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DC Comics Announces "Before Watchmen"

eldavojohn writes "Currently DC Comics' site has a banner announcing a new series called "Before Watchmen." Unfortunately the blog pages for this new series appear to be experiencing high traffic and are unreachable. But a number of sites are breaking down these new endeavors that will be giving backstories to the seven characters and who will be creating each of those series. There's also speculation ranging from how much this must upset Alan Moore (egg frying on his forehead seems to be the popular guess) to the theory that this is simply for more movie material. There's an abundance of information from interviews released today."

20 of 130 comments (clear)

  1. Before. by grub · · Score: 4, Funny


    I heard rumour that before Big Blue Wang there was Massive Pink Vag. Unfortunately the site is down and this can't be confirmed.

    --
    Trolling is a art,
  2. Finally it's here by binarylarry · · Score: 5, Funny

    I can't wait to have Alan Moore sign my copy of Watchman Babies: V for Vacation!

    --
    Mod me down, my New Earth Global Warmingist friends!
    1. Re:Finally it's here by fuzzyfuzzyfungus · · Score: 5, Funny

      Be sure to wear your Saturday Morning Watchmen T-shirt, to show your loyalty to, and understanding of, his artistic vision. It'll make him more likely to cooperate.

  3. Re:Who cares? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 3, Funny

    Yea, I mean, what the fuck? This site is supposed to be "News for Nerds". Has anyone ever heard of a nerd who likes comic books? That's just ridiculous, everyone knows only jocks and hipsters read comic books.....

  4. Greed by sjpadbury · · Score: 5, Insightful

    Meanwhile, DC continues to show there is no move too desperate that they won't risk alienating their fans in the quest for the dollar.

    (Note: Not multiple dollars, they'll do it for just 1....)

    --
    We're all full up on Crazy here...
    1. Re:Greed by localman57 · · Score: 4, Insightful

      Meanwhile, DC continues to show there is no move too desperate that they won't risk alienating their fans in the quest for the dollar.

      (Note: Not multiple dollars, they'll do it for just 1....)

      What dollars? Wasn't the original Watchmen a huge financial bust? Along the lines of the studio guys saying they'd never do an R-Rated Comic movie again?

    2. Re:Greed by elrous0 · · Score: 5, Funny

      I can't believe DC or Marvel would compromise artistic integrity for a buck.

      --
      SJW: Someone who has run out of real oppression, and has to fake it.
    3. Re:Greed by Fned · · Score: 3, Informative

      What dollars? Wasn't the original Watchmen a huge financial bust?

      What are you talking about? it did quite well, especially for a high-priced format with no established characters.

    4. Re:Greed by alexander_686 · · Score: 3, Interesting

      Meanwhile, DC continues to show there is no move too desperate that they won't risk alienating their fans in the quest for the dollar.

      Actually, DC & Moore’s original plan was to write a prequel – so it’s not like it a total violation of Moore’s idea. (That being said, what’s the chance that the writer will be able to match Moore’s original script?)

    5. Re:Greed by Chris+Burke · · Score: 4, Interesting

      There's a simple lesson here: Never treat something as an "investment" when the value is based entirely on artificial scarcity when the organization controlling the scarcity has no financial incentive to maintain the scarcity!

      Money or stocks can be good investments because even though governments or corporations can issue new money/stock, it is detrimental to their own finances to do so without limit because they use that money and stock. So they have to balance reducing the scarcity with the resulting loss of value.

      Marvel doesn't buy things with copies of Amazing Spiderman #1, the value of that comic has no direct effect on the company, so why would anyone assume they'd never do anything to tank its value?

      Because publishers love secondary markets where they themselves don't see any of the profit, am I right?

      I saw the same thing in Magic: The Gathering. Someone would pay hundreds of dollars for a rare first-print power card, and would rationalize it as an investment. Ha! Then -- to the surprise of only a few morons -- WotC reprinted most of these cards and made the originals next to worthless.

      So, yeah, thinking of them as a long-term investment was kinda silly to begin with. And as the ACs pointed out, this has nothing to do with "artistic integrity" (it's about their money-grubbing vs yours), and is in fact better for the community at large because they get to enjoy the thing that before only a few did.

      So yeah, thanks comic companies for spreading enjoyment and teaching people valuable economic lessons!

