Imagine a Pulp Fiction prequel without Quentin Tarantino. Imagine an Inception prequel without Christopher Nolan. Imagine a Star Wars prequel without George Lucas.
Okay, that last one sounds pretty good. But Watchmen fans are fuming over the long-rumored prequel series that DC Comics announced today (before sunrise, as if they had committed a crime). Alan Moore, who wrote the 1986-'87 superhero classic, is not returning for the project, and allegedly wasn't invited to return. He mocked the new books thusly: "[DC executives] are still apparently dependent on ideas that I had 25 years ago… As far as I know, there weren't that many prequels or sequels to Moby-Dick."
However, the dependent DC executives said, "It's our responsibility as publishers to find new ways to keep all of our characters profitable relevant. After 25 years, the Watchmen are classic characters whose time has come for new stories to be told."
Rorschach, Nite Owl, Ozymandias, Silk Spectre, the Comedian, the Minutemen and Dr. Manhattan (pictured above, looking sad for a reason), last seen in a 2009 film adaptation, will each get a four- to six-issue miniseries. Original series editor Len Wein penned many of the new stories, so at least that's something. Because if Citizen Kane had had a prequel, Orson Welles' editor should've written it.