Me!  And lots of other people, probably!

This trailer has been out for quite a while but I haven’t posted it.  Why?  I don’t know, because it looks incredible!

For those who aren’t familiar with Watchmen, it’s a comic book by Alan Moore spanning 12 issues.  It came out out in the mid-80s and is seen as a turning point in the comic book industry.  It’s set in an alternate-1985, where costumed heroes have changed the course of history.  These heroes are based on existing archetypes, so yes, that guy does look like Batman, but he’s called “Nite Owl” and is a cross between DC’s Batman and then-Charlton Comics’ “Blue Beetle”.  (The new Blue Beetle comic from DC is excellent!)

The comic contains many flashbacks to the different ages of superheroes, side-stories, subtext, the psychology of being a costumed hero — it’s a complete deconstruction of the superhero genre and it’s brilliant.

I first read Watchmen back in the early 90s, after being loaned the collected graphic novel by Brad Stewart.  Back then I was a power-fantasy superhero fan, and I have to admit that I didn’t really “get” Watchmen on my first read.  It was just too different from what I expected in a superhero comic book, and I didn’t understand that the art style was purposefully old-fashioned.  I told Brad “it was ok” and he looked at me like I was crazy.  Back then I wanted awesome art and straightforward stories, I admit.

Years later after my comic tastes had expanded — and I had grown up a bit – I read it again and was blown away.  It’s so information-dense that I’ve read it several times since and pick up more on each reading.

So here comes the movie, which Watchmen’s Alan Moore has washed his hands of because of bad experiences with movie studios in the past, and a belief that movies simply can’t tell stories like comic books.  But director Zack Snyder, who directed the super-faithful ’300′ has been doing the sme for Watchmen, and from the looks of that trailer he’s pulled it off.

Recently he let Kevin Smith watch it.  His reaction?  “It’s fucking astounding!”

“I saw Watchmen. It’s fucking astounding. The Non-Disclosure Agreement I signed prevents me from saying much, but I can spout the following with complete joygasmic enthusiasm: Snyder and Co. have pulled it off. Remember that feeling of watching Sin City on the big screen and being blown away by what a faithful translation of the source material it was, in terms of both content and visuals? Triple that, and you’ll come close to watching Watchmen. Even Alan Moore might be surprised at how close the movie is to the book. March can’t come soon enough.”