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A review by kandicez
Before Watchmen: Minutemen/Silk Spectre by Darwyn Cooke
3.0
I would have given Minutemen 5 stars, but Silk Spectre only 2 so this is an average.
I want to say that I loved, loved, loved the art and attention to detail. Little things like scattered pirate comics were excellent touches. Moore and Gibbons said that the reason they included the Black Freighter in the original was that people wouldn't want to read comics about masked superheroes when they were reality. Pirates would be a good substitute. Cooke does a great job keeping that continuity, and depending on how much direction he gave her, Conner drew them beautifully, tilting covers so they were legible, but not in your face. Nice touch.
Another favorite little touch of mine was the look on Comedian's face when he sees the smiley face jewelry on Laurie's nightstand. I actually want to go back and see if he wore a smiley face button before this took place. I don;t think so, but because dates and years are all over the map, I'll need to check. If not, how awesome that Conner included this. Or Cooke. Whoever wrote/drew it first made a terrific decision.
All that gushy love aside, Minutemen was excellent. My favorite parts of the original Watchmen (besides every single panel with Rorschach or Kovacs!) were the excerpts from Under the Hood. This was just more of that. I would read endless comics on the subject! There were a lot years the Minutemen were active. The right writer could create many, many issues and keep me happy. :)
The story of Laurie was just a bit silly. I understand her mother groomed her to take over her "mantel", so to speak, and that portion was pretty interesting. When Laurie leaves for San Francisco it just gets stupid. There was nothing about it that even made much sense, much less added to my understanding of what makes Laurie tick. I would much have preferred a story written between when she first sees Dr. Manhatten and he in turn SEES her. We know he leaves Janey, but how does it get to that point? That's a story I want.
I want to say that I loved, loved, loved the art and attention to detail. Little things like scattered pirate comics were excellent touches. Moore and Gibbons said that the reason they included the Black Freighter in the original was that people wouldn't want to read comics about masked superheroes when they were reality. Pirates would be a good substitute. Cooke does a great job keeping that continuity, and depending on how much direction he gave her, Conner drew them beautifully, tilting covers so they were legible, but not in your face. Nice touch.
Another favorite little touch of mine was the look on Comedian's face when he sees the smiley face jewelry on Laurie's nightstand. I actually want to go back and see if he wore a smiley face button before this took place. I don;t think so, but because dates and years are all over the map, I'll need to check. If not, how awesome that Conner included this. Or Cooke. Whoever wrote/drew it first made a terrific decision.
All that gushy love aside, Minutemen was excellent. My favorite parts of the original Watchmen (besides every single panel with Rorschach or Kovacs!) were the excerpts from Under the Hood. This was just more of that. I would read endless comics on the subject! There were a lot years the Minutemen were active. The right writer could create many, many issues and keep me happy. :)
The story of Laurie was just a bit silly. I understand her mother groomed her to take over her "mantel", so to speak, and that portion was pretty interesting. When Laurie leaves for San Francisco it just gets stupid. There was nothing about it that even made much sense, much less added to my understanding of what makes Laurie tick. I would much have preferred a story written between when she first sees Dr. Manhatten and he in turn SEES her. We know he leaves Janey, but how does it get to that point? That's a story I want.