Wow… it’s hard to imagine that this movie is actually happening. A live action production of Alan Moore and Dave Gibbons’ The Watchmen. The 12 issue maxi-series from 1986 that introduced the post modern comic book to American audience (Moore had already done this with his series Miracle Man).
The comic book was so visually compelling partly because of the sheer skill of artist Dave Gibbons and the terribly detailed scripting by Alan Moore.
Originally intended as a vehicle for newly acquired characters including The Question, Captain Atom, Thunderbolt, Peacemaker and others, DC Comics changed their minds and Moore and Gibbons had to restart the project from scratch. What followed was a comic book that acts as a time capsule for America at the time. Depicting a world where super heroes fought in Vietnam and Nixon has never left office, the reader is both mystified and horrified by each issue.
I can only hope that the feature film by Zak (Frank Miller’s 300) Snyder can catch a little bit of that lightning. He has already vowed to stay as faithful as possible to the original work, including the inclusion of ‘Tales of the Black Freighter,’ a comic within The Watchmen, as a DVD extra.
The film’s release date is almost a full year away (3/9/09).
Until then, enjoy this image of the Comedian in full costume. Part of a set of recently released pics of the characters from the film, I am of two minds about it. The characters look very polished and respectful of their comic book counterparts… however they do look very ‘1989,’ as in super heroes = rubber costumes. I’m not sure why that is, but I’m hoping that the finished product holds up better than these still promotional images.
