Everything old at DC Comics is new once again. We’ve seen the rebirth/reboot of dozens of characters and stories in the last 6 months, with DC changing costumes, origins and relationships. In a new twist, DC recently announced that they will be rebooting, or rather “pre-queling”, the popular Watchmen series. The news resulted in mixed feelings amongst comic book purists who consider Alan Moore’s original doomsday tale an untouchable work of art.

DC Comics will be returning to the universe of Watchmen this July by launching seven new prequel series comic books that will collectively be referred to as Before Watchmen. This will mark the very first time all the original characters, Doctor Manhattan, Rorschach and the Comedian, appear together since the original release in 1986.

The project has been met with deep cynicism from fans, especially because of the absence of creators, Alan Moore and Dave Gibbons. Thankfully, some of the biggest names in the comic book world have lent their hand to aid the series along.

• Rorschach by writer Brian Azzarello and artist Lee Bermejo
• Comedian by Azzarello and artist J.G. Jones
• Minutemen by writer/artist Darwyn Cooke
• Silk Spectre by Cooke and artist Amanda Conner
• Nite Owl by writer J. Michael Straczynski and artists Joe and Andy Kubert
• Dr. Manhattan by Straczynski and artist J.G. Jones
• Ozymandias by writer and original Watchmen editor Len Wein with art by Jae Lee

“The original series of ‘Watchmen’ is the complete story that Alan Moore and I wanted to tell,” Gibbons said in a statement. “However, I appreciate DC’s reasons for this initiative and the wish of the artists and writers involved to pay tribute to our work. May these new additions have the success they desire.”

Moore himself publicly stated that he wanted nothing to do with the 2009 movie adaptation by director Zack Snyder, or any sequels or prequels to the books or movies. It was left to the NY Times to deliver Alan Moore’s statement: Mr. Moore, who has disassociated himself from DC Comics and the industry at large, called the new venture “completely shameless. I don’t want money,” he said. “What I want is for this not to happen.”

“As far as I know there are no plans for more books after this, but 25 years ago there were no plans for these books, so who truly knows?” asked Wein, who served as Moore and Gibbons’ original Watchmen editor in the 1980s. “I think reboots are almost mandatory in an industry that has existed for over three-fourths of a century now. The need to inject new blood, new ideas, new approaches, is the only thing that keeps our readers coming back for more.”