Review: Watchmen: The Movie

So we ended up watching the big screen adaptation of Watchmen yesterday at the cinema. As stated in the previous blog entry, I was extremely excited to see Alan Moore’s seminal and memorable characters make the jump from the four-colour medium of comics to the big screen.

Expectations, not just from me, but from the comic book community, were undoubtedly huge. Alan Moore once called Watchmen “unfilmable”. Could Zack Snyder, the director who made Frank Miller’s “300” a critical and commercial success, defy the odds once again by making Watchmen THE most acclaimed comic book movie of all-time, just like the graphic novel was heralded as the “Citizen Kane” of comic books?

Spoiler warning: From this point on, I will be reviewing the movie and will be examining major plot points, discussing minute details of the comic and the movie as well as revealing the twists. If you haven’t yet read the Watchmen graphic novel or watched the movie and don’t want it spoiled for you, STOP READING THIS BLOG ENTRY NOW.



Still reading? Good. Let’s talk about the Watchmen movie then.

I came out of the cinema feeling pretty shallow and empty. Watchmen was a good 160 minutes including the credits, making it probably the longest comic book movie, in terms of movie screening length, ever made.

Of course, it is naïve to begin to think that Alan Moore and Dave Gibbons’ magnum opus could be squeezed into a 2 hour movie, the average length of modern comic book movies. But the Watchmen movie seemed to go on an extra 30 minutes too long, even though I acknowledge that any shorter and you’d lose major plot points from the graphic novel.

It’s not that I didn’t like the movie. I did, for most parts. But the last third of the movie was a let-down, and it seemed to be dragging on needlessly. Was this because the end of the movie was poorly scripted? Was it because they had rushed the big reveal, the big ending, which was significantly changed from the graphic novel?

Or was it because the build-up towards the climax of the movie was extremely fantastic that when it was revealed that Adrian Veidt was the villain, the way the reveals came about just utterly destroyed what had come before?

I’m not quite sure. As I said, I was excited for most of the movie, especially the first half, but the final third of the movie just spoiled it for me, and since the last part of the movie is usually the one that you remember a movie for, it kind of soured the entire movie for me.

Maybe my expectations were too high, but as I said, by and large, my expectations were met for most of the movie. I think it was very true to the graphic novel for most parts, up until perhaps the scene where Rorschach was freed from Sing Sing and then it all went downhill from there.

But I’m being too general. Let’s examine parts of the movie that I liked and parts that I didn’t like.

The opening sequence was breathtaking. This was where it was obvious that a movie could do so much to portray the Comedian’s death than the graphic novel could. The graphic novel starts with the Comedian having already been killed by being beaten up and thrown out of his room of a very very tall building.

In the movie, we see the Comedian settling down to watch a TV program, which describes the escalation of potential nuclear war between America and the USSR. All of a sudden, someone breaks into his room and for the next three minutes, we see the vicious one-sided fight between the Comedian, an aging 67 year old man, and his assailant who not only brutally assaults the Comedian, but makes it look oh so easy.

While the Comedian is being beaten to a pulp, we’re being treated to Nat King Cole’s “Unforgettable” playing on the TV in the background, from the advertisement of Adrian Veidt’s Nostalgia perfume. A sign of foreshadowing perhaps? Of course, the Nostalgia ad being part of Veidt Enterprises is never really mentioned, though that’s a neat Easter egg for those who had read the novel. Perhaps a bit camp, fighting to that background music but I’m sure it was deliberately filmed that way.

This fight sequence is never shown in great detail in the graphic novel, being just a simple flashback sequence of the Comedian getting his butt kicked, so it’s refreshing to see the fight in all its gory detail. The Comedian gets thrown through the plate glass windows of his apartment and plunges to his death…cue the opening title credits sequence!

This opening credits sequence was also brilliant, with a fantastic song playing in the background. We are introduced to the Minutemen of the 30s/40s, showing how they got together as a superteam and nearly each members’ fall from grace. Alan Moore fleshes out almost all of the Minutemen’s backstory in the graphic novel via “extra features” outside the main story, such as Hollis Mason’s (the original Nite Owl) biography, Under the Hood, and of course, it’s impossible to go through each individual character’s backstory in the movie, so the opening sequence does a great job of quickly showing, in 10 second segments, what happened to each character.

After the introduction of the original Nite Owl beating up a bank robber, we see the Silk Spectre being introduced to the press, with the policemen standing on either side of her trying to glance down to catch a glimpse of her boobs. We then see the formation of the Minutemen and the reveal that Silhouette is a lesbian by snogging a nurse after Japan surrenders at the close of World War 2.

We then see the death of Dollar Bill when he gets shot after getting his cape caught in a revolving door. We also see Mothman being committed to an asylum. Silhouette and her lover have been murdered in a hotel room with the words “Lesbian whores” scrawled on the wall. The Minutemen’s fall from grace lead to the formation of the second generation of heroes including the main protagonists in the movie. In the graphic novel, this second generation of heroes was known as the Crimebusters, though we learn later on during the movie that they called themselves “Watchmen”.

The next few segments in the opening credits sequence show how each Watchman is ensconced in real life events happening in America in the 60s and 70s. John F Kennedy shakes hands with Dr Manhattan on the lawn for the White House. In the next segment, we see John F Kennedy’s head snap back and then forwards in that famous assassination. The camera pans to the right where we see the Comedian was the assassin! Neil Armstrong lands on the moon and turns around, only for us to see the reflection of the Dr Manhattan already standing on the moon.

Andy Warhol is in an art gallery, unveiling his latest art of Nite Owl II, while Ozymandias is posing for photographs outside Studio 54; just standing behind Ozymandias is the Village People! We are also introduced to Rorschach who doesn’t appear on-screen, but has left behind his calling card after tying two criminals to a lightpost.

The 70s sequence shows the hippie movement where a hippie girl puts a flower in the barrel of a gun that’s pointed directly at her; soon, all of the hippies get shot. President Nixon gets re-elected for a third term, changing the course of history in the Watchmen world, and we also see the amassing of nuclear arsenals by Fidel Castro and his Russian counterpart.

It is a superb credit sequence that sets the tone for what has passed before in the Watchmen world. It does a great job considering there is so much happening in the graphic novel and to be able to distil the main plot points and cram it into a brilliant and stunning visual opening sequence is just magnificent.

The main story starts off exactly the same way the comic book does, focusing in on the smiley face pin that the Comedian wears. The camera pulls back upwards towards the window of the Comedian’s apartment where Detective Fine and his partner wonder who would want to kill a 67 year old man.

What I really love about the first half of the movie is that scenes are filmed and duplicated almost exactly the way they were illustrated in the comics. From Rorschach’s breaking into Nite Owl’s apartment and then storming out; to the flashback sequences showing each individual character’s involvement with the Comedian; to the retelling of Dr Manhattan’s past; to Rorschach’s capture and his subsequent rescue by Nite Owl and Silk Spectre II…the scenes from the graphic novel are lovingly and carefully reproduced in the movie. Way too many scenes to go through individually.

Which leads directly into the dialogue. While it’s impossible to expect all the dialogue from the graphic novel to be replicated in the movie, the script does take the most memorable lines from the graphic novel and either transposes them directly, or are largely intact, just changing a few words here and there. The most memorable quotes are:

“Dog carcass in alley this morning, tire thread on burst stomach. This city is afraid of me, I have seen its true face. The streets are extended gutters and the gutters are full of blood and when the drains finally scab over, all the vermin will drown. The accumulated filth of all their sex and murder will foam up about their wasists and all the whores and politicians will look up and shout ‘Save us!’, and I’ll look down and whisper ‘No’.” – Rorschach’s first line of dialogue from both the movie and graphic novel

“Hurm.” – Rorschach

“You were a better Nite Owl than I ever was.”
“Hollis, we both know that’s bullshit.”
“Hey, watch with the language! This is the left hook that floored Captain Axis, remember?”
- exchange between the original Nite Owl, Hollis Mason, and his successor, Daniel Dreiberg

“An ordinary burglar? Kill the Comedian? Ridiculous.” – Rorschach

“Um. Don’t you think that’s maybe a little paranoid?”
“That’s what they’re saying about me now? That I’m paranoid”
- exchange between Nite Owl and Rorschach

“Yes. I remember. Used to come here often. Back when we were partners.”
“Yeah, those were great times, Rorschach. Whatever happened to them?”
“You quit.”
- exchange between Rorschach and Nite Owl

“Meeting with Dreiberg left bad taste in mouth. A flabby failure who sits whimpering in his basement. Why are so few of us left active, health, and without personality disorders? Only two names remaining on my list. Both share private quarters at Rockefeller Military Research Centre. I shall go to them. I shall go and tell the indestructible man that someone plans to murder him.” – Rorschach

And all that is just from the first issue! Rorschach does have all the best and most quotable lines. I can just see the entire movie having heaps of quotable lines, just like in Army of Darkness.

There are too many memorable lines of dialogue in the movie that are taken straight out from the graphic novel, but others include the Pagliacci joke (which no one seemed to get in the movie, I was the only one laughing!), Rorschach’s exchange with Big Figure in Sing Sing prison, Rorschach’s memorable “I’m not locked up in here with you, you’re locked up in here with me!” line, the “The superman exists, and he’s American” line, Dr Manhattan’s the miracle of turning oxygen into gold line, and Rorschach’s “Never compromise, not even in the face or Armageddon” line.

