Review- BEFORE WATCHMEN: NITE OWL/ DR. MANHATTAN

BEFORE WATCHMEN: NITE OWL/ DR. MANHATTAN (DC, 2013; Hardcover)

Collects Before Watchmen: Nite Owl Nos. 1-4, Before Watchmen: Dr. Manhattan Nos. 1-4, and Before Watchmen: Moloch Nos. 1, 2 (cover dates August, 2012- April, 2013)

Writer: J. Michael Straczynski

Artists: Before Watchmen: Nite Owl- Penciler: Andy Kubert; Inkers: Joe Kubert and Bill Sienkiewicz. Before Watchmen: Dr. Manhattan- Adam Hughes. Before Watchmen: Moloch- Eduardo Risso.

Colorists: Before Watchmen: Nite Owl- Brad Anderson; Before Watchmen: Dr. Manhattan- Laura Martin; Before Watchmen: Moloch- Trish Mulvihill

The Before Watchmen: Nite Owl mini-series is great. J. Michael Straczynski, or JMS as he will be referred to from here on out, is a great writer. This series goes way in depth on the origin and motives of Nite Owl, and Joe Kubert's inks help give it that rough, semi-unpolished DC Silver Age feel at times. The dynamic of the partnership between Rorshach and Nite Owl is covered in great detail.

Before Watchmen: Dr. Manhattan shows JMS being every bit as clever as Alan Moore. What? Did I just say that? Yes I did. Seeing JMS juggle the various probabilities and realities that a God like Dr. Manhattan would certainly deal with was no easy task, and it is handled here as cleverly as Moore would have handled it. I know that the Moore faithful are popping blood vessels over that statement but I call them as I see (and read) them. The artwork and coloring are as top notch as the writing in this one. 

Before Watchmen: Moloch, while great storywise, leaves a lot to be desired in the artwork department. The vastly overrated Eduardo Risso handles the art chores. While his panel composition and layouts and ability to convey the story are excellent, I found his art itself to be too cartoony for my tastes. Your mileage may vary.

So after finally finishing all four Deluxe Edition Hardcovers, I can now give you my opinion on the project as a whole. While I enjoyed these prequels for the most part, many of them were more of a connect the dots affair rather than original stories. I wanted to see more of the spaces between what happened here covered. Like I've said in my other Before Watchmen reviews, there is plenty of fertile territory for more prequels. Whether or not that is necessary is completely up to you, the reader. At the end of the day, this didn't “ruin” Watchmen as everyone fearlessly predicted, nor did these mini-series burn up the sales charts as I fearlessly predicted. Everyone was wrong! They're out there and will probably sink like a stone and be forgotten in the long run...which is what Alan Moore predicted, so I guess he was right. 

Junk Food For Thought rating: 4.75 out of 5.

The OCD zone- Aside from the slightly 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: Nite Owl No. 1 Jim Lee with Scott Williams & Alex Sinclair variant cover

Before Watchmen: Nite Owl No. 1 Kevin Nowlan variant cover

Before Watchmen: Nite Owl No. 2 David Finch with Sonia Oback variant cover

Before Watchmen: Nite Owl No. 3 Chris Samnee with Matt Wilson variant cover

Before Watchmen: Nite Owl No. 4 Ethan Van Sciver with Hi-Fi Colour Design variant cover

Before Watchmen: Dr. Manhattan No. 1 Jim Lee with Scott Williams & Alex Sinclair variant cover

Before Watchmen: Dr. Manhattan No. 1 Paul Pope with Lovern Kindzierski variant cover

Before Watchmen: Dr. Manhattan No. 2 P. Craig Russell variant cover

Before Watchmen: Dr. Manhattan No. 3 Neal Adams variant cover

Before Watchmen: Dr. Manhattan No. 4 Bill Sienkiewicz variant cover

Before Watchmen: Moloch No. 1 Matt Wagner with Brennan Wagner variant cover

Before Watchmen: Moloch No. 1 Jim Lee with Scott Williams & Alex Sinclair variant cover

Before Watchmen: Moloch No. 2 Olly Moss variant cover

Nite Owl character study by Andy Kubert and Joe Kubert with Brad Anderson (1 page)

Before Watchmen: Nite Owl Nos. 1, 2, and 4 cover sketches by Andy Kubert (4 thumbnails, 1 page)

Cover progression for Before Watchmen: Dr. Manhattan No. 4 by Adam Hughes (2 pages)

Various sketches and pen test for Before Watchmen: Dr. Manhattan by Adam Hughes (1 page)

Cover sketches for Before Watchmen: Dr. Manhattan No. 1 with layout and final for Before Watchmen: Dr. Manhattan No. 1, Page 2 by Adam Hughes (1 page)

Paper rating: 4.25 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, somewhat wavy 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, especially when you view the top of the book. 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 Before Watchmen band, spine, and section of equal measure on the rear cover have a different, dull texture which is really nice.

