So, DC is going ahead and publishing a series of prequels to Watchmen. This is a bad idea on a number of levels.

First of all, the series has all the back story and information about all the characters. There really isn’t any back story to be told.What more do we need to learn about any of the characters that wasn’t already there in the original story?

Second of all, only one of the creators is involved. Dave Gibbons has given his blessing, but Alan Moore is laughing at it all. Without both of the amazing creators, then I doubt it could be anywhere near as good.

Speaking by telephone from his home in Northampton, England, Mr. Moore said, “I 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.”

Third of all, it makes no sense. There was already a movie. It didn’t do enough business to justify a sequel. There have been Watchmen merchandise out for the last 25 years. Does DC think they can make more merchandise sales off a prequel? It’s not going to appeal to little kids, so the merchandising opportunities are limited. They aren’t talking about ongoing series, so there really doesn’t seem to be any long term plan here.

Overall, this looks like DC grasping at straws to find something that will connect to people without any understanding of why Watchmen was special. There’s a huge gap between using Watchmen as an influence for a new series and trying to trade on Watchmen’s popularity to try and sell comics. DC has crossed the line and no one is surprised.