cpark's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
3.75
deviationoftheendless's review against another edition
2.0
The second star is entirely for Jae Lee's art, which I am consistently impressed by. Else wise, this was pretty dull and I wouldn't have finished it if I weren't such an obsessive completist.
bloodravenlib's review against another edition
3.0
Actually, I would give it 3.5 out of 5 stars, but as I have said before, no fractions here on GoodReads.
You can read my full review on my blog. Click on the link: http://itinerantlibrarian.blogspot.com/2013/08/booknote-before-watchmen.html
You can read my full review on my blog. Click on the link: http://itinerantlibrarian.blogspot.com/2013/08/booknote-before-watchmen.html
dasasquatch's review against another edition
3.0
Overall this volume was "eh". I liked the Ozymandias story at first but the last 2 were really dull. Then there was a random pirate story about some guy named Crimson Corsair which has nothing to do with The Watchmen. Lastly the little story in the back about Dollar Bill was what saved this volume, I wish they could of expanded more on him. I personally think you could skip this one and not miss anything.
alexegol's review against another edition
The recent controversy about Len Wein's opinions on rape in comics didn't sit well with me, and his perception of women becomes even clearer in this comic. The art's pretty good. Story's sexist and predictable.
ravenousbibliophile's review against another edition
3.0
Watchmen the movie ranks as one of the best Comic Book adaptation movies in recent memory for me. So naturally when I learnt of the Graphic Novels that will give a bit of background to all the main characters, I was giddy with excitement. Ozymandias by far is my favorite character and while the artwork matched his cold and calculative persona admirably, what disappointed me were the flaws that were forced upon the character. I say 'forced' because no explanation was given as to WHY he failed in his endeavors. The biggest example would be his loss (the only one of his career) to The Comedian. The reader is left with a big "?" stamped over their head when he is fighting in one panel and is defeated in the most anti-climactic fashion in the next.
On the whole, it was a good read but very little character development takes place. The book does not adequately add to the legend of Ozymandias as one would come to expect from a book titled "Before Watchmen"
On the whole, it was a good read but very little character development takes place. The book does not adequately add to the legend of Ozymandias as one would come to expect from a book titled "Before Watchmen"
onceandfuturelaura's review against another edition
3.0
It was lovely, and visually very much a tribute to The Watchmen. The Ozymandias section had some good story touches too. After the first time Ozymandias and the Comedian tussle, Ozymandias muses “Then, I, too, walked off into the night, wondering what sort of government would employ someone like the Comedian in the first place.” Yeah. Good question, also-walks-into-night-boy.
Not long after, Adrian Veidt was invited to JFK’s inauguration, and hears him say “The world is very different now. For man holds in his mortal hands the power to abolish all forms of human poverty and all forms of human life.” This could have been in The Watchmen itself. Moments later, Veidt recognizes the Comedian, who, it seems, is on a first name basis with JFK. What sort of government indeed.
Definitely puts a bow on the idea that the Comedian got the joke. One midnight swim in Central American waters, and he might have prevented the prevention of nuclear war.
The Crimson Corsair portion was also lovingly colored. Felt a lot like H. Rider Haggard meets Lovecraft, with all the uncomfortable racial subtext that implies.
Like The Minutemen, not a dense text. Gets closer an exploration of the moral questions, but so relentlessly from the point of view of the apollonian narcissist it can’t help to lack the density of the canonical text. Not worth getting eaten by a giant snake god for, but entertaining enough.
Not long after, Adrian Veidt was invited to JFK’s inauguration, and hears him say “The world is very different now. For man holds in his mortal hands the power to abolish all forms of human poverty and all forms of human life.” This could have been in The Watchmen itself. Moments later, Veidt recognizes the Comedian, who, it seems, is on a first name basis with JFK. What sort of government indeed.
Definitely puts a bow on the idea that the Comedian got the joke. One midnight swim in Central American waters, and he might have prevented the prevention of nuclear war.
The Crimson Corsair portion was also lovingly colored. Felt a lot like H. Rider Haggard meets Lovecraft, with all the uncomfortable racial subtext that implies.
Like The Minutemen, not a dense text. Gets closer an exploration of the moral questions, but so relentlessly from the point of view of the apollonian narcissist it can’t help to lack the density of the canonical text. Not worth getting eaten by a giant snake god for, but entertaining enough.
slipperbunny's review against another edition
2.0
I didn't like much about this Before Watchmen comic book. Only things I actually liked were seeing more about Adrian's past and the art of the Crimson Corsair story. But otherwise the stories weren't that interesting, at least for me.
reliablepat's review
4.0
This issue takes us into the past, or what Dr. Manhattan calls his birth. We see alternate timelines of things that happened or could have happened. We also learn that the accident that supposedly turns Dr. Osterman into Dr. Manhattan didn't happen the way he thought it did.
reliablepat's review against another edition
4.0
Both of these stories were great. I won't say much else about Ozymandias because I recently reviewed each issue, but Crimson Corsair was really cool. I liked the adventure to find the 3 gifts so McClachlan could get back his soul. In the end, he lost his soul before the Crimson Corsair supposedly took it. And he was able to find it again during his journey as it came full circle.