And I'm not talking manga! Just the pure left-to-right style superhero stuff. Let's discuss…
Before WatchmenI hear a lot of chatter from the pro-Moore camp about how crappy this series is. The thing is: MOST of these jerks haven't even read any of them. They just take Moore's bitching and moaning as some kind of expression of artistic purity (it's not) and decide to boycott the whole thing. Well these people are bigger assholes than Moore is because this series is fucking great. I don't know what there is to complain about. Awesome art. Awesome writing. What more do you want? Just because some old douche bag wants to cry about the shitty contract he signed twenty years ago doesn't mean you should not read these. ESPECIALLY based on these three factors:1) Moore built his OWN career by writing other people's characters. Hello, Swamp Thing. Now he's pissed that other people are using his characters to do the same thing? Well, that just makes him a big, hypocritical asshole. Besides…2) They aren't even HIS characters. I mean, technically they are… but if there was no Blue Beetle than there would be no Nite Owl. Bottom line is this: he had help along the way. But now he claims complete, sole responsibility for the story. Fuck him! Especially because…3) Moore totally ripped off The Outer Limits because he didn't know how to end his "masterpiece." The alien invasion at the end is IDENTICAL to a shitty old television show. Moore was called out on this before publication, but the bastard was just too lazy to come up with something original. But now, it's sacrilege to read Before Watchmen?! Are you shitting me, Alan Moore? You fucking Hobo Gandalf!So anyways… if you are into comics and want to read some good shit, check out Before Watchmen. It's better than 98% of what's on the stand any given week.I was going to write some more about the other comics now out that I dig, but this blog is getting a little long in the tooth. Next time I'll talk about the new TMNT series that IDW is publishing. And I promise I won't go on a rant. (Fuck Alan Moore.)
I've only read, like, three comic things ever other than Watchmen, so I'm just going to assume Before Watchmen goes something like this:
Lol. I see both sides of the Moore argument. He shouldn't be such a prick, but at the same time he's awesome BECAUSE he takes comics so seriously (really, anybody interested in the craft should read his essays on it). In this case, he's not awesome for it. Oh well.
That said, fanboys religiously following writers is a little sad, it should be about the comics actual quality first.No. It is NOTHING like that. That's what Alan Moore WANTS it to be like. But that basically shits all over the TREMENDOUSLY talented people who are involved in the project. Darwyn Cooke? Brian Azzarello? The Kuberts? Len fucking Wein? Moore is a colossal asshole to push the idea that these people are not worthy to work on his shit. That's some fucking nerve and just reinforces how much of a douche he really is. Watchmen is some sacred cow that he somehow couldn't be bothered to write a proper ending to.
I'm not trying to take away anything from his writing (except for that ending.) The guy is unarguably one of the greatest comic writers of all time, if not THE greatest. But he is, in this case, a huge dick. His whole beef is so transparently about money, but he tries to wrap it up in some high-minded artsy bullshit. It's NOT about him taking the craft seriously (as evidenced by his serious rip-off of The Outer Limits) it's about his wallet. It's crazy that fanboys actually go along with it. I mean, what are they reading now-a-days that's so fucking great? Hawk and Dove?i read manga so much normal comics confuse me. x_x
the Tick is good.I only read webcomics. /hipster
Nothing encourages me to check out a new comic quite like an angry, vague, reactionary blog.
Yeah, didn't mean to get so angry. I was arguing with some jerk-off about the series for like 30 minutes before he decided to tell me that he hadn't read any of it. Probably shouldn't have blogged about it immediately after.
I'm assuming that most people know what Before Watchmen is all about, though, so I didn't see the point in going into that. All you need to know is this: it's one of the best series going right now. And I wasn't really vague in my anger. Reactionary, yes. Vague, no.I don't know much about the specifics about this conflict or the comic book industry in general, but if someone writes the history of the world someone created without their consent and sells it against their express will, I can understand that writer being angry.
It just seems like Moore thinks the conventional rules of the industry shouldn't apply to him because… I don't know… he's so awesome? The guy practically built his career totally reinventing other peoples' work. Why shouldn't others have the same opportunity with his? And it's not like these are comic book hacks, here. All of the people involved in the project are the cream of the industry crop. They are all very aware of the legacy of Watchmen and they all have approached it with great love and care. It's not like Dr. Manhattan is suddenly wearing a cape and driving a motorcycle or anything.
It's just, people are always complaining about the dearth of good comics out there. Along comes a great project with ass loads of talent behind it… and they complain about it. Without even reading it! For shit's sake, people!You sure you don't have a concussion? You seem a little… disjointed.