As the Watchmen prepare to return to DC in a big way with the Doomsday Clock arc, 0ne half of the original Watchmen creative team says he won't be picking up a copy, as Dave Gibbons shuns DC's latest crossover. Already dubbed "the sequel to Watchmen," Geoff Johns and artist Gary Frank unveiled the first six pages of the 12-part miniseries during New York Comic-Con. However, while the announcement was met with rapturous applause from an excited crowd, it seems that not everyone is so ecstatic to visit the world that Gibbons and Alan Moore first brought to shelves in 1986.

Also speaking at Comic-Con before a Madefire panel, Bleeding Cool News reports that Gibbons was less than impressed that DC is continuing to watch the Watchmen without him:

“Well, I won’t be reading it! You’re lucky. I usually say ‘no comment’ to these questions.”

Asked if he knew anything about the top secret project or where it was going next, it seems that Gibbons was completely left out the loop on being consulted for Doomsday Clock:

“I wasn’t told anything at all – I know just as much as anybody else...I suppose I’m quite okay with it – it’s just another day at the office.”

Watchmen – Rorschach art by Dave Gibbons

Although the work echoes the Gibbons and Moore era, it seems that a lot has changed since comic book readers first met the Watchmen some 30 years ago. However, the return of the vigilante heroes isn't exactly a surprise to avid fans, and DC's Rebirth event already put the pieces in place to usher the Watchmen into the world of Batman and Superman. Over a year in the making,  Doomsday Clock will officially see the two worlds combine for one of the biggest storylines to ever grace DC.

Everyone knew that Doomsday Clock would be a clash of the gods as Superman and Dr. Manhattan butt heads, but Johns' shocking revelation sees the story pick up after the events of Watchmen as a continuing story. While Gibbons is seemingly done with the Watchmen, the timing of Doomsday Clock couldn't be better. With rumors of a Watchmen TV show from HBO and Lost showrunner Damon Lindelof, the latest chapter of Watchmen lore may have just handed that project a lifeline. This may just be the start of even more Watchmen, but it is certainly sad that neither Gibbons or Moore will be continuing with Big Blue, Ozymandias, or Rorschach.

If unlike Gibbons, you would like to pick up a copy of the new book, Doomsday Clock Issue 1 will be released on November 22.

Source: Bleeding Cool News

Next: Doomsday Clock Teases the Return of Rorschach