it a few years ago when the movie came out. Why not around the time the movie came out? Why not any time between the original release and the year the movie came out? Why NOW?!?!
Plus, well, Watchmen itself is positively LOADED with all the backstory we really need if you think about it. I'd say half or more of the thing is backstory already and the other half (maybe less than half?) is what's going on in the present! Do we really need to know any more than we are already given? Sure, there are a few things left to the imagination, but is that a bad thing?!? I don't think so. Watchmen is pretty much perfect and complete on its own, so prequels (or sequels) feel damned unnecessary.
I mean, remember how 'well' Dark Knight Strikes Again made for a sequel to its classic forbear? Most people agree that it pretty much blew chunks--and DK2 was actually done by its original creator, Frank Miller! careful whatcha wish for, fanboys!
Let's not forget that each and everyone of these issues will cost you $3.99 a pop as well. If you buy every single one of these it would cost you around $140 for the whole set assuming no discounts. If you already get a pretty healthy stack (like me), your wallet will definitely take a hit if you want it all.
On the other hand, I have to admit that my jaw dropped to the floor when i saw the list of creators attached to this thing. I mean, they didn't exactly put (IMO) hacks on this like Rob Liefeld, Howard Mackie, Chuck Austen, etc. This is pretty much exclusively top-tier talent on these things with maybe a few being debatably so. I mean DARWYN-fucking-COOKE!!! is attached to two of these things, and he's a guy I'd automatically buy anything he did sight-unseen because I know it would be guaranteed to be tits-up awesome! If he did a comic about, I dunno, spaghetti, it'd be an instant classic! )
So what am I going to do? My plan is to get only one of these in floppies, Minutemen, because it's the one that DARWYN-fucking-COOKE!!! is both writing and drawing and I just can't resist that guy's stuff. As for the rest, I'll keep my eyes open for reviews and recommendations and either cave and add one or two of these to the pull or trade-wait on them. No way is DC gonna get me to buy all 34 floppies though--that's GUARANT-damn-TEED!
I hope everyone who is a Watchmen fan will chime in on this thread about where they stand on the controversy of this thing!!!!
-------------------- "Suck it, depressos!"--M. Lash
From: The Underbelly of Society | Registered: Jul 2003
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posted
Not sure how well the Dark Knight Strikes Again comparison holds up though Lardy.
That was a cash grab by the same creator, who totally f'ed over his loyal fans with a piece of shite. I got it for a buck a pop, and I want my 3 bucks back.
There is a ton of backstory in Watchmen, but there is a whole lot that is not there. Depending on when these books are actually set, there are whole careers left to explore. The backstory in the original was what was needed to make the original what it was.
Which of course leads into the argument of why even do this then. The real answer is...money. Pure and simple. Well that, and id Cooke says he had a revelation of a story to tell...that's enough for me to get every issue of Minutemen at least...and probably The Silk Spectre. The others, well, several have teams that totally intrigue me, and well...that leaves one series I'd say I'm a little shaky on.
From: Turn around... | Registered: Jul 2003
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posted
My thoughts have pretty much already been posted. This is totally not needed from a storytelling perspective. Watchmen is a complete work of art - it stands on it's own. DC owns the rights and it was inevitable that they were eventually going to cash in. They're bringing in top tier talent, so some will be tempting to pick up. Minute Men has my interest the most. But there's just no way I'm going to shell out the bucks for all of them. It would totally bust my comic book budget.
-------------------- No regrets, Coyote.
From: Missouri | Registered: Oct 2003
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quote:Originally posted by Dev - Em: Not sure how well the Dark Knight Strikes Again comparison holds up though Lardy.
That was a cash grab by the same creator, who totally f'ed over his loyal fans with a piece of shite. I got it for a buck a pop, and I want my 3 bucks back.