There are plenty of Easter eggs throughout the movie that probably get lost on all those who haven’t read the novel before. When meeting Adrian Veidt for the first time, we see the twin towers of the World Trade Centre in the background, leaving no doubt that while this is an alternate reality from the one we know, the characters are all in New York. We see Mason’s auto repair shop, the Gunga Diner, the offices of the New Frontiersman, a right wing publication that Rorschach picks up daily.

Part of the fun of the movie, for me at least, was trying to spot as many Easter eggs as possible, things that were strictly in the background of the movie, but made up the big picture in the graphic novel. Graffiti of “Who Watches the Watchmen?” on walls, cameos of the newsvendor, the kid who sits at the newsstand reading the comic book, “The Black Freighter”, the lesbian taxi driver Joey, and a poster of “The Black Freighter” on the newsstand. They even reproduce the “War?” headline on the front page of a newspaper! I think I’m going to have to get a copy of the DVD when it’s released and play each scene back slowly to see if I can catch all the Easter eggs!

We even hear Wagner’s “Ride of the Valkyries”, which is referenced in Hollis Mason’s Under the Hood, when there is this flashback sequence of Dr Manhattan intervening in the Vietnam War. When you hear “Ride of the Valkyries” blaring over the speakers and see the imposing 40 foot tall half naked body of Dr Manhattan walking over the fields of Saigon, incinerating the Viet Cong soldiers, one gets a chill of excitement running through one’s body.

Which leads directly to the music; it is an absolutely brilliant and breathtaking soundtrack. The licensed songs fit the scenes perfectly: when Dan Dreiberg and Laurie Juspeczyk meet for dinner, Nena’s “99 Luftballoons” play in the background. When the Comedian gets buried in the cemetery, we hear Simon and Garfunkel’s “The Sound of Silence”. We even hear the extremely cheesy “Hallelujah” when Nite Owl and Silk Spectre II make love for the first time in Nite Owl’s ship, Archie (short for “Archimedes”, Merlin’s pet owl, as Nite Owl tells us himself in a later scene).

I can’t wait for the soundtrack to get released because I’m sure I’ll be getting it!

There’s quite a bit of deliberate campy humour in the movie as well, which fits with the deliberate humour from the graphic novel. When Nite Owl and Rorschach ask when Ozymandias plans to execute his evil “mad scientist” plans, Ozymandias remarks that he’s not some “comic book villain” and he did it 35 minutes ago (in the novel Ozzy remarks that he’s not a “republic serial villain” instead). When Nite Owl and Silk Spectre II spring Rorschach from prison, Rorschach remarks that he needs to first use the men’s bathroom before they can leave (though of course, Rorschach is trying to get his hands on Little Figure).

We also see the awkwardness when Dan and Laurie try having sex for the first time, with Dan not being able to…uhm…perform. Actually, that is probably a negative of the movie because Dan and Laurie have this really weird relationship in the graphic novel where it’s a balance between Dan’s impotence and Laurie’s fetishes. It’s never really dealt with in the movie at all, making very scant reference to Dan’s impotence.

When Dan and Laurie finally do have sex in Archie, when close to…uh…finishing…Laurie accidentally hits the flamethrower button and a large burst of flames shoot out from Archie’s…uh…mouth. A sexual innuendo if there ever was one! These moments of campness make it a bit hard to interpret the movie. From the graphic novel, we know that it’s deliberate, but it doesn’t really translate well onto screen. For such a dark movie, there sure must have been a few movie-goers thinking to themselves, “What the hell? Why is there an attempt of humour here?”

There are many cameos in the movie from famous figures in history to show the era which the movie takes place in. The aforementioned cameos in the opening credits title sequence of John F Kennedy, Neil Armstrong (though one doesn’t see his face behind his spacesuit helmet), Andy Warhol, the Village People, Fidel Castro, and I believe even Mick Jagger, who I didn’t catch but who’s name is in the final credits!

There are also cameos in the movie itself to show that it’s 1985, with people such as Lee Iacocca and Ted Koppel making an appearance. Of course, Richard Nixon plays an important role in the movie as the President of the United States. “Tricky Dick” as Rorschach calls him, has the unenviable task of deciding whether to empty out America’s nuclear arsenal in a pre-emptive strike against the Russians. While the actor playing Richard Nixon in the movie does look and sound like the real Nixon, it’s just a shame that they couldn’t get Frank Langella, who played the disgraced President in the Oscar nominated “Frost/Nixon” to reprise his role! That would have been icing on the cake.

I’ve been avoiding this topic for a while, but let’s get to the casting of the actors. While there are no real big-name or A-level celebrities among the actors chosen to play the roles of the various Watchmen, the casting was absolutely spot on…whoever did the casting needs a huge pay rise for choosing the best actors to reprise their respective roles in the movie!

Billy Crudup is probably the most well known actor out of the main cast of actors and he does a fine job of playing the emotionless Dr Manhattan. One does wonder whether it is Crudup’s “member” we see in those scenes where Dr Manhattan is completely nude. Crudup’s Dr Manhattan is unnervingly devoid of any sentiment and plays the part perfectly…you will believe that a god can walk this earth!

The casting of Jackie Earle Haley as Rorschach is a masterpiece. It will be an utter shock to me if I ever hear that anyone who’s watched the movie isn’t convinced or blown away by Haley’s performance. Rorschach is a misfit, an outcast and a sociopath and Haley delivers Rorschach’s psychotic lines as if he believes every single word that he says.

While Haley is brilliant with the mask on, his performance is out of this world when the mask comes off. From the little changes of facial expression to his snarling voice when he threatens his fellow inmates, this is one character you never EVER want to get on the wrong side of.

While on the topic of psychopaths, I was a bit disappointed when I found out Bruce Campbell wasn’t chosen as the Comedian (even though he was never in the running! I’m just a big Bruce Campbell fan), Jeffrey Dean Morgan played the part with all guns a-blazing. Morgan is utterly believable as a grade A asshole who has no sympathy for his fellow man and takes great pleasure in causing as much wanton destruction as humanly possible. He shows a disdain for women and loves the fact that he can cause as much carnage as he wants…and no one can lift a finger to do anything about it because he’s being paid by the government to do so! It’s just a shame that the Comedian has limited screen time, just like in the graphic novel.

Patrick Wilson, when wearing those goofy plastic spectacles, is a dead ringer for Dan Dreiberg. He is every bit as insecure as the character he plays and always second guesses himself, not knowing whether what he’s doing is the right thing to do. All of Wilson’s best scenes are when he’s playing Dreiberg and out of the costume; when he’s playing the part of this bumbling fool who doesn’t know how to reveal his feelings for Laurie Juspeczyk.

Matthew Goode is sparkling as villain Ozymandias, who is cocky, self assured is completely convinced that everything he does, all his acts of evil, is for the good of mankind. There is an evilness lurking behind the façade of his good looks and you truly believe that the smartest man on the earth could kill you with little effort if he put his mind to it.

Not quite sure what to think of Malin Akerman, who does a great job of playing Silk Spectre II, but seems to be relegated to a minor role behind all the testosterone-laden male protagonists. While she does play a major role in the graphic novel, she seems to play a bit part in the movie, with her greatest contribution (other than the gratuitous sex scenes with Dan and Dr Manhattan) convincing Dr Manhattan to save the world…by simply crying. She fits her spandex/latex costume really well though; it must be hard to move around in that costume, let alone do all those fighting scenes in it!

My favourite characters in the movie are, in this order, Rorschach, Dan Dreiberg (not Nite Owl, but his alter ego) and the Comedian. Pretty much exactly like the graphic novel!

Those are the good bits out of the way, unfortunately, like I said at the start of this review, a long long time ago, the good bits aren’t enough to save the movie, just the last third of the movie made it such that this movie will NOT be the most acclaimed comic book movie of all time.

The worst part of the movie in my opinion is the different ending from the graphic novel. In Watchmen, Ozymandias engineers the death of millions of people to save billions from nuclear holocaust. While this is the same in the movie, there is one single, major difference.

In the comic book, Ozymandias gets a team of people to DNA-engineer a lifeform, designed to look like an alien, which is teleported to the heart of New York City. The alien self destructs and kills millions, with the psychic resonations killing millions more, forcing the Americans and Russians, already on the brink of engaging in nuclear war, to declare an alliance against the would-be alien invaders, resulting in world peace.

In the movie, Ozymandias and Dr Manhattan work on solving the world’s energy crisis where Dr Manhattan inadvertently creates energy “modules” that are based on his own powers and sends them to Ozymandias’ Antartica base, Karnak, so that Ozzy’s scientists can research and explore these modules in greater detail.

Ozymandias teleports these modules to major cities across the world like Los Angeles, London, Beijing and of course, New York City, and triggers a self-destruct mechanism which kills millions caught up in the blast. As these modules were based on Dr Manhattan’s powers, it is made to look that Dr Manhattan has declared war on the world.

If you take the movie ending and dissect it, it is a sound and plausible alternative from the graphic novel ending. After all, it achieves the same ends where something catastrophic happens that forces the Americans and Russians to call for a ceasefire resulting in world peace. I’m not convinced though.