Buy BEFORE WATCHMEN: NITE OWL/ DR. MANHATTAN HC at InStockTrades!

Review- BEFORE WATCHMEN: COMEDIAN/ RORSHACH

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.

Buy BEFORE WATCHMEN: COMEDIAN/ RORSHACH HC at InStockTrades!

Review- BEFORE WATCHMEN: OZYMANDIAS/ CRIMSON CORSAIR

BEFORE WATCHMEN: OZYMANDIAS/ CRIMSON CORSAIR (DC, 2013; Hardcover)

Collects Before Watchmen: Ozymandius Nos. 1-6, Before Watchmen: Dollar Bill No. 1, and the Crimson Corsair back-up stories from Before Watchmen: Minutemen Nos. 1-5, Before Watchmen: Silk Spectre Nos. 1-4, Before Watchmen: Comedian Nos. 1-4, Before Watchmen: Nite Owl Nos. 1-3, Before Watchmen: Rorschach Nos. 1-3, Before Watchmen: Dr. Manhattan Nos. 1-3, and Before Watchmen: Moloch Nos. 1, 2 (cover dates August, 2012- May, 2013)

Writers: Len Wein and John Higgins (co-writer on the Crimson Corsair back-up stories)

Artists: Jae Lee (Ozymandias), John Higgins (Crimson Corsair), and Steve Rude (Dollar Bill)

Colorists: June Chung (Ozymandias), John Higgins (Crimson Corsair), and Steve Rude (Dollar Bill)

Len Wein is a true legend in this industry, and yet he never seems to get enough props. The guy's track record speaks for itself: He co-created the Swamp Thing with Bernie Wrightson. He retooled and relaunched the moribund X-Men, setting the stage in just two issues for Chris Claremont to take over and turn it into one of the biggest comic books of all time. He also co-created a little known character by the name of Wolverine. Never mind his respectable run on Spider-Man in the '70s.

In this book Wein writes Ozymandias, which is a fantastic mini-series in it's own right. It fuses elements hinted at or ever so briefly touched upon in the original Watchmen series with the handful of original developments and ideas from the film. This may make the purists wince but it makes for a great read. I love how much story Wein crams into each issue. This is definitely not one of the collected editions that you can polish off in an hour or so. No siree, this is best digested slowly over several days, the better for it to sink in. 

Ozymandias' childhood and early days as a crime fighter are fascinating to witness. These are things that I have always wanted to see. You want to know something else? I'd love to see more prequels of this stuff. There are plenty of empty spaces where you could insert untold tales. As long as the talent is equal to Len Wein and Jae Lee, then why not?

The Crimson Corsair is a good story with spectacular artwork by John Higgins. I didn't sit there and compare it with the comic book that was being read in the original series, so I am not sure how it fits in with everything there. The most interesting thing about it is how the whole thing is presented in 2 page increments, giving it a serialized Sunday strip vibe. It was a back-up feature in many of the Before Watchmen comics.

The Dollar Bill one-shot once again touches on events hinted at or told in the text pages of the original series. It's a more lighthearted tale than Ozymandias' origin...at least until the end. Steve Rude does the artwork, and I would love to see him do more stuff. 

So does this surpass the original series? Of course not. Does it ruin Watchmen for all time? Nope. Folks will still be talking about that series decades from now. I just think that too many folks got uptight about their sacred cow getting molested by other creators. I'd be more than willing to buy more prequels or, dare I say it, a sequel to Watchmen.

