Watchmen: The End is Nigh Comments by Jon Hamblin

As much as I loved the developer's previous offerings (Total Overdose, Chili Con Carnage), this does look utter pants!

Shame...

The role-playing game is a cannon?

For a XBLA/PSN release its looking decent enough imo.

I belive the word Mr Gibbons may have used was "canon", not "cannon", but not having the actual sound recording makes it impossible to say with 100% certainty. Although I am definitely going to start using "cannon" from now on. (As in "Did you play the new DLC for Fable II? It's cannon!" etc.)

"Do you think 9/11 proved that it didn't need to be a huge multi-dimensional monster invasion to bring people together?"

Mmmhm. People who don't follow Islam, anyway.

I always found Nite Owl the least interesting character in the book. Vaguely looking forward to seeing how brutal you can be with Rorschach, though.

dave gibbons, of beneath a steel sky? legend!

If they let me as Rorschach beat a dwarf to death in a toilet cubicle, I'm sold.

The role-playing game is a cannon?

It's well weapon.

Seeing how this sacral IP gets turned into a probably mediocre beat 'em up, it's not hard to see why Alan Moore would want to stay away from the whole thing. Also, the other film adaptations of his works have been pretty unsatisfactory and since the film Watchmen changes the endning of the book I somehow think I will be dissatisfied with it too.. Although, to be fair, it was always going to be hard to turn such a huge piece of writing into a two (or even three) hour film... But the game, despite me liking Chili Con Carnage and TO is probably just going to be a cheap, cheap, cheap, bad tie-in... Alas.

Eurogamer: So tell us about 'The End is Nigh' then

Dave Gibbons: Well, I don't really know very much about the game.

Great start.

Similar to the Fight Club game then?

First Tolkien's Cannon, and now this?

I like the way gaming journalists get to call comic book enthusiasts 'geeks'. Comics have more potential to be literature and art than games.

Over the last ten years I have built a massive comic book collection.

The much heralded Watchmen is a book I loathe. Dreadful art with a story and dialogue that rapidly disappears up its own backside.

Don't believe the hype.

Haha. Excellent bit of twaddle there, rhubarbandcustard.

This interview has even fewer game related questions than the Holly Valance one and yet nobody seems bothered. Surely there should be at least one "Bloody hell did I log on to the Total Film website" comment by now.

bluepenis lol

If you read an interview with Holly Valance, are you really expecting in-depth discussion of gaming?

Likewise, an interview with Dave Gibbons is hardly going to be about the finer points of current-gen gaming.

rhubarbandcustard,

Just out of interest what comic/book sits on the top on your collection?

'A handbreak turn'?

Is that some kind of torture method?

"I like the way gaming journalists get to call comic book enthusiasts 'geeks'. Comics have more potential to be literature and art than games."

The potential to be art has nothing to do with fanboyism of any media.

Thunderbolt:
Best 1 shot volume: either We3 (Grant Morrison) or Pride Of Baghdad (Brian K Vaughan)
Best Series: Ultimate Spiderman or The Avengers - basically anything by Brian M Bendis

Pffff, Ultimate Spiderman. Marvelol etc.

Bendis is ok generally, but it's pretty lightweight fare.

rhubarbandcustard,

Interesting, I have Pride Of Baghdad but have yet to read it.

Unfortunately I'm currently reading Watchmen so couldn't read page 2 of the article and dont want to spoil the story anymore than I have to.

I actually just reread Watchmen (for the umpteenth time) over Christmas. I can't say I'm looking forward to this game or the movie but I'll probably look at both.

I do want a Rorschach Pez dispenser though and I want it now.

They should just leave it the hell alone.
It's a great IP... but the whole sacred cow thing rings true for me.
Im nervous enough about the film - Im a 300 and Dark Knight etc fan but...
Alan Moore is right - consider monstrosities such as the absolute fucking hatchet job that was the League of Extraordinary gentlemen movie. V for vendetta wasn't as bad but could have been done far better.

Banjoman: Never understood why comic book readers dismiss Marvel or DC superhero books. It's what the industry was built on.

I have a sneaking suspicion that Watchmen fanbase is nothing more than a circlejerk (google the definition if needed) of self-congratulatory fools who think that reading 'clever' comic books makes than smart by association.

By the way, have read League Of Gentleman and V For Vendetta and hate them too.

Why is Alan Moore so revered? I just don't get it.

Dave Gibbons has done some great artwork, Rogue Trooper was awesome-o. Give me Liberty etc.

V for Vendetta was a great film IMO and it came out at the right time to considering the global crisis which was occuring at the time, there is/was a certain Zeitgeist to the film and graphic novel.


League of Extraordinary gentlement was pap, the best thing in the film was the monster at the end looking like Kevin O'Neils artwork.

(off topic does anyone watch Sanctuary? getting very steampunk/lLOEG with Jack the Ripper, Dr Watson, Nicolas Tesla, Invisible woman)

Hollywood fucked the Judge Dredd movie (demolition man was more judge dredd than judge dredd)

What they need to do is make a 'Marshall Law' film, that will totally turn the industry upside down.

rhubardandcustard, you need to read "Zenith - the ultimate Man' you will love it, as I am sure all of the readers of this website will to.

