By Rob Siebert
Editor, Fanboy Wonder

1. Watchmen 2 – Live Free Or Die Watching
For the record, I credit that title to Steve McCarthy. He came up with it the night we saw the Watchmen movie.

Rumors have been abound these past few weeks about the possibility of DC Comics publishing a handful of Watchmen prequel miniseries titles. These rumors came to a head late last month when some artwork by Joe Kubert was leaked online Andy Kubert, as was a piece by J.G. Jones and a piece by Amanda Conner. The art would later be removed via request from DC Entertainment. Also reportedly attached to the project, allegedly codenamed “Panic Room,” are Watchmen penciller Dave Gibbons, J. Michael Straczynski, Darwyn Cooke, and John Higgins. Watchmen writer Alan Moore, not surprisingly, has balked at the concept and will not be involved.

I’m not thrilled at the concept of new Watchmen content. Obviously, there’s not even the slightest bit of need for it. But as with any property in any area of the entertainment industry, it’s all about money. There’s still money to be made with Watchmen, especially on the comic book page. Chances are, most of the people taking the time to buy comics have at least a passing knowledge of Watchmen, and would consider spending money on a new project. I’d wager a lot of the fans currently ranting and raving about it would pick it up just to see what was being done.

But after all these years, can anybody write a definitive sequel to Watchmen besides Alan Moore? No. Even with Dave Gibbons along for the ride, obviously so much of the success of Watchmen was about Alan Moore’s voice. I’d wager that even with the best talents in the industry on your side, you can’t duplicate that. You can emulate it, but you can’t duplicate it. For a book like Watchmen, that’s not enough.

This isn’t to say that subsequent Watchmen books will hurt the original. Heck, it’ll probably make the die-hards cling to it even harder. Odd as this sounds, I compare it to Disney doing sequels to their classic films, i.e. Bambi II, Cinderella II, The Fox and the Hound II, etc. When you first hear about them, they prompt chuckles as oppose to intrigue. But you forget about them after awhile, and eventually they become interesting little factoids. I suspect such will be the fate of any additional Watchmen content DC cooks up. Not every story is meant to inspire a blockbuster Hollywood-style trilogy.

In a perfect world, Watchmen would be left to sit upon its pedestal as arguably (though without much argument) the greatest graphic novel of all time, which to this day represents the pinnacle of what this medium can achieve. But alas, with DC attempting to reinvent itself amidst an industry-wide drop in sales figures, the comic book industry must once again look to Rorschach and say: “Save us.”

Sadly, he can’t say, “No.”

2. Fanboy Tattoos
I’ve been on a tattoo kick for awhile now. Which is to say I don’t have one, but when I see one I’ll show a bit more of my usual silent appreciation for it.

It’s highly unlikely that I’ll ever get a tattoo, for no other reason than I just don’t see myself as a tattoo kind of guy. Whenever I think tattoos, the person that comes to mind is always The Undertaker of WWE fame (shown right). Now HE’s a tattoo kind of guy. His tattoos help him command attention and respect. That’s not to say all tattoos should inspire that feeling, but he’s a guy who can pull off that look. I’d be afraid of becoming just another poser walking around with a tribal tattoo. Incidentally, I can’t stand tribal tattoos. Every time I see one I want to walk up to the person in question and ask: “Hey. What tribe do you belong to?”

Fanboy communities certainly have their fair share of tattoos. Somehow I’ve seen more among Star Wars fans than anyone else. I suppose George Lucas has taken up ad space everywhere else, so it only makes sense for him to start advertising on human bodies. But the gaming community certainly seems open to it, and I’ve seen more than my fair share of comic book tattoos out there.

Maybe I’m simply not hardcore enough, but I can’t imagine ever tattooing something fanboy-related on my body. For me, it comes back to laying in a morgue someday at (God willing) 80 or 90-something years old, and having somebody look me over, and wonder what the Chewbacca tattoo on my calf is supposed to stand for. What’s more, you just know some of those tattoo artists are laughing at you when you leave the parlor. “Hey Flloyd! I just tattooed a Care Bear under somebody’s arm! I’m serious, bro!”

I once knew a girl who, as a tribute to me, wanted to get a bunch of bats tattooed on her back (because I’m such a Batman fan). I was flat out terrified. If I don’t want a fanboy tattoo, what makes you think I’ll enjoy one on you!!!!

To each their own, I suppose. The conviction it takes to attribute part of your body to something you love so much is certainly admirable. I just don’t think I could ever do it. Maybe if I ever become a wrestling star with an undead gimmick, that’ll change my mind…

Front page image from themoviescult.gr. Image 1 from garbledtransmission.com. Image 2 from brokenvoicecomics.blogspot.com. Image 3 from wwfpictures.blogspot.com. Image 4 from whoartnow.hubpages.com.