I'd say it holds up in comparison as an example of a perfectly-good standalone classic that we thought we wanted more of but now wish we never did. DKR and Watchmen are always mentioned as high-water marks in comics literature, so it's hard not to compare when the latter gets a continuation of sorts, as well.
quote:There is a ton of backstory in Watchmen, but there is a whole lot that is not there. Depending on when these books are actually set, there are whole careers left to explore. The backstory in the original was what was needed to make the original what it was.
So if we got enough backstory in the original to make it feel complete, why give us more?
quote:[qb}Which of course leads into the argument of why even do this then. The real answer is...money. Pure and simple. [/QB]
That's the obvious goal for DC, but even with that in mind, I question the logic. This could potentially be a bust for them. Like I said, the window for this to have created the most possible income for DC has probably already passed. And if enough people feel put off by the contoversy and perceived disrespect to the original, it could potentiall be a disaster! I personally think it will do pretty well, but the potential for it not to is there.
-------------------- "Suck it, depressos!"--M. Lash
From: The Underbelly of Society | Registered: Jul 2003
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posted
I love back and forths with you Lardy. So much fun to look at all sides of things.
The thing is, this whole argument can be used for any character or story. Why should anyone other than Ian Fleming written about James Bond? Why should there be and Dune books without Frank Herbert? Should anyone have written about Spider-Man after Stan Lee stopped? Should The New Gods have stopped when Jack Kirby left DC?
The argument can be made either way for any of them...I can see both sides of the Watchmen thing. But, for once, I'm just jumping in to have a bit of fun with something. I love the original story, but think that the talent involved with this can pull off something really good.
From: Turn around... | Registered: Jul 2003
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posted
Here's a good Bleeding Cool article (actually a repost of an article from December--BC broke this story long before it was made "official" by DC) on the ethics of this whole thing. Interestingly enough, it appears Paul Levitz stood in the way of this thing while he was publisher at DC, feeling that any prequels or otherwise would diminish the original.
-------------------- "Suck it, depressos!"--M. Lash
From: The Underbelly of Society | Registered: Jul 2003
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quote:Originally posted by Dev - Em: I love back and forths with you Lardy. So much fun to look at all sides of things.
The thing is, this whole argument can be used for any character or story. Why should anyone other than Ian Fleming written about James Bond? Why should there be and Dune books without Frank Herbert? Should anyone have written about Spider-Man after Stan Lee stopped? Should The New Gods have stopped when Jack Kirby left DC?
The argument can be made either way for any of them...I can see both sides of the Watchmen thing. But, for once, I'm just jumping in to have a bit of fun with something. I love the original story, but think that the talent involved with this can pull off something really good.
Never let it be said that I shy away from these things!
But to rebutt that last thing, Watchmen is unique from most things in that it was designed as a story with a complete beginning, middle and end and in an era that was just prior to one that birthed more and more creators having rights, including some rights for work-for-hire (mostly royalties). The Silver Age and before (and most of the Bronze), your choices were pretty much work-for-hire or own your own work in small press and struggle to make ends meet. Guys like Alan Moore brought comics wider recognition as a valid art form and made it more and more clear that it was the creators, not the characters, that made the stories classics.
Like him or hate him, comics creators owe a lot to Alan Moore and other guys like him who made better treatment for them possible.
-------------------- "Suck it, depressos!"--M. Lash
From: The Underbelly of Society | Registered: Jul 2003
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posted
What would JMS do if someone did something with Babylon 5 without his permission or involvement? CBR has JMS's response. If his response from Moore's perspective is accurate, it seems that DC went out of its way to treat Moore more than fairly with this. Apparently Moore had the chance to own the rights if he participated!
-------------------- "Suck it, depressos!"--M. Lash
From: The Underbelly of Society | Registered: Jul 2003
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Most people agree that it pretty much blew chunks--and DK2 was actually done by its original creator, Frank Miller! careful whatcha wish for, fanboys! ![[Yes]](graemlins/nod.gif)
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