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COMICSCAPE: Watching out for a WATCHMEN sequel
Will DC milk the Watchmen cash cow dry? By
Chad Derdowski
November 26, 2008
Milhouse asks Alan Moore for his autograph on THE SIMPSONS
© 20th Century Fox
Outside of film, there are few mediums more willing to milk a cash cow than the world of comic books. Do you like Iron Man? Well, here’s War Machine. Does Venom suit your fancy? Maybe you’ll like Carnage. Or Toxin. Or Anti-Venom. How about Superman? Boy Howdy, we’ve got a Superboy, girl, woman and even a dog! And if you like the dog, you’ll probably like a super-cat, horse and maybe even a monkey! Do you enjoy reading about the exploits of our characters in a shared universe? Well have we got something for you: a multiverse!
Let’s not even get into the X-Men.
The list goes on and on, with Spider-Women, She-Hulks and a whole Marvel Family. Some of these examples I gave can be considered natural story progression, some were done for the purposes of protecting a copyright and all of them were done for the purpose of making money. Which is fine: I’ve said it a million times, comics are a business and businesses make money. It might not always be on the up-and-up, but if people are enjoying it, why not give ‘em what they want? And god knows I love me some She-Hulk.
Outside of the obvious spin-off character, which usually amounts to either a female version or a darker, grittier version of the character, the alternative method of milking the cow is the sequel. We’ve seen it done in Hollywood a million times: a runaway hit like 'Rocky' spawns a follow-up, which spawns a follow-up, which spawns a follow-up. 'Jaws', 'Halloween', 'Batman' and nearly every horror movie ever made have followed this same pattern. With a few exceptions, the quality tends to diminish with each successive film.
In the world of comics, a parallel example might be Secret Wars, a crossover event which was a monster success for Marvel Comics in the 1980’s. It didn’t take long before The Beyonder returned to the Marvel Universe in Secret Wars II, which was met with far less critical acclaim. Before long, the annual summer crossover got to be something of a joke, and only recently has the concept been rejuvenated with House of M, Civil War, World War Hulk and Secret Invasion, which have been arguably more creative and interesting than the myriad of Atlantean Attacks and Infernos of yore. Nowadays, it seems that crossover events are never ending and a new one starts before the last one finishes. But I’m not here to talk about crossovers; that’s a topic for another day. Today, I’m here to talk about sequels, or in this case, the lack thereof.
I’ve already mentioned Secret Wars II. And who could forget Armor Wars II in the pages of Iron Man? There have been other sequels to big events: Marvel will soon be releasing a sequel to Marvels, featuring the return of photographer Phil Sheldon (apparently, Code of Honor was also intended to be a sequel to Marvels, but that didn’t exactly pan out). Speaking of Alex Ross-painted masterpieces, DC did something of a sequel/prequel to Kingdom Come entitled The Kingdom, which also served as a follow-up to Crisis on Infinite Earths. I guess it wasn’t very popular, as it’s pretty much been retconned out of existence, along with a number of bad ideas from the ‘90s. Ross and Geoff Johns are currently embroiled in another Kingdom Come sequel of sorts over in JSA. This one seems to be finding a better reaction from fans and critics.
With all of the sequels that proliferate the world of comics, one has to wonder if anything is sacred anymore. Thankfully, there seems to be one cash cow that DC is unwilling to milk: the proposed Watchmen sequel.
Now, just because they haven’t done a sequel doesn’t mean that DC won’t milk that cow until she runs dry. There’s been Watchmen merchandise over the years and there’s sure to be more to come. But I think it’s safe to say that fans appreciated the Watchmen roleplaying games that followed the comics in the 1980’s (especially since Alan Moore had a hand in them) and I don’t think fans today have any problem collecting the action figures and whatever merchandise is yet to come with the release of the movie next year. But as of this writing, there has been no direct sequel to Watchmen, nor have the characters really been used in anything outside of that 12-issue series. I think that Rorschach popped up in a couple panels of a Question comic a few years ago, but that was in the midst of a hallucination or dream or something, so we’ll let that one slide.
Not that DC hasn’t thought about it... Fans have long been aware that a sequel option has been attached to the movie version of Watchmen and we’re also aware that DC considered a few different sequel ideas back in the ‘80s. In the recently published Watching the Watchmen, Dave Gibbons reveals that two ideas DC had bounced around were Rorschach’s Journal and The Comedian’s Vietnam War Diary. Thankfully, neither of these saw the light of day. Watchmen is considered by many to be the pinnacle of sequential art and is no doubt a huge moneymaker for DC Comics. The temptation to use these characters in some type of spin-off series must be nearly overwhelming, but to their credit, DC has wisely resisted the temptation.
