Watchmen Motion Comic Webisodes Coming to DVD and Blu-ray
The Watchmen merchandising craze has begun! The highly-anticipated movie will hit theatres on March 6th, but in the days leading up to its release and the days following it, Warner Brothers will issue some supplementary material to help catch audiences up to speed (and make a quick buck while they’re at it). We’ve already heard that the animated spin-off Tales of the Black Freighter will likely hit DVD on March 10th, but now we have confirmation of a DVD release for the Watchmen Motion Comic on March 3rd as well.
What is the Watchmen Motion Comic? This is the series of 12 webisodes that they have been releasing for free on iTunes that recap the entire graphic novel using the original artwork and minimal animation to enhance the presentation. (Watchmen Comic Movie has a complete list of the chapters that have been released so far, including iTunes links to download them.) I guess the idea is that this will give people who refuse to read a chance to familiarize themselves with the source material. Suggested retail price is $29.98 for the DVD and $35.99 for the Blu-ray, which seems a bit pricey, but I guess a good chunk of that is probably going to Fox now too. They also come with $7.50 in “movie cash” to see Watchmen in theatres, and the Blu-ray release will also include the “Prison Break” scene from the Watchmen movie.
Comments (4)
Motion comics are for those people who won’t watch a movie if it has subtitles. Also people who have all the Harry Potter movies lined up on their shelf but still haven’t read the books are probably downloading these things.
Posted by Ryan M. on January 23rd, 2009I watched one of these episodes from Xbox live Arcade a few months back. They are pretty lame. It sounds like the voice overs are done by one man, so the women sound like trannys.
Posted by Laserbeard on January 23rd, 2009Unlike the posters above the folks who produced the Watchman Motion Comic understand it is not an end unto itself. It is simply another way to enjoy Dave Gibbons terrific art in a limited form of animation (fun). It’s not meant as a substitute for reading the graphid novel. Those of us who grew up with the Marvel Super Heroes TV show totally get this because we’ve seen it before. Back then they were the closes adaptations possible of original Marvel stories and the closest anyone would ever come to seeinga Jack Kirby animated cartoon. Likewise here with Gibbons.
Yes, it’s unfortunate that they didn’t do more with the voice over. Lame? Not at all. These folks just don’t get it. Not for the small minded or hi-tech pampered.
Posted by Hooded Justice on January 23rd, 2009I’ve really been enjoying these. It’s a fantastic way to experience the story as Moore and Gibbons produced it without having to muddle through the trade. The production on this is actually top notch. The musical score alone if fantastic. If you can adjust your paradigm to accept the voice actor, these really are worth the price of admission. I found it a great way to experience Moore’s writing, which I’m not a die-hard fan of.
6 hours of story for $30. What are you guys complaining about again?
Posted by Philip Clark on January 30th, 2009Leave a Reply