To have pretty much the entire movie follow the events in the graphic novel and then change the ending completely is just…sacrilege. Perhaps I’m just an ornery comic book fan who wants stuff to be EXACTLY the way it is in the graphic novel.

I acknowledge that Alan Moore’s original idea of having that alien lifeform ending is a bit kitsch and would be really difficult to incorporate into the movie. After all, there was this whole backstory in the graphic novel of a whole team of people (psychics, artists, writers, etc) being relocated to a deserted island who had a hand in the creation of the alien lifeform. This involved writer Max Shea’s pirate comic “The Black Freighter” and there were many panels in the comic devoted to that…of course, that had to be abandoned from the movie, so it made more sense to have a completely different ending since one couldn’t explore that same backstory in the movie without adding minutes to the movie.

But I would still have loved to see it so that it remained true to the graphic novel. Why stay 90% true to the graphic novel but have 10% completely different? I wonder what Alan Moore would say when he finds out that his most seminal work has been altered. He already hates Hollywood but this would cause him to hate it even more I’m sure.

That last third of the movie was a real let down as well, after the first part was so true and faithful and built everything up. But like a house of cards, all it takes is for one badly placed card and everything falls apart.

The movie sort of went downhill after Rorschach was freed from Sing Sing. The next few scenes all went by very quickly and it seemed as if the movie was “forced” to end quickly. Laurie’s time with Dr Manhattan on Mars was fairly short, though I suppose I don’t think the audience could have sat around for TOO long while Dr Manhattan marvelled at Olympus Mons or Valles Marineris. Even the big reveal by Ozymandias seemed…campy.

The reveal of Ozymandias’ plot just went on too quickly…I only know what was going on because I had read the graphic novel! I can just imagine how head-spinning it would be for anyone who hadn’t read the source material, because it just went very quickly from Ozzy’s killing of the Comedian, to his plot to remove Dr Manhattan from the playing field, to the framing of Rorschach and to the attack on his persona which was faked to throw Rorschach off his real scheme.

There’s nothing really specific, other than the changed ending, that I would attest to the last third of the movie spoiling it for me. I just can’t put a finger on what went wrong…it’s just a combination of different things that happened that sort of soured the movie for me. I will fondly remember the movie for the first two-thirds, but not the last.

Though I’m sure a lot of people, especially those who had never read the source material, would disagree with me, I found there was too many unnecessary things that were “highlighted” in the movie. There was too much unnecessary violence, too much unnecessary nudity and the sex scenes went on too long!

I full expected to see nudity in the movie, especially full frontal nudity of Dr Manhattan since it was certainly brought to the forefront in the graphic novel. In fact, when we first see Dr Manhattan’s “member” in the movie, there was a loud gasp among viewers in the audience. For shock value, that was unbelievable. But then they showed it over and over and over again to the point where there was no real reason why they were exposing Dr Manhattan’s member, it just seemed extremely unnecessary and gratuitous.

Speaking of gratuitous, did we really need to see an extended sex scene between Dan and Laurie with “Hallelujah” playing in the background? Sure, Malin Akerman has a nice body and I suppose they wanted that whole sexual innuendo thing of Archie spewing out fire, but I personally feel like there was no necessity to drag it out that long.

These guys are superheroes, yes, but apart from Rorschach, who is a sociopath who breaks people’s fingers and throw them down elevator shafts, and the Comedian, who kills for fun, none of the other characters in the graphic novel I would classify as vigilantes who go around hurting people unnecessarily.

And yet we see Dr Manhattan disintegrate a whole bunch of crooks in a bar (we sort of see that same scene in the graphic novel, but nowhere close to being as violent or gruesome!) and their entrails hang off from off the ceiling. We also see Dr Manhattan obliterating the Viet Cong with “Ride of the Valkyries” playing in the background, but I guess that’s war…plus it added some campy humour to that scene!

In the very first scene we see Dan and Laurie take on a bunch of muggers, Dan breaks a mugger’s arm…with the bone piercing the skin and blood spurting forth. Laurie then kicks a mugger in the shin, breaking it too with his lower leg sticking out the wrong way! Really, is there any necessity to show this at all? Yes, some people find it cool, but what is the purpose of showing those ultra violent scenes? Dan and Laurie aren’t vigilantes! They aren’t sociopaths!

We also see Rorschach use a chopper to cleave a child murderer’s head in half…you could sense that the audience was cringing every time Rorschach pulled the chopper from out of the murderer’s head and “threw” it back in again. And the scene where Larry is blocking the entrance to Rorschach’s cell; Big Figure orders his other goon, Michael, to cut off Larry’s arms. Michael does so…and we literally see Larry’s arms being cut off with an electric saw. Campy and funny, yes, but once again, unnecessary violence we don’t really need to see.

The reveal of the Comedian as Laurie’s father was an almost non-entity as well! In the comic, the reveal is built up slowly and gradually with all the clues being there for us to put everything together on our own. When it came to the final reveal, readers were left to work it out themselves and they would know exactly that the Comedian sired Laurie even before it was actually put in print. But in the movie, this was relegated to perhaps two or three scenes where Laurie’s mother, the original Silk Spectre, was arguing with her husband, Laurence Schexnayder, about the Comedian.

The audience doesn’t get a chance to put the clues together as there is a mention of the Comedian raping Silk Spectre I and about them having sex just the one time…and then Dr Manhattan reveals that the Comedian is Laurie’s real father. But the reveal has no impact whatsoever…it’s as if they’ve just decided to lampoon the reveal of Darth Vader’s fatherhood of Luke Skywalker in the Empire Strikes Back!

Of course, in the graphic novel, this reveal has much more significance. We’re shown very early on that Laurie hates the Comedian for his attempted rape on her mother. There is mention of this on one occasion in the movie but it was never brought up again. While the graphic novel showed how much Laurie hated pretty much everything in the superhero community, movie Laurie didn’t have that anger or pathos. So when it’s revealed that the Comedian is Laurie’s father, it just feels flat. I’m sure there would be audience members going: “Really? Who cares? What’s this got to do with the movie?”

Hollis Mason doesn’t die in the movie…in fact, he’s not featured at all apart from the first act of the movie when he’s catching up with Dan for drinks. He dies in the graphic novel, adding that extra level of angst in Dan, going into the final few chapters. Once again, I understand that to cram all this extra detail in the movie would just make it drag on for an extra few hours, so it’s probably good that they didn’t add this in.

I really disliked the fact that the movie script made Janey Slater out to be a villain. She confronts Dr Manhattan at the TV studio in the movie, pulling off a wig to show that she has acquired cancer from him. No sign of her doing this in the graphic novel though. It is also revealed in the movie that it was Janey Slater who hired Victor Chess, the man who made the attempt on the life of Adrian Veidt. Even though Adrian was the ultimate orchestrator, it painted Janey in the light of a villain, when she is anything but. Yes, Janey Slater was bitter in the graphic novel, but not to the point where she wanted to take revenge on Dr Manhattan, as portrayed in the movie.

There are some issues in the graphic novel that either don’t feature in the movie or just can’t be replicated on the big screen…remember Alan Moore saying that the comic was inherently “unfilmable”? There were some scenes of the “Fearful Symmetry” chapter where we see the neon lights of a seedy motel reflected in a puddle, but that’s about all we got in the movie, referencing the aforementioned famous chapter in Watchmen.

There are political nuances in the graphic novel as well as the examination of the super hero genre that wasn’t featured in the movie. The examination/commentary about homosexuality doesn’t make it to the movie either. What was most disappointing though, is there was scant reference to Dan Dreiberg’s impotence and Laurie Juspeczyk’s fetishes and trying to live up to her mother’s expectations.

Ozymandias’ costume is terrible. It looks as if it were taken out of one of Joel Schumacher’s Batman movies! His genetically altered sabertooth tiger, Bubastis, makes a brief appearance in the movie as well, though probably just to appease fans, but it had absolutely no bearing or consequence in the movie at all…they might as well have done without Bubastis!

No Max Shea’s “The Black Freighter” and we because there was only a cameo for the newsvendor, we don’t get to see the funny exchange between him and Rorschach’s doomsayer-with-a-the-world-is-ending picket sign; in the comics, Rorschach tells the newsvendor that the world would definitely be ending that day but also asks the newsvendor to make sure he keeps his regular copy of The New Frontiersman tomorrow.

Speaking of the doomsayer picket sign character, we see him in certain sequences during the movie, but it’s just not obvious that it’s Rorschach at all. Plus, we never really get to see a proper close-up of doomsayer-guy’s face, so when Rorschach’s mask is pulled off in the movie, if you haven’t read the graphic novel, it’s unlikely you’d recognise who that was. We see doomsayer guy’s face often in the graphic novel so when the mask finally comes off Rorschach’s face, we instantly go: “I can’t believe Rorschach is that hobo going around proclaiming that Armageddon is at hand!”

Just a nitpick: when Ozymandias, the Comedian, Dr Manhattan, Nite Owl and Rorschach come together to form their supergroup in the movie (no Captain Metropolis either!), they actually call their group “Watchmen”. The group was never formed in the graphic novel and even when they were discussing the formation of the group, Captain Metropolis suggested that they be called “Crimebusters”.

I guess the movie script went with the group being called “Watchmen” so as to add some continuity in why the movie was called “Watchmen”.

