Wizard Entertainment Chairman Gareb Shamus has loaned from his personal art collection all 12 original Watchmen covers by artist Dave Gibbons. The covers will be put on display as part of the Museum of Comic and Cartoon Art’s special exhibit called “The Art of Watchmen.” The exhibit coincides with this Friday’s much-anticipated opening of the Watchmen film, which promises to be one of the biggest movie events of 2009.

“These covers haven’t seen the light of day together in more than 15 years,” said Shamus. “It’s a huge honor to be able to share them all at once with an audience discovering this groundbreaking story for the first time. Everybody in the world is finally learning about Watchmen, and this is a great place to see the exciting roots of this phenomenon.”

The 12 covers are among the most iconic ever produced in the medium, and included in Shamus’ impressive collection is the first-ever appearance of the Comedian’s blood-stained smiley-face button. It’s an image that has become synonymous with the millions of historic graphic novels sold over the past two decades.

Also featured at the exhibit will be original character sketches by Dave Gibbons, photographs by Clay Enos of the Watchmen movie cast and photos from director Zack Snyder’s collection. The exhibition starts on March 6 and runs through May 2. For more information about The Art of Watchmen exhibition, visit MoCCA online at www.moccany.org. For more information about Wizard Entertainment, visit www.wizarduniverse.com.

Tags | graphic novels, horror comics