For as long as I've known about the WATCHMEN, I've heard random rumors and speculation about the possibility of a sequel, but given what we know about the shaky relationship (or lack thereof) between Alan Moore and DC Comics, I always dismissed the idea. Our pal Rich Johnston over at Bleeding Cool posed the question and rumor that there may be more WATCHMEN in the works at DC Comics, now that Paul Levitz is gone and no longer protecting the characters.
The idea posed that would present new comics in the WATCHMEN universe in the form of prequels is one that, if they were to do it, would be one that I'd totally read. My main takeaway from the WATCHMEN movie (and a very recent movie) is that I wanted more of the early days of the heroes, in the 1940s. There really are tons of great ideas that could be mined. But could it exist without Alan Moore or Dave Gibbons? The natural idea is to assume that Alan Moore won't even consider the idea, but Dave Gibbons could write and draw it. But what if he didn't? Would you read a Zander Cannon/Gene Ha WATCHMEN story?
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I’ll read it if only Jeph Leob and Greg Land were the team on it.
I LMAO’d at this picture!
I said this on twitter. If I’m a comics creator and my name isn’t Dave Gibbons I’m not touching this with a 1000 ft. pole.
Some things are sacred. If Moore or Gibbons isn’t a part of it, I won’t be reading it.
jackietam just made me throw up in my mouth.
This is a bad idea. Watchmen was great and any more additions will not capture the same magic. Sometimes the story just needs to end. Don’t believe me, then watch the Star Wars prequels. Hell, they were written by George Lucas.
Highly against it. I know it’s just speculation, but it’s enough to get my blood boiling.
If its not written by Moore its not Watchmen, period.
This may be vaguely herectical (sorry, I know this cannot end well) but… a: Gibbons isn’t the best artist out there and not even the best artist on the Watchmen books (I’d LOVE to have seen a Watchmen comic drawn by Higgins and coloured by Gibbons that’s the parallel world I want to live in most other things can stay the same) and b: Watchmen is ALL about Moore’s writing. No Alan no Watchmen. Being the writer who follows that? Brave move.
c: the film has ignited interest? Really? Again without wanting to derail thread all it did for me was bury any hope that Snyder could do anything other than long form pop video and certainly not manage to read a graphic novel and understand subtext, age difference (the Spectre sisters say hallo) and context.
d: is there any chance we can have an Ultimate Irony version of the Watchmen Blu Ray with an Alan Moore commentary? Pretty please?
Isn’t that what the poorly done video game was about?
If Allan Moore is not doing it, I don’t think I would buy it.
Enough time has passed – it would be okay to do. Though I would only read if they were by good creators – they don’t get a free pass just ‘cos they is Watchmen like.
How about Grant Morrison & Cameron Stewart?
You’ve got to admit though it’s a brave move. Well, brave and stupid. Mostly the latter.
On principle, I want to say I won’t read it. In reality, if it is prequel stories featuring the "Golden Age" characters, ummm, yeah, I’m gonna have to read them.
I think they should go in a totally different direction.
Watchmen the Musical?
I’m not stating this to argue or to upset anyone but come on…
We all say that "This book is sacred" and "no one but Moore and/or Gibbons" can touch it. Then they announce some fever-dream team like Neil Gaiman/Grant Morrison and John Cassaday/Frank Quitely and people would line up.
Moore said what he had to. Gibbons probably wouldn’t care unless they spell his name wrong wrong on the royalty check. I wouldn’t pick it up but we all know most people would or will and then place it in plastic and place it behind their original 12-issue run. It’s a business people.
I’m all for this. Anything to destroy it’s overblown fan legacy.
noo! its a classic piece of work! dont ruin it with a prequel!.
@chrisNeseman Oh man I would so watch that and buy the soundtrack.
They would only be ruining the reputation of the original by putting out anything else. Even if Moore was the writer I’m not sure if I would be on board with it because the original story was such a masterpiece in itself that anything else would no doubt be a let down.
I don’t think Alan Moore would have a problem with it.
I’m not being sarcastic.
I’m not.
Really.
I don’t read fan fiction, so why would I read a non-Moore Watchmen?
