A review by mash1138
Before Watchmen: Comedian/Rorschach by Brian Azzarello

3.0

Two of the most unsympathetic characters in the history of comics are spotlighted here, written by the master of "dark and gritty" himself, Brian Azzarello. Neither of these stories really add anything to the Watchmen mythos, unlike JMS's Nite Owl and Dr. Manhattan, but this was an enjoyable read nonetheless. Rorschac's tale was slightly more interesting than The Comedian, mostly due to pacing, characterization, and the amazing artwork of Lee Bermejo. The Comedian's story, while utterly bleak and depressing, tied into history (his friendship with the Kennedy brothers and his time in Vietnam) and maintained the bleak and utterly amoral character Alan Moore gave us in Watchmen. Again, nothing new under the sun here, but I still enjoyed reading more about these characters.