The Before Watchmen Prequel comics. To buy or not to buy?
I’m getting ahead of myself. On the internet when news comes out about a controversial comic book project it seems as if the duty of every comic book geek to chime in with their opinion–without the product in their hand. The internet was invented so that people could bitch, right? So what I should really be asking is:
To judge or not to judge? First let’s look at what DC Comics is doing.
DC Comics announced early Wednesday that they are releasing seven Before Watchmen mini-series that will be prequels to the landmark graphic novel, Watchmen. Before you say it, take a look at the creative forces behind the books and see if you’re still in rampage mode.
• RORSCHACH (4 issues) – Writer: Brian Azzarello. Artist: Lee Bermejo
• MINUTEMEN (6 issues) – Writer/Artist: Darwyn Cooke
• COMEDIAN (6 issues) – Writer: Brian Azzarello. Artist: J.G. Jones
• DR. MANHATTAN (4 issues) – Writer: J. Michael Straczynski. Artist: Adam Hughes
• NITE OWL (4 issues) – Writer: J. Michael Straczynski. Artists: Andy and Joe Kubert
• OZYMANDIAS (6 issues) – Writer: Len Wein. Artist: Jae Lee
• SILK SPECTRE (4 issues) – Writer: Darwyn Cooke. Artist: Amanda Conner
Still got your Red Lantern Ring charged? Really? Wait, there’s more. There’s also going to be a two-page back-up story called Curse of the Crimson Corsair written by Len Wein and art by John Higgins. There will also be a one-shot: BEFORE WATCHMEN: EPILOGUE that will be done by various artists and writers.
“It’s our responsibility as publishers to find new ways to keep all of our characters relevant,” said DC Entertainment Co-Publishers Dan DiDio and Jim Lee. “After twenty five years, the Watchmen are classic characters whose time has come for new stories to be told. We sought out the best writers and artists in the industry to build on the complex mythology of the original.”
WATCHMEN co-creator Dave Gibbons had this to say in the DC Comics release: “The original series of WATCHMEN is the complete story that Alan Moore and I wanted to tell. However, I appreciate DC’s reasons for this initiative and the wish of the artists and writers involved to pay tribute to our work. May these new additions have the success they desire.”
It should come to no one, and I mean no one’s surprise that WATCHMEN writer, Alan Moore took his usual stand against anything to do with DC Comics and WATCHMEN, especially any additional comics or adaptation (Zack Snyder’s film adaptation, animated movie, merchandise etc) that lie outside the original 12-issue mini-series.
As with ANY comic book series all judgment should be reserved until the series are published and finished. I’m rather impartial on the entire matter. Like it or not, we live in a world where everything is prequel-ized or sequel-ized. The concerns are valid as I’m not the biggest fan of projects such as these because they rarely capture or rekindle the magic of the original. This goes for television and film too. I am encouraged by the talent that’s been assembled and that they’ve chosen to go the prequel route as opposed to a sequel because at the end of the day, WATCHMEN is still there. The original STAR WARS Trilogy still remains despite the prequels. Calmer heads should prevail.
Readers can choose to buy as many of the mini-series as they want, wait for the trades, or simply choose to ignore it completely. Sequels of great comics have often been sub par. The Dark Knight Strikes Again did nothing for The Dark Knight Returns. What made that sequel worse is that it was Frank Miller who made the sequel as well as the original work. Fanboys and fangirls were left only with a loss of faith in their beloved creator.
But, there are always exceptions to the rule.
Aliens, while a completely different animal than Alien, was still a respectable film. I don’t know how many Year One stories have been produced over the years in comics but there has been a lot. While the idea is not fresh any more, the results are usually quite good. Adding to the Watchmen universe could work very well. It might not. Is this an opportunity for DC to continue milking the bloody smiley face some more? You bet. But at the end of the day, if they’re good stories what’s the real harm? If they’re bad, the Oversized Absolute WATCHMEN Hardcover still exists. And so do the copies of the original 12 floppies you can find every once in a while.