I think the way to go with this would be a ‘Watchmen Tales’ anthology with various artists and writers giving their take on the universe. Not stories that claim to be ‘canonical’ (because, dude, you’ve seen the backmatter; Moore COVERED that and besides, most prequels suck). Just riffs on the theme by talented people. Assuming enough of them want to do it in the face of Moore’s probable disapproval. That’s what I’d like to see.
In all honesty, it doesn’t matter. "If" they do it, it will exist in it’s own bubble. If it’s done well (and it can be done) it could be kind of cool. If it’s not done well (the chance of this is very high) it becomes Highlander 2.
I think this is a really bad idea. If they got Gibbons and Moore on it, I’d still say it’s a bad idea.
Whether you are a fan of the work or not, I believe it is one of the few books that the entire industry is measured by, it’s like ‘To Kill A Mockingbird’ or ‘Catcher in the Rye’ for American Literature, you don’t make a sequel or a prequel. It said what it needed too.
If they make it, I’ll read it though…my hypocrisy knows no bounds.
Also, Chris, I don’t know if you’re kidding about the Watchmen musical thing but I truly think it would be awesome. Imagine the dance-off between Rorschach and his psychiatrist. Imagine Ozymandias’s grandiose power ballads. Imagine ‘Minutemen Tango’ a la ‘Chicago.’
Awesome.
ohcaroline just made so much sense. A Watchmen Tales anthology that doesn’t claim to be cannon could be AWWWWWESOME!
Now I do kind of like the anthology idea. That could definitly be a lot of fun to read if put in the hands of good creators.
@slockhart Why read non-Lee Fantastic Four? or non-Kane Batman?
sorry i just couldn’t resist.
@ChrisNeseman But dude It’s a kind of magic…
Well I suddenly feel ever so slightly sick.
There’s no need for this at all. I’m one of the ones who does think it’s a classic, if only because it caused a total and utter paradigm shift in comics. I was trying to think if there has actually been a comic published since Watchmen or Dark Knight that would ever reach the equivalent of their seismic influence. They changed everything and, the more I read Watchmen, the more I do love it. While it’s complex and high falutin in some ways, in others it manages priceless moments of humanity and emotion. It desereves to be treated with some reverence, and should be left like a single (graphic) novel. By all means use the characters, or their original Charlton counterparts, but at the same time don’t link it directly to the story of the original. The only way to do it is to keep them independent of each other.
no no no fuck no
The characters are work for hire. They are owned by DC, which has just as much right to make more books (and movies, and video games and Underoos) with them as they do with Superman, Batman or Congorilla. If it will make money, then it’s a good idea.
Personally, I think that a Watchmen book by someone(s) totally out of left field would be fun. Sure, Joss Whedon/John Cassaday, or Warren Ellis/Your Mom, would be the obvious choice, but wouldn’t it be nice if they gave it to Jeff Lumire/Tony Millionaire? It only pisses on the legacy if it’s bad. If it’s good, then it pays tribute.
That said, in order to truly pay tribute it would have to be really boring in the middle and padded with self-indulgent text pieces. Stay true to the Moore legacy, DC. Stay true.
I think they should just give it to a bunch of indie artists and see what comes out, "Drawn and Quarterly Style." If it’s an official PREQUEL then that’s kind of dull and will tarnish the original work, but an anthology of James Kochalka, Paul Pope, Darwyn Cooke, and basically any artist who’s either drawn "Hellboy" or appeared in "Batman: Black and White."
Joss Whedon writing a new Watchmen just made me spit coffee on my keyboard.
Oh man! THAT is the fan fiction I want. That or Kevin Smith.
They should just leave it alone. It’s a perfect work as is.
why are we discussing a rumor?
isn’t this just a huge waste of time?
Speculating about a rumor is just good times ’round the water cooler.
Now, pausing to talk about how no one should be talking about it…?
Ya know, as I think about it, an anthology could be really cool. Think about doing a 6 page Comedian story set up as a Black Ops espionage story. How about a short Morrison/Quietly Dr. Manhattan story. If handled right, and with no one creative team on the hook it could be pretty cool.
