This is the place to discuss the episodes of the Comic Book Page podcast, the Comic Book Page website or pretty much anything else of interest to the Comic Book Page community...
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
Personally, I'm kind of ambivalent.
JMS is more of a big red sign for me to stay away than an attractor, of late.
For Darwyn Cooke, I'm all for him getting a nice paycheck from DC, but I'd personally rather be seeing an extra Parker GN or some original creation instead of a Watchmen retread.
Azzarello? Sure he's a good writer but I'd prefer he create the next 100 Bullets instead of doing Comedian.
I was not a fan of Watchmen so I am not the target audience. I do not really hold it up as a sacred cow so I have no problem with DC continuing to put out stories.
I'll be picking up some of these (Cooke and Conner on Silk Spectre? Wow!) but probably not all of them when they intially hit. I'll look for the trades to hit at some point and maybe hit them up then.
I'm not necessarily outraged, but I do agree the amount of talent they've thrown at these projects would have been much better used creating new characters or content. Cooke can't make those Hunter books fast enough.
I tried reading Watchmen and after 3 issues I wasn't interested. I think after reading titles like The Boys, Irredeemable, and other titles that involve superheroes in the "real world", Watchmen is dated.
I read the summary at wiki and still didn't think it sounded that great. I also never got the feeling "I wonder what these guys were like before this story".
So obviously I'm not the target audience, I won't be buying any of this. I don't really have a problem with the ethics of it either.
When I first heard about the Watchmen prequels, I thought that it sounded cheesy. I think most if not all prequels are corny. The most obvious example being the Star Wars prequels. They were entertaining enough but with very eye-rolling story and dialogue. When DC announced the creators I got a little more interested. One thought I had was why so many cover artists doing sequential art now. My only idea is that the original art could go for a lot of money on the art market. I'll probably most of the #1 issues, especially if DCBS has a nice discount on them like 50% or 75% off. Basically, I'll reserve judgement until I read the #1's.
I really don't feel sorry for Alan Moore if DC wants to send him a check but he refuses. It's a nice problem to have. I hope that Dave Gibbons gets a big royalty check from this. Although I'm not sure on the particulars of their contract with DC.
I'd rather see something new from all of these guys. Like Bob mentioned, a new Parker GN instead of this would be awesome. But I'll read them, I'm interested enough to give them a try. I'll wait for a digital sale though.....
When I originally read Watchmen I was curious about the character's back-stories so I'm interested in this. But I think I'll wait for the trade. A lot of the creators are interesting enough to me that I would pay attention no matter what the project was.
I wonder if a lot of the hatred for this project stems from Star Wars Episodes 1-3? Before those came out I was fine with sequels and prequels -- sometimes they're better, sometimes worse, sometimes about equal to the original. But the SW prequels were so abysmally bad, and rendered Darth Vader a much more impotent villain, that I think the thought of sequels of beloved creators/properties is now terrifying to people.
boshuda wrote:
I wonder if a lot of the hatred for this project stems from Star Wars Episodes 1-3? Before those came out I was fine with sequels and prequels -- sometimes they're better, sometimes worse, sometimes about equal to the original. But the SW prequels were so abysmally bad, and rendered Darth Vader a much more impotent villain, that I think the thought of sequels of beloved creators/properties is now terrifying to people.
I love the prequels. I admit the acting could be better, and the story could have added/removed some things, but that's true of Episodes 4-6 as well. I think the prequels make Vader a deeper villain instead of just 'ooh, bad guy in mask'. But to each their own
I think the name "Before Watchmen" is terrible. That's about the strongest reaction I have to this.
It has been really interesting to me to see the reaction of folks to this. I really don't understand the negative side of it. This being published doesn't diminish the original in any way. As far as I can tell, the outcome is neutral-positive. At worst, DC puts out some books that nobody likes much. Neutral. At best, the books are amazing. Positive.
BadDeacon wrote:
It has been really interesting to me to see the reaction of folks to this. I really don't understand the negative side of it. This being published doesn't diminish the original in any way. As far as I can tell, the outcome is neutral-positive. At worst, DC puts out some books that nobody likes much. Neutral. At best, the books are amazing. Positive.
I'm more neutral.
I have no burning desire to buy a big pile of Watchmen prequels, even given they are (mostly) by big name talent. My personal experience with most of the creators involved is really mixed when they are doing projects that exist to create a payday as opposed to being initially driven by that creator's own personal creative impulse.
Will I buy them?
If DCBS offers some crazy 75% off package deal on the #1s, I'll certainly get them all. I don't think 50% off will compel me.
Beyond that, I'd tend to just keep my eye out for them in $1 bins down the road. I have no compelling need to read them the instant they hit the street.
I have to admit that I am excited about these books because of the creators involved. Just like I would be interested if any of those creators were doing Batman or Spider-man.
I'm curious about these but I think it was a not a great idea for DC to do them. Why go back to the well with Watchmen? Why not tell these sorts of stories with different characters? After all, it isn't like the Watchmen characters were new and original.
DC should have did this back when the movie was coming out. I think the boat has sailed on this. Don't get me wrong, this is will be a big seller and I'm sure every comic news site and podcast will talk the books, but the larger potential this project had was in 2009
GABE! wrote:this is will be a big seller and I'm sure every comic news site and podcast will talk the books, but the larger potential this project had was in 2009
I think they will sell to comics fans, and you're right, DC is missing the boat (timing wise) by a couple of years. They should at a minimum tried to get these out when the DVD became available.
I'm not convinced that civilians will care too much until there are done and collected.
Once they are magically transformed from "comic books" to "graphic albums" the general public seems to get more interested.
This might actually do good if they make a "Before Watchmen" movie. There's probably a pretty good chance that will happen.