I’d be a liar if I said that there isn’t a small part of me that would love to see the exploits of the Night Owl/Rorschach team in the 1970’s. A Minutemen mini-series doesn’t sound like a terrible idea, now does it? Well… okay, yes it does. Watchmen is a fantastic read for a number of reasons (and I don’t have time to get into all of them right now), not the least of which is the fact that it is finite. It is implied that these heroes had a great many adventures in the past, but delving into those stories, as tempting and as interesting as it may sound, would ultimately be a disservice to the world that Alan Moore and Dave Gibbons created. And as cool as a Night Owl/Rorschach mini-series might be, we don’t really need it. These are stories that are much better implied than actually told.
With the movie looming on the horizon, I’m sure the temptation to do a sequel or prequel will once again rear its ugly head. Let’s hope DC and Warner Brothers have the good sense to continue to deny the urge. I’m aware of a video game tie-in which will act as something of a prequel, taking place in the 1970’s. I guess it’s inevitable that a superhero film that is expected to be a blockbuster would spawn a video game. Since this game will be more in line with the movie version than the comics, it’s something that I can let slide: mostly because I don’t really have a choice in the matter, and also because it’s not the same medium. Despite the uneasy feeling the game leaves in my stomach, it’s somehow far less offensive than the idea of someone other than Moore & Gibbons handling these characters in comic book form.
Comic book readers have learned to never say never. The characters depicted in Watchmen are, after all, the property of DC Comics. If times get tough enough or someone in charge feels strongly enough about it, it’s their right to use those characters as they see fit and there’s nothing we can do about it (except for, of course, simply not buying it). And in the grand scheme of things, a sequel or prequel might not even matter. Scarlett was released with fanfare, controversy and eventually even a made-for-TV movie in the early ‘90s. These days it’s all but forgotten while Gone With The Wind remains on the classic shelf. Classics are classics and will remain so, no matter how hard a crappy sequel tries to ruin its legacy. If a Watchmen sequel ever does get made, it will no doubt be met with tons of criticism and probably some applause as well. It may even threaten to tear the very internet in half. Ultimately though, I have a feeling it would be quickly forgotten, destined to spend the rest of its days languishing in quarter bins along with copies of The Kingdom and Secret Wars II.
The Spinner Rack
By Ben Johnson and Chad Derdowski
DARK HORSE COMICS
Berserk TP Vol 26 $13.95
Buffy The Vampire Slayer #19 $2.99
End League #6 $2.99
Ben: I love me this weird comic.
Star Wars Legacy #30 Vector Part 11 Of 12 $2.99
Ben: That Vector crap is still going?
Umbrella Academy Dallas #1 Gabriel Ba Cvr $2.99
Ben: Debbie does this one.
Chad: Tee hee.
DC COMICS
Bat Lash Guns And Roses TP $17.99
Ben: Time for a little Chinese Democracy (note: I was totally joking about this because it’s been announced for around a thousand years, but this album actually came out this week. Crazy).
Batman #681 RIP (Note Price) $3.99
Ben: I can’t believe it was Tim Drake. Oh, there are spoilers preceding.
Chad: I can’t believe you used that joke three weeks in a row.
Batman Gotham After Midnight #7 (Of 12) $2.99
Chad: He’s gonna let it all hang down…
Batman Rules Of Engagement TP $19.99
Birds Of Prey #124 $2.99
Blue Beetle #33 $2.99
Cartoon Network Block Party #51 $2.25
DMZ #36 (MR) $2.99
Ferryman #3 (Of 5) $3.50
Go West Vol 01 $9.99
Ben: No, stay where you are, we don’t want you.
Chad: Well we certainly don’t want them either!
Green Lantern Corps Ring Quest TP $14.99
Heroes HC Vol 02 Variant Edition $29.99
Jack Of Fables #28 (MR) $2.99
JSA Kingdom Come Special The Kingdom #1 $3.99
Ben: Good stuff.
Chad: Agreed. You should all be reading this!
Legion Of Super Heroes #48 $2.99
Madame Xanadu #6 Cover A (MR) $2.99
Madame Xanadu #6 Cover B (MR) $2.99
Northlanders #12 (MR) $2.99
Push #2 (Of 6) $3.50
Ben: But not too hard or you might Elvis.
Reign In Hell #5 (Of 8) $3.50
Scooby Doo #138 $2.25
Showcase Presents Sgt Rock TP Vol 02 $16.99
Sloth TP (MR) $14.99
Ben: Read this nice and slow.
