Bleeding Cool believe a phone call they received a few days ago confirms that DC Comics are working on a number of mini-series prequels to Alan Moore’s Watchmen, a work which is regularly (and rightfully) dubbed ‘The Citizen Kane of Comic Books’, that could hit next year. Blasphemy of course, but in this world where Watchmen has never been more of a money-maker, especially post the Warner Bros blockbuster film, of course inevitable.
Legendary Darwyn Cooke will take artistic lead on the FOUR mini-series prequels that he will craft an “over-arching uber-plot” for that will connect all the stories together. There’s a huge chance he will also write and draw a few of them.
Dave Gibbons, John Higgins, JMS, JG Jones and Andy Kubert have also had meetings with DC over the project. Gibbons of course is the man responsible for the iconic artwork in the original Watchmen story and if he was to come on board would be a major coup for the PR (and the quality, naturally) of this project.
The word is a considerable bunch of staff members at DC are not at all happy about the decision to expand the Watchmen universe without Alan Moore but the bottom line is it’s a huge money maker just sitting there for somebody.
Can you imagine a prequel to Citizen Kane? NO… but we are getting one for Watchmen and then which inevitably will be a epic financial success and convince Warner Bros to push through another Watchmen movie.
We may not all want to see it, but there’s definitely a curiosity to see what they might do with it, eh? Expect this one to be the big comic book story of 2012, next year’s version of 52…
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9 Comments
Just two comments. Watchmen is the most overrated and over hyped comic of all time and the only thing it has in common with Citizen Kane is that once you’ve read/seen it you never want to again. Watchmen is ponderous with the worst ending ever for a supposed “greatest comic ever.”
Secondly, since when is Darwyn Cooke “legendary.” I think you’re throwing around that label a little loosely.
I respect Alan Moore and I think this is a bad idea.
Bollocks. I watch Citizen Kane usually twice a year.
Watchmen defined not only a generation in comics but the whole medium itself. Like Kane, it set the semantics for everything that followed.
I think it’s time to officially retire the Citizen Kane comparisons.
It’s apt though
*edit* Gibbons and Higgins of course are the men responsible for the iconic artwork…
hey jon, have you ever seen citizen kane or read the watchmen? cause it sure dose’nt sound like it. sounds to me like you are basing your opinion on A single google search. Or you just regurgitated some crap you heard some ass hole saying in a comic shop and posted it to try and sound clever. your post was almost as unique and inspired as your name.
Sure, WATCHMEN and CITIZEN KANE get mentioned/referred to a lot, in the same way one uses a ruler or a book of records: as a standard or benchmark.
Yes, both had their own antecedants, elements which they brought in from other previous works (e.g. deep focus, multiple narrators, and flashbacks in CITIZEN KANE and diagetic text and alternate histories in WATCHMEN), but it is the fusion of these elements in artistic composition that makes them great works.
As for the ending of WATCHMEN, I suppose it’s a “take it or leave it” bit of plot. Some might read it as a bit of a narrative shortcut, but, as one raised on syndicated reruns of THE TWILIGHT ZONE, it’s a familiar parable trope.
I don’t read comics. Not that I hate them or anything, just not my thing. But I did read Watchmen at the urging of a friend of mine and I absolutely loved it. Yeah, the ending was a bit weak, but nothing is perfect.
As for Citizen Kane, it is the benchmark as someone mentioned before. I need to watch it again soon, now that I think about it. Its a film that blew me away the first time I saw it.