What does Alan Moore think of the Watchmen franchise?

[GAP]

I heard about Alan Moore was screwed over by DC with regards to Watchmen. I know Alan Moore was never really a nice guy but he did get screwed over by DC in regards to Watchmen. With that said, we got a movie, television series and more comics featuring these characters. What is Alan Moore stance on the Watchmen franchise?

[Morgoth]

He doesn't want to have anything to do with it at this point. Moore hates, that WB/DC are capitalising on his stories, he hates adaptations (he refused to talk to Snyder and Lindelof about it), and obviously, he hates new comics about Watchmen. Also, Moore believes that the audience did not understand the message of Watchmen, in particular, he is furious because of the popularity of Rorschach. Moore has never seen Watchmen as a franchise, that's the point. Not to mention, that he was screwed over by DC.
Considering, that he believes that superheroes should only be for kids, and comics like Watchmen, TDKR or Killing Joke should be the exception, rather than a model of how things should be done, I'm guessing the Watchmen's role in comic book history is another reason why he has an extremely negative opinion about all this. It can be noticed in his interviews.

[Riv86672]

I heard about Alan Moore was screwed over by DC with regards to Watchmen. I know Alan Moore was never really a nice guy but he did get screwed over by DC in regards to Watchmen. With that said, we got a movie, television series and more comics featuring these characters. What is Alan Moore stance on the Watchmen franchise?

^^^Pretty sure he hated the franchise.

Legalities aside, I’ve always found Moore hypocritical regarding his feelings on using his characters, and for someone as smart as he obv. is, unbelievably dim on what comics are.

[bat39]

He HATES it by all accounts. And seems to hate a lot of his past work and the superhero genre in general.

^^^Pretty sure he hated the franchise.

Legalities aside, I’ve always found Moore hypocritical regarding his feelings on using his characters, and for someone as smart as he obv. is, unbelievably dim on what comics are.

Yeah, its worth noting that the Watchmen characters are based on the Charlton characters (Nite Owl = Blue Beetle, Dr. Manhattan = Captain Atom and so on) and the only reason Moore used original characters was because DC refused to let him use the then newly-acquired Charlton ones. Not to take away from Moore's work or his genius, but it's a fact.

In general, this whole discussion on ownership of characters or 'originality' of characters gets a bit weird sometimes when it comes to DC/Marvel. Consider Ed Brubaker, who's pissed off for not getting royalties for the MCU using Winter Soldier. On the one hand, you do sympathize with him and the other creators and wish that they got a better deal considering that their work is helping build a multi-billion dollar media empire. On the other hand, the Winter Soldier was ultimately a case of Brubaker himself using a character created by someone else i.e. Bucky, so his 'ownership' of the character is debatable in that sense.

[Jim Kelly]

You have a whole person's life--their experiences, their memories, the work they've done, the pain they've gone through, their joys--all that informs who they are and what they think. And then you have what little we know about them from what they've said in interviews or what they've done or what others have said about them.

Who are any of us to say? You'd have to live a person's whole life to understand them and what they really feel.

[Timothy Hunter]

I hate that Watchmen is considered a franchise now. Every sequel or prequel DC has produced has ranged from awful to forgettable.

[Riv86672]

You have a whole person's life--their experiences, their memories, the work they've done, the pain they've gone through, their joys--all that informs who they are and what they think. And then you have what little we know about them from what they've said in interviews or what they've done or what others have said about them.

Who are any of us to say? You'd have to live a person's whole life to understand them and what they really feel.

^^^So wait, a person’s own actual statements on where they stand on a subject aren't good enough for US to form an opinion vis à vis their stance on a subject?

Agree to disagree.

[astro@work]

He doesn't want to have anything to do with it at this point. Moore hates, that WB/DC are capitalising on his stories, he hates adaptations (he refused to talk to Snyder and Lindelof about it), and obviously, he hates new comics about Watchmen. Also, Moore believes that the audience did not understand the message of Watchmen, in particular, he is furious because of the popularity of Rorschach. Moore has never seen Watchmen as a franchise, that's the point. Not to mention, that he was screwed over by DC.
Considering, that he believes that superheroes should only be for kids, and comics like Watchmen, TDKR or Killing Joke should be the exception, rather than a model of how things should be done, I'm guessing the Watchmen's role in comic book history is another reason why he has an extremely negative opinion about all this. It can be noticed in his interviews.

If Moore really believes comics are for kids,...I have to giggle a little bit. Moore has done a brilliant job of moving many properties into the adult pov with his deconstructionist takes on them:
Miracleman, the Watchmen characters (modeled on other pre-existing properties), Supreme. It's why I love his writing, because it's NOT a childlike take on the characters. Love his work, but he does seem to be the leader in doing adult takes on what were once more childlike characters and stories.

[phonogram12]

I think he believes more that superheroes are for kids, not comics as a whole. And I also believe that while he stands by Watchmen, he feels at least partially responsible for moving superhero comics in a direction he feels was a mistake (he even more or less denounces his writing on TKJ, for example).

[astro@work]

I think he believes more that superheroes are for kids, not comics as a whole. And I also believe that while he stands by Watchmen, he feels at least partially responsible for moving superhero comics in a direction he feels was a mistake (he even more or less denounces his writing on TKJ, for example).

Ok that makes more sense, based on his writing projects. That said, as a non-kid I love his more adult tone on so many of his projects. It's what has kept me interested in the medium.

[Sandy Hausler]

^^^Pretty sure he hated the franchise.

Legalities aside, I’ve always found Moore hypocritical regarding his feelings on using his characters, and for someone as smart as he obv. is, unbelievably dim on what comics are.

Especially in that The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen is a franchise he created based on characters created by others. Maybe some of those creators would not have been thrilled by how Moore used their creations. In light of what some of the characters do in Moore's books, I'm pretty sure at least some of them would have objected. (Moore has the benefit of the creators being dead.) And don't get me started on Lost Girls.

[Johnny Thunders!]

I remember when Before Watchmen came out, Alan Moore said anyone reading Before Watchmen was the type of fan he didn’t want reading his work. I still do but I know every time I read his work know he casts a hex on me.

[kingaliencracker]

Alan Moore is one of my favorites but also an extremely disgruntled, unusual person. Amazing writer, but I don't put much stock into his assessments of things.

[GAP]

I remember when Before Watchmen came out, Alan Moore said anyone reading Before Watchmen was the type of fan he didn’t want reading his work. I still do but I know every time I read his work know he casts a hex on me.

That is a good point. It sounds hypocritical but aren't those characters public domain.

[astro@work]

I remember when Before Watchmen came out, Alan Moore said anyone reading Before Watchmen was the type of fan he didn’t want reading his work. I still do but I know every time I read his work know he casts a hex on me.

Same here. Every time I read an Alan Moore project, an angel loses their wings.