Superman #682 New Krypton $2.99
Superman Batman Vs Vampires Werewolves #4 (Of 6) $2.99
Teen Titans #65 $2.99
Trinity #26 $2.99
Unknown Soldier #2 (MR) $2.99
War That Time Forgot #7 (Of 12) $2.99
Ben: Which makes telling old war stories rather difficult.
Wildcats #5 $2.99
Wonder Woman #26 $2.99
IMAGE COMICS
Adventures Of Spawn #2 $5.99
Body Bags (One Shot) (MR) $5.99
Brit #10 $2.99
Broken Trinity #1 SDCC Ex Var $10.00
Bruce The Little Blue Spruce HC $9.99
Ben: How good could a book about a tree be.
Comic Book Tattoo HC Sp Ed $75.00
Dragon Prince #3 Johnson Cvr A $2.99
Dragon Prince #3 Peterson Cvr B $2.99
Fantastic Worlds Of Frank Frazetta HC$29.99
Golly #3 (MR) $3.50
Pilot Season Alibi #1 Top Cow Store Ed $10.00
Pilot Season Core #1 Top Cow Store Ed $10.00
Pilot Season Genius #1 Top Cow Store Ed $10.00
Proof #14$3.50
Savage #2 (Of 4) $3.50
Savage Dragon #141 $3.50
Transhuman #4 (Of 4) $3.50
Walking Dead #55 (MR) $2.99
Witchblade Devi #1 NYCC Excl Var (O/A) $10.00
Ben: Dear Image Comics, if you can buy stuff at retail that makes it not exclusive to NYCC or a Top Cow Store edition. You are just fleecing marks for an extra $7.
MARVEL COMICS
Captain America #44 $2.99
Captain America Prem HC Vol 03 Death Capt America $19.99
Daredevil #113 $2.99
Ghost Rider Danny Ketch #2 (Of 5) $3.99
Ben: Who ever thought they would see the day of multiple Ghost Rider comics again?
Guardians Of Galaxy #7 $2.99
Chad: Who ever thought they would see the return of Rocket Raccoon?
Guardians Of Galaxy #7 Valentino Var (Pp #836) $2.99
Hulk #8 $2.99
Ben: This series sucks.
Chad: We agree again! We’re on a roll here.
Incredible Hercules #123 $2.99
Marvel Adventures Fantastic Four #42 $2.99
Marvel Adventures Iron Man TP Armored Avenger Digest $8.99
Marvel Adventures Super Heroes #5 $2.99
Marvel Your Universe Poster$7.99
Chad: I’ll Marvel your universe…
MMW Golden Age All Winners HC Vol 03 $59.99
MMW Golden Age All Winners HC Vol 03 Var Ed Vol 108 $59.99
Ms Marvel #33 $2.99
New Avengers Prem HC Vol 08 Secret Invasion Book 1 $19.99
New Warriors #18 $2.99
Nova #19$2.99
Ben: I will miss this when it’s gone. Buy it and save a comic today.
Runaways 3 #4 $2.99
Secret Invasion Inhumans #4 (Of 4) $2.99
Secret Invasion X-Men #4 (Of 4) MD $2.99
She-Hulk 2 #35 $2.99
Skaar Son Of Hulk #5 $2.99
Thor Man Of War $3.99
True Believers #5 (Of 5) $2.99
Ultimate Spider-Man #128 $2.99
Ultimate X-Men #98 $2.99
Ben: Going, going, gone.
Wolverine First Class #9 $2.99
Wolverine Origins #30 Xos 5 $2.99
X-Force #9 $2.99
X-Men First Class TP Band Of Brothers $14.99
X-Men Legacy TP Vol 01 Divided He Stands $15.99
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When I first read Watchmen back in 86-87, it was a mistake as I thought I was picking up a different comic and it happened to be halfway through the series. Anyway, this series has been re-read no less than twenty times since then and it never fails to entertain. A little dated but the characters are classic. I always wanted to see this on the big screen just to see how it would translate and soon I as well as numerous others will have their wish. Although AM isn't happy AT ALL about this, I for one can't wait. That being said, the whole Watchmen prequel game seems pretty lame to me. Why ruin a perfectly good classic with prequels or sequels or spinoffs? Having been spoofed in Simpsons is fine, a movie is great, lunchboxes, spin-offs, tie-ins, and games (and this coming from a HUGE GAMER) are a bit tired. Don't leech it to death.
All in all, this still doesn't detract from Watchmen being a damn, fine limited series no matter what kind of guano comes out of the Machine. My wife and I are going to the opening night and unfortunately, she will not be joining me for the showing right after that one. :-) Yes, my buns are going to hurt.