So Warner Brothers is finally going to adapt the comic book Watchmen into a film. I'm quite conflicted about this. I still cant believe they are making this, that after all these years and false starts it's actually shooting somewhere on this planet. It's natural I think to be excited about further exploration or promotion of one of my favorite stories. However, I also feel strongly that comic books don't often translate well into film, nor do they need to be. Watchmen in particular is a prime example of a story's strength coming from its use and knowledge of comics grammar. There are dozens of examples that a deep read of the book reveals, from innovative and extraordinary use of a nine panel layout to the overall color layout of the book being a color palindrome.
I hope the film doesn't tarnish the book, it's a project I'll be watching very closely. To that effect, Zach Snyder is keeping a production blog on the project here. I can't wait for comic con this summer to learn more!
On a sad note, DC Comics has screwed the creators of this book out of their promised ownership rights. the deal was that ownership of the property would revert to the creators when DC stopped publishing the book. DC however, is never going to stop publishing the book, and continues to put out copies of the trade paperback every year.
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