Geoff Johns has announced he'll return to writing comic books this year, dropping a significant clue that it may be to explore the connections between "Watchmen" and DC Comics' Rebirth.

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In a series of New Year's Eve tweets, DC Entertainment's president and chief creative officer counted down the DC events he's most looking forward to in 2017, a list that ended with "Writing comics again ... stay tuned." Although that would undoubtedly be enough to excite Johns' legions of fans, the accompanying image of Doctor Manhattan made the message even more intriguing.

In May's "DC Universe: Rebirth" #1, his last comic work, Johns hinted that Doctor Manhattan from "Watchmen" may have had a hand in the creation of the newly rebooted timeline; the one-shot even depicted Batman discovering the iconic smiley-face button from Alan Moore and Dave Gibbons' seminal miniseries in the Batcave. Since then, apparent ties to "Watchmen" have been sprinkled throughout other titles, including "Superman," "The Flash" and "Titans."

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DC Co-Publishers Dan DiDio and Jim Lee told CBR in July that the plan is to explore the connections between "Watchmen" and Rebirth over a two-year period, suggesting that Johns himself would finish the story he began in the Rebirth one-shot. DiDio followed up those comments in October in DC's "Direct Currents" magazine, saying, "“Everyone at DC knows how interested readers are in the seeds planted in 'DC Universe: Rebirth' #1. Your patience will be rewarded in 2017.”

“You’ll start to see some of the great mysteries of Rebirth addressed very soon,” DiDio said. “There’s the mystery of the Atom: what happened to Ray Palmer? Ryan Choi’s journey to find out what became of his mentor will appear front and center in Justice League of America. There was also that mysterious little button found in the Batcave. Batman and Flash will be joining forces to forensically find out what it is and, more importantly, where it came from. And Mr. Oz: what exactly is his deal? Is he gathering heroes? If so, why? Mr. Oz will be coming to the forefront in the first half of the year, as well.”