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mschlat's review against another edition
4.0
I have never really been a fan of the Before Watchmen concept. One, I don't think the graphic novel needs anything else. Two, it felt to me like DC was trying to cash in.
However, this volume is quite readable. Most of that (I'm guessing) is due to the influence of [a:Darwyn Cooke|61386|Darwyn Cooke|https://d202m5krfqbpi5.cloudfront.net/authors/1202672820p2/61386.jpg], who wrote both miniseries and illustrated the Minutemen tale. The stories obviously rely on the Watchmen setting, but there's enough originality that I never thought I was reading a simple spin-off.
The Minutemen series is set both in the 1960's (where Hollis is starting to write Under The Hood) and the 1940's (when the Minutemen first appeared). In other words, it's one of those American period pieces that Cooke excels at. The art is nothing like Watchmen (except for some design elements), but it's appropriate and gorgeous. In addition, Cooke emphasizes the most minor members of the Minutemen, including the very touching and tragic tale of the Silhouette. The result is a layered work that adds nuance to what little we saw of the Minutemen in the original work. The only problem is that Cooke has to explain why much of his tale does not make into Hollis's book, and the explanation is somewhat kludgy.
The Silk Spectre series shines with the artwork of Amanda Conner. Dave Gibbons' artwork has always been somewhat... fleshy --- his characters always have an air of solidity and presence. Conner's art has the same emphasis on the human form, but she gets across the characters without being slavish to the original work. In particular, she portrays the young Silk Spectre wonderfully, weaving in aspects of both her father and mother. The story seems a bit slight at times, but it brings in a good bit of 60's culture and makes an interesting coming of age story.
If you liked Watchmen, this is a worthwhile read that doesn't unnecessarily impinge on the original plot.
However, this volume is quite readable. Most of that (I'm guessing) is due to the influence of [a:Darwyn Cooke|61386|Darwyn Cooke|https://d202m5krfqbpi5.cloudfront.net/authors/1202672820p2/61386.jpg], who wrote both miniseries and illustrated the Minutemen tale. The stories obviously rely on the Watchmen setting, but there's enough originality that I never thought I was reading a simple spin-off.
The Minutemen series is set both in the 1960's (where Hollis is starting to write Under The Hood) and the 1940's (when the Minutemen first appeared). In other words, it's one of those American period pieces that Cooke excels at. The art is nothing like Watchmen (except for some design elements), but it's appropriate and gorgeous. In addition, Cooke emphasizes the most minor members of the Minutemen, including the very touching and tragic tale of the Silhouette. The result is a layered work that adds nuance to what little we saw of the Minutemen in the original work. The only problem is that Cooke has to explain why much of his tale does not make into Hollis's book, and the explanation is somewhat kludgy.
The Silk Spectre series shines with the artwork of Amanda Conner. Dave Gibbons' artwork has always been somewhat... fleshy --- his characters always have an air of solidity and presence. Conner's art has the same emphasis on the human form, but she gets across the characters without being slavish to the original work. In particular, she portrays the young Silk Spectre wonderfully, weaving in aspects of both her father and mother. The story seems a bit slight at times, but it brings in a good bit of 60's culture and makes an interesting coming of age story.
If you liked Watchmen, this is a worthwhile read that doesn't unnecessarily impinge on the original plot.
pbobrit's review against another edition
4.0
So I won the complete Before Watchmen series hardback edition from Shelf Awareness, which was super cool (free books!!!!). Started with this one, and enjoyed it very much. Great artwork in book stories and the writing was good. Particularly enjoyed the writing in the Silk Spectre story.
peter_xxx's review against another edition
4.0
These books were met with a lot of controversy when they were first announced. The two series I was interested in the most were collected in one big hardcover book. So did put his on my Christmas list and immediately started reading this when I received it.