Nothing is sacred anymore, that’s why I’m okay with it. If this was like….20 years ago I would be pissed like a lot of people are (rightfully so too). But really, there is nothing that shocks me anymore in any form of entertainment. So if they will do prequels, whether on the team or individual characters, then go right ahead. I’m more interested in a sequel idea though, cause there are a load of ideas to come from just the ending of Watchmen.
Cause if I can say one thing, to maybe be a little hesitant on this idea. Why do prequels? The book does more then enough flashbacks, discussions, and anything else on character’s pasts. Do we need a prequel to justify these claims?
I’m the opposite. I think going forward would be a huge mistake. That is the uncharted territory that only Moore should walk in. By doing prequel stories you can stay true to the source material and still tell good new stories.
Not only do I want a "Watchmen" anthology story, but I am totally for making a prequel for "Of Mice and Men".
Can we at least wait until Alan Moore is in the grave? Then you can do the Anthology idea. If I was a sole creator I wouldn’t touch the property with a ten foot pole.
@ChrisNesesman
Come on, Chris. I would be awesome! It’s not like Greg Land would have the balls to just photoshop some female pornstar’s face and call it Silk Spectre. Oh wait nevermind.
You know…. this a very bold move, but I feel like it would ultimately backfire. My question would be… what about the Charlton characters?! Why not invest some time into making those characters viable and just as cool as their doppelgangers? I’ll be curious to see where this goes but… "I’ve got a bad feeling about this."
@ohcaroline I like that anthology idea a lot, actually.
Speculating about a rumor is just good times ’round the water cooler.
Now, pausing to talk about how no one should be talking about it…?
Pointing this out = wasting your life
I’m with TheNextChampion, nothing is sacred. Regardless of how good or terrible a Watchmen sequel/prequel would be, it won’t alter the original in any way.
Plus, I see this as a win/win opportunity. Either DC gets top name talent to do some great new stories or we end up with something terrible, which would also be kind of awesome. Seriously, a Greg Land/Jeph Loeb Watchmen sounds so amazingly terrible that I have to see it.
Besides, non-Moore Watchmen is hardly unprecedented. After all, not only are all of the characters thinly veiled Charlton analogs, Rorshach toatlly appeared in a couple of issues of O’Neill’s Question (admittedly in a dream sequence, but still…).
Ha ha..no
I’m not morally opposed to the existence of further adventures in the Watchmen universe, but It would never occur to me to pick it up if I saw it on the rack no matter what team DC put on it. Even if Moore were to write it himself, I would probably wait until someone told me it was good before I checked it out. Watchmen feels complete to me the way that Y or Preacher feel complete. It’s not that there isn’t more you could do in those worlds, I just don’t feel like there’s any need to. I have more than enough to digest and reread for ages already; and while I wouldn’t begrudge ad hoc additions to any of these properties, I just can’t imagine anything new being terribly compelling.
I think the rumor is probably referring to one chapter of Grant Morrison’s Multiversity project, where he said that he’s doing a hybrid charlatan/watchmen issue (basically naming them blue beetle and not night owl, but having Watchmen dimensions). I’d be cool with that.
I hope this just stays a rumor. A rumor which turns out to be false.
What’s this about a Watchmen/JSA Crossover?
I say do it. Whoever it was that said "we read non-Lee/Kirby FF" was right. Alan Moore doesnt want anything to do with it, thats his right. But with top line talent it would be cool. If anything, it would help get the bad taste the movie left me with.
No Moore=no read
If the Watchmen prequel means I get to see The Comedian’s first night at the Laugh Factory, I’m in!
i would read watchmen babies in v for vacation
How could they defile Moore’s characters like this? It’s like taking classic comic book characters and trying to give them modern spin… Uh… yeah. I think this is overblown. I can see the appeal, but for this to be worthwhile (and I’m not even talking Watchmen 2, I’m just saying for it to reside in the same ballpark), it would have to be done by a quality team. But here’s the rub: If they just take a retro approach, extrapolating on the stories of the 40s and 50s, then it’s going to be like a lot of other stuff we’ve seen already, and not really worthy of being in the Watchmen universe. But if they try to match Watchmen, in terms of style and complexity, then they have an awfully high bar to hurdle.
