Controversy aside, "Before Watchmen" isn't without fan support. Several readers are looking forward to the creative teams attached to DC Comics' planned "Watchmen" prequels, but there's another high profile someone looking forward to the work: "Watchmen" actor Matthew Goode. "I'm quite excited to see what they come up with," Goode told Digital Spy in a [...]

Controversy aside, "Before Watchmen" isn't without fan support. Several readers are looking forward to the creative teams attached to DC Comics' planned "Watchmen" prequels, but there's another high profile someone looking forward to the work: "Watchmen" actor Matthew Goode.

"I'm quite excited to see what they come up with," Goode told Digital Spy in a recent interview. "In some senses, my character [Ozymandias] was the one character where everyone else gets a bigger chunk of backstory. I'd quite like to know what was going on. See if I was right about some of the choices I made!"

Goode recognizes that "Watchmen" without original creators Alan Moore and Dave Gibbons is a tough act to sell, but he's still excited about some of the names attached to the prequel comics.

"It's not Alan Moore and Dave Gibbons doing it, but they've got some of the best [writers and artists]," he told the site in a video interview. "Who knows what will happen with that? Whether it will be made into a prequel or not?"

Whether a "Watchmen" film prequel is on the way or not remains an interesting question. But Goode seems pretty sure that director Zack Snyder would not be back to tell further stories about Ozymandias, Rorschach and the rest.

"Zack would have loved to have [Moore's] involvement, because the book is so revered and its one of his favorite things in the entire world," he said. "Whether Zack would be involved in it again I don't know, he's pretty busy."

Thanks to Blastr for the head's up!

Tell us what you think of "Before Watchmen" in the comments section and on Twitter!

Struggling with the climactic aftermath of his battle with Mob Rule last issue, The Flash must solve a murder mystery that dates back 150 years! Is...

Struggling with the climactic aftermath of his battle with Mob Rule last issue, The Flash must solve a murder mystery that dates back 150 years! Is this case too cold even for Barry Allen? Also: Learn the origins of Central and Keystone City!

Publisher: DC Comics
On Sale: February 22, 2012

Batman's darkest fears resurface in this stunning conclusion to the opening epic as the Dark Knight confronts the mastermind behind the toxin being...

Batman's darkest fears resurface in this stunning conclusion to the opening epic as the Dark Knight confronts the mastermind behind the toxin being injected into Gotham City's criminals. But the conspiracy behind the toxin runs deeper than he could possibly have imagined. Time is running out - and the entire structure of Gotham City's society is at risk, unless Batman can find a path to overcome the man who once broke his back: Bane!

Publisher: DC Comics
On Sale: February 22, 2012

It’s a shame, really, that the mere mention of “environmentalist themes” is generally guaranteed to elicit groans, sighs and eye-rolls from many a movie buff. You’d expect such messages would be difficult to rail against. Surely, no feeling human being would actually desire the antithesis--movies that somehow promote deforestation, pollution and the various scaly heads of anti-conservationism.

So the problem, most times, is the delivery. That’s what turns moviegoers off--not the message, per se.

Granted, it’s real tough to get nuanced about complicated issues when you’re trying to tell an entertaining story in an economic runtime. Because of that, environmentalist messages can run condescendingly obvious, at best, and hypocritically misanthropic, at worst. These allegories can exude an off-putting loathing for mankind, depicting industrialists almost uniformly as cackling super-villains from Captain Planet’s rogue's gallery--ogres who go out of their way to pollute for simple gratification, not reasonable profit motives. They can get so anxious about eliciting sympathy for wild creatures that they conveniently overlook the uglier sides of nature. You know, like how that cute ‘n cuddly cartoon fox kind-of has to be a predator, in reality.

And this is all put forth while the vast amounts of paper, plastic and assorted toxic chemicals needed to produce film are, of course, overlooked.

== TEASER ==

Ghibli’s newest film, The Secret World of Arrietty, is getting a wide release this week. Even though it wouldn’t at first seem like an environmentalist movie--it’s about humans’ coexistence with other humans (albeit little ones)--the flick actually continues the animation studio’s style of addressing these aforementioned themes with maturity and even keel. By no coincidence, that coincides with the tendency of studio founder and figurehead, Hayao Miyazaki, to rarely ever feature outright villains in his movies.

This has been the case since Ghibli’s first (semi-unofficial) effort, 1984’s Nausicaä of the Valley of Wind, a post-Apocalyptic epic set in an irradiated landscape long since melted by the catastrophic "Seven Days of Fire." The crux of the plot involves one feudalistic kingdom provoking the wrath of mutant giants from the poisoned “Sea of Corruption” into annihilating another kingdom.

Not only is the antagonist kingdom not wholly reprehensible for their actions, not only is real peace eventually brokered between all the parties at the end (even the guilty ones,) but the flick also pulls off the startling feet of actually finding beauty in a nuclear wasteland. Salvation is found when the titular princess Nausicaä reaches out to these mutant giants; and they aren't cute and cuddly critters, but monstrous, colossal mites with pinchers and tentacles. Her respect for them isn't borne of trite obsequiousness, but a very sober understanding of their danger. They'll respect you if you respect them, sure--but if you don't, they're liable to wipe you off the face of this cursed Earth.