Of course, that isn’t the reason why Alan Moore named the series “Watchmen”.

But I’ll stop here as this has been one unbelievably lengthy review of the movie compared to the source material. It has taken me over three hours to craft this review and if you’ve read the entire review and got to the end, I congratulate you.

I do like the Watchmen movie. I think it has gravitas; it’s not as good as it could have been, but it is faithful to the graphic novel, up to a certain point at least.

I just can’t take away the glaring differences between the graphic novel and the movie’s ending and the omission of some of the material from the graphic novel and plot points that added to the overall story. The movie is good, but it’s not great.

Watchmen is truly the most acclaimed graphic novel in the history of comics and still remains one of my favourite comics of all time. The number of times I’ve read the series from cover to cover! The movie though? Not quite the most acclaimed comic book movie of all time.

However, it did take a few readings of the graphic novel to get most of the nuances and appreciate what a masterpiece it was. Perhaps it’s the same with the movie where you need repeated viewings? Only time will tell on that one.

Watchmen: The greatest graphic novel of all time!

I re-read the Absolute Watchmen HC graphic novel on Wednesday evening in two sittings; wanted to make sure I remembered even the most minute detail before actually catching the Watchmen movie on the big screen, which was released in cinemas Australia-wide on Thursday.


There's a reason why Watchmen has been called, and is by and large recognised as the greatest and most acclaimed graphic novel in the history of comics: it is just absolutely brilliant. It was a tale certainly way ahead of its time...every single time I read it, I keep discovering something new!


To be honest, the first time I read Watchmen, probably some time in the early 00s, I wasn't that impressed. Sure, it was a good read and it had some fascinating characters and character interactions and a wonderful twist ending (which was already spoiled for me since I'm an avid reader of Wizard magazine and they've referenced Watchmen so many times in the past), but I didn't think it was THAT special.


It took a second read for me to grasp how special and truly brilliant it was. And then a third read. And a fourth...this graphic novel wasn't just exceptional, it wasn't just brilliant; it was simple out of this world and nothing could come close to a story of this magnitude, nothing was even COMPARABLE to this!

All the little nuances and the stuff that Alan Moore crammed into the story...it all somehow added extra layers to the overall story but at the same time contributed to the overall story. You could read each individual chapter and it would mean something. You could take different parts of the story like Max Shea's pirate tale and read it on its own as well and still get something out of it.

And Dave Gibbons' wonderful art. Each panel, so meticulously and beautifully constructed. And all those little hidden Easter eggs in the background, just teasing readers to see if they can catch everything that's happening in the scene, things that would add up to a larger Easter egg that's part of the overall story!

Most stories are straightforward and you get everything in the one read. Not Watchmen. Watchmen was special; it takes multiple reads to grasp and understand the majority of the concepts that Moore has included in this 12 issue maxi-series. The political commentary, the black humour, the sexual innuendos, the environmental commentary; it was all there in those pages, one just needed to see if one could, to coin a Pokemon phrase, "catch 'em all"!

Alas, many have also called Watchmen as the comic that is inherently unfilmable. I certainly can understand that; how can one possibly reproduce a chapter like "Fearful Symmetry" on the big screen? How do you do that without losing the story's essence? A chapter like "Fearful Symmetry" just can't be reproduced on the big screen! Other scenes transferred from the comic medium to the big screen would also lose its meaning...so what would the movie look like then?

From the few trailers I've watched on TV so far, the Watchmen movie looks like it's "glamourising" the action parts of the graphic novel. The characters are larger than life and they all look fantastic on the big screen; I couldn't imagine how stupid the Minutemen would look on screen with their campy costumes, but they don't look half bad at all from the movie stills!

I definitely cannot wait to watch the movie. Expectations are unbelievably high, as one might expect, which could lead to a lot of disappointment if Zack Snyder hasn't done the right thing by the graphic novel. But hey, then again, I guess he could be forgiven; fans expectations are unreasonably high for the movie adaption of the greatest and most acclaimed graphic novel of all-time, the one that they've all said is unfilmable.

Alan Moore gets animated

Damn you Alan Moore, when the hell is The Black Dossier going to be published already!? It's over a year late, dammit!

Wizard Universe conducted an interview with Moore about his animated stint on The Simpsons as well as some tidbit info on his new League of Extraordinary Gentlemen book:


ALAN MOORE GETS ANIMATED
The acclaimed writer discusses his upcoming turn on ‘The Simpsons’ and teases a bit about The Black Dossier

By Kiel Phegley

Posted November 16, 2007 1:00 PM

After creating a body of work that’s illuminated comics fans on topics from the darker side of Victorian literature to how to be a practicing magician, Alan Moore has discovered a new path to happiness he’s more than willing to share with his fans.

“It is quite nice to see yourself with three fingers and yellow,” laughs the legendary writer. “It’s probably something that everybody should try to do once in their life.”

Moore is, of course, talking about his impending guest spot on Fox’s long-running animated series “The Simpsons,” which airs at 8 p.m. Sunday. In the episode “Husbands & Knives” the writer of comics classics from Watchmen to Lost Girls plays himself arriving in Springfield in the company of fellow renowned comics creators Art Spiegelman and Daniel Clowes when a new, high-end comics shop (run by a character voiced by actor Jack Black) springs up to compete with longstanding shop The Android’s Dungeon.

“I met Art Spiegelman once, but that’s it,” notes Moore of his onscreen chum. “I’ve not actually met Dan Clowes. I guess that, for what it’s worth, that would be some sort of virtual meeting.”

Moore did have an actual meeting with producers from the show when it came time to record the episode’s dialogue in his hometown of Northampton, England. “We’ve got a local recording studio here which I used for two or three of the CDs that I recorded my performances on a few years ago. It’s a little tiny studio that’s been useful for shooting little television interviews and things like that. So I think that I suggested it to the ‘Simpsons’ people when they got in touch with me. We went down there with Tim Long, who’s one of the writers, a very, very nice engaging chap. I’d been sent the script sometime before that and so we just went down to the recording studio and I ran through my lines, and they seemed to be quite pleased with the performance.”

And although the writer has yet to see the final product, he did give approval for his animated counterpart’s look. “I saw the character sketches that they had done of me,” he says with a chuckle. “I think that they showed me my printout on the Net. Yeah, I looked very good. They probably caught my essence, and I shall probably have to get one of those coats that they’ve dressed me in—otherwise my audience will be disappointed when they see me on the streets.”

It’s a busy week for Moore, at least in terms of releases bearing his name and/or likeness: Wednesday finally saw the release of League of Extraordinary Gentlemen: The Black Dossier—the long-delayed new entry in he and Kevin O’Neill’s series of “Victorian Literature Adventure Comics” although as with anything the writer works on, there’s much more to the book than the base description.

“With The Black Dossier, which is a very bittersweet book for both me and Kevin, in some ways it’s one of the best things we’ve ever done,” explains Moore. “It’s a completely new form. It manages to take the elements that have always been there—the text features and the comic strip sequences—and it adds a few more things to the mix, then puts them together in what I believe is a fairly unique way.”

Despite the complications leading to its release, both Moore and O’Neill are excited at the prospect of the book reaching audiences, particularly so they can show it off. “I suspect that it does make a lot of the other product being put out look a little bit lazy and perhaps a little tiny bit illiterate. But you have to judge for yourself. I might be blowing my own trumpet too much.”

As for his own future and the future of the League, both will be moving to indie publisher Top Shelf in 2008, a move which Moore believes synchs up well with modern trends of publishing comics for a broader audience. “A lot of the big-time, serious, legitimate book publishers are getting in on the act and bringing out a huge number of really entertaining books,” he says. “Increasingly, there’s interesting books in the graphic novel section of the chain bookstores over here along with all the superhero collections. I hope that this signals a general absorption of comic book material into mainstream culture, which would take it away from these little enclaves that have controlled the destiny of comics for the past…goodness, man, can it really be 70 years?

“It would be nice to think that the basic structure of the industry is changing, that the traditional comics industry is perhaps withering and dying. I, for one, am quite interested in seeing what springs up to take its place.”

---

For more on The Black Dossier, check out Wizard #195, on sale in comic shops Nov. 21.

"Heroes" Worship: Nov.12, 2007

I read one of Wizard Universe's columns and they've highlighted Alan Moore's The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen: The Black Dossier as a "best bet" for value. Does this mean that this super super SUPER late title is finally shipping in the next couple of weeks or so? I haven't seen it in any of the shipping lists yet!

Anyway, it's time for another Heroes recap...ALREADY!?


‘HEROES’ WORSHIP: NOV. 12, 2007
Get caught up on last night’s episode of ‘Heroes’ with our in-depth recap!

By Wade Gum

Posted November 13, 2007 10:15 AM

In case you you just stepped off the space shuttle and missed last year’s television season, “Heroes” is NBC’s newest hit show masterminded by Tim Kring. The series follows ordinary people with extraordinary abilities and their attempts to sort out their lives and save the world.

Last season’s chief protagonist was Peter Petrelli, a male nurse who has the ability to absorb and retain the power of any other superpowered being he comes into contact with. He was relentlessly pursued by Sylar, a murderous villain who can also take powers, but only by killing other people who possess them. Throughout the season, Peter and his allies worked to prevent an apocalyptic vision in which New York was destroyed from coming true.

