For the most important comic book to be adapted into a feature film, I’m actually surprised that there are not more promotional items to drum up interest like Taco Bell cups, graphic T-Shirts and the like. This could easily be down to the fact that Watchmen is going to be such a niche movie and that the reportedly high level of violence and nudity could make this one of the first comic book movies that is not littered with children. I think the first flash of Dr Manhattan’s nude groin will get many teen boys screaming for the door. However, a limited run of organic coffee has got to be one of the weirdest movie tie-ins I’ve seen in a long long time and speaks volumes as to how different this film is.
Nite Owl Coffee
It’s a small moment in the film WATCHMEN – Dan and Laurie save a group from a tenement fire. Once inside the Owl Ship, the survivors are offered what else? Coffee. Among all that hardware, there’s an airplane-style coffee maker. And Veidt Enterprise’s Nite Owl Dark Roast is the imaginary brand of coffee they brew. What better name for the quintessential caffeinated beverage when served in the context of nocturnal crime-fighting? In truth, this is 100% organic specialty coffee from WATCHMEN unit photographer Clay Enos and his Organic Coffee Cartel.
Designed on one side to resemble something straight out of the WATCHMEN universe, the other side features a striking black & white portrait of Nite Owl as captured by Enos. With just one run of 10,000 cans produced, this is sure to be a distinctive and unusual collectible.
As a coffee aficionado, I’m of course curious, but is it any good? Sure, I bag and board my comics but I’ll be damned if I’m about to leave a canister of coffee unopened! Drink up, The Watchmen opens 3.6.09.
