mynameismad:

surfdog2000:

diarrheaheartfailure:

theavc:

Because Alan Moore isn’t mad enough, DC Comics is launching a series of Watchmen prequels about each character’s backstory. Which, yes, okay, we understand, but some pretty talented people are attached to the project. Will you read them, or stand in solidarity with Moore?

“Of course, while Moore and his many acolytes certainly have the right to feel protective of his work, as participating writer J. Michael Straczynski points out in an interview with The Hollywood Reporter, Moore himself has spent much of his career building on characters he didn’t create either—including Swamp Thing, Batman, everyone in Lost Girls and League Of Extraordinary Gentlemen, and even the characters that the Watchmen themselves were originally based on—so yes, maybe he does, as Straczynski asserts, “lose a little of the moral high ground.” Granted, that still doesn’t mean this idea isn’t wholly unnecessary, likely doomed to take what was fascinating in context and subtext and render it redundant and pedestrian by isolating it and spelling it out, and above all, offer yet more evidence that every industry would prefer to cannibalize an older good idea than take a risk on a new one. And yet, on the other hand, you don’t have to read them.”

hm

I stand in the “I just won’t read them” crowd.

it WILL be interesting to watch DC get through this whole maxiseries without mentioning Moore’s name

“THIRTY-FIVE NEW ISSUES OF WATCHMEN!A PREQUEL CONTINUATION OF THE LANDMARK GAME-CHANGING GRAPHIC NOVEL MASTERPIECE BY some guy”

but yeah, regardless of where you stand on the original, these are probably gonna be awful

Guys why don’t we just read the comics when they come out and decide for ourselves and ourselves alone whether or not they are awful instead of mobbing together like some giant brainless hate slug who would rather see something like this fail than actually give it a chance.

I am a strong proponent of not jumping on trash wagons because I’d rather figure things out for myself than listen to a bunch of people I don’t know who have also not seen/heard/read something.

While originally separated into different issues, compiling Watchmen into one large book was pretty much the only thing the series needed. We were given enough history and context of the story before it “began” and were told a narrative until its natural stopping point. Could that world be expanded on? Yes, definitely. Should it be? I am not so sure.

I personally have no real interest in the prequels one way or the other, but my concern for how they could impact what Watchmen is supposed to be is not entirely unfounded. Watchmen was delightfully complex and meticulously planned out and told to the readers. While I definitely think this could be improved upon, it feels as though DC is taking a bit of a gamble trying to get more out of the series while it’s maintaining a fresh popularity a few years after the film. I’d love to see these new writers blow these prequels out of the water, but to be even passable to most Watchmen fans, the writing can’t be anything less than consistently outstanding. And even if it is, there will still be accusations of corrupting the existing/intended cannon.

These aren’t comics I’ll likely read, Watchmen had a good stopping point for me and I really don’t desire and extension of what we originally received. Not out of spite for the new authors and artists, but because I appreciate how the much of the story was uncertain to us. I liked that things could be revealed only as it was necessary in the story and things that weren’t got little or n additional mention. As a reader, that appeals to my sense of the unknown or what could have been.I personally don’t need or want anything set in stone; I encourage and enjoy the speculation of an open ending (or vague opening). But I think bigger and more genuine fans of the series than I should definitely give at least a couple of the prequels a shot before declaring them garbage.

As fans, it’s difficult for us to let go and give what we love to someone we aren’t entirely sure about. But fiction is often associated with taking chances. It’s okay and probably advised to proceed with a certain degree of caution, but at least waiting to see the results is probably advised. DC is under some harsh criticism lately, but they have some merit after succeeding in the comics industry for this long. Deep breaths, some trust and keep your pitchforks out of the air until we can be sure that these are as terrible as everyone is speculating.

If nothing else if these books flop, you’ll be able to satisfyingly gloat that you told us they would.