DC Comics formally announced this month that they are planning several prequels to “Watchmen” without the involvement of the authors Alan Moore and Dave Gibbons. However, many fans question whether the project will work without Moore or Gibbons.
The prequels will pay homage to Moore and Gibbon’s 1987 mini-series that deconstructed the superhero genre and became the gold standard of storytelling in the medium. DC will release seven mini-series this summer documenting the early careers of the main characters in hopes of making them relevant again.
“After twenty five years, the Watchmen are classic characters whose time has come for new stories to be told,” Co-Publishers Dan DiDio and Jim Lee said in a joint press release. “We sought out the best writers and artists in the industry to build on the complex mythology of the original.”
The biggest question revolving around the planned prequels are the true motivations behind the project. The prequels seem to be a ploy to fill the vacancy of a company-wide summer event involving their top tier characters of Batman, Superman and Wonder Woman.
Typically, these summer events contain an eight-issue mini-series depicting the main storyline and about twenty tie-in issues, which explore subplots forcing fans to buy every issue to get the entire story, making the company more money.
During an interview with the “New York Times,” Moore expressed his disappointment in DC’s use of his comic book to make money. In addition, both he and Gibbons believe that the story is complete in the original book.
Moore and Gibbons have a point. If DC truly wanted to honor the legacy of “Watchmen,” DC would have planned a self-contained series that will not cost fans approximately $140 when the original retails for $12.39 on Amazon.
In the end, the prequels are happening to the discontent of fans and its creators. Hopefully, DC can pull off yet another miracle and not make the new stories dilute the timeless story.