When Alan Moore Helped Write A Series Of Watchmen Prequels

[Rich Johnston]

Alan Moore wrote Watchmen with Dave Gibbons. And that was that.

Or was it? Because, as well as making suggestions about writing a Minutemen prequel or a Tales Of The Black Freighter spinoff with Joe Orlando, he also helped out with the Watchmen DC Heroes Role Playing games from Mayfair, in both Who Watches The Watchmen, Taking Out The Trash and the Watchmen Sourcebook.

Role playing writer Dan Greenberg talked to Tim Callahan for CBR about how he dealt with the original creators, and how the roleplaying games worked as prequels to the main Watchmen story.

"RPG gamers would be able to play through the first and only Crimebusters mission months before they would be able to read the ending of the 'Watchmen' comic. That way, players would have experienced Captain Metropolis committing a terrible act in the name of a greater cause before they read Ozymandias's terrible act for a greater cause. But where Captain Metropolis makes a mess of it in the RPG, Ozymandias learns from him and figures out how to make it work. This deepens the implication in the comic that Ozymandias begins to formulate his ideas about how to 'save the world' after Captain Metropolis's abortive attempt to form a team of heroes. So the game not only grows out of the ending of the comic, but also foreshadows the ending of the comic."

And that Alan Moore was "particularly generous with his time and patience in giving detailed answers to my inexhaustible questions. I was especially honored when he started calling me to talk about his latest ideas."

Writer Ray Winninger added "I don't recall him ever vetoing anything. I certainly wouldn't have used anything he didn't like. He and I riffed together on some of the new stuff -- backgrounds for some of the Minutemen is one detail I remember."

"The idea to have Captain Metropolis engineer a plot to force the characters to work together popped into my head in the middle of my first phone call to Alan Moore. I blurted out the idea while we were brainstorming, and he approved the plotline on the spot. He even made helpful suggestions which I adopted -- like using Moloch as the logical fall guy for Captain Metropolis. Making Moloch a double patsy -- first for Metropolis and then again for Ozymandias -- could lend another layer of poignancy to the Moloch-Comedian scene in the comic."

This was of course, a different time, during the creation of the comic itself, and well before Alan Moore realised that the contract he'd signed with DC Comics would never revert rights back to himself and Dave Gibbons, as promised, as the trade paperback would always stay in print. A situation that has not only made the Before Watchmen prequels possible, but has also ensured that they will be mired in controversy.

But they do stand as the only official DC prequel comics work to Watchmen. Until the summer that is...

[Matt Spatola]

But these were prequel games and not really prequel comics. There is a bit of a difference. And also this was before Alan knew how the contract for Watchmen would play out like you said.

[ahlhelm]

Great game books all.

[tttwlam]

But these were prequel games and not really prequel comics. There is a bit of a difference. And also this was before Alan knew how the contract for Watchmen would play out like you said.

DC Editorial and Mayfair worked VERY closely together back in the day, to make the RPG supplements as "official" and "in-continuity" as possible. The materials "counted", at least as far as some DC staffers were concerned.

Case in point, in one of the supplemental mail-only newsletters (which I have in storage somewhere), DC gave their blessing to the "The Official Top 10 List Of Best Martial Artists In The DCU" and I'm pretty sure it read:

1) Richard Dragon
2) Bronze Tiger
3) Lady Shiva
4) Black Canary
5) Batman

(I don't remember the rest of the list off the top of my head, but I think Nightwing came in at 8 or 9.)

Granted, it WAS the '80s, and things were a lot different in the funnybook biz. And lists like the above--and all the other "official" material--were outdated almost as soon as they were printed, given the fluid nature of comics.

[Kinnon]

Wonderful books, ran the adventures a couple of times way back when, not really doing them the justice they deserved. Absolute wealth of supplemental material though. Grenadier games did a great set of metal miniatures to go with them and a friend who worked at a GameStore graciously painted them up for me, but they were half-inched at a gaming con many moons ago sadly. I should really dig them out for a browse again.

[Mike Phillips]

An expanded version of Callahan's WATCHMEN RPG essay is in our MINUTES TO MIDNIGHT book of essays on WATCHMEN. It's currently only $8.63 American: www.amazon.com

[Arthur Gordon Scratch]

Ha... Funnily enough, I bought that sourcebook in e the late eighties, before I had even read the comic, or any modern comic for the matter. It made a strong impression, I've even had my internet name (AGS) sourced from it ever since.

[zetomenon]

With all this coverage I'm noticing a spin line driven by DC that amounts to 'lets pile on Alan Moore', where various individuals rather than corporate faces are legitimizing their use of the brand.
In all of this the original dispute, which was that DC weren't paying royalties on an aspect of Watchmen merchandise the underlying concept of which was Moores creation, has been lost in the proverbial snow.

The conflict was never that Alan Moore was a cranky old guy living off the grid denying the peculiar "rights" of fanboys to be given whatever they want when they want it (which coincidentally makes DC Comics a lot of money from them) as he may or may not be now.

Stories about his plans for prequels and the way he was actively integrated into the all aspects Watchmen, like cross platforming the property and growing the brand generally, actually go on to prove his original complaint, rather than refute his claim on the concept.

[ShadowMax]

Some okays Moore gave to a guy that was making an irrelevant tie-in merchandise back in the 80s doesn't mean he collaborated on a prequel, nor that he thought it's story or the thing itself was a good idea. From the description of the plot I get that it was forgettable filler that had to mirror the actual book for dramatic effect.

[Matt Spatola]

DC Editorial and Mayfair worked VERY closely together back in the day, to make the RPG supplements as "official" and "in-continuity" as possible. The materials "counted", at least as far as some DC staffers were concerned.

Case in point, in one of the supplemental mail-only newsletters (which I have in storage somewhere), DC gave their blessing to the "The Official Top 10 List Of Best Martial Artists In The DCU" and I'm pretty sure it read:

1) Richard Dragon
2) Bronze Tiger
3) Lady Shiva
4) Black Canary
5) Batman

(I don't remember the rest of the list off the top of my head, but I think Nightwing came in at 8 or 9.)

Granted, it WAS the '80s, and things were a lot different in the funnybook biz. And lists like the above--and all the other "official" material--were outdated almost as soon as they were printed, given the fluid nature of comics.

And that's all well and good. However DC is never beholden to anything written like that- outside 'normal continuity' and publishing. If they honor it and include it, it is more an added bonus then a requirement.

Actually though my response was more directed to Rich calling the RPG stuff this-"But they do stand as the only official DC prequel comics work to Watchmen. Until the summer that is...". I personally don't consider the RPG stuff 'comics work' at all. It might be a prequel work but not a comics work. That is all.