LONDON, England -- A yellow smiley-face badge, smeared with blood, has become the trademark for "Watchmen," the most critically revered of all comic-books -- but it could also represent its troubled journey from page to big screen.



"Watchmen" opens with the unexplained murder of The Comedian (Jeffrey Dean Morgan). Note smiley badge.



The subject of fervent debate in the geekosphere for more than two decades, "Watchmen," finally rolls out in the U.S. and other territories from the first week of March onward.



But it's not as well known to wider audiences, who may puzzle at all this heat about a superhero movie with no A-list star attached. Instead, they may simply ask: "Watch-what?" Are you looking forward to "Watchmen?" Or think it's just hype? Tell us your views



"Watchmen," created by the UK comic-book team of writer Alan Moore and artist Dave Gibbons, surfaced in 1986 as a monthly 12-issue series published by DC Comics (part of Time-Warner, which owns CNN parent company Turner Broadcasting).



It was a defining year for the medium: aside from "Watchmen," '86 also saw Pulitzer-prize winning holocaust drama "Maus," from The New Yorker contributor Art Spielgeman; and Frank Miller's hyperviolent Batman reworking "The Dark Knight Returns."



"Watchmen," set in 1985, sets up a parallel world in which America never lost Vietnam, Russia is about to invade Afghanistan and Nixon still holds power (Bernstein and Woodward were murdered). Meanwhile a superhero team -- only one of whom has special powers -- reforms after a fellow operative is mysteriously slain.



So far, so what. But what lifts "Watchmen" is a complex, multi-layered narrative and depth of characterization that ensured it was the only comic-book to make Time's 100 best novels since 1923.



A dark, downbeat work with a heady 11th-hour twist, it puts as much store on subsidiary characters like a newspaper seller as its does blue-skinned man-god Dr Manhattan.  Watch "Watchmen" trailer. »



Perfect fodder, one might think, for the multiplex -- but "Watchmen" has been lodged in Development Hell for the best part of two decades. At various times Arnold Schwarzenegger and Vin Diesel were mooted to play Manhattan; Mickey Rourke and Ed Norton suggested for right-wing vigilante Rorschach.



Directors set to shoot have included Terry Gilliam, Darren Aronofsky, Paul Greengrass and David Hayter (whose script has been retained for much of the final film). Several planned shoots failed to materialize due to studio fears about the budget (locations include Antarctica and Mars as well as New York) and how the ending might be perceived in a post-9/11 world.  But film-makers such as Gilliam and Guillermo del Toro also believed that the complex material would be better treated as a TV mini-series (as the "Pan's Labyrinth" film-maker told IGN: "I just couldn't get my head around 'Watchmen' being two or three hours long.")



Whoever made "Watchmen" would also do so without Moore's blessing.



Still resident in his hometown of Northampton, central England, Moore cuts an imposing figure. At least six-and-a-half feet tall, with chest-length beard and hair, talon-like rings on his fingers and the skull of a centuries-old Buddhist monk in his study, he resembles Doctor Who as reimagined by Edgar Allan Poe. (In person he's gracious and affable, as this writer will attest from a few years back).



Moore has had a mixed relationship with both the mainstream comic-book industry (which he accuses of over-commercialization and exploiting creators' rights) and Hollywood. The comic-book series "From Hell," in which Moore uses the Jack the Ripper killings as a precursor to 20th-century violence, runs to about 500 pages, including 40-plus pages of footnotes. On film it became a melodramatic pad around Victorian
What is Gillam's job? How long did it take for the movie to reach cinemas? Who objected to the idea of the story being made into a movie? Who is directing the movie? How many decades did it take for the comic-book movie to reach cinemas? Who was the co-creator? Which directors have been previously attached to the film?
Directors two decades, Gilliam and Guillermo del Toro Terry Gilliam, Darren Aronofsky, Paul Greengrass two Dave Gibbons, Terry Gilliam, Darren Aronofsky, Paul Greengrass
question: What is Gillam's job?, answer: Directors | question: How long did it take for the movie to reach cinemas?, answer: two decades, | question: Who objected to the idea of the story being made into a movie?, answer: Gilliam and Guillermo del Toro | question: Who is directing the movie?, answer: Terry Gilliam, Darren Aronofsky, Paul Greengrass | question: How many decades did it take for the comic-book movie to reach cinemas?, answer: two | question: Who was the co-creator?, answer: Dave Gibbons, | question: Which directors have been previously attached to the film?, answer: Terry Gilliam, Darren Aronofsky, Paul Greengrass