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Before Watchmen (spoilers)
WetRats
Posts: 6,314
I'd like to start a thread for those of us who are interested in and intend to read some or part of the Before Watchmen project.
If you wish to debate the moral or ethical aspects of the project there are already this thread and this thread.
To start, here's an interview with Darwyn Cooke from USA Today.
I really am looking forward to this. The small bits about the Minutemen were always my favorite part of Watchmen, and I couldn't ask for anyone better than Darwyn Cook to tell their stories!
If you wish to debate the moral or ethical aspects of the project there are already this thread and this thread.
To start, here's an interview with Darwyn Cooke from USA Today.
I really am looking forward to this. The small bits about the Minutemen were always my favorite part of Watchmen, and I couldn't ask for anyone better than Darwyn Cook to tell their stories!
Comments
If some of the others get phenomenal word-of-mouth, I'll probably get them in trade.
At the end of the day, new takes on classic concepts is one of the main things that makes comics great.
Just finished the first issue of Before Watchmen: Minutemen by Darwyn Cooke. I really wasn't sure going in whether they could pull it off or not. With the talent on show I at least expected it to look good, but the story side had me wondering.
I'm incredibly surprised at how good the writing was. It's honestly one of the best first issues I've read in a while. Darwyn Cooke's sense of storytelling has always been a favourite of mine and this issue really cements it.
A number of people have referenced his work on New Frontier as a touchstone for this but other than the time period it really doesn't line up for me. I found that his work on The Spirit is much more comparable to Minutemen. The clever storytelling devices he used in that run are very evident here but are given that Watchmen twist. There's great use of the signature Watchmen 9 panel-grid in this issue as well as an echo of the iconic opening of issue #1 of the original series. Cooke uses these techniques well and twists them enough to make them his own.
I don't want to give away much of the story but I will say that the framing device of Hollis Mason's novel is well used and gives a good twist to the usual "getting the band together" story. It's a hell of a first issue for the rest of the minis to live up to.
Color me giddy!
8->
Moore gave these characters names.
Cooke gave them souls.
I'm upset I have to wait a whole week for my DCBS box, now.
But with that said, this was pretty damn good. A send off of golden age heroes with darwyn cooke art through and through is fantastic.
I wonder if I should feel guilty this time...
Hell, people I respect call Before Watchmen "comic book poison".
But the thing is, even knowing the little I do about the drama surrounding these comics... I just don't give a crap about any of it. I only care about the comics, and not the creator drama.
I thought it contained three (count 'em three!) of the best action sequences I've seen all year.
This Comic Book Poison guy needs to get a life. Alan Moore is not a God! Watchmen is not some sacred holy text to be worshiped and protected. DC has not committed some unholy unforgivable sin against God and Nature. There are real evils and real injustices in the world... this is not one of them! You dont like it dont want it? dont buy it!
Why is the comic book biz from the publishers to the retailers held to such a high moral and ethical standard accross the board than any other business where worse offenses are widely expected and accepted? I dont get it.