0 New Release: Before Watchmen

It's official, DC have announced solid plans for a Watchmen prequel; they've even debuted a few covers.

I've never had a problem with sequels, prequels, flashforwards, I'm even partial to the odd alternate timeline, but already people are jumping to guess what Alan Moore is going to say. Well, I hate to disappoint you, but he has already said that he would actually have approved of some prequels if they'd bothered to ask him years ago. He also said that he doesn't even own a copy of the comic any more. He's a genius, we wouldn't even have half of the comics we do if today's writers hadn't grown up reading him, but when someone draws a line under their own work I think you should stop asking their opinion. Moore is not the first person to disown their own project, and if they make one more Indiana Jones I doubt he'll be the last.

They've already hinted at a bevvy of talented artists, each working on their own character. The Dr Manhattan series (above) is beng drawn entirely by one of my all-time favourite artists, Adam Hughes (you can read his blog about it here); I really can't wait to see his work, if only because I think his use of colour will lend really well to a glowing blue man. He did some of the cover and interior art for Ghost too, which is probably one of the only things I actually like about Ghost... Never tell anyone I just said I like Ghost.

Darwyn Cooke is also on the cards for a Minutemen prequel - again, it's perfectly paired to his curvy, retro illustrations, and I look forward to seeing how he chooses to draw the characters.

You can see the rest of the confirmed artists over on the ComicBookResources site.

0 The new DC logo

This completely passed me by, until Chainbear artist Stuart asked me about it. I love logos, and the various comic logos are always interesting; however, in a world of advanced technology, things are beginning to get a bit too complicated. Here is the original DC logo, next to the most modern one:

Original 1940 logo

2005 logo

The original logo was designed for efficiency more than style - it could easily be stamped onto anything, yet lacked a definitive identity. It tells you all the information, but it shouldn't have to. The best logos are usually symbols, quickly recognisable and identifiable as a specific brand. The 2005 DC 'Spin' logo (designed by the great Josh Beatman of Brainchild Studios) is taking advantage of better printing processes and the strength of the brand. It maintains a single colour, and despite being more complicated than the original it is quicker to identify as a DC Comics logo. The new logo, however...

There is so much wrong with this it hurts my brain to consider it. I'm the first to admit I'm a snob when it comes to logo design, but this... what were they thinking? It isn't even clear that it says DC until you read the text underneath which entirely defeats the point of even having a logo. At least the 2005 logo with its little star and whooshing lines hinted at comic books. This isn't a logo any more, its too complicated. My favourite logo of all the DC logos, has to be the 1976 'bullet' by Milton Glazer - colour, logo, style:

I don't know who is responsible for the travesty of a new logo, but they need to get back in touch with comic illustration; people tend to forget that most comic book titles are also logos, and its a task that usually goes to letterers. You do not need the publisher's logo to illustrate which comic it is attached to. Oh, wait:

These are the recently revealed final designs for some of the logos. The word 'some' worries me, almost as much as the fact that they still consider these to be logos. It's the sort of thing that seems like such a great idea at the time - hey, remember WordArt? How awesome did it make your business presentation look? Didn't your boss love your creativity? Why are you carrying all your stuff in that box?

The logo for the publisher should represent the publisher, not the title, and a logo should be a logo, not a fancy drawing with gradients.