DAVE GIBBONS’ Take on WATCHMEN vs. DARK KNIGHT RETURNS
WATCHMEN AT 40: It’s like a Beatle talking about the Stones. Or vice versa… — UPDATED 5/13/26: Watchmen #1 was released 40 years ago, on May 13, 1986! Perfect time to reprint this beaut from November 2015. Plus, check out 13 COVERS: WHO PARODIES THE WATCHMEN? Dig it! — Dan — There’s one person I wanted to talk to more than any other for DARK KNIGHT WEEK — and it wasn’t Frank Miller. It was Dave Gibbons. Gibbons and Alan Moore, I figure, have a completely different perspective on Dark Knight Returns than most: Watchmen and DKR played out at roughly the same time in 1986 and together they completely altered comics — and by extension, popular culture in general — in the decades to come. Gibbons has worked with both Moore and Miller. He’s also one of the most insightful people I’ve interviewed in comics. So as we head toward the end of seven-days-plus of Dark Knight Returns retrospectives, here’s how the artist of one legendary work sees another … —And in case you missed them, check out our creator roundtables, where writers and artists like Greg Capullo, Mike Allred, Ron Marz, Darwyn Cooke and many others talk about various aspects of The Dark Knight Returns: In Part 1 (click here), creators remember their initial impressions of Miller’s landmark work. In Part 2 (click here), they discuss how the work influenced them as storytellers. In Part 3 (click here), they pick their favorite “HELL YEAH!” moments. My own 13 QUICK THOUGHTS about The Dark Knight Returns‘ legacy (can be found here). — Dan Greenfield: Dark Knight Returns #1 came out just a few months ahead of Watchmen. How aware were you of what Miller, Janson and co. were doing before the release? Dave Gibbons: Yeah, we were pretty aware of it. In fact we were quite worried about it at one point because the first we heard was that Frank was doing a story which dealt with a retired Batman and given that Watchmen was a story about retired superheroes, we were maybe just slightly concerned that we might be playing in the same sandbox. But as it turned out, Frank’s take was completely different to ours. And, of course, he was dealing with an established character rather than with new characters. But I do remember being sent some advance...
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