Is it possible (and/or right) to continue Watchmen without Alan Moore?  The question is so oft posed and the resulting criticisms so well documented, it almost feels tiresome to repeat.  Art vs. commerce and yadda, yadda, yadda… I have nothing new to add to the ol’ Moore vs. DC debate.  I love Alan Moore and Dave Gibbon’s Watchmen.  On general reflex, I considered a prequel without their involvement at best foolhardy.  But also understand that from a market standpoint, Watchmen prequels are good business and an inevitability with or without the creators.  And so here we are with Before Watchmen – a prequel nobody really asked for, but one everyone still wants to read regardless (myself included).

This past week, I was invited to DC headquarters to sample the initial issues from the seven runs of Before Watchmen (each run focusing on an individual character or group: e.g. The Comedian, Rorschach, Nite Owl, Ozymandias, Silk Spectre, Dr. Manhattan and Minutemen).  I’ve been sworn to secrecy on plot points and narrative spoilers, but allowed to share general thoughts (I think) on whether or not you should pre-hate this comic you’re probably still going to buy anyways.  For more thoughts (some of which surprised myself), hit the jump.

In situations likes these it’s best to sigh and then shrug.  DC Comics has officially announced that they’ll be launching Before Watchmen, prequel comics based on Alan Moore and Dave Gibbons’ Watchmen.  While there have been murmurings of Watchmen prequel and sequel comics for years, the prequels will really happen now with writers and everything.  DC Comics asked Alan Moore for his blessing, but he (unsurprisingly) refused. He then returned to the woods to forage for nuts and berries.  However, Gibbons released a statement saying,

“The original series of Watchmen is the complete story that Alan Moore and I wanted to tell. However, I appreciate DC’s reasons for this initiative and the wish of the artists and writers involved to pay tribute to our work. May these new additions have the success they desire,”

Hit the jump for more, including a first look at the covers for the prequels.