HBO’s Watchmen Creator Damon Lindelof Was Hooked After He First Read The Comics…
On October 2, 2019, Watchmen (2019) creator Damon Lindelof sat down with BUILD Series and recounts the first time his father gave him an issue of the comics. Lindelof also shares how he feels about taking the wheel of the show.
Damon Lindelof describes a deep, lifelong connection to the original Watchmen comics, having first read them in 1986 at age 13 and feeling immediately captivated by the sophisticated, “adult” storytelling. He approached the HBO series as a “remix” rather than a sequel, aiming to build a new story on the foundation of the original 12 issues.
![Watchmen is a comic book limited series by the British creative team of writer Alan Moore, artist Dave Gibbons, and colorist John Higgins. It was published monthly by DC Comics in 1986 and 1987 before being collected in a single-volume edition in 1987. Watchmen originated from a story proposal Moore submitted to DC featuring superhero characters that the company had acquired from Charlton Comics. As Moore's proposed story would have left many of the characters unusable for future stories, managing editor Dick Giordano convinced Moore to create original characters instead. Moore used the story as a means of reflecting contemporary anxieties, deconstructing and satirizing the superhero concept, and making political commentary. Watchmen depicts an alternate history in which superheroes emerged in the 1940s and 1960s and their presence changed history so that the United States won the Vietnam War and the Watergate scandal was never exposed. In 1985, the country is edging toward World War III with the Soviet Union, freelance costumed vigilantes have been outlawed and most former superheroes are in retirement or working for the government. The story focuses on the protagonists' personal development and moral struggles as an investigation into the murder of a government-sponsored superhero pulls them out of retirement. Gibbons uses a nine-panel grid layout throughout the series and adds recurring symbols such as a blood-stained smiley face. All but the last issue feature supplemental fictional documents that add to the series' backstory and the narrative is intertwined with that of another story, an in-story pirate comic titled Tales of the Black Freighter, which one of the characters reads. Structured at times as a nonlinear narrative, the story skips through space, time, and plot. In the same manner, entire scenes and dialogues have parallels with others through synchronicity, coincidence, and repeated imagery. A commercial success, Watchmen has received critical acclaim both in the comics and mainstream press. Watchmen was recognized in Time's List of the 100 Best Novels as one of the best English language novels published since 1923. In a retrospective review, the BBC's Nicholas Barber described it as "the moment comic books grew up".[1] Moore opposed this idea, stating, "I tend to think that, no, comics hadn't grown up. There were a few titles that were more adult than people were used to. But the majority of comics titles were pretty much the same as they'd ever been. It wasn't comics growing up. I think it was more comics meeting the emotional age of the audience coming the other way."[2] After several attempts to adapt the series into a feature film, director Zack Snyder's Watchmen was released in 2009. An episodic video game, Watchmen: The End Is Nigh, was released to coincide with the film's release. DC Comics published Before Watchmen, a series of nine prequel miniseries, in 2012, and Doomsday Clock, a 12-issue limited series and sequel to the original Watchmen series, from 2017 to 2019 – both without Moore's or Gibbons' involvement. The second series integrated the Watchmen characters within the DC Universe. A standalone sequel, Rorschach by Tom King, was published between October 2020 and September 2021. A television continuation to the original comic, set 34 years after the comic's timeline, was broadcast on HBO from October to December 2019 with Gibbons' involvement. Moore has expressed his displeasure with adaptations and sequels of Watchmen and asked his name not to be used for future works.](https://i0.wp.com/moviestohistory.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/02/Watchmen_issue_1.jpg?ssl=1)
![Adrian Alexander Veidt, also known as Ozymandias (/ˌɒzɪˈmændiəs/ OZ-im-AN-dee-əs), is a fictional character and the main antagonist in the graphic novel limited series Watchmen, published by DC Comics. Created by Alan Moore and Dave Gibbons, named "Ozymandias" in the manner of Ramesses II, his name recalls the famous poem by Percy Bysshe Shelley, which takes as its theme the fleeting nature of empire and is excerpted as the epigraph of one of the chapters of Watchmen. Ozymandias is ranked number 25 on Wizard's Top 200 Comic Book Characters list and number 21 on IGN's Top 100 Villains list.[1] Veidt made his live-action debut in the 2009 film Watchmen, played by Matthew Goode. An older Adrian Veidt appeared in the 2019 limited television series Watchmen, played by Jeremy Irons.](https://i0.wp.com/moviestohistory.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/02/OZYM_Cv1_var.jpg?ssl=1)
![Silk Spectre is the name of two superheroines in the graphic novel limited series Watchmen, published by DC Comics. Created by Alan Moore and Dave Gibbons, the original Silk Spectre, Sally "Jupiter" Juspeczyk, was a member of the crimefighting team the Minutemen, while the second, Sally's daughter Laurel "Laurie" Jane Juspeczyk, became a member of the vigilante team Crimebusters, also known as the titular Watchmen. In the early stages of the series' development, the characters were Charlton Comics superheroes; the female superhero was supposed to be Nightshade.[2] However, Moore did not find Nightshade particularly interesting[3] and was not even very familiar with the character.[2] After the idea of using Charlton characters was abandoned, he decided to model Silk Spectre on superheroines like Phantom Lady and Black Canary (also an alias shared by mother and daughter).[3] The Sally and Laurie Juspeczyk versions of Silk Spectre made their live-action debuts in the 2009 film Watchmen, in which they were played by Carla Gugino and Malin Åkerman, respectively. An older version of Laurie Juspeczyk, now known as Laurie Blake, appeared in the 2019 limited television Watchmen, played by Jean Smart.](https://i0.wp.com/moviestohistory.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/02/Silk_Spectre_II_-_Watchmen.webp?ssl=1)
![Doctor Manhattan (Dr. Jonathan "Jon" Osterman) is a fictional DC Comics character created by writer Alan Moore and artist Dave Gibbons. He debuted in the limited series graphic novel, Watchmen. After a laboratory accident, atomic physicist Jon Osterman gains the ability to observe and manipulate matter at the subatomic level. The U.S. government dubs him Doctor Manhattan due to his immense destructive potential. As he explores the extent of his powers, Jon becomes increasingly detached from his personal life and his understanding of the human experience, which dehumanizes him. Media analysts view his portrayal in the novel as a significant exploration of the tension between absolute power and its moral use, as well as a commentary on American exceptionalism in the late 20th century.[1] Manhattan later appeared in the Before Watchmen comic book prequel. In 2016, as part of DC Comics' Rebirth relaunch, Manhattan became a major character in the DC Universe. He was one of the main characters in the Doomsday Clock miniseries, published from 2017 to 2019.[2] Manhattan made his first live-action debut in the 2009 film Watchmen, played by Billy Crudup. He also appeared in the 2019 limited television series Watchmen, played by Yahya Abdul-Mateen II, with his original form played by Darrell Snedeger.](https://i0.wp.com/moviestohistory.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/02/Doctor_Manhattan_Watchmen_0003.webp?ssl=1)
BUILD is a live interview series like no other — a chance for fans to sit inches away from some of today’s biggest names in entertainment, tech, fashion and business as they share the stories behind their projects and passions. Every conversation yields insights, inspiration and plenty of surprises as moderators and audience members ask questions. It all happens several times a day live and live-streamed on BUILDseries.com.
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