DOOMSDAY CLOCK by DC

[GRWelsh]

I wanted to hate this, but I don't. It is the sequel to Alan Moore's WATCHMEN. Since WATCHMEN is so great, I've always believed no sequel should ever be done since... what is the point? WATCHMEN is completely self-contained and perfect. A sequel isn't needed and cannot possibly exceed or even equal the original. So why do it? Evidently Alan Moore felt the same way. At the very least, I thought, if a sequel is made it should done with Alan Moore's involvement or blessing! It has neither. So, I feel disloyal even reading this since I know he didn't want any sequels or prequels done. At the recommendation of my friend Eric, who owns a hobby shop, I bought and read the first four issues, and although it has a few things I don't like, I have to admit that overall it is surprisingly good. There are great and sometimes funny scenes, and there is a lot of attention to detail. It feels like a respectful homage to the original, without being a mere imitation, since it has a completely different story arc involving multiple universes. I guess I'll have to see how it ends before passing final judgment.

This series is about bringing the WATCHMEN characters into the DC universe. There is some irony about how DC wouldn't let Moore use the Charlton Comics characters (Blue Beetle, the Question, Nightshade, Captain Atom, Thunderbolt and Peacemaker) because of what he was planning to do with them. That forced him to invent counterparts... And now they want to bring those counterparts into the the mainstream DC universe!

[geneweigel]

I don't even know what was the last DC comic that I read now that I think of it.

DARK KNIGHT RETURNS 2 in 2001 maybe?

The other day, I saw one of those FACEBBOOK placard posts (that some people are prone to endlessly share and reshare like drone bees) about How Aquaman isn't useless and they should read the comic and its written over an image of a completely unknown Aquaman in a dark outfit floating unconscious. I was thinking what is this? Vapid comic view versus vapid comic view?

[GRWelsh]

For the past 35 years I've been on the periphery of comics, just dipping back in now and then if something looks interesting, occasionally buying trade paperback collections. The 90's seemed to suck overall, and I had no interest in any comics then. Geoff Johns did a good job bringing back Green Lantern with the "Rebirth" storyline and had a nice run with "Sinestro Corp war" through "Blackest Night." The New 52 reboot (in 2011) was a big mistake, but they seem to have been improving since then. DC has been doing some creative stuff lately, especially by breaking open their multiverse. Batman has been consistently good, and I want to check out the DARK NIGHTS: METAL series.

Aquaman I'm not sure about. They keep trying to find ways to make him cool, more like an Atlantean king who is aloof. In the 90's, he lost a hand, replaced it with a harpoon, and had long hair and was going shirtless... He was like a Fabio version of Captain Hook. What the hell? I saw that but didn't read any of it. I wonder if that is what inspired the current movie version? I've always thought of Aquaman as one of the weaker DC properties, since he was a ripoff of Namor that just didn't work as well. There is supposed to be an Aquaman movie coming out later this year -- I hope it's good!

[geneweigel]

Aquaman as comic relief on the BRAVE AND THE BOLD cartoon was good.

I really liked the original cartoons of the 60's that were in syndication in the 70's with "water balls".

If it weren't for that cartoon (and Submariner), I probably would have never got into swimming which was highlight of my life that I left behind when I hooked up with Dorothy over 30 years ago who has a crippling fear of water. I let my lifeguard certification go as well. Most of my friends didn't even know that I was a lifeguard until my mom died 3 years ago. YOU!?!?

[GRWelsh]

Ha, I forgot about Aquaman throwing water balls. That was a cool effect. They did a version of Aqualad on YOUNG JUSTICE who was done pretty well. The DC Animated shows have been consistently good and better than the Marvel animated shows for the past 25+ years, I'd say ever since BATMAN: THE ANIMATED SERIES, DC has been killing it. But they're not as good as Marvel when it comes to the live action movies. Both companies are at their worst when they try to imitate each other. I hate when they do that. DC has been trying to imitate Marvel in the live action movies and I wish they wouldn't. And DC rebooted their comics with "New 52" and so Marvel had to follow suit and wipe out almost 80 years of continuity! WHAT?!? Thankfully, it looks like they're going to undo all of that crap, but what were they thinking?

But overall, I have to say comics have been pretty good over the past fifteen years or so, if you know where to look. Not just DC and Marvel, but Image is so much better than it was in the 90's when frankly it was just loud, shiny junk.

[GRWelsh]

I finished the series and I have to say the ending was underwhelming. It started out with some strong ideas and excellent art, but the conclusion just didn't work for me. The best thing about it is the way they used Doctor Manhattan as an explanation for rebooting the universe. I did not like the idea that Superman is special in a way that makes the universe reform around him as if he is at the center of it all. Sure, Superman is DC's oldest and best known character and the moral center of their brand, but that is literary commentary... I don't see why that should also be a metaphysical truth about the DC universe. My final verdict is this is not worth reading, and WATCHMEN should have been left alone as its own thing. WATCHMEN was a commentary on the superhero genre, and therefore it doesn't make sense to integrate it into the mainstream superhero universe that it was commenting on. They tried to do it in a clever way, but it fell flat.