Alan Moore’s distaste for DC’s ownership of his and Dave Gibbons’ work on Watchmen is widely known at this point—and considering the fact that neither Moore or Gibbons were contacted for the characters’ use in Rebirth, that distaste is still very real today. This new comic cover is unlikely to help smooth things over for Moore at least, either.
Announced by DC as one of the lenticular variant covers for its eagerly anticipated Doomsday Clock series—which will begin to answer questions about the Watchmen’s relationship to the DC Universe, and see Doctor Manhattan and Superman meet for the first time—the new cover, featuring art by Gibbons himself, sees Rorschach’s shape-changing mask transform from a series of random splotches into the logos of Batman, Superman, and Wonder Woman.
FIRST LOOK! #DoomsdayClock #1 has what I think is the coolest lenticular cover ever. Thank you, Dave! @1moreGaryFrank @bdanderson13 11/22/17 pic.twitter.com/UltJCZFI6G
— Geoff Johns (@geoffjohns) August 30, 2017
One of his own characters’s most identifying visual quirk being transformed into the logos of DC’s iconic trinity? Gibbons may be on board after being initially left out of the Watchmen/Rebirth proceedings, but I’m willing to bet Alan Moore is cursing very loudly somewhere right about now.
