A review by ravenousbibliophile
Before Watchmen: Ozymandias/Crimson Corsair, by Len Wein

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"