Hero Roll Call

Claire Bennet—The biological daughter of Nathan Petrelli. A cheerleader with regenerative powers.

Noah Bennet—Adoptive father of Claire. Possesses no superpowers and once worked for the villainous Primatech Paper Co.

Monica Dawson—The cousin of Micah Sanders. Possesses the ability to mimic any physical ability she sees demonstrated.

Alejandro and Maya Herrera—A brother and sister from Central America. Maya has a deadly power and is afflicted with a disease that kills superpowered individuals. Alejandro seems to have the ability to counteract his sister’s power.

Takezo Kensei—The legendary Japanese hero, who actually turns out to be a scumbag with the power of regeneration.

Hiro Nakamura—Son of Kaito Nakamura. Has the ability to manipulate time.

Matt Parkman—NYPD officer with the ability to hear people’s thoughts.

Nathan Petrelli—Brother of Peter Petrelli. Former politician. Has the power of flight.

Peter Petrelli—Brother of Nathan Petrelli. Has the ability to absorb and retain powers.

Micah Sanders—Son of D.L. and Niki. He has the ability to “talk” to technological devices.

Niki Sanders—Wife of D.L. and mother of Micah, with an alternate personality that possesses super-strength.

Mohinder Suresh—A genetics professor in search of superpowered individuals.

Sylar—The show’s central villain. His power is the ability to determine how things work. With this ability, he kills superpowered individuals and is able to steal their abilities.

Molly Walker—A young girl with the ability to concentrate and locate anyone in the world. Adopted by Matt Parkman.

West—A teenage boy who attends the same school as Claire. Has the power of flight and was tagged by Noah when he still worked for Primatech.

Previously on ‘Heroes’

We learned who our new villain is when the identity of the mysterious Adam was revealed. Hiro left the past after getting into a big fight with Kensei. The fight ended with an entire camp full of gunpowder exploding and Kensei presumed dead. Either Kensei’s healing factor is insanely good and prevents aging or he’s a time traveler, because he showed up in present day claiming to be Adam, the man responsible for murdering all the elder superheroes recently.

Peter is the one who learned about Adam, after returning from the post-apocalyptic future. He unwittingly used Hiro’s time-traveling ability and got both himself and Caitlin stuck in a future world where the Shanti virus has decimated the world’s population. Once there, Peter ran into his mother, Angela, who jogged some of his memories about childhood and made him remember a bit about who he is. Peter accidentally sent himself back into the past, stranding Caitlin in the future.

Matt Parkman confronted his daddy issues when his father, Maury, tried to kill Bob at Primatech. Matt used his abilities to rescue Molly Walker from her nightmare prison and trapped his father in one instead. Niki, influenced by Maury, ended up injecting herself with the Shanti virus in a moment of clarity. No big deal, right? She’ll just inject herself with Mohinder’s inhibitors and be cured again. Nope! The virus has mutated and now Mohinder’s inhibitors have no effect.

The tortured romance between Claire and West hit a speed bump when West discovered that Claire’s father, Noah, is the man responsible for tagging him back in the day. West flew off in a huff and Noah threatened to move the entire family out of California once he discovered Claire’s recent dating exploits. There may not be any time for that though, since Mohinder is on his way to track down Claire. According to Bob, her regenerative powers may hold the key for stopping the Shanti virus.

The Recap—‘Four Months Ago’

Tired of “Heroes” constantly jumping around in time with its narrative? Wish the plot would move forward instead of backward? Too bad! It’s time to jump back four months and explore the immediate aftereffects of Peter’s explosion. After returning to the present without Caitlin, Peter runs into Adam/Kensei. According to Adam, the Haitian is responsible for Peter’s amnesia. He tells Peter to absorb his healing power and use it to repair his mind. Of course, that triggers a series of convenient flashbacks to four months ago.

After Nathan sped off into the sky with Peter, Nathan’s face got horribly burned by the power he was giving off. Peter persuaded Nathan to let him go, causing Peter to expend his explosive power above New York. Afterward, Peter was okay and used his flying ability to catch Nathan and speed him off to safety. Peter carries Nathan into the emergency room and then tries to make his getaway. Unfortunately, he gets captured once Elle and Bob appear out of nowhere and zap him.

Peter wakes up in Bob’s office and gets a stern talking-to. Bob considers him a threat until Peter can learn to control his powers. Until he can do so, the Haitian will continue blocking Peter’s abilities. He’s put on a strict diet of pills to control his abilities. While in the program, he meets his next-door cellmate: Adam.

Peter forges a friendship with dear Adam and hatches a plan. With Adam’s healing powers, Peter hopes to heal Nathan of his injuries. Peter stops taking the Haitian medicine and uses the phasing powers he took from D.L. in order to break Adam out. They go to the hospital and use Adam’s blood to heal Nathan, but Elle and the Haitian are onto them. Elle subdues Adam with her electric powers, but the Haitian continues his ambiguous game by erasing Peter’s memory and locking him inside a shipping container.

In the storied life of Micah and Niki, D.L. barely survived his encounter with Linderman but doctors say he’ll live. Micah and Niki have a little family moment with D.L. and celebrate his recovery. Since Niki doesn’t have medical insurance, Bob picks up the tab on his bill. Bob is really dead-set on this curing of dangerous powers and wants to help Niki with her Jessica problem.

Niki agrees to take the medication that Peter was on but eventually stops doing it. As a result, she goes a bit crazy and develops yet another personality. She leaves Micah and D.L. behind to go shack up with another crazy drug addict, who ends up shooting D.L. once he arrives and killing him. Well, that settles that, eh?

Four months ago, Alejandro married a beautiful woman after knowing her for only four months. Maya was wary of the wedding from the start. During the reception, Maya witnessed her brother’s new wife getting busy with her ex-boyfriend, causing her to manifest her deadly powers and kill everyone at the wedding party. Alejandro wants Maya to surrender to the cops, but ends up discovering that his power can counteract hers and goes on the run with dear old sis.

‘Heroes’ Highlights

BIGGEST LIE: ‘I AIN’T GOIN’ NOWHERE’
Note to the viewer: On “Heroes,” if someone says something that seems totally innocuous and sweet, it means the ending is going to prove that phrase untrue with horrific irony. Case in point, D.L.’s seeming survival from the Linderman-induced gunshot wound and subsequent proclamation of domestic joy. The second the phrase left his lips, we knew it wasn’t going to end well, and thanks to Niki’s new “Gina” personality, that’s just what happened. On the positive side, if we lived in the world of “Heroes” we’d walk around all day going, “I ain’t gonna find a million dollars. I ain’t gonna find a million dollars.”—Staff Writer Kiel Phegley

DECISION OF THE WEEK: THROW MOMMA FROM THE TRAIN
While “Heroes” generally does a nice job of pulling our sympathies one way or the other on certain characters, the revelation that Angela Petrelli willingly broke up her son’s marriage to hide the secrets of her own past settled our minds on mommy dearest. That woman has to die! Okay, maybe that’s a bit much, but her chances of being redeemed by volume’s end are as small as our chances of figuring out the exact dictates of her particular power before we’re told.—Staff Writer Kiel Phegley

POWER BOOST OF THE WEEK
So…Peter explodes but his clothes stay intact? He must’ve absorbed Tommy Hilfiger’s super-tailor powers. —Executive Editor Brian Cunningham

CHARACTER OF THE WEEK: ELLE
She can seduce you, electrocute you sadistically AND give you a mean haircut! She may be black as sin…but it’s tough not falling for this bad girl. Just don’t get too close—she’ll surge a thousand volts through your tongue! —Executive Editor Brian Cunningham

ODD CAREER CHOICE OF THE WEEK: A HARD SELL
D.L. becoming a firefighter makes sense, since it’s a noble profession and his phasing abilities would come in handy. But what’s up with Niki selling cars? Nothing wrong with putting folks in a shiny new vehicle (“Could I interest you in a Nissan Versa?”), but which personality would do the selling: Niki or Jessica? A bit of heated bargaining over free floor mats could send you through the showroom window.—Wizard Universe editor Eric Moya

SUSPENSION OF DISBELIEF PARTS I AND II
When Alejandro’s bride sneaks into the closet to fool around with her ex-boyfriend, that’s just human nature, but admittedly, that’s a pretty messed up thing to do. But seriously, there was a deadbolt on that door. I’d think if you were going to cheat on your new husband the night of your wedding you would LOCK THE DOOR! The other part where I scratched my head? I was wondering how D.L. could become a firefighter after only a month or so. Even volunteer firefighters have to go through some training, right?—Editorial Director Mel Caylo

CLIFFHANGER RATING: 0
Okay, so this week’s rating isn’t exactly fair as an all-flashback episode almost certainly precludes any kind of dangling plot threads, but the revelations that Bob is behind Elle, that Niki has a third personality and that Mrs. Petrelli is the one who broke up Nathan’s marriage pretty much make up for it. Fingers crossed for next week.—Staff Writer Kiel Phegley

SPOILER WARNING!

Next Time on ‘Heroes’

Noah gets his family packed up and ready to leave the wild wild West Coast, but Claire is a petulant teenager and doesn’t want to leave her creepy stalker boyfriend behind. Hiro takes another jaunt into the past and teams up with Dan from “Journeyman” to save the world! Actually, he just makes a stunning personal discovery. Mohinder encounters Elle and lives to tell about it, and the Maya/Alejandro/Sylar “Three’s Company” story barrels onward.

