Waiting and Watching

The best comic book series I ever read was Watchmen. Now the movie of it is about to come out. I agree with everything that Boston Globe movie critic Ty Burr says about his own sense of anticipation.

http://www.boston.com/ae/movies/blog/2009/02/the_watchmen_wa.html

I thought 300 was one of the worst movies I’d ever seen. I scanned through most of it on DVD. Something I’m worried about for a general audience is that a full appreciation of Watchmen requires a vast knowledge of the history of comic books and their creators. Everybody knows Batman, but almost nobody knows that Dr. Manhattan was adapted from Captain Atom, and Rorschach is based on the work of Steve Ditko.

Who Watches the Watchmen?

7 thoughts on “Waiting and Watching”

  1. SAY! We haven’t seen a post on The Amazing Denro’s trip to NY and some of his bounty! Wassup with that? Pictures? Come on, D.F., we’re waiting! I know The Amazing DogRat is busy running his tuckus off training, but maybe you could help him out here. How was Gene doing?

  2. P.S. Curse you, D.F. Rogers! You get to have ALL the fun! 😉 Get lots of goodies for your best buddy, and my favorite twinster!

  4. Hi, Paul

    The story and the characters have to be compelling enough on their own, and although they are for me, I’m worried that because they’re unknown the movie won’t have the weight and impact of “Dark Knight.” The good news is, visually it’s supposed to be taken panel-for-panel from the comics.

    I had an interesting chat with David Lloyd when I was in New York, who illustrated “V for Vendetta” for Alan Moore. He said Moore automatically disowns every movie based on his writing, without even reading the script.

    My buddy Dennis is going to the convention in NYC this weekend. I won’t be able to make it, but GENE COLAN is well enough to attend! How about that?

    BTW, I have your “Making the Monkees” DVD. Send a mailing address and I’ll get it to you.

  5. Doug,
    I’ve read about 50,000 comic books since I began in 1959 and Watchmen is still my favorite. When I read it in the 1980s I remarked that it was the most cinematic comic I’d seen…so hopefully it will translate well in movie form. Perhaps the movie will explain the characters through a quick narration for those unfamiliar with the heroes they are based on.

  6. Well, there was a company called Charlton Comics in Derby, Connecticut, that was for decades the bottom-rung comic book publisher. They had a bunch of minor characters, including Captain Atom, the Blue Beetle, Thunderbolt, the Question, and … oh, never mind. If the movie’s good you can rent the DVD and I’ll lend you a copy of the 12-issue series.

  7. Oh dear. Well that’s a little intimidating. Perhaps I’m not worthy of seeing the movie after all.

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