On the other hand, when Alan Moore wanted to do a crazy story with Blue Beetle, Blue Beetle, and The Question when DC Comics acquired the rights to those characters and DC said no because they didn’t like what he would do with them, he just created new characters for his story. He did the same thing with "Miracleman," which is only superficially a take on an old British Captain Marvel knock off and really more an examination of the concept of Captain Marvel.
So, if some crackerjack wrtier at DC has some crazy cool idea for a Watchmen story, just have him create analogues of the Watchmen characters. That is, if the story is really that good and doesn’t need brand recognition in order to be compelling, which I’m sure is the case.
I think it’d be fun and interesting to see but all the bitching and whining from little schoolgirls would ruin whatever potential it could’ve had. Maybe they should use the stories with different characters instead?
correction: Blue Beetle, Captain Atom, and The Question.
One of the reasons I enjoy Watchmen as much as I do is because the universe feels deep. Messrs. Moore and Gibbons did an excellent job creating a fleshed out universe. I am certain there are myriad excellent stories just waiting to be told in that world.
I felt the same way about Star Wars…..
I like @PraxJarvin’s idea (I usually do). Using the Charlton characters as a proxy for the Watchmen characters would allow a skilled writer to write excellent stories in a similar world.
To me, good stories are good stories. So whoever they pick to write it or whatever direction they decide to go in (Past, future, parallel dimension where they Watchmen come to our universe like the Simpsons halloween episode where Homer did) as long as it’s good I"m fine with that. And if it’s not good I’ll ignore it. To many good stories out there for me to get all up in arms about the bad ones.
@ohcaroline: Nice idea, I like it. Short done in one with certain characters would be great. I’m fearful that they would want to try and make it as epic as the original. Hopefully DC learned from George Lucas what not to do.
No.
It’s all about the creative team. Agreed with Chris in that I don’t envy them a bit. Whoever they are. Still, no reason this can’t result in some great comics. We just don’t have enough information to make any real forecast.
A prequel will do nothing to "ruin" Watchmen. Watchmen will still be exactly the same, unchanged, forever, no matter what they do. All the close-minded people who don’t understand that a movie and a comic are two different things? The movie didn’t "ruin" your comic. it’s still there on your shelf. Nothing happened to it. It’s EXACTLY THE SAME. A prequel will be no different.
Also, fuck Alan Moore and his Holier Than Though attitude. Is the guy a fantastic writer? Of course. But he did work for hire projects, just like everyone else in the industry at the time. if you didn’t like the terms of the employment, you shouldn’t have signed the contract. Cry me a river.
honestly, after reading this thread, all I have to say is there is no such thing as bad publicity.
To attack this idea is completely a knee jerk reaction. I would absolutely support this series if they put a quality writing and art team on it. There should be no sacred cows, in comics or in life in general. I would love to see someone who is known for strong, heady writing attack this sort of series. SOmeone like Jason Aaron or Grant Morrison. That said, I would hold this series up to a very high standard. I would expect it to not ‘merely’ be good, but require it to be excellent at the least in order to gain my lasting favor. Shame you to anyone who screams ‘NAY1’ just because Alan Moore wrote the first series. You sound just like all those grumpy old comic book guys who tell you how good comics were back in the day and how modern books just can’t compare. To them, and to anyone who says that, I tell you that today is the Golden Age of comics. Just because a smaller market are the only ones here to recognize it doesn’t change that fact.
If Moore or Gibbons isnt involved it would be heresy and I would probably bash it mercilessly… but I wont lie, I’d probably buy it. Plus you know that for a project like this they would get their best talent
Depends who’s doing it..Grant Morrison ??..maybe..
I say go for it. If it’s good, we get another good comic. If it sucks, I won’t spend money it.
Alan Moore is a boob…(Oh yeah you read that right I called him A BOOB!) I’d like to see a continuation, just to see him have a hissy fit and put another spell on somebody. Seriously, I’ve liked Moore less and less with each year of his everything in comics sucks except me attitude, and the bottom fell out for me with his child-like poo-pooing of Blackest Night.
