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Comic book fans and movie goers alike maybe be interested to hear what the acclaimed comic book illustrator, Dave Gibbons, has to say about the new film adaptation of the epic graphic novel ‘The Watchmen’ Gibbons interview with Lisa Rose of The Star-Ledger reads;

'Watchmen' illustrator Dave Gibbons remembers the first time he saw actor Billy Crudup on set in costume as Dr. Manhattan, a nuclear scientist-turned-blue Adonis. A good amount of motion capture magic went into replicating the radioactive superhero from page to screen.

"Billy was wearing a pajama suit that had LED lights all over it and motion capture registration dots," says Gibbons. "There was a pattern of dots on his face that looked like some horrible skin condition. It must have been quite difficult for him to act like a master of the universe wearing that getup."

Indeed, it took no small amount of patience and craft to create a live action version of "Watchmen" with the right blend of reverence and ingenuity to earn Gibbons' support.
"In a sense, I'm putting my reputation on the line," he says. "I'm very happy with the way it's been done and I believe the reaction will be overwhelmingly positive. I think at the end of the day I'm not going to have egg on my face."

The illustrator put his name on the film but his collaborator, writer Alan Moore ("V for Vendetta," "From Hell") isn't associated with the project. It's not that Moore has an issue with this particular production; according to Gibbons, he's given up on Hollywood altogether.
"He wants nothing more to do with the movie business," says Gibbons, who worked with Moore on such other titles as "Future Shocks," "Mogo Doesn't Socialize" and the Superman chronicle, "For the Man Who Has Everything."

Gibbons keeps in touch with Moore. "He's happy to talk to me but he won't talk about 'Watchmen,'" he says.

In the 23 years since the comic first was published, studios have made so many false starts on adaptations that the project came to be regarded as an impossible endeavor, leaving a trail of lawsuits in its wake.

Gibbons calls it serendipity that director Zack Snyder ("300") turned up just as technology grew advanced enough to render the tale's extravagant vistas via computer. Also, in the wake of "The Dark Knight," audiences seem primed for a new take on costumed adventure.

"As a film that deconstructs superhero movies, it's coming out just at the right time," says Gibbons. "And Zack was the man to make it. The fact that he was coming off something very successful like '300' meant that he was able to have leverage and get the film made the way he wanted it to be made."

When Snyder decided to change a scene late in the book, he asked Gibbons for sketches.
Gibbons explains, "Zack wanted me to draw the sequence exactly as I drew the pages of 'Watchmen,' the same size, using the same pens."

Snyder even recruited original colorist John Higgins to complete the illustrations for an exact match. Of course, the prospect of a departure from the source material has generated angst for fans. Gibbons, however, believes the film is true to the tone of the book even if some of the details are tweaked.

"It leaves the audience the same way," he says. "You're still left with the same ambiguity. You're left asking the same questions. The end works perfectly well. It isn't just the original ending chopped off and something else gaffer taped in its place."

With its colorful tapestry of characters and subplots, the novel is rich with possibilities for sequels and prequels. Moore and Gibbons, however, haven't touched it. They ditched a plan to pen a follow-up series tracking the Minutemen, an earlier group of avengers referenced in the book. Gibbons feels it's best for "Watchmen" to remain a single, self-contained piece of storytelling.

"It should be left exactly as it is," says Gibbons. "Things are sometimes more powerful if you hint at them rather than actually show them. DC has been tempted to do spinoffs once or twice but they've resisted, to the great benefit and credibility of everybody concerned."  (Source: The Star-Ledger - 'Watchmen' illustrator praises film adaptation by Lisa Rose.)