Alas, poor Yorick, the last man on earth.

Second day in a row and almost no updates that interest me from Wizard again! What gives man? I guess they give equal coverage to DC and Marvel...and I really don't give two damns about DC's shit most of the time. And some Marvel stuff just doesn't really pique my interest all that much.

So I finished reading Dr Strange: The Oath yesterday and boy was it good! It just cements Brian K. Vaughan's reputation as a stellar writer (with brilliant comedic timing and humour!) and while he's already one of my favourite writers, he's quickly moving up a notch or two. I think at last count, he was my 3rd or 4th favourite writer...he's easily just behind Brian Bendis and Alan Moore now, with Ed Brubaker moving to 4th and Mark Millar just a tad out of touch at 5th.

Was desperate to read another TPB yesterday but I couldn't decide what I wanted to read: Astro City? XXXenophile? Captain America Omnibus? I didn't want something too heavy or something too light. And though I know I'm probably going to regret doing this (because I've only at the moment got Vols.1-3 and 8-9), I started Y - The Last Man...by a certain Mr Vaughan. Might have something to do with the fact that I wanted to read something written by him after reading the goodness that was Dr Strange: The Oath.

Now I've read all the TPBs of Y - The Last Man published so far...heck, I own ALL of them, though most of the TPBs are back in Singapore. Trying to rebuild my collection here a la the Preacher series, since it's just so good. The premise is simple: something happens that causes every human, foetus and mammal with a Y chromosome (that's the one that's in the MALE gender for those of you who never studied genetics) in the world to just die at the same moment. The gendercide is complete worldwide...all except for one man and his pet monkey.

Cmon...if that premise doesn't get you hooked, what will? It's the last man on earth! With his monkey! As the last man and the only one with a working...er...set of tools, doesn't that automatically make his wang hot property? Shouldn't he be some sort of Wilt Chamberlain/Hugh Hefner hybrid when it comes to number of women bedded?

On the contrary. Life isn't that rosy for the last man on earth. It's a brilliant examination of the human psyche, and everyone knows I love reading about stuff where a human (or bunch of) get thrusted into extreme situations and we get to see how they react. Yorick, our hero, doesn't quite become the love machine that one automatically assumes he would be. There are a whole bunch of femi-nazis gunning for him. Heck, seems like a LOT of people are after him, either to kill him or to sell him off in the sex trade, or to try and protect him so he could one day jumpstart humanity again.

It's a fascinating read and it's a shame the series ends with #60, which I believe is out in stores this month. I'd love to read this series back to back just like I did Preacher, though it'd take me a couple of days...at least a week, what with my working schedule. But having read the first three issues in the first TPB yesterday and this morning, I've already discovered a whole lot of other things that I didn't know about previously. It's one of my recommended reads...try it!

On another note, it's also a title published by Vertigo, the mature-readers-centric line of titles published by DC comics. Some of my FAVOURITE titles and series have been published by Vertigo. While I generally shun the DC stuff (because I just don't relate and care for the superheroes in the DC-verse...I'm a Marvel man after all!), Vertigo stuff is just so awesome.

I've got Preacher, Y - The Last Man, Ex Machina, Fables, Jack of Fables, 100 Bullets (though I've never had the time to read them...have the TPBs at home)...and then there are titles like Bite Club that they publish that I have. I'm also interested in Loveless and American Virgin and a whole lot of other titles published. Not to mention that Neil Gaiman's famous Sandman series was a Vertigo series and a lot of the popular mainstream writers all got their start on that imprint, like Grant Morrison, Mark Millar, Brian Azzarello, Ed Brubaker, Warren Ellis...and Alan Moore too!

Vertigo: A font of creative goodness.

Tom Strong is a knockout!

I've recently been reading Tom Strong TPBs which Dean loaned to me when he was at my housewarming. It's a really REALLY good read...hell, most of what Alan Moore writes is fantastic! But he seems to have a certain flair when it comes to superhero-type comics, infusing them with his own flavour and humour. He goes absolutely crazy when it comes to his own creator-owned work...check out and Top Ten and League of Extraordinary Gentlemen to see how fantastic of a scribe he is in his recent comic work.

After reading Tom Strong, it kind of makes me wonder how good his other stuff for the America's Best Comics line (and offshoot of Wildstorm) are. League of Extraordinary Gentlemen was the first series from that line and Tom Strong soon followed, along with Top Ten. Promethea is another highly acclaimed title and I wouldn't mind checking that out. Tomorrow Stories is another series from the ABC line and I'm betting that will be another super read.

Perhaps with more disposable income, I should collect all the comics that were published in the ABC line...TPBs of course since the single issues would be simply unaffordable!

Shedding light on "The Dark Knight"

Even though I'm not really a DC buff, preferring the Marvel universe by leaps and bounds, I still do enjoy all things comicky, even if it means dipping my feet into the waters of the DC Universe.

Don't get me wrong though, it's not like I completely abhor DC characters and the world they live in. I just PREFER Marvel in general. Heck, some of my favourite stories of all time (and comics I might add) are from DC! Preacher, Watchmen, Alan Moore's ABC line of books...though technically Preacher was a Vertigo title (a mature readers line of DC books), the ABC line was an off-shoot of Wildstorm, which had been bought over by DC, and Watchmen, while published by DC, didn't contain any of the notable characters from the regular DC universe.

But I DO have some favourite stuff published in the mainstream DC universe though. Titles like Alex Ross' Kingdom Come, Brad Meltzer's Identity Crisis, all the big books drawn by Alex Ross like Superman: Peace on Earth et al, Jeph Loeb and Tim Sale's Batman: The Long Halloween, Frank Miller's Batman: Year One...just to name a few. So once again, it's not like I eschew DC Comics altogether...I'm just more of a Marvel guy.

Anyway, the one thing that I'm ALWAYS excited about, regardless of which company or organisation is movies that are based on comic book properties! I just love comic book movies whether they're superb (X-Men 2, Hellboy, Batman Begins), mediocre (Daredevil, Punisher, Superman Returns) or just plain bad (Batman and Robin). And there are a whole bunch of comic book movies coming out in the next year...they did a great job on Batman Begins, so I'm anxiously waiting for The Dark Knight!

SHEDDING LIGHT ON ‘THE DARK KNIGHT’
Get the first word on Heath Ledger as the Joker, the return of Two-Face and the early footage broken down frame-by-frame

By Rickey Purdin

Posted October 1, 2007 9:50 AM

“If it was up to me, you wouldn’t see anything until the movie came out,” said “Dark Knight” director Christopher Nolan without any hint of apology. As he introduced a super-secret clip of the film to 1,200 screaming fans at Wizard World Chicago during an exclusive “Dark Knight” panel, Nolan made sure the audience knew just how special the viewing was. Considering Nolan went to great lengths to keep the film protected from prying, spoiler-hungry eyes (the production was once codenamed “Rory’s First Kiss” to lessen attention), it was clear Nolan wasn’t comfortable exhibiting an unfinished product.

“Please be kind,” added the anxious director as security guards crept into the aisles with infrared night-vision gear to catch attendees attempting to record the footage. “This is a rough, rough cut.”

What followed, despite only shooting for nearly four months in Chicago, was about two minutes of pure Bat-fan-gasm, filled with plenty of Heath Ledger’s Joker, tons of action and the world’s first glimpse at the film’s other villain—Aaron Eckhart as Two-Face.

The director has every right to be secretive. The sequel to 2005’s “Batman Begins” doesn’t open until July 18, 2008, after all. Plus, if it weren’t for Nolan’s fresh, practical, cinematic approach to the Bat-mythos, the world’s last memories of a big-screen Bruce Wayne would’ve been lost in a sea of Bat-nipples thanks to a sputtered-out ’90s franchise. He’s earned the right to dictate what people see and when.

But it’s time to lift that leathery cowl and explore the elements of “The Dark Knight” that will make it DC Comics’ biggest blockbuster yet.

JOKER’S WILD
Moments before “Batman Begins” ended, Jim Gordon (played by Gary Oldman) approached Christian Bale’s Batman about a new thug in town, and in every theater across the land, the flashing of the joker playing card sent movie-goers into unbridled fits of hoots and hollers.

“We found a way of looking at the character and saw what role he could play in the film,” explained Nolan. “The joker card at the end of the first film created the right kind of feeling. That was the hook that got us thinking about the next one.”

Nolan’s writing partner (and younger brother) Jonah pointed the director toward the Joker’s first two comic book stories, both of which took place in 1940’s Batman #1. “We’ve come around to something that’s eerily close to those first two appearances,” revealed the director.

In the issue, the Joker appears as a grinning mastermind who predicts his murderous crimes over the radio before meticulously carrying them out. Each cold-blooded, calculated killing ultimately ends with the victim’s face frozen into a solid, monstrous grin. If the film version follows closely, as the writers have said it will, expect plenty of chilling death scenes.

“Once we established ‘Batman Begins,’ it was one take on Batman,” explained screenwriter David S. Goyer. “We had to decide, ‘How does the Joker fit in this world?’”

Part of that problem was solved when actor Heath Ledger (“Brokeback Mountain”) joined the cast in July 2006. One of the premier actors of his generation, Ledger dove into the role with an understanding of what he didn’t want to convey in the film.