In actuallity, I do kind of like ChrisNeseman’s idea… it could work. Plus it would piss off Moore. WIN, WIN!
DC is a buisness first and the caretaker of your precious comic book memories a distant third, fourth or fifth. I think them creating new material for what is one of their best-selling properties is pretty much a license to print money.
I hold Morrison’s Animal Man in the same reguard as Watchmen and his initial run of it isn’t diminished by the less than stellar runs that followed it.
@JohnVferrigno:
It would certainly ruin the story if the prequel has rorschach meeting his father.
I would also like to point out that Watchmen is such a special story because it was never turned into a multi-million dollar, over saturated franchise. It was never treated as a cash cow, to be milked endlessly like most superhero characters. If a prequel’s ok, why not a sequel. Why not a TV series, why not a gigantic toy line? Hell why not have a whole Watchmen universe?
The reason superheroes stories, hell science fiction, in general, doesn’t get any respect is because the genre itself is more obsessed with prolonging cash influx from its audience than actually doing something worthwhile. Watchmen and the very few stories like it are great examples of science fiction that does not span across a trilogy[in 5 parts ;-)] to be complete. It has more to say than the past 5 years of Avengers or Superman, and regardless of how good the following team might be, they would have nothing to add to the story because there’s nothing more to say. I don’t care about the Comedian’s childhood or Silk Specter’s marriage. Do you?
The comics obviously woulfn’t be the same without Moore, but this is COMICS. We get different creative teams all the time, why is this different?! Because it’s The Watchmen? Fuck that.
As long as the stories are good, we’ll all read them. And we all know this.
I don’t think that high-end works of literature, that speak volumes to us in self-contained stories, should ever be cajouled by the mass market into being "sequel/prequel-ised", made into spin-offs, or milked for whatever monetary value they have left in them.
Watchmen falls between the comics market and, as some have argued, literary master-pieces. Nobody would claim, legitimately, the right to add sequels and prequels to a work of Dickens. You can’t simply paint a portrait and market it as part of a two painting series, the other being the Mona Lisa. It’s ludicrous. It’s just not the same.
I’m not saying Moore is comparable to Da Vinci, but Watchmen is the most revered book comics has got and the principle is the same.
Am I alone in thinking that we revere the most those works that ended well before their expiry date, on a high, in a blaze of glory? That stand as monolith’s to a cause or a statement, or an art? Or does everything need to be a diluted, smeared around, chopped up, sold off, strung out and whored out.
Watchmen does not occupy the same space in culture as many of the super-hero, status quo, soap opera’s that have come to pass. It’s a critique of those very works and the super-hero itself, and shouldn’t meet the same fate.
@campbell I can guarantee that not all of us will read it, regardless of the quality.
I can’t see many top creators going near it with a 10,000ft pole. Why would you want to compare yourself to that?
Sure, DC, go ahead, and fold the watchmen universe into the 52-verse while you’re at it. That way you can do crossovers with big events!
Run it into the ground.
It would be cool if they folded into the Marvel universe instead so that Wolverine and Deadpool could be on the team.
If it’s not Alan Moore, I wouldn’t look at it. And i’d never read creator owned work from anyone associated with it either. I won’t go so far as to say i’d drop the company and the creators forever, but this would make me pretty angry.
We shouldn’t over-react it’ll never happen. DC will just announce a shoddy idea designed to get money out of us and we’ll all breathe a sigh of relief and buy that safe in the knowledge it could have been so much worse.
If you liked it, the original Matrix was incredible. The experience was fantastic, and had Revolutions and Reloaded not been added on, it would have become a cult classic in and of itself. The additional movies took away some of my enjoyment from the original.
If they added on more material to the Watchmen, it would either enhance or take away from my feelings about the original because both experiences would be melded together…related material. That’s why I think ANY new material should not be added, unless it’s done by the original creative team. Even then, I would rather it not happen.
I’m not getting the connect that many are making on here (nor do I ever where this type of subject is concerned) that publishing new Watchmen material will somehow cause the original story to change and no longer be good, or that all copies of the original will spontaneously combust into a ball of flame. Your trades of Watchmen will still read the same….. new material or not people.
