DC's Doomsday Clock Preview

[Citizen Kane]

Folding the Watchmen into the DCU...

I don't think Johns is folding the Watchmen into the DCU. In fact, I believe he's doing the exact opposite.

[Prof. Warren]

I don't think Johns is folding the Watchmen into the DCU. In fact, I believe he's doing the exact opposite.

He's folding the DCU into the Watchmen?

Either way, they're going to occupy the same space in one way or another.

If Johns wanted to use the Charlton characters to achieve whatever he's doing story-wise with the Watchmen, that would be fine. But using the Watchmen characters is just cheapening a classic work.

[Prof. Warren]

lol, Warren, The guy who cant take even the ittles criticism of Marvel and constantly trashes DC. Why is he even in this forum

Because I'm a huge fan of the Watchmen.

It's a seminal work, a jewel in DC's back catalog, and I wish DC would not pillage it for such cheap gain. Hearing what Johns has plans for with Doomsday Clock simply depresses me.

[Jody Garland]

Most of those works are either public domain or covered under fair use.

That's why the weren't dead clause is important, since it would negate their pd status. The point stands- while LoEG is a transformative work, it's also a particularly ugly funhouse mirror of established properties. It is a series where Harry Potter is the Anti-Christ and a school shooter, after all.

I don't think they are allowed to write a Watchmen sequel without the involvement of the original creators.

Why not? They own the property lock, stock and barrel at this point. They've already burned their bridges with Moore so I don't think they really care what he thinks. He certainly isn't going to sue now if he didn't during Before Watchman.

[Citizen Kane]

He's folding the DCU into the Watchmen?

Harr harr. (Sarcasm)

But using the Watchmen characters is just cheapening a classic work.

Did the canonization of the Killing Joke tarnish its reputation?

I'm certain Johns realizes how fine the line he's walking along tends to be. He won't aim to disappoint.

[Bukdiah]

Because I'm a huge fan of the Watchmen.

It's a seminal work, a jewel in DC's back catalog, and I wish DC would not pillage it for such cheap gain. Hearing what Johns has plans for with Doomsday Clock simply depresses me.

You can always not support their work. The only thing that'll change their tune is taking a beating in terms of sales.

[Kurus]

Why not? They own the property lock, stock and barrel at this point. They've already burned their bridges with Moore so I don't think they really care what he thinks. He certainly isn't going to sue now if he didn't during Before Watchman.[/QUOTE]

I think it was a clause in his original contract with DC. Could be wrong.

[The Whovian]

With Frank on art, if nothing else, at least this will be pretty.

[Jody Garland]

W

I think it was a clause in his original contract with DC. Could be wrong.

Moore said in an interview with Bledingcool that one reason they hadn't made a proper sequel to Watchman was a clause saying they needed his permission. He wasn't stating it as a fact, he was just spitballing ideas. It seems more likely that what held it up was Paul Levitz.

Personally, though, his quotes about LoEG as seen here make me just sort of not care about his opinion on the matter. If he thinks the Watchamn situation is theft- which he hasn't said, to be clear- but turns around and steals from Conan Doyle, Verne, Rowling, Stoker, Lovecraft, Keoruac, Fleming and literally hundreds more, twisting their characters into rapists, murders and just general mockeries of their original intent... Well, then what's good for gander is good for goose.

[Kirby Krackle]

A lot of the arguments against this are the same ones that were used with Before Watchmen. The whole, "it will cheapen the original". Funny, because after BW came out, seems like everyone pretty much felt the same about Watchmen and still do. It didn't change anything and neither will this. Good or bad, the original series is still there. Still the same.

[Coin Biter]

Moore said in an interview with Bledingcool that one reason they hadn't made a proper sequel to Watchman was a clause saying they needed his permission. He wasn't stating it as a fact, he was just spitballing ideas. It seems more likely that what held it up was Paul Levitz.

Personally, though, his quotes about LoEG as seen here make me just sort of not care about his opinion on the matter. If he thinks the Watchamn situation is theft- which he hasn't said, to be clear- but turns around and steals from Conan Doyle, Verne, Rowling, Stoker, Lovecraft, Keoruac, Fleming and literally hundreds more, twisting their characters into rapists, murders and just general mockeries of their original intent... Well, then what's good for gander is good for goose.

And yet, his work on LoEG was, on the whole, very interesting and entertaining. I’m not sure a sequel or for that matter a prequel to the Allan Quatermain stories would have been. So - moral arguments aside - his use of the PD characters in LoEG was more interesting than the prequels of Before Watchmen, which were constrained by fitting in with an established story and conclusion. Strictly in artistic terms, Moore had a point.

Now, whether Doomsday Clock will likewise be something of a damp squib, who knows? The art in the preview is impressive, obviously.

[Jody Garland]

I liked LoEG too. Especially the Nemo books. But that's neither here nor there when it comes to the argument at hand. Ultimately, art is subjective and what person A finds interesting and transformative person B may find crap. What I'm saying is more geared towards folks saying DC doens't have the right- either legally or metaphorically- to make a sequel/prequel/midquel to Watchamn.

On a side note, if anybody likes LoEG, check out Kim Newmna's Anno Dracula series. It's got a similar hodgepodge of literary, cinematic, etc., characters in a big transformative work. It's a really fun book series.

[TruthAndJustice]

I thought the Before Watchmen books were pointless, which is why I didn't read them. Doomsday Clock does seem to have a point to it beyond "entertainment." Johns' intent seems to be to comment on (condemn?) the constant "darkening" of superhero comics since Watchmen (and Dark Knight, but Dark Knight can't offer an in-story explanation of what happened that rewrote Earth-Zero's history).

[Hizashi]

One we don't know if that is the original Rorschach and two even the original death has a flaw it was done to stop him. Well Dr. Manhattan didn't see time as linear anymore he had to know Rorschach already put forth the chain of events to release his journal which was the ending. So why kill him?

That always bothered me and I've struggled to come up with a reason why he wouldn't have made sure to have the journal collected and destroyed.

[Mister BoMan]

i am realy looking forward to this.