When Doomsday Clock was announced, you could feel Alan Moore’s eyes roll to the back of his head. The legendary comic book writer has never been a fan of corporations messing with his creations, even less so when it becomes the “official” sequel to his, colourist John Higgins and artist Dave Gibbons’ seminal series Watchmen.
While Moore hasn’t officially commented on Doomsday Clock, Gibbons told Bleeding Cool: “Well, I won’t be reading it! You’re lucky. I usually say ‘no comment’ to these questions.” He added, “I wasn’t told anything at all—I know just as much as anybody else… I suppose I’m quite okay with it—it’s just another day at the office.”
Judging by his comments, it’s obvious that Gibbons isn’t a fan of the idea. Honestly, you can’t blame him for feeling the way he is, since it does sound like an unpleasant situation to experience.
Still, the fact that writer Geoff Johns, colourist Brad Anderson and artist Gary Frank were tackling this series should’ve piqued more than a few curious minds. While Johns is fully aware of the potential backlash of taking on such an ambitious project, he told Nerdist it had to be done. “You just do the best work you can do. I work with the best people I know in comics,” he said. “And we’ve got a story we believe in, and we tell it. We could shy away from it and not do it. But we believe in it.”
The biggest hook for Doomsday Clock was how it promised to showcase how Dr Manhattan influenced the DC Universe and the Watchmen’s place in it. Additionally, there’s a potential Superman and Dr Manhattan clash on the horizon, which is something that readers have dreamed about for decades.
The series started off with a bang as Johns and his team not only captured the essence of Watchmen but also succeeded in tying it into the larger universe. Magic happened on the pages as the build-up to epic revelations reached boiling point and the hype took over the title.
Unfortunately, with Johns’ sizable role in all things DC, it resulted in issues being delayed while annoying fans with the unreliable release schedules. While the miniseries should’ve wrapped up its twelfth and final issue by now, issue #11 is only being released in August 2019.
Whatever hype Doomsday Clock had faded with each delay. Issue #10 should’ve had the comics industry shouting from the rafters about how it changes the whole outlook of the DC Universe, yet no one seemed to care. A seismic event turned into a footnote and “by the way” article on most sites, as the title’s lack of momentum impacted its relevance in popular culture.
While it’s too early to tell if Doomsday Clock will become an instant classic, it’s looking unlikely. Things could change once it’s collected in a hardcover or trade paperback, but no one trusts the release dates for the issues. It’s a shame, really, since it’s a story that deserved a lot more and could’ve been a major talking point amongst comic book fans right now.
