DC Comics Confirms WATCHMEN Prequel, BEFORE WATCHMEN

Yesterday, DC Entertainment officially announced BEFORE WATCHMEN, a prequel to 1986 highly acclaimed graphic novel, WATCHMEN.

BEFORE WATCHMEN will consist of seven all new interconnected stories that will serve as the background leading up to WATCHMEN.  As of now, no release dates have been announced, but publishing is said to begin this summer.  In the meantime DC has released the titles, creators, and series length for each prequel series:

- 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

Rumblings of the prequel have been going on for a while now.  This past Christmas, comics site Bleeding Cool posted concept art by J.G. Jones and Andy and Joe Kubert that featured The Comedian and Nite Owl from what was claimed to be a WATCHMEN prequel comic.  DC's legal team quickly had the artwork removed, which ultimately fueled the rumors that the project was in development.

Alan Moore, author of the original WATCHMEN, is notorious for hating any extension or adaptation of his work.  Unfortunately for some fans, original artist David Gibbons, does not share Moore's disdain:

“The original series of WATCHMEN is the complete story that Alan Moore and I wanted to tell.  However, I appreciate DC’s reasons for this initiative and the wish of the artists and writers involved to pay tribute to our work.  May these new additions have the success they desire,” said Dave Gibbons, WATCHMEN co-creator and original series artist."

Although some fans may be hungry for more WATCHMEN stories, I think a number of them are against the idea of expanding on the world Moore and Gibbons created.  I personally think DC should leave it alone.  The original novel did a fantastic job fleshing out the characters by making them extremely human (with the exception of Dr. Manhattan) and gave them enough depth that you don't really need a prequel.  Not everything needs to be a franchise.

What do you all think?  Do you think this is a good move on DC's part?  Are you wanting more WATCHMEN?  Let me know what you think in the comments below.

Via: Geeks of Doom