Junk Food For Thought rating: 4.25 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: A variant cover gallery in the back of the book which collects the following:

Before Watchmen: Ozymandius No. 1 Jim Lee with Scott Williams & Alex Sinclair variant cover

Before Watchmen: Ozymandius No. 1 Phil Jimenez with Romulo Fajardo, Jr. variant cover

Before Watchmen: Ozymandius No. 2 Phil Noto variant cover

Before Watchmen: Ozymandius No. 3 Massimo Carnevale variant cover

Before Watchmen: Ozymandius No. 4 Michael Wm. Kaluta variant cover

Before Watchmen: Ozymandius No. 5 Jill Thompson variant cover

Before Watchmen: Ozymandius No. 6 Ryan Sook variant cover

Before Watchmen: Dollar Bill No. 1 Jim Lee with Scott Williams & Alex Sinclair variant cover

Before Watchmen: Dollar Bill No. 1 Darwyn Cooke variant cover

2 pages of Ozymandius sketches by Jae Lee

Crimson Corsair character sketches by John Higgins (1 page)

Crimson Corsair art by John Higgins (1 page)

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 lamination 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.

Buy BEFORE WATCHMEN: OZYMANDIAS/ CRIMSON CORSAIR HC at InStockTrades!

Review- BEFORE WATCHMEN: MINUTEMEN/ SILK SPECTRE

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.

Buy BEFORE WATCHMEN: MINUTEMEN/ SILK SPECTRE HC at InStockTrades!

Review- THE ACTION HEROES ARCHIVES VOL. 1: CAPTAIN ATOM

THE ACTION HEROES ARCHIVES VOL. 1: CAPTAIN ATOM (DC, 2004; Hardcover)

Collects Captain Atom Nos. 78-82 and selections from Space Adventures Nos. 33-40, 42, and Captain Atom's Secret from Thunderbolt No. 53 (cover dates March, 1960- July, 1966)

Writers: Joe Gill, Steve Ditko, Dave Kaler, and other unidentified writers

Artists: Steve Ditko and Rocke Mastroserio (artwork on 2 stories in issue Space Adventures No. 42, inker on Captain Atom Nos. 78-82)

DC was liquidating their Archives line of books through Diamond for a year or so. I went from having none of them except for all four Elfquest volumes to having about two dozen or so now. Silver Age Ditko in a high quality format at half price? Where do I sign? Couple that with the fact that these old Charlton Comics served as the template for Alan Moore's Watchmen, and my curiosity was sufficiently piqued. The story behind that can be found all over...try Google. My fingers would get tired re-typing that spiel. 

 

Captain Adam, USAF, gets caught in a nuclear bomb explosion and becomes Captain Atom! Captain Atom was used as the template for Dr. Manhattan in Watchmen, and I read this as a sort of prequel. These are supposed to be the events that occurred before that series, retroactively speaking. Taken on its own, these are charming Silver Age comics with great Steve Ditko artwork. Ditko was and is a genius. It's really interesting to see how his panel layouts changed in between Space Adventures from the early '60s and his second stint on the Captain Atom series.

Nightshade is introduced in Captain Atom #82, and she was the inspiration for the Silk Spectre (II) in Watchmen. Again, it was really interesting to read this with that series in mind, as it fills in a number of gaps or golly gee, wouldn't it be cool if we could see all of those stories that they referred to?

I highly recommend this book to fans of Silver Age comics, fans of Watchmen, and especially fans of Steve Ditko, as we get over 200 pages of Ditko goodness here.

Junk Food For Thought rating: 4 out of 5.

The OCD zone- DC Archives are awesome.

Linework restoration rating: 5 out of 5. I've blown scans of the original issues up waaaaay beyond what you'd see if you were looking at the original comic book side by side with this Archive. The integrity of the linework here is excellent.

Color restoration rating: 4.25 out of 5. While the original color palette is faithfully recreated here, it is the color blends that bother me. All of these books are recolored on computers, but there are two methods typically used. One is to do it “by hand”, which is incredibly time consuming and expensive. The other is to let the computer fill in the shapes, which results in harsh, airbrushed looking color blends like you see here in this book. Again, the original colors are all here, but it is the blends and the occasional edge that look bad to my eye. Your mileage, as always, may vary.

Paper rating: 5 out of 5. I love the thick, cream colored dull matte finish coated stock that DC used to use for their Archives. Recent volumes have had a horrible about face, with bright white stock and high gloss coating.

Binding rating: 4.5 out of 5. DC Archives have superb sewn binding. The binding seems somewhat stiff, and when combined with the thickness of the paper doesn't allow the book to lay completely flat. There is a considerable amount of play and it seems to loosen up as you read it. It lays pretty flat for the most part. I imagine that the book would lay flat with repeated reading.

Hardback cover coating rating: 5 out of 5. The cover has a nice, grainy, faux leather feel to it.