Alan
Moore was screwed over by DC, without question. His anger is not
misplaced. Unlike Kirby or many other creators, though, DC has
actually paid him over the years. He has made a nice, tidy sum in
royalties off of twelve comic books. Many fans admire Moore
with a cult-like regard, taking his every word and wish to be law.
While Moore is one of the greats and a true artist, I'm of the
mindset that there are no sacred cows. The announcement of these
prequels raised his ire, and his loyal followers were extremely vocal
in their condemnation of these books without having read a single
one.
Lo,
our Lord and saviour, Alan Moore has spoken. Never mind that
Moore based every one of these characters off of Steve Ditko's 1960s
Charlton creations, or that he appropriated other people's creations
again for League of Extraordinary Gentlemen, or that he did a
radical reinterpretation of Len Wein's Swamp Thing in the
'80s. Nope, this was someone else playing with his toys, and
he cried foul. Glass houses, sacred cows, etc. Whatever. I am a comic
book fan, and the business end of the spectrum is for creators and
lawyers to haggle over. Of course I want creators to be fairly
compensated and companies to do what is right, but at the end of the
day I am just a fan.
If
you're still with me, let's proceed...
BEFORE WATCHMEN: MINUTEMEN/ SILK SPECTRE (DC, 2013; Hardcover)
Collects
Before
Watchmen: Minutemen
Nos. 1-6 and Before
Watchmen: Silk Spectre
Nos.
1-4 (cover dates August, 2012- March, 2013)
Writers:
Darwyn Cooke (Before Watchmen: Minutemen)
and Amanda Conner (co-writer Before
Watchmen: Silk Spectre)
Artists:
Darwyn Cooke (Before Watchmen: Minutemen)
and Amanda Conner (Before
Watchmen: Silk Spectre)
Colorists:
Phil Noto (Before
Watchmen: Minutemen)
and Paul Mounts
(Before
Watchmen: Silk Spectre)
The
creators who chose to participate in these mini-series put their
necks on the line. Raising the ire of the Alan Moore faithful, the
potential for a backlash and lifelong boycott from fandom, the
prospect of being part of the Ishtar of comic books...well, none of
these things happened. I predicted, wrongly, that these would be best
sellers in spite of everyone claiming that they wouldn't buy it. They
weren't. Still, I have long wondered what else could happen with
these characters. Admit it, so did you.
The Minutemen mini-series is spectacular. Darwyn Cooke's love and reverence for the original series is apparent in every word, panel, and brushstroke. There is an air of authenticity to it, and I was completely blown away reading it. The Ditko-esque nine panel per page layout is maintained throughout much of the book. Those worried about a series a splash pages and double page spreads can rest easy. The final issue is great.
The
Silk Spectre is
less effective. Rendered in a more modern coloring style, this
1960s-set adventure tries too hard to be like the 1960s. I'm sure
that people who lived in the 1960s weren't this 1960s. It borders on
being unintentionally funny at times. Fauxstalgia, nostalgia porn,
call it what you will. Like the
Minutemen mini-series, it tries to
connect the dots and tie up the plot threads, both hinted at and
implied, in the original series. Unlike said mini-series, though, I
didn't feel like they pulled it off.
So Minutemen would get a 5 and Silk Spectre would get a 3. Do these comic books “ruin” Watchmen, as everyone feared. No, I can go back and re-read my trade paperback at any time and it will still be great. Will this go down in history as a colossal failure or a worthy follow up that will lead to still more mini-series? That is up to fandom as a whole. I am one man with one wallet and one opinion. Survey says:
Junk
Food For Thought rating: 4 out of 5.
The
OCD zone- Aside from the warped paper (see below), these DC
Deluxe Edition hardcovers are really nice. The image is printed on
the hardback itself, with no dustjacket included.
Extras
include all variant covers as a cover gallery in the back and
character studies and some raw artwork as well as an Afterward.
Paper rating: 4 out of 5 for 2/3 of the book. This book is made in the United States, which is a huge part of the problem. US paper mills use trees which are not allowed to cure properly once cut, which means that the trees are green when they are made into paper. The result is shitty, warped paper like the stuff found in very front and the very back of this book. My books are all stored in a climate controlled environment, and yet this one has warped paper all over. Books made in China from virgin Amazon rainforest trees do not have this problem.
Binding rating: 4 out of 5. Glued binding in hardcovers this thin is not a deal breaker. The book lays reasonably flat.
Hardback
cover coating rating: 5 out of 5. This has a super thick waxlike
coating which is impervious to damage when handled as the product is
intended. The black Beyond Watchmen band, spine, and section
of equal measure on the rear cover have a different, dull texture
which is really nice.
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