If you’ve been following the Internet chatter surrounding WATCHMEN, chances are you’ve heard rumblings about a side project called Tales of the Black Freighter.
For those of you who still haven’t read the graphic novel (and seriously, you should get on that) Tales of the Black Freighter is an elaborate comic-within-a-comic that makes several appearances throughout WATCHMEN. On the first read, it’s kinda difficult to see TotBF’s relevance to the larger story – after all, it’s a comic book about pirates that serves only to entertain one background character. On closer inspection, however, you can see that TotBF is packed with allusions and metaphors that are deeply tied to larger events. It’s but one of the many gifts for repeat readers.
When it comes to the WATCHMEN film, however, it seems that TotBF didn’t make the final cut… sort of. Instead of being placed in the actual film, TotBF is being released as an animated DVD to serve as a companion piece.
I find this sort of cool… and sort of weird.
It’s cool because this kind of thing usually doesn’t happen. When it comes to adaptations – and especially adaptations of comic books – if the producers think something from the source material is irrelevant, it’s gone. Here, however, we have a middle ground. Most people who see WATCHMEN will appreciate that the seemingly superfluous material was cut, but diehard fans will still have a chance to see their beloved content in a polished and packaged format. Plus, it’s something to hang onto to prolong the WATCHMEN high.
At the same time, though, the animated DVD strikes me as a less-than-perfect idea. The whole point of TotBF is that you’re supposed to compare it to events in the larger WATCHMEN story. You actually need to see the scenes cross-cut and placed side by side for it to work. It’s just the littlest bit impossible to do this with the DVD.
Bottom line: I’m happy to have the bonus content, even if it’s not ideal. And, as an obsessive, raving fan, it’s nice to know that someone out there cares.
But what do you think? Is Tales of the Black Freighter what every good comic book fan deserves, or is it a poor compromise that just won’t satisfy?
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