I'm less enthused by the early release of a "Tales of the Black Freighter" disc mere weeks after the movie's launch. "Freighter" as a stand alone doesn't work for me (anymore than any cheesy pirate story would work for me as a separate story). However, the story has a number of specific SPOILERY tasks in the Watchmen storyline. The protagonist's POV monologue ratchets the tension in the story. The growing dread mirrors the advancing Soviet conflict that accelerates after Doc's departure. The comic underpins the relationship between the newspaper stand owner and the young, Black reader (for a dramatic Issue 12 payoff). It introduces the reader to the writing style of the author that Veidt used to program the mental squid bomb images. Freighter's twist amplifies the tough choice that Rorschach, Dreiberg, Doc and Veidt face in Issue 12. And the protagonist's increasingly twisted, albeit internally "justified" actions mirror Veidt...

Earning my geek chic bonafides here with a few Watchmen comments. If you know nothing and want to enjoy the movie completely "fresh," stop reading... First, I have been stoking the fires of the forthcoming movie release with the Warner "motion comics," currently available on iTunes and coming soon as a stand alone disc. The most compelling aspect of the motion comics is that Gibbons' artwork is used. The frontpiece and endpiece quotes are also included (which will likely not survive the movie adaptation). Another excellent choice is the inclusion of the speech bubbles. Moore's text has delightful little nuances that can only be appreciated in the READING of the text. For the most part, the voice over exactly matches, but there are some VERY minor exclusions that must have been trimmed for timing. There simply is no other way to experience the visual "harmonies" employed in the comic book in a live action movie. Zach Snyder is passionate, but he...