Watch Watchmen

The first trailer for the Watchmen movie debuted this past week. It looks phenomenal. Watchmen is considered one of the greatest graphic novels ever written. I plan on picking up a copy this week to see what it is all about. I've read some of his other superhero work, specifically his "TOP 10" series, which I read for a class on textual poaching, pastiche and intertextuality during my honors seminar series in college. "TOP 10" is set in an urban landscape in which every one has some kind of superpower or another and what kinds of problems and unique circumstances would arise within that kind of world. The drawings are rich and detailed, including, as was discussed in great detail in my seminar, references to other works of literature and art. The writing is intelligent and sometimes controversial in its portrayal of government and politics. While I have not read his acclaimed "V for Vendetta" graphic novel, I do like the movie a good deal.

In a recent interview referenced over at Aint It Cool News, "Watchmen" creator Alan Moore had a few words to say about the upcoming adaptation of his work. He’s wary of the fact that “Watchmen” is being helmed by 300 director Zach Snyder. “I've not seen any recent comic book films, but I didn't particularly like the book 300. I had a lot of problems with it, and everything I heard or saw about the film tended to increase [those problems] rather than reduce them: [that] it was racist, it was homophobic, and above all it was sublimely stupid.”

This same article stated that Moore thinks HBO’s "The Wire" is “the most stunning piece of television that has ever come out of America, possibly the most stunning piece of television full-stop.” Another show that I know I need to start watching! He also said that he no longer attends Comic-Con as he feels it is "a bit overwhelming and creepy.”

That said, here is the brand new trailer for Watchmen complete with hot-blue-floaty-naked-power-trip-guy:



Via JoBlo I found a great article showing the comparisons between frames of this trailer and their comic-book counterparts. Director Zach Snyder has to take 12 chapters and condense them into a 2 1/2 hour movie, always a challenge despite the length or breadth of the original material. You can take a look at the "Watchmen Trailer to Comic Comparison" here.


I love looking at issues related to adaptation theory like this! I am very interested in how filmic adaptations are made, from literature, comic books or even other movies. I wrote a paper for another class on literary adaptation that I am happy to share with anyone who is interested.

My paper opens with a reference to Dark Willow-I will include "Buffy" in any piece of academia I can! And most of the time, it doesn't take long at all to find the perfect example with seven years of great content at my fingertips!