Rumors of a Watchmen prequel have been popping up on the internet for several months now, but it wasn’t until today that they were confirmed. DC announced seven different prequel miniseries that will be published under the title Before Watchmen.

Before Watchmen: Rorschach

I’m not a fan of prequels in general. When you know how the story is going to end up, you need a really compelling reason to go back and explore what came before, and I don’t think Watchmen has one. It’s a complete and satisfying tale, and while I am interested in seeing more of the Minutemen, I feel like there’s not much to say about the Watchmen crew that Alan Moore hasn’t already said.

Before Watchmen: Minutemen

However, DC has assembled some terrifically talented creative teams for this. In spite of my misgivings, I can’t help but be excited at the thought of Brian Azzarello writing Rorschach and The Comedian, or seeing Amanda Conner draw Silk Spectre.

Before Watchmen: Silk Spectre

And for what it’s worth, many of the creators who are a part of this started off apprehensive. In fact, Darwyn Cooke, who is now working on two of the miniseries, was originally opposed to the whole thing. “I said no out of hand because I couldn’t think of a story that would measure up to the original – and let’s face it, this material is going to be measured that way,” he said. But later on, he came around. “What happened is, months after I said no, the story elements all just came into my head one day; it was so exciting to me that, at that exact moment, I started seriously thinking about doing the book.”

Before Watchmen: Comedian

I’m not sure how this is going to turn out, but I’m definitely going to give it a try. And as for Alan Moore? “I tend to take this latest development,” he said, “as a kind of eager confirmation that they are still apparently dependent on ideas that I had 25 years ago.”

You can see the full list of creative teams, titles, and covers below:

• Rorschach by Brian Azzarello and Lee Bermejo
• Comedian by Brian Azzarello and J.G. Jones
• Minutemen by Darwyn Cooke
• Silk Spectre by Darwyn Cooke and Amanda Conner
• Nite Owl by J. Michael Straczynski and Joe and Andy Kubert
• Dr. Manhattan by J. Michael Straczynski and Adam Hughes
• Ozymandias by original Watchmen editor Len Wein with art by Jae Lee
• Curse of the Crimson Corsair backup by Len Wein with art by original Watchmen colorist John Higgins.

(via USA Today)