Allow me to present to you a timeline:
- Sep 1986 – The comic book Watchmen debuts.
- Aug 1996 – The novel Game of Thrones is published.
- Feb 2006 – The comic book Mouse Guard debuts.
- Mar 2009 – The movie Watchmen is released.
- Apr 2011 – HBO’s Game of Thrones series begins.
- Sep 2012 – I read Mouse Guard, and am surprised to find the phrases, “we’re not stuck in here with you, you’re stuck in here with us” and “winter is coming” so flagrantly stolen.
Oh wait. Back in ’06, only hardcore nerdlingers like myself would recognize either of those phrases. And we’d probably just accept them as nods to two pillars of their respective genres. Now they stick out, and seem almost tawdry. Lesson learned.
Oh, and go read Mouse Guard. It’s good.
