DC Comics is doing the equivalent of writing a sequel to "Moby Dick" or "David Copperfield" by announcing today its intention to publish several "prequels" to its massive "Watchmen" franchise.
For those who have lives, let's explain. "Watchmen" is a seminal piece of comics content, an ambitious tale spun by writer Alan Moore about super-heroes in a more "real" setting than those once populated by Batman, Green Arrow and the rest. These heroes had neuroses and personality issues, and the fights they had resulted in a lot more blood than the "BAM!" "POW" and "ZAP" variety once ascribed to more mainstream characters (these days,of course, the normal folks have caught up: Captain American carries a gun and Batman has sex with Catwoman).
This new set of prequels, however, will take every liberty. After all, creator Moore has already disparaged the project.
"Watchmen" heralded an age of comics that weren't necessarily just for kids and treated their characters as if they lived in a more real version of the world. So hallowed is the work that the recent "Watchmen" move took very few liberties with the source material, presenting a story very faithful to the original story (even so, it was viewed as a disappointment).
We're not the only ones viewing this move with skepticism. "DC dares to expand on classic," says the headline of the story at the Los Angeles Times's "Hero Worship" blog. "The nature of the undertaking is going to polarize a lot of the readership," said comics scribe Darwyn Cooke, who will be working on one of a number of new "Watchmen" prequel miniseries (read more takes on this situtation over at the lively Bleeding Cool blog).
Essentially, "Watchmen" is about as sacrosanct a piece of comics content as, well...... name another comic-book character or concept that hasn't been reworked skatey-eight times over the decades. And that's why it's hard to hate DC for doing what not so long ago would have been deemed a reprehensible act. Green Arrow has been de-aged, Batgirl had her broken spine fixed. There's nothing that can't be done to people who exist solely in pen and ink,.
That's one reason why DC simply can't keep its mitts off the "Watchmen" characters. The other is money. Comic-book publishing is a tougher game in this era of 40 year olds buying up print runs and 15 year olds playing videogames. To keep the books flying off shelves, DC and Marvel have to devise concepts that appeal to the youth - of the 42-year old guy who has been buying comics since he was 7.
Here's hoping DC will watch the Watchmen (and the quality of the work behnd them) with as much intenstiy as their fan base.
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