“I’m not going for the same thing [Jack Nicholson] went for,” Ledger said in interviews. “That would be stupid. Tim Burton did a more fantastical kind of thing and Chris Nolan is doing nitty-gritty handheld realism. I love what [Nicholson] did, and that is part of why I want to do that role. But it would obviously be murder if I tried to imitate what he did.”

“What Heath is doing,” Oldman triumphantly stated in Chicago, searching for the right words to finish his thought, “…he’s going to knock everyone out of the park.”

Oldman’s words came true moments later during the screened footage. Flashing between scenes of the Joker robbing a bank and taking a Batman-administered body-slam in a police station, the teaser hit its Joker crescendo when a tired, emotionless Joker steadily opened machine gun fire on Gotham. Empty, deranged and angry, this was the Joker the audience was waiting for, and their wall-shaking screams confirmed it.

But it was the unexpected cameo of another villain that brought down the house.

TWO-FACE RETURNS
In “Batman Begins,” mob kingpin Carmine Falcone rules Gotham’s underground. When good guy District Attorney Carl Banks sticks his nose in Falcone’s business, he finds himself on the receiving end of a gangland shooting. Fast-forward shortly afterwards and Harvey Dent arrives on the scene.

“Dark Knight” promotional art features Dent running for DA, and like his comic counterpart, he wins the election. Vowing to clean up the city’s rampant crime rate, Dent takes a no-nonsense, Eliot Ness stance and mows down the street scum at the court level behind Lt. Gordon’s growing arrest record. Of course, that justice crusade comes with a price.

While the exact details leading up to Dent’s disfigurement haven’t been made public, comic fans can tell you Dent suffered acid burns over half his face during a court case. The attack sent Dent into a psychotic fit, resulting in the birth of the unhinged Two-Face. As soon as Eckhart was announced as Dent in February 2007, fans wondered if the actor might pull double duty as Two-Face, too. The footage in Chicago, along with comments made by Eckhart in interviews, put those questions to bed.

In the final moments of the clip, as explosions and sightings of the Joker resonated in the brains of the audience, a half-dollar spins wildly onto a barroom table. Two-Face plops down in a bar stool on screen with his back to the camera.

A bartender timidly pours a shot while staring up at Two-Face, crimson-maroon scar tissue running down the left side of the villain’s neck below slightly discolored hair. “Dent?” the jarred man screams in disbelief. “I thought you were dead!”

Then Two-Face speaks for the first time, saying only one word with a gravel-filled but glib voice: “Half.”

“Batman is a complex character, and Two-Face comes a little bit from the same world,” Eckhart explained in interviews. “I’m looking for the tension between the two, the similarities between the two. I want to find what’s similar to Batman and then find what’s opposite to him.”

BAT-PLOT
The title “The Dark Knight” provides a bigger clue to the movie’s plot than you might think. Just like “Batman Begins” explored the beginnings of Batman, “Dark Knight” looks to explore the Caped Crusader’s full-on immersion into protecting Gotham from its own shadows.

“‘Batman Begins’ was an origin story, and the important thing was to move the story forward,” described Nolan of the first film’s themes. “In [‘Dark Knight’], the detective [elements] will help move the story along.”

Reports indicate “Dark Knight” takes place shortly after the end of “Batman Begins” with Gordon still trying to clean up the Gotham streets after his promotion to lieutenant, Bruce Wayne rebuilding his family home with trusty butler Alfred Pennyworth (Michael Caine) and Batman refining his crimefighting methods when new baddies hit town.

After Bats took down Falcone in the last film, a criminal power vacuum sucks countless thugs and gangsters into Gotham with plans to control the city. This, of course, summons plenty of the eccentric villains Gotham is known for, and as more and more fill the streets, Batman, Gordon and Dent scramble to keep the peace. The influx of new bad guys also pushes Bats to develop new gadgets, including a streamlined bodysuit complete with projectile glove blades and a “Batpod” motorbike packing grappling hooks, cannons and machine guns.

Meanwhile, according to the teaser trailers, the lower criminals start to side with a single leader in desperation as the mobsters begin picking each other off. In the clip, Bruce Wayne and Alfred discuss the crime wave before Alfred lays the situation out on the line.

“You hammered them, and in their desperation, they turned to a man they didn’t fully understand,” he says, referring to the Joker. “Some men aren’t looking for anything logical. They can’t be bought, bullied, reasoned or negotiated with. Some men just want to watch the world burn.”

The Chicago footage echoed that sentiment as scenes of Gotham cars and buildings literally on fire littered the clip, proving the power struggle mutates into a gang war at one point. As for Joker plot specifics, Ledger points to one comic in particular.

“The Killing Joke was the one that was handed to me,” admitted the actor in interviews. “I guess that book explains a little bit of where [the Joker’s] from, but not too much.”

The Killing Joke, written by Alan Moore with art by Brian Bolland, explores the origins of the man who would become the Joker—a loser comedian caught up in a crime and then accidentally disfigured after his wife and baby die in an unconnected mishap. And even if the details are different, a similar, sympathetic glimpse into the slow, tortured birth of the Joker may be present in “Dark Knight.”

LAW AND LOVE
Aside from the fact that “Dark Knight” marks the first time a Batman film hasn’t featured the hero’s name in the title, it’s also the first film to feature a returning love interest for the character—kinda.

In “Batman Begins,” Katie Holmes played Bruce Wayne’s childhood friend Rachel Dawes, who becomes Gotham’s assistant DA. Later in the film, Dawes and Wayne begin sharing a slim romantic link after she discovers he’s Batman.

In January 2007, reports of Holmes leaving the cast surfaced. Her reps revealed the actress had joined the cast of “Mad Money,” a buddy film with Queen Latifah and Diane Keaton with a conflicting shooting schedule that would keep her from appearing in both films. In March 2007, Maggie Gyllenhaal (“Stranger Than Fiction”) was announced as her replacement.

“I’m not thinking of it as a role that anyone’s played before,” related Gyllenhaal to sources. “I’m not walking into Katie Holmes’ performance. I’m thinking of it as an opportunity to play somebody who’s alive and smart. Chris asked me to do this because he wanted me, not because he wants some generic lady in a dress.

“Doing Batman has shocked me at every turn,” noted the actress. “When I started, I thought, ‘Well, it’s a huge movie, I’ll just do my best to put what I can into it.’ But, in fact, they’ve been really hungry for my ideas.”

In “Dark Knight,” expect Dawes and Dent to spend some quality time together as Dent takes over the DA’s office. A love triangle has even been hinted at involving Wayne, and the Chicago clip teased a freaky scene with the Joker holding a knife to Dawes’ shivering neck as he slowly spins her around a room.

But these aren’t the only new players in Gotham.

BAT-CAMEOS
Everyone knows about the major villains plowing through “Dark Knight,” but what about the surprising stars flying under the radar?

For starters, Eric Roberts, the Oscar-nominated actor who appeared in five episodes of NBC’s “Heroes” last season, plays Salvatore Maroni, a rising mob boss. In the comics, Maroni is responsible for scarring Harvey Dent’s face with acid, creating Dent’s Two-Face persona.

“Spawn” star Michael Jai White beat out hulking rapper David Banner among others for the role of Gamble, a new mobster who bumps heads with Maroni and other mob elements.

But not just ordinary underworld figures are set to appear. Early spy reports from the “Dark Knight” set in downtown Chicago surmised that the Scarecrow would pop up in the film. Amateur video caught a man in a brown hood and suit (the costume worn by actor Cillian Murphy as the Scarecrow in the first film) backed by a gang and arguing with another group of people during a scene in a parking garage. The report jells with the plot, as it would make sense for Scarecrow to make a play for the Gotham underworld.

Murphy wouldn’t comment when approached about the report, but did tell sources just after “Batman Begins” bowed that he was signed to do more than one Bat-film. He’s not the only speculated super-cameo, though.

Anthony Michael Hall (“The Dead Zone”) told sources in May 2007 he’d also joined the cast, but couldn’t specify his role.

“I signed a confidentiality agreement, and I can’t say which part I’m playing because it affects the story,” said the actor. “I can’t give away the suspense. It’s a $200 million surprise, and I don’t want to be the guy to ruin it.”

Online gossip pegged Hall’s expensive secret as the Riddler, a Batman foe obsessed with puzzles. Other reports indicate Hall plays a Gotham journalist obsessed with Bruce Wayne. Whatever the secret is, it’s not a stretch to imagine comic book Easter eggs hidden all over the film. After Arkham Asylum, home to many Gotham villains, was partially destroyed in “Batman Begins,” don’t be surprised to see more Bat-rogues lining up for a slice of the crime spree pie in “Dark Knight” or even a possible third movie.

“The script leaves room for a very interesting follow-up,” Bale admitted to sources. “I think we could take it somewhere else.”

As long as the secretive Nolan’s onboard, expect that somewhere else to be the top of the box-office charts.


The thing I'm looking forward to the most about the movie? Seeing Aaron Eckhart as Harvey Dent. He just looks perfect and was born to play the charismatic district attorney who will eventually become one of Batman's greatest nemesis: Two-Face.

