Before Watchmen: The Watchmen Prequel In Comic Books from DC
I'm personally pretty divided when it comes to "prequels" - most times they reek of commercial-cashing in on existing properties, and sometimes they end up being a pale shadow of their former glories (*cough-phantom-menace-cough*), but sometimes - given the right resources - they might well come up smelling like roses. What I read on io9.com yesterday had me hold my breathe, well, for a while, at least :p
Prepare for the coming of BEFORE WATCHMEN! So what can top the apocalyptical ending of the classic comicbook legend that which is Alan Moore's and Dave Gibbon's "The Watchmen"? Well, DC Comics (and their brand new peel-off logo) reckons it could be done with "Prequels", so hence they bring in a bevy of creators to go along with each character's individual books, and plans on releasing them one issue per week (which is devastating to me personally, as I no longer visit the comicbook shop weekly ~ oh woes!).
And the creator-list credited for the individual comicbooks to come is pretty interesting and at most times, exciting! Check out the covers posted here - from a variety of sources as the covers were each debut via different online locales - and the list below:
● 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
"Each week, a new issue will be released, and will feature a two-page back-up story called CURSE OF THE CRIMSON CORSAIR, written by original series editor Len Wein and with art by original series colorist John Higgins. There will also be a single issue, BEFORE WATCHMEN: EPILOGUE, featuring the work of various writers and artists, and a CRIMSON CORSAIR story by Wein and Higgins." ~reported io9.comI am extremely interested to see what Darwin Cooke has in store for "The Minute Men" tho - having only seen a glimpse of them in both the comicbooks and feature film from Zack Snyder. Posted below are artworks initially from Bleeding Cool but where ALL pulled due to request from DC Comics (prior to the official announcement of the series) - which showcases work of J.G. Jones on The Comedian, Nite Owl by The Kuberts, and a gorgeous Silk Spectre by Amanda Conner:
This looks to be an amazingly visual series to come, and hopefully the stories themselves will stand on their own, being in the shadow of the ever-revered classic from Alan Moore, co-creator and writer of the "origin" WATCHMEN.
After decades of the source material (which even had a motion picture film made of them), I am eager to have another slice of the doomed-heroes, even if it's a glimpse into their past, IMHO.
Check out THIS FB-album for individual images (additional images via Bleeding Cool), and CLICK HERE for all things Watchmen on TOYSREVIL!
