Four Watchmen prequel miniseries, with an over-arching plot by Darwyn Cooke, are in development at DC, according to leaks reported by Bleeding Cool.  The new series, if they’re published, would be done without the permission of Watchmen writer Alan Moore (DC owns the rights), but might involve artist Dave Gibbons, according to the report.

It’s easy to see why DC might want to do a Watchmen spinoff project; Watchmen is the bestselling graphic novel of all time. But if this story is true (and there hasn’t been even a hint of an official word from DC on the topic), it means that DC is willing to deal with the blowback from doing the project without Moore’s cooperation, which could reduce the value of the new miniseries considerably.