One of my favourite comics: Preacher

I've been reading Preacher again since I've been trying to assemble my Preacher collection of TPBs in Australia (I've got the set at home, but this series is WAY too good that it'd be worth collecting a second set here in Oz!). Have every TPB with the exception of Vol.8 and that one's already been placed on order for me at Classic Comics.

Preacher is just simply, for the lack of a better word, awesome. It's absolutely hilarious for one...not many people, save Garth Ennis, can make me chuckle out loud on the spot. It's depraved, it's wicked, it's black humour at its finest. It's a cocktail mix of sex, violence, religion, world events, history, commentary on social culture...take all those elements, shake them up and add a touch of pathos...and you have one of the most brilliant series I have ever read.

It's not for the faint of heart though. If you're a deeply religious person who's way too serious about faith and can't step outside what's taught to you in Sunday School every week, then Preacher is definitely not for you. But if you're pretty open to suggestion and can enjoy a laugh at the lighter (and alternative and darker) side of Christianity, then by all means, you'll find Preacher not just really fun to read, but also makes you think that much harder about your religion and even allows you to take a look at it from another side.

Preacher, while sounding very much like some sort of religion-based book, is anything but. Yes, the story has its roots firmly entrenched in Christianity, but it's not a preachy book by any means. It's the story of love and friendship and how one man decides he's not going to take any bullshit from anyone else and seeks to set everything right with the world. That's not quite the exact plot, but to say anything more specific would just give the plot away...and Preacher is high on surprises and cliffhanger endings.

There are several endearing characters in the Preacher mythos though. Would you like to meet a teenager with the face of an arse? What about an Irish hard-drinking, no bullshit-taking, I-can-kick-your-balls-into-the-stratosphere vampire? Or a German ex-special forces operative who's bald head resembles that of a giant penis? Then there are other crazy characters, like the Kingpin-sized Allfather D'aronique, who's the leader of the organisation which controls the world from the shadows. Allfather D'aronique eats and eats and eats and needs a forklift to move him around...but he's BULIMIC! Then there's the Saint of Killers, a nasty sumbitch who's pretty much untouchable, and he wreaks the Lord's vengeance upon those who need to be smited.

Classic characters, a brilliant storyline and so much humour and intensity packed in within the pages. Everyone knows how much I love Alan Moore's stuff, especially his ABC comics work like Top Ten and League of Extraordinary Gentlemen...but believe me, I love Preacher even MORE.

Get it today! Or at least buy the first TPB and read it and see what the fuss is all about. You'll be pleasantly surprised that you took up this recommendation!

Watchmen Poster

Only two more years (less than that actually) before I get to see Alan Moore and Dave Gibbons' epic Watchmen on the big screen!

Check out this new piece of Watchmen art by Dave Gibbons!

WIZARD INSIDER: 'WATCHMEN' POSTER
Original comic artist Dave Gibbons draws this first teaser poster for '300' director Zack Snyder's R-rated adaptation

By Kiel Phegley

Posted September 26, 2007 10:35 AM

Who watches the watchmen?

Hopefully, it’ll be movie audiences across the world by 2009. “300” director Zack Snyder finally breaks through years of Hollywood red tape to helm an adaptation of the seminal 1986 12-issue maxiseries by writer Alan Moore and artist Dave Gibbons, which brought new levels of sophistication and praise to comics. And while many fans worry no film could contain the many subtle layers and subplots inherent in Watchmen, Snyder proved his devotion at this year’s Comic-Con International in San Diego by announcing a cast of acclaimed actors such as Billy Crudup and Jackie Earle Haley as well as unveiling an original teaser poster drawn by Gibbons in the style of his original Watchmen covers. “I had talked to Dave before because I sent him a copy of the script and he actually drew some panels for me as storyboards,” recalls Snyder. “If you’re a fan, it’s like a lost cover. That’s what it feels like, and that’s what we’re going for.”

Below, Gibbons and Snyder give a rundown of how the poster came about, why President Nixon’s in the mix and what Alan Moore thinks.

THE HOOKUP
How exactly did Snyder persuade Gibbons to step back into the world he created 20 years ago? By living up to his potential. “I read the script and I had notes that it was quite a good script, so we spoke about me doing some conceptual work for the movie,” the artist explains. “I’m quite impressed by what he did with ‘300,’ and I’m impressed by his enthusiasm and understanding of Watchmen.”

FLASHBACK
Watchmen fans asking where this scene of an attack on Edward Blake (aka the Comedian) takes place in the comic should know that it’s not in there at all. “It’s actually the scene that comes before the first scene you see in the comic,” explains Gibbons. “It’s Blake being beaten up and thrown out the window before the smiley badge lands in the gutter.”

TRICKY DICK
Shattering across the background of Gibbons’ piece is a photo of the Comedian with President Richard M. Nixon. Snyder retains Watchmen’s story elements where it’s set in 1985 and the disgraced president remains in office. “In the graphic novel, when [Rorschach] picks it up, it says, ‘Shaking hands with the vice president,’” explains Snyder. “I switched it to Nixon because it’s more iconographic.”

EVERYONE’S A COMEDIAN
While the poster doesn’t contain any cast photos, actor Jeffrey Dean Morgan (who plays John Winchester on “Supernatural”) will be stepping into the role of the doomed Comedian once the cameras roll this month, and Snyder promises a fully realized set for the action rather than the CGI backdrops he used in “300.” “We’ve built these huge sets, like [Edward “Comedian”] Blake’s apartment and Adrian [“Ozymandias” Veidt’s] office, all of Moloch [the Mystic’s] places and stuff like that,” says Snyder, who calls the Vancouver backlot “Watchmen Headquarters.”

MOORE SILENCE
Even with Gibbons’ surprise involvement, fans shouldn’t expect to hear word one from Watchmen scribe Alan Moore, who’s publicly cut all ties to Hollywood adaptations of his comics. “I specifically had a conversation with Alan about it, and although he doesn’t want anything to do with it, he has no problem with me being involved with it,” Gibbons reports. “It doesn’t affect our friendship in the least.”

UNDER WRAPS
However, despite his involvement, Gibbons promises he won’t be spilling secrets of the film as production rolls along. “It’s weird. I get some information from Zack and [some from] off the Internet, like everybody else. So I forget what he said to me and what I read,” he laughs.

Alan Moore on The Simpsons

Omigod! Comic book legend Alan Moore is set to appear on a comics-related episode of The Simpsons on 7 October in America!

Best. Episode. Ever?

And believe it or not, I STILL haven't watched The Simpsons movie yet.

This should be an awesome episode...I can't wait until it reaches Australia!

FALL TV PREVIEW: ALAN MOORE ON ‘THE SIMPSONS’
Watchmen writer to appear on hit series along with Jack Black and others in special comics-themed episode

By Kiel Phegley

Posted September 23, 2007 4:30 PM

Fanboys still feeling the effects of the famous yellow cartoon family’s summer foray onto the big screen should brace themselves this fall for another assault of pop culture comedy. Season 19 of “The Simpsons” invites longtime fan Alan Moore as well as legendary cartoonist (and former Matt Groening co-worker) Art Spiegelman (Maus) and graphic novelist Daniel Clowes (Ghost World) onto the streets of Springfield.

In the Oct. 7 episode “Husbands and Knives,” a new high-class comic book shop called Coolsville Comics & Toys opens up across the street from The Android’s Dungeon & Baseball Card Shop, home to the ever-sarcastic Jeff “Comic Book Guy” Albertson. If the increased competition wasn’t enough for the rotund shopkeep, Coolville’s owner Milo (voiced by Jack Black) holds a signing with the guest stars, making for the kind of four-color faceoff not seen since Stan Lee destroyed Ralph Wiggum’s Batmobile.

Alan Moore's body of work!

After my last couple of posts talking about my favourite comic book writers, I was just wondering just how much work Alan Moore HAS done in the past. Found a site with his extensive bibliography:

Alan Moore Bibliography

Wow...that's a hell of a lot of stuff he's written over the last three decades! The following comics are probably Moore's most seminal work though:

2000 A.D.
Warrior Magazine (which was an anthology magazine that featured the original seralisations of V for Vendetta and Marvelman, later renamed Miracleman)
Swamp Thing
Miracleman
Watchmen
V for Vendetta
From Hell
The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen
Tom Strong
Promethea
Top Ten
Tomorrow Stories

And of course, he's famous for some of the best stories DC has ever published such as "Whatever Happened To The Man Of Tomorrow?" from Superman #423 and Action Comics #583, "For The Man Who Has Everything" from Superman Annual #11, and of course, the very famous one-shot Batman: The Killing Joke.

Although he didn't have very long runs on some series, some fans would remember his works on Spawn, Violator, WildC.A.T.s, Supreme, Voodoo, Youngblood, and Glory. Strangely enough, most of these books are from Image comics or one of their offspring companies (Wildstorm for WildC.A.T.s, Todd McFarlane Entertainment for Spawn and Extreme Studios for Glory)...certainly all those titles I've listed are from Image Comics!

To answer Theo's query (even though it's technically not a query), the Alan Moore "works" that have been made into movies have been League of Extraordinary Gentlemen, From Hell, V for Vendetta and the upcoming Watchmen, in THAT order.

It must be noted that Moore does not want to have anything to do with ANY of those movie properties though. More of that can be read in his Wikipedia entry here. I remember reading from somewhere that Moore read and gave his approval of the Watchmen movie script though!