Look, I think we are often too quick to react and say that something is worth buying or not when they haven’t even hit the stores yet. That’s just how we’re programmed, comic readers are like old grumpy men who resist change or new ideas. But that’s just not fair to the creators who worked on the BEFORE WATCHMEN books. I believe if someone has a story to tell, and there’s interest in reading it, then the platform should be given. DC’s reboot of their entire line of comics was met with similar polarizing reaction, yet six months later those who tried the new books are probably reading more DC comics than they did before the relaunch. For those who are coming out against BEFORE WATCHMEN believe that everything that Moore and Gibbons did back in 1986 was all that was needed to be said about this story. Fair enough.
Moore spoke with the New York Times via telephone and had this to say, “I tend to take this latest development as a kind of eager confirmation that they are still apparently dependent on ideas that I had 25 years ago.” He also stated that there was never a prequel or sequel made of Moby-Dick. Touché, Alan, but your poo-poo-ing of DC Comics and the comics industry as a whole is tired routine.
It was Moore who used Charlton Comics characters for Watchmen. He used three innocent fairy tale characters, Alice of Adventures in Wonderland, Dorothy of Wizard of Oz, and Wendy from Peter Pan and sexualized them in a heavy work of erotic fiction called Lost Girls. And then there is The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen where he takes some of the greatest literary characters and makes them into the ultimate superhero team that would rival The Avengers or The Justice League. He’s supplemented a career with work-for-hire jobs where he re-imagines books, including Superman, Swamp Thing, WildC.A.T.S, Supreme, and the list goes on and on.
That’s creative stuff, and I have no problem with the work he’s done, I enjoyed most if not all of the Alan Moore library of work I’ve been able to read. But the work he did on Watchmen shouldn’t be considered off-limits. He didn’t create the characters, he re-imagined them. There’s room to tell more. You don’t want to be involved. Fine. We get it, you’re crotchety, you piss vinegar, you are afraid of fans, and Alan, you don’t believe in shaving. But just because you have a scary beard, doesn’t mean you’re in any position to come in and tell either DC Comics what to do or not to do with Watchmen, nor are you in the position to judge the very inception of different creators working with these characters again. Have some respect for your fellow creators as they have so often praised and respected you and your work.
The other argument I often hear is why don’t these creators do their version of Watchmen and create their own stories. Well they have. Do your homework, track their work down. They’ve been chosen to work on these titles because of their track record to have unique voices on work-for-hire projects AND their creator-owned titles. Mainstream readers rarely want to take a chance on something completely new. So why not allow these creators the chance to tell a potentially great story and see how it turns out? This isn’t a pro-life rally at a Planned Parenthood facility but based on the reactions you’d think it was. Hey, it all works in DC’s favor as the word is now out and people are talking about it. Major media outlets are covering it. And whether you plan to buy it or not, you probably already have an opinion about it.
Darwyn Cooke (Parker GN, The New Frontier), Brian Azzarello (100 Bullets, Joker), Lee Bermejo (Joker, Batman: Noel), J.G. Jones (Wanted, Final Crisis), J. Michael Straczynski (Rising Stars, Thor), Len Wein (Swamp Thing), Amanda Connor (The Pro, Power Girl), Adam Hughes (Various DC Covers), Adam Kubert (Flashpoint), Joe Kubert (Sgt. Rock) and Jae Lee (The Dark Tower, Batman: Jekyll and Hyde)? Are you kidding me? These are some of the industry’s most talented creators. They’ve all done creator-owned work or independent endeavors that have gotten critical acclaim but hardly come close to selling over two million copies Watchmen has. This was an opportunity to do something special.
Azzarello told the Times, “I think the gut reaction is going to be, ‘Why?’ But then when the actual books come out, the answer will be, ‘Oh, that’s why.’ ”
I believe DC Comics and creators involved are being brave for revisiting a 25 year old story and poking around it to see what else can be told. This is an intimidating thing that they’re up against. The odds are already stacked against them and somehow, someway, I’m confident their reputations and egos will survive whether it’s a smashing success, an utter failure or something in between. They’ll move on from it and continue to make great comics worth buying. In other words, they’ll handle it with class. If only Alan Moore could do the same.
Look for the seven BEFORE WATCHMEN books this summer.
