Posted in: Comics, DC Comics | Tagged: Alan Moore, Dave Gibbons, dc, Tom King, Watchmen

Why is Tom King Researching Watchmen?

Published Thu, 07 Nov 2019 13:04:30 -0600

Last updated Thu, 07 Nov 2019 13:16:30 -0600

Could another unauthorized sequel to Watchmen be on the way?

Superstar writer Tom King posted an interesting photo to Twitter on Thursday, showing all twelve issues of Watchmen (#7 looks like it's hidden behind #6) and noting that he's reading them as "research for a thing."

Research for a thing. pic.twitter.com/JQOS7qbx7s

— Tom King (@TomKingTK) November 7, 2019

The seminal work of Alan Moore and Dave Gibbons (not to be confused with Moore's fish-semenal work, Neonomicon), Watchmen was produced under a supposedly creator-friendly contract that would see the rights revert to Moore and Gibbons after the book went out of print. However, thanks to comics like Watchmen, the industry changed and Watchmen never went out of print, allowing DC to keep the rights to this day and ultimately causing Moore to stop working for the company. Every time DC produces another Watchmen offshoot, it's a reminder that not much has changed when it comes to the treatment of creative talent by the comic book industry.

And DC produces Watchmen offshoots often, against Moore's wishes. There was an unauthorized movie adaptation of Watchmen by director Zack Snyder in 2009, an unauthorized prequel to Watchmen called Before Watchmen by DC Comics in 2012, and the current unauthorized sequels to Watchmen, Doomsday Clock at DC Comics and Watchmen at HBO. Despite the blatant defiance of Moore's wishes and crass commercialization (Watchmen toasters, anyone?), many fans have rationalized DC's behavior out of desire to read continuing stories featuring the book's characters. The irony that a fandom which frequently idolizes Watchmen character Rorschach is so willing to compromise morals when it comes to creators' rights is not lost on us.

In any case, it looks like DC has another unauthorized something in the works, with King reading the books for research, though it's also possible that this is somehow related to a secret television project King has been mentioning for some time. What do you think? Post your outraged comments about us saying "unauthorized" a bunch of times below.