When WATCHMEN #1 arrived in September of 1986 the original owner and founder of Collector's Edge Comics, Jef Parker, took an immediate liking to the story, its complicated plot and its many nuances.  By issue #2 he had already figured out many things, the most impressive being who was the likely "villain" and what the "end is near" sign guy was really all about.  By issue #3 he was promoting this title to ALL customers and perfected a pitch or "speech" he would use to get the customer interested. By about issue #5 he was starting to offer a "money back guarantee" (and, if you knew him, he NEVER gave money back if at all possible, this was an anomaly).  He would offer to let customers buy the issues, take them home, read them, and if they were not hooked, they could bring them back undamaged and get a refund.  Out of the many people he offered this deal, only one returned them.

By the time the trade paperback was released he had perfected the "Watchmen speech" and it became part of the Collector's Edge culture and lore. Before he passed away, I had the foresight to force him to record the speech for posterity.  He had rehearsed and used this speech many times and often tailored it to his audience.  Presented here for the first (and possibly only) time on the CEC web site is the opening to the Jef Parker Watchmen speech as spoken by Jef himself.

Just click the "It's 1985..." below.

With deepest respect, Kevin Zawicki, SYSOP CEC Operations Manager CEC employee since 1984 CEC customer since 1982