The first part in this book is the story of the minuteman written and drawn by Darwyn Cooke. And it was a great story with lots of twists. And all of it beautifully illustrated in Cooke's style.
the second story is the story of Laurie, the second silk spectre, written by Darwyn Cooke and Amanda Conner and illustrated by the later. She is the main reason why i did want this book. She is one of my favorite artists. The story is not as good as the story about the minutemen, but still a pretty good story. And the gorgeous art only improves this story.
This might not hit as hard as the original watchmen, but it is still among the best comics that are produced these days.
The first part in this book is the story of the minuteman written and drawn by Darwyn Cooke. And it was a great story with lots of twists. And all of it beautifully illustrated in Cooke's style.
the second story is the story of Laurie, the second silk spectre, written by Darwyn Cooke and Amanda Conner and illustrated by the later. She is the main reason why i did want this book. She is one of my favorite artists. The story is not as good as the story about the minutemen, but still a pretty good story. And the gorgeous art only improves this story.
This might not hit as hard as the original watchmen, but it is still among the best comics that are produced these days.
awnyee's review against another edition
4.0
definitely a fun read! although the stories are not necessarily canon to the original comic, it is still interesting to see the author’s interpretations of laurie and the minutemen’s respective pasts. overall the stories were much easier to digest than the original, albeit not nearly as gripping or thrilling. i would definitely recommend these to anyone who loves watchmen and wants more of these characters!
scottishben's review against another edition
2.0
Really well done showing artists and writers really making the most out of Alan Moore's world but in this volume at least it fails to do anything with the world to make it feel like a complete and satisfying work in its own right.
Now where near as bad as the star wars prequels - there is plenty of creativity and class to be found here just ultimately Watchmen told all the story that needed to be told with this world and characters.
There is enough quality here that I will probably go on and read some of the other volumes but most people will get more out of just rereading Watchmen one more time.
Now where near as bad as the star wars prequels - there is plenty of creativity and class to be found here just ultimately Watchmen told all the story that needed to be told with this world and characters.
There is enough quality here that I will probably go on and read some of the other volumes but most people will get more out of just rereading Watchmen one more time.
mjfmjfmjf's review against another edition
4.0
Nice addition to the Watchmen mythos. Both Minutemen and Silk Spectre stories were worth reading. The art wasn't bad and was consistent enough with the original. Showing the story behind Mason's book and the other heroes' reaction to it was an effective conceit. Having the 2nd Silk Spectre end up in San Francisco for the Summer of Love period also worked quite well. 4.5 of 5.
walkonpooh's review against another edition
2.0
So I guess first things, I love Watchmen. Both the graphic novel and the film. I’m excited about the TV series by Damon Lindelof and I’m excited to see what DC does with Watchmen in Doomsday Clock. As much as I love Watchmen, unless there’s something there that I’m not seeing, it’s not a sacred cow to me. It’s a great story. Especially the comic, uses the medium to perfection. But I don’t like how Alan Moore gets on a high horse about the characters he created for Watchmen, when he freely uses characters created by other artists across all kinds of his work.
That said, this is the first of Before Watchmen I’ve read. In spite of my initial excitement for it, up until now I just didn’t have the time to read it. Sadly, unless I hear otherwise, this will probably be the last of Before Watchmen that I read. All respect to the late Darwyn Cooke and Amanda Conner, who do provide some great art here, but there’s just nothing else here. What I know of Before Watchmen, the goal was to take modern comic writers and artists and to add additional insight to the original work. The two volumes collected here, Minutemen and Silk Spectre fail dramatically to do this.
Everything that is revealed about the characters here in Before Watchmen are things that are there in the original work. It’s subtext that gives you great insight into the characters in Watchmen, but here hits you on the head in the most obvious way. There’s not a lot of subtlety going on here. Everything in here is the book screaming at the reader, “Hey! Remember Watchmen?” It’s just not good.
