The Alan Moore and Dave Gibbons created Watchmen, released in ’86-’87, 12 issues and a collection that’s never been out of print, and sold in its millions.

And unless you’ve been living under a rock this week, you’re probably aware that DC have now decided it’s time to do these:

Seven mini-series (Crimson Corsair is the back-up feature in each mini), 34 issues in all plus a single issue Before Watchmen: Epilogue. Happening this summer in the same with a new issue out each week.

And in announcing these comics, DC have done what many thought was unthinkable, diluting the story of a self-contained, high-point of comics. It now joins other famous works with modern sequels/prequels - Gone With The Wind had its Scarlett, Peter Pan had Peter Pan In Scarlet.

On a purely “what does that do to the original” basis, the answer is simple. NOTHING. Will they really add anything to the creative genius of Watchmen? We can’t say yet, but really, it’s very probable that they’ll add nothing at all. Read them, don’t read them. Has no effect on the original self-contained start, middle and end of Watchmen.

You may also know of the problems regarding the book, with a difference of opinions between writer and artist, and DC Comics. Whilst Dave Gibbons seems happy to support DC when it came to the film and these prequels, Alan Moore has dissociated himself from the company completely.

It all boils down, with Watchmen to the comic industry in the 80′s being completely different. Comics sold as comics, there was no graphic novel industry, no market, and no comic had ever remained perpetually in print before. So when DC offered Moore and Gibbons a deal that essentially said the rights would revert to them once the comic series and a possible collection went out of print, all seemed well, a victory for creators rights etc etc. (See this by Leigh Walton, quoting from the UKCAC 86 panel where Moore and Gibbons set out the deal.)

But Watchmen never went out of print. And Moore at least felt cheated and deceived by DC. The resulting fallouts have been well documented, and not something we’ll go into here.

Basically we’re into the realms of ethical right and wrong vs commercial/corporation hunt for profits. Yes, DC absolutely have every legal right to publish these prequels, and do a second movie, and lunchboxes, action figures, duvets… the whole Star Wars merchandising thing. And yes, people have made the argument that all of the writers and artists on Before Watchmen are doing essentially what a generation of comic creators did, including Moore and Gibbons – working on other people’s creations, other people who had terrible contracts, awful rights issues and were generally screwed by the big corporate company who had no real need to be so unfeeling.

BUT, the crucial difference here is that Moore and Gibbons went into this with their eyes open. They negotiated the contracts so their creations would come back to them after a series, a possible collection and a year off.

I don’t really buy the argument I’ve seen around recently that Moore and Gibbons should have glimpsed the future, realised that Watchmen was going to do something no comic had done before and remeain in print indefinitely in collection form. Moore became a magician at 50, he wasn’t a bloody psychic in the 80s. And DC initially did the right thing, agreeing a contract that was beneficial to all. If they’d have carried that on, as soon as it became obvious that there was going to be no point any time soon that the book was going out of print, then they should have renegotiated.

(And don’t tell me that would be bad business. Think longterm – it would probably have made them MORE money. A DC that had creator’s interests totally at heart would probably be making money even now off everything comic related that Moore and Gaiman created in the last 20/30 years.)

That they didn’t renegotiate, that they didn’t do the right thing is hardly a surprise, but it does make the situation of Moore and Gibbons different from those that went before. DC decided to leave the contracts as they were, the contracts, that, through a completely unforeseen shift in the comic industry, were essentially meaningless.

Fair? No. I don’t think so, and it doesn’t take much wandering around the Internet to find similar views:

Padraig O’Mealoid at The Comic Buzz:

“So, while DC had promised them that they’d get their creation back once DC was finished with it, they decided instead to keep it in print, and forever keep it from them. This may have been the word of the contract, but it was never the spirit of it. And I know that there are lots of people who are saying that they should have read their contract more carefully, but this is, to be plain about it, a bullshit argument – the graphic novel format didn’t exist as we know it, and nobody foresaw it, so how could there have been a clause in the contract about it. So, I feel that Alan Moore and Dave Gibbons have had their great work, which most people who have an opinion on these things regard as the greatest achievement in comics, kept away from them by the greed of a huge American corporation. It’s as apt an analogy for what’s wrong with the world as you could possibly wish for.”

Todd Allen at The Comic Beat:

Finally, we double back to Len Wein, who says to Wired:

“I think reboots are almost mandatory in an industry that has existed for over three-fourths of a century now. The need to inject new blood, new ideas, new approaches, is the only thing that keeps our readers coming back for more.”

My first reaction on reading this was a belly laugh.  Yes, reboot the old characters to inject new blood.  That’s very nearly an oxymoron.   Then it occurred to me, Alan Moore makes an almost annual flustered denouncement that DC is still clinging to his old standards after all these years.  Now it’s a sad comment that DC has to do reboots because they’ve seemingly lost the ability to successfully launch a new character.  The New 52?  All relaunches and revamps.  What is Before Watchmen?  It’s DC going back to an old well one more time.

