'Watchmen' Races Towards The Top Of The Amazon.Co.Uk Book Chart

Alan Moore and Dave Gibbons' ground-breaking Watchmen has raced towards the top of the Amazon.co.uk book chart as sales rise by over 3000% and excitement builds around 2009 film release.

Its trailer is currently running before screenings of The Dark Knight and it's already being tipped as the must-watch film for 2009. Now, despite the misgivings of creator Alan Moore about film adaptations of his work, the excitement around the cinematic release of Watchmen has seen sales of the original graphic novel rise by over 3000% in the last month to claim the number four position on the Amazon.co.uk bestsellers book chart (as of today, it's at Number Six).

It is only being held off the top spot by the Collector’s Edition and Standard Edition of JK Rowling’s The Tales of Beedle the Bard and cookery title Chinese Food Made Easy which accompanies the hugely popular BBC TV series.

"We have never seen a graphic novel at the top of the bestsellers list before but we would expect Watchmen to hit the top spot at some point before the theatrical release of the movie, said Kes Nielsen, Head of Books Buying at Amazon.co.uk.

"Who knows, if the sales continue to rise at this rate, it may even topple The Tales of Beedle the Bard over the coming weeks, which would be an incredible feat."

Watchmen, set in an alternate 1985 America in which costumed superheroes are part of the fabric of everyday society, is the only graphic novel to appear in Time Magazine's ‘100 best English language novels’ list and remains one of Alan Moore's most-praised works, and has had a huge influence on superhero comics since its initial publication back in the 1980s.

"We have seen significant increases in the sales of graphic novels over the last few years, spurred on by the many films that have been adapted from them," continued Kes Nielsen. "There has, however, been a real step change over the last month or so which must be credited in some part to the success of The Dark Knight.

"Now, with the growing excitement around ‘Watchmen’, we are certain to see the success of graphic novels hit even greater heights."

• The Watchmen film will hit cinemas in March 2009. Visit the official web site

• Buy Watcmen from amazon.co.uk

Watchmen Film: Character Designs released

The official blog for the Watchmen film, due for release in the US 6 March 2009, has just published several character sketches from the new movie based on the designs created by British artist Dave Gibbons for Alan Moore's seminal graphic novel.

Featured are The Comedian (left, played on screen by Jeffrey Dean Morgan) the character whose death starts events in both book and film); Nite Owl (Patrick Wilson); billionaire superhero Ozymandias (Matthew Goode); Rorschach (Jackie Earle Haley); and Silk Spectre (Malin Akerman).

Filming is now complete and director Zack Snyder says he is delighted with what's in the can now production has wrapped.

"A film adaptation of Watchmen has been in the works for almost 20 years," he says on his blog, thanking the cast and crew on the project, "and thanks to you, it is finally in the can. It has been such a pleasure to be surrounded by a team that is so dedicated and that has given 110% each and every day. I am extremely grateful for the level of attention to detail put forth by each department to capture all of the texture that makes Watchmen the incredibly unique property that it is.

"Although we still have a lot of work to do in post, the shoot has been an experience I will not soon forget!"

• Official Watchmen Film Blog
• Official Watchmen Film web site (US)