And I'll respectfully point out that Dave Gibbons doesn't seem to have a problem with the prequels. And I don't understand how Wein having a difference of opinion with someone he actually knows over something they actually worked on together is more offensive or reprehensible than complete strangers pissing all over Moore's wishes.

Mike

I think a Watchmen anthology like The Rocketeer or Grendel: Black, White, and Red would be a little more pleasing to fans. Not official sequels or prequels, but other writer's and artists take on the characters.

Say your friend breaks up with his fiancée. Bitter, painful breakup.

Now she's available.

You want to ask her out. He says no, please don't.

You ask her out, anyway.

You're a douchebag.

Len Wein knows Alan Moore. Wein worked with Moore on WATCHMEN, which Moore -- not Wein -- created and wrote. Moore says repeatedly for decades, the story's done, I left it where I wanted to leave it, please don't fuck with it.

Wein unzips his pants, anyway.

Wein is a douchebag.

And I'll respectfully point out that Dave Gibbons is a money-grubbing two-faced asshole.

Sort of. Stevens didn't approve of that shit, but maybe he would have, if only to defray medical expenses had he lived longer. Moore is alive, and actively says don't do it.

I meant the people who are critical of BEFORE WATCHMEN, not because of what happened between Moore and DC, but think that it tarnishes the original story or cheapens it.

I think that Miracleman by Moore stand perfectly well on it's own, but there were some really great stories in Apocrypha. Stories that couldn't actually have happened within Moore's published issues.

I might would give Watchmen 2 a look if it was something like that. But I'm pretty sure that it'll be something like Ceci described.

I know you didn't get the Rocketeer anthology. I stayed away from it for the same reasons you gave. I tried an issue eventually, and it was okay, but Dave Stevens managed to do so much more, IMO, with 8 pages in Pacifico presents, than what I read in the IDW series. They were really good, the art excellent, btu for some reason Cliff and Betty are the few fictional comic characters I like to see only portrayed by the creator.

Wait, wait, wait! Darwyn Cooke will announce shortly that he secured Dave Stevens' blessings to recycle the Rocketeer, just hours before Stevens died, may he rest in peace.

No matter how good or bad they are, the prequels will not judged on their own merits. They will all be compared to the original and will fail badly. I am sure that some of the art will be nice but I suspect that the writing won't have that extra whatever that Alan Moore brought to his work.

I used be relatively optimistic about the future of comics but with the DC relaunch and now this, I am not so sure. Oh, if they only tried something new.

DC could only get by for 70 years on what they ripped off from those two teenagers from Cleveland. They're hoping for at least a few more years from what they can rip off from that pothead from Northampton.

I wonder how long until Didio and Lee try to start adding their names to the "Created by..." credits on NuDC's books?