Probably the only other Before Watchmen book I would have any interest in would be the J. Michael Straczynski Collection, cause I consider myself a fan of his. This whole ordeal just seems pointless having read this volume. Hopefully, DC has something better in store with Doomsday Clock, because if they do repeat the same mistakes as Before Watchmen, then I would say that maybe writing Watchmen without Alan Moore isn’t the greatest of ideas after all.
That said, this is the first of Before Watchmen I’ve read. In spite of my initial excitement for it, up until now I just didn’t have the time to read it. Sadly, unless I hear otherwise, this will probably be the last of Before Watchmen that I read. All respect to the late Darwyn Cooke and Amanda Conner, who do provide some great art here, but there’s just nothing else here. What I know of Before Watchmen, the goal was to take modern comic writers and artists and to add additional insight to the original work. The two volumes collected here, Minutemen and Silk Spectre fail dramatically to do this.
Everything that is revealed about the characters here in Before Watchmen are things that are there in the original work. It’s subtext that gives you great insight into the characters in Watchmen, but here hits you on the head in the most obvious way. There’s not a lot of subtlety going on here. Everything in here is the book screaming at the reader, “Hey! Remember Watchmen?” It’s just not good.
Probably the only other Before Watchmen book I would have any interest in would be the J. Michael Straczynski Collection, cause I consider myself a fan of his. This whole ordeal just seems pointless having read this volume. Hopefully, DC has something better in store with Doomsday Clock, because if they do repeat the same mistakes as Before Watchmen, then I would say that maybe writing Watchmen without Alan Moore isn’t the greatest of ideas after all.
hales2000's review against another edition
3.0
Minutemen was an interesting look into the characters we don’t get to know in Watchmen. The story is told as Hollis’s tell-all book which I really liked.
Silk Spectre has amazing art. The story was a bit tedious in the grand-scheme of Watchmen. If it was stand alone, I think I would have liked it more. Though the main conflict was not all that engaging. You don’t get to see Laurie’s flaws in the way you do most other characters throughout the literature.
Silk Spectre has amazing art. The story was a bit tedious in the grand-scheme of Watchmen. If it was stand alone, I think I would have liked it more. Though the main conflict was not all that engaging. You don’t get to see Laurie’s flaws in the way you do most other characters throughout the literature.
serena_took's review against another edition
3.0
I have mixed feelings on these Watchmen prequels. On one hand, it's nice to visit the characters again & to get more backstory on the Minutemen. On the other hand, the stories didn't have to be told, and some of the gaps that get filled are really heavy handed.
Of the two mini-series in this volume, Minutemen is by far the stronger story. Hollis Mason is a natural choice for the narrator, and the story is good; I especially liked seeing more of Silhouette's backstory.
The heavy-handedness really starts to rear up in the other half, Silk Spectre. While the art by Amanda Conner is lovely, there's really no ground that wasn't covered better in Watchmen. I know Laurie's relationship with her mom, Sally, is messed up; I don't need to know of Laurie running away to San Francisco. We see where the Comedian got his smiley face button in this story, and it ends with Laurie's first meeting with the Crimebusters (and her observing that it might be fun to take Dr Manhattan home to piss off her mom).
If you like the characters, you might like this, but don't expect the depth that's in the original story.
Of the two mini-series in this volume, Minutemen is by far the stronger story. Hollis Mason is a natural choice for the narrator, and the story is good; I especially liked seeing more of Silhouette's backstory.
The heavy-handedness really starts to rear up in the other half, Silk Spectre. While the art by Amanda Conner is lovely, there's really no ground that wasn't covered better in Watchmen. I know Laurie's relationship with her mom, Sally, is messed up; I don't need to know of Laurie running away to San Francisco. We see where the Comedian got his smiley face button in this story, and it ends with Laurie's first meeting with the Crimebusters (and her observing that it might be fun to take Dr Manhattan home to piss off her mom).
If you like the characters, you might like this, but don't expect the depth that's in the original story.