海角大神

Debate is already cropping up in the comic book world over this week's announcement by DC Comics that prequels to the acclaimed graphic novel 鈥�Watchmen鈥� will be published this summer. The prequels will not be created by the original author or artist, but by a group of comic book writers who are all well-known and acclaimed in the field.

The 12-part series 鈥淲atchmen,鈥� compiled into a single volume, became the bestselling graphic novel of all time and is often described as the best graphic novel ever published, making Time鈥檚 鈥淎ll-Time 100 Greatest Novels鈥� list. (It was also turned into a 2009 movie that still divides its fans.)

Some fans feel that the material and characters shouldn鈥檛 be touched, as does original "Watchmen" author Alan Moore. Moore, who would not let his name be attached to the 鈥淲atchmen鈥� movie, has railed against DC Comics for years and that the new series is 鈥渃ompletely shameless.鈥�

鈥淎s far as I know,鈥� Moore said, 鈥淭here weren鈥檛 that many prequels or sequels to 鈥楳oby-Dick.鈥欌��

This new venture represents a lack of creativity on the part of DC Comics, he said.

鈥淚 tend to take this latest development as a kind of eager confirmation that they are still apparently dependent on ideas that I had 25 years ago,鈥� Moore said.

Jim Lee and Dan DiDio, DC Entertainment co-publishers, said the new series will be a way to update the mythology for a new millennium.

鈥淚t鈥檚 our responsibility as publishers to find new ways to keep all of our characters relevant,鈥� they said in a statement. 鈥淎fter 25 years the Watchmen are classic characters whose time has come for new stories to be told.鈥�

The project, which has been titled 鈥淏efore Watchmen,鈥� will consist of prequel stories for each character, following their lives before the events of 鈥淲atchmen.鈥� Each story will be named after its lead character. One will be 鈥淩orschach,鈥� a four-issue series which will be written by author Brian Azzarello, who won acclaim for his "100 Bullets" comic book series. Another, the four-part 鈥淒r. Manhattan,鈥� will be penned by writer J. Michael Straczynski, who is well-known for his work on 鈥淭he Amazing Spiderman鈥� and also writes for television and film. 鈥淥zymandias鈥� will be written by Len Wein, the editor of the original Watchmen series.

In addition to the character-focused series, there will also be a six-issue story called 鈥淭he Minutemen,鈥� which tells the story of the superheroes who came before the Watchmen.

In the original 鈥淲atchmen鈥� series, there was a separate storyline called 鈥淭ales of the Black Freighter鈥� that was supposed to be a comic book published within the fictional world of 鈥淲atchmen.鈥� A similar device will be used in the new 鈥淏efore Watchmen鈥� series, with new installments of a story titled 鈥淐urse of the Crimson Corsair鈥� running through each issue. In the 鈥淲atchmen鈥� universe, DC Comics began publishing stories about pirates, which led to the fictional comic book 鈥淭ales of the Black Freighter,鈥� and the story of "Tales" was woven through the main plotline of "Watchmen."

DC said new issues of 鈥淏efore Watchmen鈥� will be published weekly, but have not provided a more extensive schedule.

Original illustrator for 鈥淲atchmen鈥� Dave Gibbons, who served as an adviser for the film, gave a statement that suggests he is more approving of the project than is Moore.

鈥淭he original series of 鈥榃atchmen鈥� is the complete story that Alan Moore and I wanted to tell,鈥� he said. 鈥淗owever, I appreciate DC鈥檚 reasons for this initiative and the wish of the artists and writers involved to pay tribute to our work. May these new additions have the success they desire.鈥�

Azzarello that he thinks fans will approve of the new venture once they read the material.

鈥淵ou're going to get the Rorschach that you know and want,鈥� he said of his contribution. 鈥淚t's a very visceral story we're going to be telling.鈥�

Writer Darwyn Cooke, who will be behind 鈥淭he Minutemen,鈥� that he initially had reservations about taking on the project because of the controversy he knew it would cause. When originally offered a role in it, Cooke said he refused.

鈥淭his is going to generate a lot of a particular type of attention that鈥檚 really not my bag,鈥� he said. 鈥淏ut what happened is, months after I said no, the story elements all just came into my head one day; it was so exciting to me that, at that exact moment, I started seriously thinking about doing the book.鈥�

Azzarello told The New York Times that he also thinks fans of the original will come around.

鈥淚 think the gut reaction is going to be, 鈥榃hy?鈥櫬犫�� he said of current reaction to the news. 鈥淏ut then when the actual books come out, the answer will be, 鈥極h, that鈥檚 why.鈥欌��

Molly Driscoll is a Monitor contributor.

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