Alan Moore and Dave Gibbons's Watchmen is an unassailable iconic work in the canon of comic books, a classic that's been poured over by fanboys, academics and non-funnybook readers alike. It broke through into the mainstream upon its publication in the late eighties, with its deconstruction of superhero tropes and commentary on the current political landscape appealing to more than just those with a weekly pull list and Spider-Man underoos. Following Moore's unceremonious departure from DC soon after the series wrapped, the rights to the story and characters within remained with the publisher. Out of a sense of good taste, and not wanting to annoy Moore even further, they decided to sit on them. At least, until the film adaptation finally got off the ground, and then they desperately needed some tie-ins. So that's right around the time they decided to desecrate the legacy of Watchmen by publishing eight limited series and a one-shot that served as prequels to the original series, despite Moore's (and most fans of sound mind's) protestations. Blinded by dollar signs, DC ploughed on regardless, with Gibbons providing a particularly diplomatic statement, and the original writer calling the entire thing completely shameless. Critical and fan response to the comics were almost universally negative, and there were plenty of awkward interviews around the project, and really it was just a complete cluster cuss for all concerned.
Tom Baker is the Comics Editor at WhatCulture! He's heard all the Doctor Who jokes, but not many about Randall and Hopkirk. He also blogs at http://communibearsilostate.wordpress.com/
