DC Comics is producing a new hardcover edition of Alan Moore and Dave Gibbons' Watchmen graphic novel.  The 436-page hardcover edition will have a cover price of $39.99 and will be released in October, the same month that Titan Books will be publishing Watching the Watchmen, Dave Gibbons' account of the creation of what is likely at this point, the most popular graphic novel of all time (see "Watching the Watchmen").  The new hardcover edition will provide a deluxe presentation of the graphic novel classic at a lower price point than the $75, 464-page Absolute Edition (see "Absolute Watchmen in N.Y. Times Review").

With Zack Snyder's big screen adaptation of Watchmen due out next March, sales of the Watchmen graphic novel have been building steadily since the film was announced.  Watchmen was the bestselling non-manga graphic novel in American bookstores during the month of March (see "BookScan's Top 20 Graphic Novels for March") and sales should continue to grow as the premiere of the Watchmen movie gets closer.