* My pal Zach Oat at Television Without Pity is the reason why I was able to see Watchmen the other night in the first place, and many of the points I make in my review were first aired in conversation with him after the screening, so perhaps it’s no surprise that his review of the film is my favorite so far. I thought this was a clever point:

…while many reviewers might disagree with me, the film version of Watchmen is not your standard superhero movie. True, it has guys in costumes fighting street-level thugs — and, later, other costume types — with the same martial-arts moves you’d see in any of the Batman flicks. But the big difference is that this isn’t an origin tale, like Batman Begins or Iron Man or most other superhero films. It’s the opposite of an origin, where the heroes are out of the spotlight on the other side, slowly dying and being forgotten about as they reflect on their lives.

* Meanwhile, Frank Santoro’s read of Watchmen over at Jeet Heer’s blog is so good, and so in sync with what I’ve been trying to get across about the movie and the book and Moore’s superhero/superhero-ish work generally, that I’m going to quote it in its entirety:

Watchmen is a Lutheran reformation text knocking on the door of the Catholic establishment by a devout believer. Or something like that. And why I think scholars of comics don’t really enjoy it because they aren’t superhero fans. The text is an indictment of the form, the laws, by a believer in the form. I don’t know if anyone who wasn’t a “true believer” to start with really “gets” the full impact of the text. It’s like a Muslim saying he doesn’t enjoy the New Testament.

That’s exactly right, and exactly what I’ve been saying: No matter what Moore himself says today, Watchmen is not Eightball #23.

* When my former boss Gareb Shamus wasn’t busy firing everyone who works for him who isn’t his brother Stephen, he apparently collected all 12 original Watchmen covers. I had no idea! That’s a pretty terrific collection.

* Closed Caption Comics member Ryan Cecil sings the praises of the Wachowski Brothers’ stunning Speed Racer. Man, is that movie ever a grower. Actually, thinking about my experience watching Watchmen, Speed Racer is the film I think it’s the closest to. Some kind of cross between Speed Racer and Rambo, which is a pretty heady brew.

* Another altcomic bites the dust: Tom Spurgeon reports that Ted May is canceling the completed Injury #3 until further notice. That’s a travesty, because look at the goddamn cover. That’s the best thing I’ve ever seen him draw. Damn.

* Speaking of May, sorta, USS Catastrophe has reopened and is selling Rumbling a new Kevin Huizenga mini containing the continuation of a story from the now-defunct Or Else. (Via Tom Spurgeon.)

* Also via Spurge, Jeffrey Brown has a blog! And he’s drawing G.I. Joe. Sheeeeeeeeeeit.

* Scott Tobias’s New Cult Canon column returns with a look at Femme Fatale, a film best described as Brian DePalma’s tribute to Brian DePalma. That’s no faint praise, I assure you.

* Matt Maxwell Shelf Porn!

* Paging Bryan Alexander! If Charlie Parker Was a Gunslinger, There’d Be a Whole Lot of Dead Copycats begins a new photo series: Abandoned Places.

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