Today on Newsarama there was a post by David Pepose about the fact that DC is considering the possibility of doing sequels to Watchmen. Let the fanboy outrage ensue.
I for one don't give a shit whether they do 50 sequels, Watchmen cereal, Rorschach toothpaste and a Saturday morning cartoon using the characters. After all I don't own those characters, DC/Warner Bros owns them and they can do whatever the hell they want.
I enjoyed the original Watchmen as much as the next comic book fan, but it is just comic book, not some kind of sacred text. In the same way Casablanca is just a movie, Huxley's Brave New World is just a book, Elvis was just a musician and Alan Moore is just a writer. Sure all may be good or even great, but they are what they are and nothing more. People tend to attach too much to works and creators/artists that are part of the upper echelon, the best of the best. They attribute an almost sacred aspect to them, holding them in higher regard than they deserve.
I'm not bashing the quality of Moore's work here, I'm simply pointing out that none of this shit is so sacred that it can't be exploited. Common sense will tell you that if it tanks, they won't keep doing it. If it does well then there was demand for it because they put out something that people liked and wanted.
Ok I can already hear the cries of hypocrisy. Wasn't I pissed when D&D 4e came out? Well yeah, but not because it tarnished the name of D&D. I was pissed because of the way I felt WotC treated their fans. I gave 4e a chance and while I admit the system is good, I didn't like playing it. I didn't find it fun.
3e/Pathfinder is the type of system I prefer for D&D. It is that simple, a matter of preference. 4e has not "ruined" D&D or taken away from my ability to enjoy 3e/PfRPG. Do I still hold a grudge against WotC, sure and maybe that colored my judgment of 4e. However, I still own ten 4e books, so I think I gave the system a fair chance. Though in my defense my group didn't care for the system either.
Now what was the purpose of this rambling mess of a post? I guess I just wish that people would get over themselves. Don't take this shit so seriously and don't discount something until you at least give it try. Nothing is sacred and just because you love a certain piece of work doesn't mean that another one can't be just as enjoyable. After all the purpose of comics, movies, games, music, and fiction is entertainment. If they teach us something in the process, build character, or make us think, then we benefit from their existence. Still they are nothing more than what they are, a form of entertainment.
Don't take this stuff so seriously.
