(H/T: Pejman Yousefzadeh) They’re calling it “Before Watchmen,” and DC is very eager and honored to have the opportunity to further milk the classic, beloved brand further. Yup: classic. It’s a quarter-century old, you know… and yes, that mean’s that you’re old, too! If it makes you feel any better, well, so am I.
What? Did they ask Alan Moore? Why, of course they didn’t: they have his signature on the original contract from lo, so many years ago, and that’s pretty much all that they need. My sympathies are, by the way, muted: nobody forced Moore to sign those contracts, and DC is paying royalties on use of the characters that he and his associates created, and frankly Moore’s schtick of awesome crankiness about this sort of thing can get a little too self-consciously… dramatic. Yes, Hollywood takes art and makes it commercial. That’s what Hollywood does, folks. People with a problem with that shouldn’t sell them art.
My favorite comment from a comic book guy on Twitter regarding the “Before Watchmen” news was from Marvel’s Fred Van Lente, who stole it from a comment board.
“Clearly “Before Watchmen” takes place on Earth-$.”
While I agree with you on Alan Moore, it is likely that I will not read Before Watchman dispite the awesome looking covers (the Rorschach one is one I like to hang on my wall). What an aweful title and idea. They should have just told the story of the Minutemen with a focus on Hooded Justice (my second favorite character) for the prequel. Now that is a story I would like to read. What a shame and waste of effort.
I enjoyed the Watchmen when it came out, but come on! Art, it is not.