Thanks for that EG.
Loved Dave Gibbons' work since Rouge Trooper days

Guys, there's a few, y'know, games been released that you haven't reviewed, so can we please can the celeb spotting and get back to what this site is about. You can start with Savage Moon on the PSN if you like.

Personally I rate Warren Ellis higher than Alan Moore.
I just Love Transmetropolitan and Garth Ennis's Preacher - Two books I pray never see a green light for filming.
Both have the sort of dark and twisted sense of humour I love and would hate to see watered down to the level that would make a hollywood producer comfortable.

WE3 is excellent - can't believe though that they are trying to make it into a film too, I mean I'd love to see it if they do it well but a) they won't and b) it wouldn't sell.
I have to say both Watchmen and V for Vendetta are excellent novels, but each to their own.

I guess I just like it up here in Alan Moore's backside. I'm sure he'd approve.

Kinda waiting for the day when people realise that accusing a piece of art of being obsessed with itself or pretentious is just as self-congratulatory. Well done you. You have seen through the illusion of art. You have perceived the limits of ambition. Lets hope we never try anything ambitious ever again and just turn out enjoyable but transitory event books.

Bloody hell, it's great to see a good few 2000AD readers on this. TBH, I never was a big fan of Moore (and that includes Halo Jones!) I love Watchmen though.

Watchmen is a great story.

Best comic-book story I've read this year (thus far) is "What If? Secret Wars" #1. Brilliant Dr Doom story that shows just what a maniac he is.

But back onto games / comics: "The Walking Dead" MMO FTW.

Shrike: Actually I think Alan Moore would approve of that answer. Because your writing is just as smug as his.

"You have seen through the illusion of art. You have perceived the limits of ambition. Lets hope we never try anything ambitious ever again and just turn out enjoyable but transitory event books. "

WTF?

Rhubarb:

To be fair, I was being fairly ironic with the 'Marvelol' comment, although Marvel comics are generally speaking lightweight reading. Even The Ultimates (imo the best Marvel series) is just bubblegum compared to, say, the Sinestro Corps War or Kingdom Come.

I just don't see the 'Watchmen and V are shit but Ultimate Spidey is teh awesom' argument. It baffles me.

Isn't the subtitle for this game a bit of a spoiler?

Well, surprise, surprise. Alan Moore is a dick. Cranky, bitter, up his own arse, and all that.

Oh, and he's a damn good writer. It doesn't make him any less of a dick for it, of course. Maybe being a dick is sort of expected for people like him.

He laughs when picturing the faces of studio executives upon learning that he doesn't want money? If I was a studio executive, I would say something to the extent of "Awesome! We don't have to pay this guy! Now let's make the movie anyway." Ha ha ha.

http://tiny.cc/YXNZB

"I like the way gaming journalists get to call comic book enthusiasts 'geeks'. Comics have more potential to be literature and art than games."

you are positively retarded. a comic book - and you can call it "graphic novel" as much as you want, it's still a comic book - will never even be close to literature. grow up already and start to read a few real books, then you might have a clue as to what literature is

JahB: I'm sure I'm horribly mistaken, but you do sound like a tedious fuckwad.

"will never even be close to literature."

Why not? Because -you- say so?

Thanks for being an elitist prick, you elitist prick.

yeah i might, but i'm right.

Why not? Because -you- say so?

because literature is the art of "the written word". not writing 2 sentences and backing them up with a picture. that's something you do for children, because they aren't quite capable of reading a book yet.

"not writing 2 sentences and backing them up with a picture. that's something you do for children, because they aren't quite capable of reading a book yet. "

JahB: I must stay strong because your beginning to convince me.

But not yet. Not yet.

"I always found Nite Owl the least interesting character in the book."

IMO that was kind of the point of the author.

"I like the way gaming journalists get to call comic book enthusiasts 'geeks'. Comics have more potential to be literature and art than games."

+1

IMO comics books shouldn't be aspiring to be like 'regular' books, they're an art form on their own, with different merits. I enjoy reading graphic novels (and even plain comics now and then) and I enjoy reading literature.

As for "comics/graphic novels are for kids", IMHO people who make such claims and are serious about it (so not just flame baiting) are idiots.

"because literature is the art of "the written word". not writing 2 sentences and backing them up with a picture."

But comics also include this "written word", just because they happen to have illustrations also = invalid ... ? And where's the dividing line here ... What about illustrated novels?

edit. What Les said about idiots. (or just blinkered, if you prefer)

Watchmen is in Time Magazines All 100 Novels list:

http://www.time.com/time/2005/100books/t...

Although its a subjective list it does offer it some credibility.

JahB, you've missed my point. I said comics are more able to be literature than games. You're doing this:

BOOKS > EVERYTHING

When all I was saying was:

COMICS > GAMES (in terms of narrative and 'art')

But that's not to say that games don't contain strong narrative or artistic elements. Still, I find your posting amusing, so carry on in the same vein if you like.