Legion World Forums LEGION COMPANION Dr. Gym'll's Cultural Rarities Before Watchmen

I fall on the side of "DC did their due diligence to do it correctly but ultimately it's their right and I'm glad that they're at least treating it with the respect it deserves by getting the best talent" camp.

I really wish they hadn't decided to put out a truck-load of miniseries though. There's no way I'm getting all of them. I'd have preferred one mini or maxi that actually had all these characters interacting with each other - when they were a team.

And you know a big reason they're doing prequels is because ******** died at the end of the original series.

I liked Watchmen but I'm certainly not one of those who hold it up on a pedestal as THE BEST COMIC EVER or whatever. In fact, if anything, I resent it for beginning the 'darkening' of super-heroes that so permeates the comic industry now and IMO is a prime reason for its decline.

I probably won't buy these books anyway but I'll be interested to find out if they answer the one question that I always wondered about when reading the original series. And that's -

"Whatever happened to... the Hooded Justice?"

I know it was hinted at that...

<span class="spoiler_containter"><span class="spoiler_wording">Click Here For A Spoiler</span><span class="spoiler_text"> the Comedian killed him </span></span>

... but it always felt like there was more to the story than that. So I wonder if any of these comics will address that.

It's implied and then was confirmed in an interview I think that HJ was gay and in a relationship with one of the other heroes. I forget which one though.

And yeah, I think it's also implied the Comedian eventually killed him.

Yeah, if you read the backstory for each chapter closely, it lays out that Hooded Justice and Captain Metropolis were a couple and the Comedian killed HJ (which adds even more layers to the scene where Comedian crushes Metropolis' "Crimebusters" idea). Also the irony that Metropolis comes across as a conservative crusader for 50's morals, while being a closeted homosexual.

Known in the 21st century as a Republican.

I am sure whatever they write will be good. I liked the book, but the failure of the movie to catch the public's attention should have said something to Warner Bros. I can't see too much separation between the Charlton characters and Watchmen, but that is probably because I am post-Watchmen. I read stories and watched the cartoons where Watchmen influenced Charlton characters.

Even a movie that's unsuccessful by Hollywood standards can have enough fans to support a comic. They operate of completely different scales.

OTOH as has often been mentioned, the dollar to minute of entertainment ratio is also very different, and not in comics' favor, so maybe it evens out.

Watchmen is above all a masterpiece of structure, intricate in it's detail and really hermetically sealed as a piece of literature. There is absolutely nothing to be gained by adding to the mythos or further expanding the characters because they weren't designed that way. DC's obviously doing it for the cash, but the creators should know this is a dead end. Look at how abysmal the movie turned out because Snyder didn't understand the book and just lifted "cool scenes" while destroying the structure and therefore destroying the narrative completely. It will be exactly the same idea if you just start telling more stories with these characters. Sure you can these types of stories, but there's nothing appealing about that, because there's no creative alternatives left for them within the world of Watchmen. You're just borrowing the branding.

I think it remains the be seen whether or not there are "creative alternatives." The folks involved are paid to be creative for a reason. Most people are expecting them to fail to live up to the original, but it'll be pretty exciting to see if some of them manage to give us something awesome.

Considering all the universe rearranging going on, I see these characters as "New52" versions of Moore's Watchmen anyway.

Darwyn Cooke!! Yes!!

Len Wein?? Feh!!

I may be the only person here that hasn't read watchmen, and doesn't really care to. I have the movie, but that's about it. As to the new books, no real interest, though I would buy the Len Wein black pirate story if it was in a book by itself. I may be the only person that liked Gunfire from the bloodlines or whatever story it was.

Good article with JMS. He talks about his two mini's in this event, as well as giving thoughts on Alan Moore and his objections to it. I happen to agree with what he says here. For whatever that is worth...

http://www.newsarama.com/comics/jms-before-watchmen-details.html

I'm the opposite. The more I read about this, the more I think it's a real shame that it's happening.

I simply cannot pass up any book with Amanda Conner or Darwyn Cooke art.
The others I'm passing on.

I think Kesel had the right idea initially.

Agreed. Yay her.

Cooke, Connor, Jae Lee, Adam Hughes?!?! Shitsnacks on a cracker, that's some mega-talent, and some of my personal favorite artists.

I predict no lower than top 20 for all of these minis, which will make them a huge success.

That said, your old buddy MLLASH shan't be buying all these books, if any.

Can't afford 'em. And like Blacula, I don't consider WATCHMEN to be the be-all end-all of comics, though there's NO denying it IS a good read.

As for the Moore brouhaha, my opinion is if he's been paid properly for the success of his characters, then he needs to quit bitching. And I'm pretty sure he's richer than all of us combined.

After reading this, I would absolutely want Barbara Kesel as editor for any book I ever worked on.

I'm not so sure he's that rich. He lost a ton of the Watchmen money on his indie projects of the late 80s.

Yeah, she's super-awesome, a true heroine.

Part of the way I feel is probably just jealousy... I mean, Moore is mega famous and a "god" of comics. There is not ONE SINGLE COMPANY that wouldn't prostrate themselves at his feet if he indicated he wanted to write something for them, yet he still stays so bitter decades later, meanwhile I am certain he's never missed cashing a royalty check (nor should he).

I think the seeming bitterness and anger is what gets me most. That said, I hold his stuff like SUPREME and TOMORROW STORIES in the highest regard. I wish he could enjoy his success more than he does.

Many people, including Grant Morrison in his non-fiction book Supergods, have compared Alan Moore to his creation Rorschach, someone who is principled to a fault.

Moore is the Dr. Sheldon Cooper of comics. Brilliant, but off.

Actually, didn't Moore refuse to accept any of the royalties that were owed to him from the film versions of V for Vendetta, League of Extraordinary Gentlemen, Watchmen, etc.? I think I remember reading that somewhere.