The Real Watchmen

We all know the movie is on its way this weekend, and I wanted to be a faithful comic blogger and jump on the bandwagon before it was too late. So here is my obligatory "Watchmen" posting.

You've probably heard this story a dozen times before, but Alan Moore's original proposal for the Watchmen was "Who Killed The Peacemaker?", and it used the Charlton Comics characters in what could only be called a never-before-seen brutality that would add emotional weight to the story. DC balked since they had just purchased the characters and had high hopes for their future, so they told Moore to create his own originals for the story. Moore, being the individual that he is, did just that by creating a series of heroes who were thinly-veiled versions of the originals. But did you ever wonder "What If?"

With that, I'd like to present a look at "The Real Watchmen"...

This story was so grim and dark that it would have definitely forever changed the way the Charlton characters were perceived from that point on (even though the story would have been considered an "alternate reality" or "Elseworlds" type tale). The good-and-bad were meshed into a deep gray murk that made the heroes human. So What If...

I've never seen this done before, so through the modern miracles of technology I'd like to give my readers a little treat: I will show you what one of the scenes from the book would have looked like if DC had left Moore alone and let him have the Charlton heroes for real.

Is it original, never-before-seen concept artwork kept from the world for decades? Nope, it's my son's amazing Photoshop skills. Still, it should give you a little taste of what might have been and what we missed.

The original scene appears in Chapter 1 as The Question (Rorschach) attempts to gain some insight into the death of Christopher Smith (aka "The Peacemaker"). Here we are with "Who Killed the Peacemaker?", chapter 1:So there's a feeling of what might have been. Thanks, Khristian!

Next it's time to look at some essential reading as we lead into our awesome guest-posts later this month!


Oh, and Happy Anniversary, honey! Thanks for marrying this crazy comic geek!