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melerihaf's review
4.0
I never liked the Comedian, but this backstory nearly broke my heart. Yes, he's still a terrible person, but knowing his past made him more of a tragic character. Rorschach was also good, but it didn't make as big an impression on me.
squidbag's review
4.0
Mixed reactions on this: The Comedian story is gorgeous, like a finished jigsaw of a Rembrandt, lights and darks (literally and metaphorically) coming together to create an origin story for a completely unlikeable character. The dialogue is spot on (G. Gordon Liddy sounds just like G. Gordon Liddy) and the little moments will just kill you, while the big moments will stun you. Worth every bit of the read and pretty to look at. JFK looks exactly right, Vietnam will scare the hell out of you.
Rorschach, one of the most interesting characters ever created for comics (and arguably created by Steve Ditko when he was the Question, and not Mr. Moore) has always been fun to read, mostly due to his philosophy, reflected in his mask, of black and white which never meet, and Rorschach having a pretty good lock on where he sits in that pecking order. Again, here, the dialogue is perfect: "I realized there were victims, and then there was me." and the chaos of the story is right in line with Kovacs' nascent worldview: there's no meaning, there's simply action and reaction. The trouble is, narratively, there's no satisfaction in reading this, because it's randomly paced, there's no ending, and it seems somewhat pointless. I'm sure that's kind of the point, but it doesn't resonate. The art in this section - and I normally love Jones - didn't always work for me. And the tiger is a stupid, overblown metaphor/plot device.
Rorschach, one of the most interesting characters ever created for comics (and arguably created by Steve Ditko when he was the Question, and not Mr. Moore) has always been fun to read, mostly due to his philosophy, reflected in his mask, of black and white which never meet, and Rorschach having a pretty good lock on where he sits in that pecking order. Again, here, the dialogue is perfect: "I realized there were victims, and then there was me." and the chaos of the story is right in line with Kovacs' nascent worldview: there's no meaning, there's simply action and reaction. The trouble is, narratively, there's no satisfaction in reading this, because it's randomly paced, there's no ending, and it seems somewhat pointless. I'm sure that's kind of the point, but it doesn't resonate. The art in this section - and I normally love Jones - didn't always work for me. And the tiger is a stupid, overblown metaphor/plot device.
mossyforest's review
1.0
When it comes to reboots and prequels I’m not a purist. I hadn’t head good things but I was willing to give this series a chance. But no, people were right, this book didn’t need to be written. It just doesn’t add anything to the Watchmen world. If anything I felt it took away from it. Alan Moore managed to paint a picture of these characters so well within just the 10 issues of Watchmen that these stories just fell flat. They felt like they were trying too hard to emulate what had come before and failed terribly. I won’t be reading anymore, but I will be rereading Watchmen.
eastofreaden's review
4.0
I gave this one star for the Comedian's story, and three stars for Rorschach's. It was honestly a little frustrating that Comedian wasn't given the homage/respect that such an amazing character deserves.
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