Princess Mononoke handles another feudal conflict (one that's actually in Japan’s feudal era, this time) with a philosophy reflective of its saintly protagonist, Prince Ahistaka. That is, point a knife at your own chest if you’re going to point a knife in accusation at any one else’s.

The plot follows Ashitaka as he sets out into the country to find the humans who made an iron bullet that wounded a great boar god and turned it into a demon whose rage-fueled curse subsequently infected our prince. Of the numerous layers of gray morality that manifest during his quest, the most relevant comes when he finds his culprit in the Lady Eboshi, an antagonist embodying industry in both its best and worst hues.

Yes, Eboshi forged the bullet, and yes, she’s tearing down the forest, but the bloodthirsty animal gods she battles against aren't totally pitiable, either. They have an adopted human girl in their pack, the princess San, who's vowed to assassinate Eboshi in the same terms one would normally hear from a mob enforcer in a gangland turf war. What's more, Eboshi is actually an commendable philanthropist, giving dignity, employment and sanctuary to reformed prostitutes and ostracized lepers she's rescued for her business. And Ashitaka himself experiences ambivalence in his own curse--a pollution of the body that grants him spectacular powers in battle even as it kills him slowly.

All of this complexity adds up to a multi-sided conflict of environmental issues where no participants are without fault, nor without merit. It's a cooler-headed, and vastly preferable, alternative to the glut of hysterical, overly-simplified binary conflicts we typically find in this sub-genre.

Finally, we come to the Secret World of Arrietty, which can rather easily be argued as another environmentalist fantasy in the Ghibli tradition. If the adoration of nature demonstrated in nearly every cel weren't enough, then the fact the tiny borrowers may as well be little talking mice would certainly push it squarely underneath this particular umbrella. The danger of house cats and crows isn't ignored, of course, and between these creatures and the humans (or "beings" as they're called,) cooperation must again be found and respect must again be established. Man’s presence does threaten the borrower’s lifestyle, but it's not out of his malice, but simply out of his naturally-insatiable curiosity. The housekeeper antagonist can't even really be faulted for her brusque treatment of the borrowers--she's honestly only a discussion or two away from amending her behavior.

More importantly, the Secret World of Arrietty doesn't gets its environmentalist message across by forcing one point-of-view on the audience as the previously-criticized examples do. Rather, like the best Ghibli features, it guides the viewer through multiple perspectives of a conflict and, by doing so, encourages them to see things from angles other than their own.

That's a much more mature, and effective, way to argue a point.

Donald Miller's autobiographical book about his struggles with his Christian faith at a liberal college in Portland was almost not made into a film; a Kickstarter campaign helped raise the funds for its creation. Apparently that includes money for space CGI.

Doug Zawisza gives "American Vampire" #24 4.5 stars, saying, "[Scott] Snyder breathes life into these characters, but [Rafael] Albuquerque teaches them how to walk, run and dance."

While the rest of the field team puts down a sudden uprising of rogue technology, Irish and Attila make the most of their medical leave by getting...

While the rest of the field team puts down a sudden uprising of rogue technology, Irish and Attila make the most of their medical leave by getting wasted in an Eastern European dive bar though the locals don't take kindly to having U.N. peacekeepers nosing around in their business!

Publisher: DC Comics
On Sale: February 22, 2012

Jonah Hex fights a giant bat to the death! But even with his winged foe slain, will he and Amadeus Arkham survive being trapped in a cave with the...

Jonah Hex fights a giant bat to the death! But even with his winged foe slain, will he and Amadeus Arkham survive being trapped in a cave with the lost tribe of Miagani Indians? Hex and Arkham must enlist help including some familiar faces and some surprising saviors if they're going to make it out of this death trap and bring justice to the enslaver of Gotham's underprivileged children.

Plus: The Barbary Ghost proves that a girl can be a gang boss's worst nightmare when she has vengeance on her mind.

Publisher: DC Comics
On Sale: February 22, 2012

Who sank Atlantis? Mera, the beautiful Atlantean assassin trained in the Bermuda Triangle, follows a trail of death and deceit to the one man who...

Who sank Atlantis? Mera, the beautiful Atlantean assassin trained in the Bermuda Triangle, follows a trail of death and deceit to the one man who knows the ugly truth. But what does he want in return for his secrets – and how does it all tie into Mera's own dark past?

Publisher: DC Comics
On Sale: February 22, 2012

Stage actor Colin Donnell rounds out the cast of "Arrow," playing Oliver Queen's best friend Tommy Merlyn in The CW pilot based on DC Comics' Green Arrow.

Stage actor Colin Donnell rounds out the cast of "Arrow," playing Oliver Queen's best friend Tommy Merlyn in The CW pilot based on DC Comics' Green Arrow.