Heidi at The Comics Beat:

“For all the talk of staying “relevant”, you might substitute the word “solvent.” Just as The New 52 was the Hail Mary pass/adrenaline to the heart that DC desperately needed to prop up a failing direct market, WATCHMEN 2 is the other guaranteed cash grab. It’s DC’s Eros Comix. While we may find the idea of WATCHMEN prequels repugnant on some level, the level of talent attached is guaranteed to “Make us look!” even if the idea itself is still so unnecessary.”

Chris Mautner at Robot 6:

“If we care at all about the comics industry, if we care about comics as an art form, if we want it to be taken seriously, if we want to see talented people produce quality material, then we need to start caring about the way those people are treated in this industry. We need to start valuing creators rights over our own greedy need for more third-rate pulp. We need to stop making shameless, defensive rationalizations and questioning people’s motives when the basic motive underlying those outbursts is “me wanty.” We need to stop acting like petulant, entitled children. And we need to speak out when creators whose work we claim to value and enjoy are given short shrift in the name of the Almighty dollar.”

In case you’re wondering, one of the highest profile pro pieces I could find championing Before Watchmen was this by Lukas Siegal at Newsarama:

“Some will point to Alan Moore’s lack of “approval” or involvement as a bad thing, but that’s one of the best parts in my eyes. It’s good to see new creators taking on these characters. it’s good to have fresh voices reaching into these characters. If a character is compelling, there should always be more stories to tell. Moore’s assessment that DC is relying on his “ideas from 25 years ago” is ludicrous and insulting to the talented people working on these books. He didn’t write prequels, they’re writing them. It’s like saying all of his use of public domain characters is him relying on other peoples’ ideas from 100 years ago: he can’t have it both ways.”

And if you’re sitting there slack jawed at the idea of a creator’s disapproval being “one of the best parts“, don’t worry, head over here where David Brothers doesn’t so much take the argument apart as dissect it:

“I don’t even understand how Lucas can be in a position to know things about comics, which isn’t hard to begin with, and actually say “Some will point to Alan Moore’s lack of ‘approval’ or involvement as a bad thing, but that’s one of the best parts in my eyes.” and mean it. The comics industry is built on exploitation, your favorite artists from the ’60s and ’70s were almost definitely screwed out of their creations, and editors and managers today apparently believe that having a book on the shelves is a higher calling than having a good book on the shelves. The history of comics isn’t even hard to find out. Alan Moore has been vocal about his experiences, Dwayne McDuffie spoke out, every month there’s a new fund raiser for some old artist who drew some incredibly ill and classic comics but doesn’t have health insurance… this is basic.“

In the end, it’s up to you. Sure, some of the creative teams are good. Darwyn Cooke in particular will no doubt do a good job. But even knowing that, the whole thing puts a nasty taste in my mouth. And I’m not alone.

But what do you think? Ignore it? Pick it up out of interest? Looking forward to it?

That esteemed gentleman of letters and lettering, Todd Klein, continues his very tasty series of collaborations with the great and good of the comics world with a new limited edition signed print, this time with It Is, working with that splendid chap Dave Gibbons. I’ve treated myself to a couple of the prints Todd has been working on, they make great (and very affordable) artworks for your wall or as a cool gift; more details on Todd’s site here and you can order it here. Todd also tells us he will post up some more about the making of the print on his site in the next few days, but you’ve already bookmarked his site for the fascinating articles and insights he offers into the comics medium, haven’t you?

Tommie Kelley has posted up Soundmen, a cracking spoof drawing on Alan Moore and Dave Gibbons’ seminal Watchmen. Made me laugh out loud, although it is not advisable for anyone who has issues with big blue willies.

(Soundmen art by and (c) Tommie Kelly, Watchmen by Alan Moore and Dave Gibbons, published DC)

(ABC Warriors – the opening to the Bougainville massacre from 2000AD, by Pat Mills, with art from the excellent Mick McMahon, (c) Rebellion)

If, like me, you’re one of the original 2000 AD generation who were there for the arrival of Thrill Power to British comics back in the day, then that title above will ring bells right away: Atomic, Bacterial, Chemical – the ABC Warriors by the legendary Pat Mills. Future war stories in one form or another have been a staple of science fiction for decades, from Haldeman’s Forever War to Scalzi’s brilliant modern tale Old Man’s War. So it isn’t surprising that a science fiction adventure comic, surfing along in the rise of SF and geekdom following the global success of Star Wars, would pick up on that sub genre, especially given at that time it was selling mostly to young lads. Add in fighting robots and you’ve got a brilliant recipe for SF thrills. Born out of a flashback in the fan-favourite Ro-Busters, which moved over from sister publication Starlord when it was folded into 2000 AD, this was Hammerstein from Ro-Busters long before he was a surplus war droid, back when he was the first robot soldier made with a conscience. The ABC War – it got too tough for humans, so robots had to finish the job…