My copy of the classic 1933 King Kong is just as awesome long after the Peter Jackson snooze fest has come and gone and been forgotten. Although I still wake up at night in a cold sweat about the Dino De Laurentis re-make.). It’s no different.
@muddi900 Did you somehow miss the Watchmen movie and all of the attempted cashing in that happened? I saw T-shirts, books, action figures, Video Games… the whole 9 yards. The only reason it didn’t continue is the movie tanked.
The Watchmen is a comic.
Alan Moore is very aware of how comics work.
The characters that are created often continue on with new creators. I read a Wizard interview a couple years ago that had Alan Moore saying he doesn’t care if people use his characters to tell stories. That is why Tom Strong and Top 10 have new stories without the original creators.
Unless he is a hypocrite, which I doubt, I don’t think he would have a problem with the idea of the Watchmen being continued or added to.
He might have a problem with how they do it, but not that they did it at all.
The Matrix is one of my favorite movies of all time (is Grant Morrison’s The Invisibles the uncited source material for this movie?!?!). I watched the first 25 minutes of the second Matrix movie and turned it off. I’ve never seen any of the third movie.
The Matrix remains close to flawless.
I really don’t care how Moore feels about it being done, but I certainly won’t be reading it if he’s not writing it.
@johnFVerringo Paul Levitz made a number of "gentlemen’s agreements" over the year to "protect" some of the top selling comics coming form DC and Vertigo. Gaiman and Robinson get to approve/disprove appearances by Morpheus and Jack Knight in current books to dissuade "brand distillation." To wit, I can only recall stories Morrison and Geoff Johns have done that use those characters and in that case, usually just a token appearance or such. While new stories certainly wouldn’t ruin the extant stories, there is something to be said about the popularity of the closed run on these Superhero works that they’re among the most reprinted, bestselling books year after year. And I think that’s the point, it’s great for stories to continue on and on and on. But not every story or comic needs to. What more really needs to be said about the Watchmen universe?
@scorpionmasada There are about 15 things that influenced/sourced/were-ripped-off-to-become The Matrix. Chief among of them is the Prisoner, which gets a spilt second onscreen nod late in the film. 😉
@jackietam: you and me… we are the antithesis of one another, because those are the two names on a book I dread seeing. I don’t need traced picture of porn and lazy writing, that’s the opposite of what Watchmen stands for.
@ChrisNeseman: LMFAO!!! I’M WITH YOU THERE BUDDY.
Personally this would be cool (but totally improbable).
Writer: …Paul Dini?
Artist: Dave Gibbons
Colors: Dave Stewart
Letters: Todd Klein (unless other people have a better suggestion)
Inks: John Severin
Now tell me that isn’t Watchmen waiting to happen.
@mangaman Oh man, maybe I should have been more specific that I was kidding around.
I would give it a shot. I wouldn’t mind seeing a story taking place in that universe. It is all just fiction no sacred cows. Watchmen will still exist it is not like all copies will be collected and burned and only this will exist if created.
No thanks.
Watchmen is perfect as it is.
@PraxJavin
I don’t want to read a Watchmen prequel story. Like you said, there is nothing more that needs to be said. But I have ZERO problem with DC putting one out if they want to. I can just ignore it, and it will have zero impact on my enjoyment of the original.
@muddi90
Again, it won’t ruin the story if you just ignore it. The story stays unchanged. It’s why Episodes I-III didn’t "ruin" the original Star Wars trilogy for me. I just don’t acknowledge them. They didn’t change the original movies. They just added baggage that I do not bring with me on my trip when i watch the first three.
I also heard McG wants to do a prequel to Citizen Kane where Rosebud is actually Charles Foster Kane’s teen angst jazz swing band. It stars Spencer Pratt and will be totally fierce.
It probably wouldn’t be anything to write home about, but I’d give it a look. Alan Moore would hate me, but that’s his problem. The creators should probably try not to take it too seriously, though. If they try to give it the feel of the original, it’ll probably fail.
Worst idea ever. Why can’t they just leave it alone. it works as it is, bringing anything else to it (how ever good it might be) would tarnish it for me and many others I’m sure.
the movie wasn’t bad enough? just leave it be