A review by serena_took
Before Watchmen: Minutemen/Silk Spectre by Darwyn Cooke

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.