Today, DC Comics releases Before Watchmen: Comedian #1, one of the seven Before Watchmen series launching against the will of comic purists everywhere – and dare I say Watchmen creator Alan Moore.
EDITOR’S PICK: Before Watchmen Prequels Ignite The Internet
Now that Before Watchmen is well underway, bastardizing the original work of creator Alan Moore (the new series actually has an epilogue to Moore’s original work), we’ve come up with a few other series that comic book publishers can look to when trying to flip a quick buck off of past successes.
1. Before Harry Potter: James Potter Vampire Hunter
In this series, DC Comics dives into the backstory of James Potter, aka Prongs and father of the boy who lived. Before James battled Voldemort, he was an ordinary magical teenager with eyes on Lily Evans and an undying grudge towards Severus Snape. In this new origin story, we learn the real reason for James and Severus’ quarrel. Snape was a vampire and James was a hunter. Get ready to learn the truth about James Potter Vampire Hunter available this Fall from DC Comics – this series is not endorsed by J.K. Rowling.
2. Before The Amazing Spider-Man: The Uncle Ben Gauntlet
This series follows Uncle Ben, Peter Parker’s uncle and the one Marvel comics character who died and stayed dead. Or did he? In this prequel, we learn that Uncle Ben was the first person to hold onto the Infinity Gauntlet, even before Thanos. After ruining his life and accidentally murdering Peter Parker’s parents with the power of the gauntlet, he learned that “With Great Power Comes Great Responsibility”, a lesson he promised he would eventually teach his orphaned nephew. This story will lead into a universe-wide crossover that will have rippling effects for years to come.
3. Before Superman: The Krypton Diaries
Before Jor-El sent his only son, Kal-El, to Earth to save him from a dying planet, Jor-El was just an ordinary Kryptonian scientist who had no powers. In this series, we follow Jor-El as he wages war against Krypton’s bureaucracy. If you thought the Man of Steel faced strong opponents, then wait until you see the political battles his father faced!
4. Before Nightwing: The Flying Graysons
We all know what happened when Dick Grayson’s parent’s died. He became Batman’s sidekick, Robin, the Boy Wonder. But, what about life before Batman. Before Nightwing: The Flying Graysons is a romp adventure of Gotham’s number one traveling circus. They fight against the deadly underworld of the circus mafia.
5. Before Sandman: An Adam and Eve Tale
Neil Gaiman’s Sandman series is one of the most legendary comics of all time. But, who is the real Morpheus? An Adam and Eve Tale dissects the truth about Morpheus and traces his roots right back to the birth of man. Turns out, Gaiman’s Sandman was trapped in a dream within a dream, within a dream this entire time. This will be a 6-part series, culminating in a new series launching in 2013 – Sandman: Inception.
