BEFORE WATCHMEN: COMEDIAN/ RORSHACH (DC, 2013; Hardcover)
Collects
Before
Watchmen: Comedian
Nos. 1-6 and Before
Watchmen: Rorschach
Nos.
1-4 (cover dates August, 2012- June, 2013)
Writer:
Brian Azzarello
Artists:
J.G. Jones (Before Watchmen: Comedian)
and Lee Bermejo (Before
Watchmen: Rorschach)
Colorists:
Alex Sinclair (Before Watchmen: Comedian
Nos. 1-6), Tony Avina (Before
Watchmen: Comedian No. 3),
Lee Loughridge (Before Watchmen: Comedian
No. 6), and Barbara Ciardo
(Before
Watchmen: Rorschach)
The
Before Watchmen: Comedian mini-series
is pretty lame. I am not familiar with Azzarello's writing, but this
particular run seems like nostalgia porn. The Comedian in inserted
into way too many historical scenarios for my tastes. Couple that
with the fact The Comedian is an unlikable son of a bitch and you
have an underwhelming read.
Azzarello
also pens the Before
Watchmen: Rorschach mini-series,
and that one is a much better read. I could read a hundred prequel
issues of Rorschach
and never get tired of it. The character is the main reason I bought
the Action Heroes DC
Archives which collect
Steve Ditko's the Question, whom Rorschach was based on.
We
see Rorschach's sanity begin to crack, hinting at what was coming in
the flashback sequences of the original series. I find the character
to be the most interesting because there is a lot of nuance under his
seemingly two-dimensional exterior. It's his ticks and convictions
that always draw me back to him. Whether or not you agree with him or
his motives is irrelevant.
I'm not sure if the thrill of reading more Watchmen stories is wearing off or if the Comedian mini-series was just so uninspired that it left me cold. I actually put this book down 4 issues into the Comedian and picked up something else to read. Three down, one more hardcover to go.
Junk
Food For Thought rating: 3.75 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.
DVD-style
Extras included in this book:
Before
Watchmen: Comedian
No. 1 Jim Lee with Scott Williams & Alex Sinclair
variant cover
Before
Watchmen: Comedian
No. 1 Eduardo Risso variant cover
Before
Watchmen: Comedian
No. 2 Tim Bradstreet variant cover
Before
Watchmen: Comedian
No. 3 John Paul Leon variant cover
Before
Watchmen: Comedian
No. 4 Brian Stelfreeze variant cover
Before
Watchmen: Comedian
No. 5 Gary Frank and Brad Anderson variant cover
Before
Watchmen: Comedian
No. 6 Rafael Albuquerque variant cover
Before
Watchmen: Rorschach
No. 1 Jim Lee with Scott Williams & Alex Sinclair
variant cover
Before
Watchmen: Rorschach
No. 1 Jim Steranko variant cover
Before
Watchmen: Rorschach
No. 2 Jock variant cover
Before
Watchmen: Rorschach
No. 3 Chip Kidd variant cover
Before
Watchmen: Rorschach
No. 4 Ivan Reis and Joe Prado with Rod Reis variant cover
Rorschach
statue design by Lee Bermejo
Before
Watchmen promotional poster art by Lee
Bermejo (2 pages)
Cover
sketch to Before
Watchmen: Rorschach
No. 1 by Lee Bermejo
Cover
sketch to Before
Watchmen: Comedian
No. 4 by J.G. Jones
Comedian
statue designs by J.G. Jones
Comedian
statue designs by J.G. Jones with Alex Sinclair
Paper
rating: 4 out of 5. This book is made in the United States,
which is a huge part of the problem. I'd love to see everything made
in the USA once again if the products are as good as what we get from
the Chinese sweatshop printing presses. 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 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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