      --

      The enemies of Democracy are
  5. [reading from journal] by fuzzyfuzzyfungus · · Score: 5, Insightful

    Rorschach's Journal. October First, 2013: Intellectual property carcass in alley this morning, tire tread on burst stomach. This company is milking me. I have seen its true face. The sequels are extended gutters and the gutters are full of blood and when the drains finally scrape bottom, all the vermin will drown. The accumulated filth of all their exploitation and mediocrity will foam up about their waists and all the producers and hacks will look up and shout "Save us!"... and I'll whisper "no."

  6. Re:And... by jmac_the_man · · Score: 4, Funny

    I came to this movie because it was Watchmen, not because I wanted to, you know, watch men.

  7. Watchmen 2: Revenge of Bubastis by lrnj · · Score: 3, Funny

    A skeleton appears in a flock of penguins, and meows for 7 minutes.

    A circulatory system stalks a walrus.

    --
    Learn Japanese RPG -- lrnj.com
    1. Re:Watchmen 2: Revenge of Bubastis by tripleevenfall · · Score: 4, Funny

      Shaka, when the walls fell

  8. I can't hate it until I actually read it. by Lashat · · Score: 3, Insightful

    Having collected the original 12 issues of Watchmen in my youth I certainly loved it. It expanded my own ability to digest a story with moral and societal issues in the forefront and still be entertained.

    No one can write better than Moore when he is on his game.

    I have mad respect for Alan Moore's genius and for the story he created with Dave Gibbons in the Watchmen, but have you seen him lately? http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alan_Moore Looks like Rasputin's cousin.

    That said,

    Please forgive us o' Lord of the Comic Book medium. Some of us want to enjoy the characters you have brought into our imaginations further than you would like us too. We *know* you could have done better than these other talented writers and aritsts. We will treat these pre-quels and the movie and all other non-Moore Watchmen writings as apocrypha, outside of the true Watchmen canon.
    'nuff said

    --
    For every benefit you receive a tax is levied. - Ralph Waldo Emerson
  9. Twelve seconds, into my past, I open the comic. by Dr.+Manhattan · · Score: 4, Funny

    The comic lies in the trash; falls from my fingers, is in my hand.

    --
    PHEM - party like it's 1997-2003!
  10. Mayfair Games already did this with DC Heroes RPG by JoshDM · · Score: 3, Informative

    Back in the 80's, Mayfair Games licensed the DC characters to create the DC Heroes RPG. There were three Watchmen products made (the direct contents of which I am paraphrasing and cannot recall exactly offhand): Watchmen Sourcebook, Who Watches the Watchmen, and Taking out the Trash. Here is an interview with the authors.

  11. Re:Fuck prequels by ArsonSmith · · Score: 4, Funny

    I'd really like a back story on why you say this.

    --
    Paying taxes to buy civilization is like paying a hooker to buy love.
  12. Moore expected the rights back long ago by Dr.+Jest · · Score: 4, Interesting

    To everyone who sees nothing wrong with this, please remember the DC was supposed to return the rights to Watchmen back to Moore when the collection went out of print. Moore was the victim of the story's popularity, though, as it was one of the first graphic novels to sell enough to remain in print for a long time. I imaging Warner and DC have no intention of allowing it to be out of print at all now, following the letter of the contact but violating the spirit of the agreement.

  13. Re:And... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 4, Insightful

    That's what I was thinking. It just goes to show just how hyper-prudish North America is. It was depicted in an entirely non-sexual way, but still everyone screams bloody murder that this is absolutely unacceptable. On the other hand, depictions of a dog with its head axed open, or someone exploding into a fine mist, or hell... even the idea of millions of people murdered by a blast of energy... all of this is fine. But a penis. OH HOLY MOTHER OF GOD, WE'RE ALL GOING TO HELL FOR SEEING IT! But seeing cold-blooded murder? Eh, whatever, it's a Tuesday.

    It's just as bad as that girl during the oscars a few years ago (I think it was Mariah Carey?) where their breast was every so slightly exposed for like... 1/4 of a second. HUNDREDS OF THOUSANDS OF COMPLAINTS. I mean sweet christ, what the hell is wrong with this situation?!? The perfectly natural human body (well, in Watchmen it was blue, but you get the idea) is reviled, and considered disgusting to show, but murder, dismemberment, and any and all forms of violence are perfectly fine?

    Holy fuck, society, you have no idea just how fucked up you are. Keep walking down this path, and we might as well be Iran. It makes me very sad to be alive in these times, and is one of the many reasons why I actively hate society here as a whole. If only countries that didn't have these fucked up priorities didn't have their own severe problems.

    I've heard Iceland isn't that bad...