DC is getting into the spirit of the famous symbol from Watchmen (and real life) by putting Doomsday Clock #1 on sale a little before even a true midnight sale.
Midnight sales are usually reserved for the biggest comic book events, and the release of Doomsday Clock #1 in November definitely qualifies. Still, DC Comics seems to have come up with an even better way to celebrate the iconic symbolism involved by allowing retailers to sell the first issue at an even more appropriate time.
CBR reports that select comic shops will have Doomsday Clock #1 celebrations and start selling the issue at 11:57 p.m. on Tuesday, Nov. 21. That represents the three minutes to midnight on the clock face itself, as seen in both Watchmen and the new series by Geoff Johns and gary Frank.
Goodies available at the launch part include black and white cover variants, promo pins (one would expect they’d feature the yellow clock too) and lithographs based on Frank’s art.
The centerpieces, though, will be the first issue itself, promising to both delve deeper into the underlying mysteries behind the DC Rebirth universe and pit Superman and other heroes against Doctor Manhattan. Other characters from Watchmen are also expected to appear in the series, with the cover for issue #2 featuring Lex Luthor with a hand on his shoulder that very much looks like it belongs to Adrian Veidt, a.k.a. Ozymandias.
Next: HBO Watchmen series gets pilot order
Doomsday Clock will run 12 issues and finish up in late 2018. making it arguably the biggest thing going on in superhero comics over the next year. It’s set roughly a year ahead of the rest of the DC Comics line so that those series will naturally converge with the end of the story that Johns and Frank are telling.
If you’re not fortunate enough to have an LCS opening at three minutes to midnight, you’ll be able to grab Doomsday Clock #1 anywhere new comics are sold on Wednesday, Nov. 22.