These remain one of the most popular creations in more than three decades of 2000 AD, spawning more series and more again over the years. Since Pat gave Hammerstein a form of soul – designed to make him a more responsible warrior than previous war droids – he could put Hammerstein through the emotional wringer as well as through the action, and this added depth to the character. Adding in more colourful robotic comrades – such as Joe Pineapples and Happy Shrapnel, then later the Meknificent Seven – added even more to the series’ appeal and gave Mills the flexibility to take much later tales in all sorts of directions (including intertwining it later on with Nemesis). Another major aspect of the lasting appeal of the ABC Warriors has to be the cohort of artists who worked on it, including Mike McMahon, Kev O’Neill,  Dave Gibbonsand Brendan McCarthy, a who’s who of Brit comics greats. Over on the 2000 AD forum WR Logan has posted up some of the centre spreads (in colour, still often a rarity in Brit weeklies of the time) of classic ABC Warriors. I’m having a major nostalgia headrush – I read all of these each week the first time round then bought the black and white Titan reprints of the 80s (still have some of those) and I’m betting a lot of you did too, so go, wallow in some nostalgia and some classic Brit science fiction comics art by some of our best. (tip of the hat to PJ Holden for the link)

(introducing the mytical robot Deadlock in the ABC Warriors by Pat Mills, art by the one and only Kev O’Neill, (c) Rebellion. This is what we read when I was a kid, no wonder we grew up warped! In the best possible way…)

Decisions, decision….

UniComics Festival, 24th April, University Of Hertfordshire.

UniCon is a one day comics convention at the University of Hertfordshire that takes place tomorrow as part of the Uni Comics Festival that’s on from 22nd-25th April. Unicon’s been organised by Daniel Merlin Goodbrey and Sean Azzopardi and will be featuring a host of UK and international comic creators including Jamie McKelvie, Kieron Gillen, Douglas Noble, Sarah McIntyre, Gary Northfield, Marc Ellerby, Phil Spence and many more.

As well as the creators there will be a couple of panels: “Architects of Thrill-Power” (24th April 6pm) featuring some genuine legends of UK comics – Pat Mills, Dave Gibbons and Kevin O’Neill Watchmen, “Weekly British Spirit – 60 Years of The Eagle and Dan Dare” (25th April 6pm) celebrating the iconic comic and hero featuring Pat Mills, Nick Jones (Founding editor of Titan Book’s Dan Dare library), Dr.Will Brooker (Kingston University) and Gary Erskine (artist on Virgin Comics’ Dan Dare).

For more details see the Uni Comics Festival website.

or, 130 odd miles North-West…….

The 7th Annual Shrewsbury International Cartoon Festival has also been on since 22nd April and continues until the 25th. A huge number of events, talks and exhibitions are planned including a chat with the great political cartoonist Martin Rowson. (And if you’re really quick reading this, John McCrea has a comic creation workshop today (Friday 23rd) at 5:30.)

And one extra event of possible note: On Sunday it’s the London Marathon and we’d like to wish the best of luck to Howard Hardiman (artist of the much loved Badger) who will be pounding the streets of the capital. Go Howard (and any other comic types taking part).

CB Live: Dave Gibbons
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Bill Watterson, creator of Calvin & Hobbes, and famous recluse, breaks a 20 year silence with an interview for the  Cleveland Plain Dealer.

“By the end of 10 years, I’d said pretty much everything I had come there to say. It’s always better to leave the party early. If I had rolled along with the strip’s popularity and repeated myself for another five, 10 or 20 years, the people now “grieving” for “Calvin and Hobbes” would be wishing me dead and cursing newspapers for running tedious, ancient strips like mine instead of acquiring fresher, livelier talent. And I’d be agreeing with them.

I think some of the reason “Calvin and Hobbes” still finds an audience today is because I chose not to run the wheels off it. I’ve never regretted stopping when I did.”

Yes, completely agree with that. There’s a continued magic in Calvin And Hobbes that passes through the generations of the Bruton family. I’ve passed it to Molly, I hope she’ll pass it on to her children in time. There’s so little Calvin & Hobbes to read. And it’s magical.

However, there are members of the comic community who don’t seem to share that feeling. DC Comics Dan Didio for one.

Rich Johnson ran the Watchmen 2 story this week, pointing out that it’s one of Dan Didio’s pet projects to get more comic product out of Alan Moore and Dave Gibbons’ Watchmen. For years Paul Levitz saw to it personally that Watchmen was allowed to stand alone and untouched, even after Moore had his big falling out with both DC and Levitz.

But Paul Levitz isn’t with DC anymore and, according to Rich, this means there’s the possibility of more Watchmen – sequels, prequels, Watch-babies, crossovers with Green Lantern (and consequently the possibility to make more crappy plastic rings to go with another DC Comic). The possibilities are endless.

Still, let’s not forget that just because Rich says it’s a possibility doesn’t mean it’s a done deal. And, like so many have said, the only good result from it will be many more incredibly entertaining interviews with Alan Moore where he stays just shy of exploding with contempt for his former employers.