Sunday, June 25, 2006
Watchmen Roundtable
I've only had a chance to read partway into it, but John Coulthart is to be thanked for posting the full text of a roundtable discussion about Watchmen that originally appeared in issue 100 of Fantasy Advertiser in March 1988. Alan Moore and Dave Gibbons are joined by Martin Skidmore, Steve Whitaker, Fiona Jerome, and Peter Hogan. The far-ranging and long discussion touches on all sorts of interesting aspects of Watchmen, and mainstream comics in general.
Here's a little bit of prognasticating, in which Alan is perhaps a bit overly optimistic, and Dave is a bit closer to the mark:
Here's a little bit of prognasticating, in which Alan is perhaps a bit overly optimistic, and Dave is a bit closer to the mark:
AM: I think there will be post-Watchmen comics, probably some good ones, like the thing from Dark Horse The American: a superhero who has been a patriotic symbol for the government since the ’40s, but there’s something very strange about the way he works: he keeps getting killed, or reported killed, and then he turns up again and calls a press conference. It’s a beautiful strip and it’s got that Watchmen flavour. I will say this: I’ll bet my arse that within 6 months or a year, everyone will be sick to the back teeth of realistic superheroes.Six months? Sadly, it's almost twenty years later, and poor Cap is still gloomy, miserable, and inappropriate, so I'm afraid we're not quite out of the woods yet...
DG: It does seem to be ‘de rigueur’ that superheroes are gloomy and introspective. You get something like Captain Marvel, which to me is the ultimate Good Fun superhero. DC revive it and it’s gloomy, miserable, inappropriate…I’d like to do a Captain Marvel who would be an adventurous, colourful, magical character.
# posted by Chris Roberson @
2:22 PM
