Note: This is a post I wrote for our regular site, but since Julie already wrote one for today, I'm putting it here. From now on, I'm only going to have this blog on MySpace as more of a "blog" (and not a copy of our site), but I really wanted this to be somewhere.

I am a comic loving, sci-fi watching geek. Now that I've gotten that out of the way, let's continue.

Although I'm getting older, my comic collection has dwindled to my "keepers", and I haven't bought a new comic in years, I still love comics, especially the superhero genre. More precisely, mainstream superhero comics from the 70's and 80's: my developmental years. That said, I get excited at the prospect of a movie adaptation of "the good stuff".

And although I do get giddy, I no longer have that fanboy mentality. I don't pick apart a film because it doesn't follow the book exactly. I never got into dressing up as my favorite character for conventions or movie premieres. (Especially now; could you imagine an out-of-shape grown man, nearing 40 years, wearing spandex?) Actually, I've only been to a convention once, and that is when I realized that I am no longer a fanboy. There are attendees there who have far more dedication than I ever had.

But these dedicated fans are a dangerous breed if you piss them off.

Twentieth Century Fox is suing Warner Brothers over the adaptation to the Watchmen miniseries. Supposedly Fox owns the distribution rights of the property, so they claim Warner had no right to make the movie in the first place.

With the slight possibility that Watchmen will never be released, the comic geeks are angry. But what can they do?

Evidently they can make a dent in Fox's profits. They plan on boycotting various Fox films and even going so far as to make a crappy video camera recording of Fox's Wolverine and posting it for illegal downloading.

Part of me can see their anger. Watchmen is a property that has caught the interest of moviemakers for over twenty years. The story, penned by Alan Moore, is extremely complex and arguably one of the best comics ever written. It's one book I can read over and over again.

But, I have grown leery of comic adaptations. If you look at all of the movies based on comic books throughout the history of the medium, probably only one in twenty actually turns out to be any good. In recent years the odds have been better, because of better special effects, writers and directors who know the material, and just the natural progression in styles of screenwriting and directing.

But the ones based on Alan Moore's writings have been less that great: From Hell was strange, but not really great; League of Extraordinary Gentlemen was just plain cheesy, horrible, and strayed too far from the source material; I have still never seen V for Vendetta because I love the original story (another great comic) too much and have heard it was massacred.

I'm kind of leery about Watchmen because of the track record. The trailer looks good. Since they are trying to go by the look of the original art, by Dave Gibbons, it visually retains the feel. But trailers don't give you a sense of the script. Trailers are meant to get you into the theatre, not tell you a story.

I love Moore's work, and I understand why he refused to have his name be a part of the V and Watchmen movies. His works either don't lend well to film, or the studios decide they can do better and rape the book.

I'm also leery because I love the book too much. If I see the movie and it stinks, I'm going to have an icky feeling all over. It's like accidentally walking in on your dad in his underwear: the image will never go away.