Call DC publisher Dan Didio an optimist.
For months, Watchmen creator Alan Moore has blasted DC for the upcoming Before Watchmen series. But Didio is hoping that Moore might prove a bit more open-minded when the comics finally hit shelves next month and actually read the issues before he passes final judgement.
“I hope [Moore] looks at them with an open mind and a chance to understand this is a love letter to what he created, and more importantly that the strength of his work is allowing other people to grow and tell other stories which will hopefully inspire other creators along the way,” he told The Guardian. “In the way he was inspired by the creators when he was younger, we’re hoping these ideas and these books are inspiring new people, so that we continue to grow the comics business as a whole.”
But whether Moore does this or not, Didio says that he thinks that universe of Watchmen is open to more exploration and installments.
“The stories and ideas are so well defined, and there are so many throwaways in the body of the original work, a one-line mention or a side item or a cameo shot of a character, that were basically great wonderful springboards we could grow the world from,” he said. “That’s why when everybody says this is a finite story, true if you’re looking at the beginning, middle, end of that particular story itself. But when you’re talking about the characters, there’s nothing finite about them. They have endless possibilities in the types of stories we could tell with them. And like I said, we’ve found the right creators to tell those stories.”