Posted in: Comics | Tagged: Alan Moore, Dave Gibbons, dc comics, james gunn, peacemaker, Tales Of The Black Freighter, Watchmen

Watchmen Gossip: Tales Of The Black Freighter as a DC Comics Film?

An upcoming DC Comics title will posit the idea of a Tales Of The Black Freighter movie from Watchmen. But will it come to actuality?

Published Fri, 17 Mar 2023 14:57:13 -0500

by Rich Johnston

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Watchmen was a comic book by Alan Moore, Dave Gibbons and John Higgins. You might have heard of it; it was quite popular. Was turned into a movie, a TV series, toys, unauthorised prequels, sequels and eventually merged with the history of the DC Universe. So what's next? Well, I may have some other gossip from earlier this week at the Century Club's evening with Dave Gibbons and Brian Bolland for Comica, but I'm still writing that up. Probably for tomorrow.

What I have totally been told independently, is that an upcoming DC Comics title will posit the idea of a Tales Of The Black Freighter movie. Tales Of The Black Freighter was the comic book within a comic book in Watchmen which told a pirate story, that mirrored the themes and ideas of Watchmen, and also saw one of its creators partly responsible for apocalyptic scenes in Manhattan at the end of the comic book.

At one point, when the movie was coming out. DC Comics posited that Dave Gibbons could complete the missing panels from Tales Of The Black Freighter as it appeared in the comic book, using the words that were juxtaposed onto the rest of the action. Alan Moore acquiesced to this when originally approached by Dave Gibbons, but only if his name was not on it, instead it could be the fictitious writer of the comic in the Watchmen world. DC Comics declined to go further with it on those conditions, so it never happened.

But within the world of DC Comics, in the upcoming Peacekeeper series reflecting the reworking of the character for the Suicide Squad movies and TV show, apparently, they are making a Tales Of The Black Freighter movie. Though characters complain that it won't be as good as the original comic, and they always have to make changes because screenwriters think they know better…

Basically, they are turning up the meta on this one. Unless this is an attempt to run it up the flagpole and see if anyone salutes it? James Gunn, would you be down with this?

Writer Kyle Starks is best-known for writing and occasionally drawing Rick And Morty comics, as well as comics such as Sexcastle, Rock Candy Mountain, Old Head. Assassin Nation, Six Sidekicks of Trigger Keaton and a little bit of Unbeatable Squirrel Girl. Steve Pugh is a longstanding comic artist who first blew my head open on Animal Man, and has worked his messy details on books such as Billionaire Island, Flintstones, Invaders, Doom 2099, Wonder Woman, Generation X, Hotwire and 2000AD.

PEACEMAKER TRIES HARD #1 (OF 6) CVR A KRIS ANKA (MR)
(W) Kyle Starks (A) Steve Pugh (CA) Kris Anka
Having earned his release from the Suicide Squad, Peacemaker wants to try and do normal superhero stuff for a change. Unfortunately everyone, including the bad guys, thinks he sucks at superhero stuff. But when busting up a terrorist ring introduces Christopher Smith to the cutest thing to ever walk (awkwardly) on four legs, he finds the unconditional love he's been denied his whole life. That is, until the dog is kidnapped right out from under him by a super-villain who has some very un-super-heroic plans for Peacemaker's brand of ultraviolence. Will he help an infamously unstable super-powered criminal steal the world's most valuable—and dangerous—DNA? Honestly, Christopher's pretty lonely, so it probably just depends on how nicely they ask… Breakout writer Kyle Starks (I Hate This Place, Six Sidekicks of Trigger Keaton) and art legend Steve Pugh (Preacher Special: Saint of Killers, Harley Quinn: Breaking Glass) deliver a brutal and hilarious take on DC's biggest P.O.S. that will bust guts, break bones, and melt hearts!
Retail: $4.99 In-Store Date: 5/2/2023