A review by discocrow
Before Watchmen: Ozymandias/Crimson Corsair by Len Wein
3.0
I had heard complaints about this volume from other reviewers. These reviews generally characterize Ozymandias's entry as being nothing more than a monologue, which it essentially is, the Crimson Corsair story useless, and the Dollar Bill story forgettable. If you are ranking everything up against the actual comic these serve as prequels to the point does stand. Otherwise? The book is enjoyable, and the artwork downright breathtaking.
I could easily see any of the Ozymandias covers and variants as being worthy of hanging up on the wall. Crimson Corsair? Utterly gorgeous homage to the old horror comics. Dollar Bill? A perfect imitation/example of what his comic would be. It works, and it is a disservice to these comics to rate them up against what is arguably the best comic book in existence. These are fun. They likely got more people reading Watchmen. What more might you want?
I liked Ozymandias's story and the attempt to unravel his thinking over the years. I liked the scenes between him and Dr. Manhattan in particular, and the fact that Manhattan had to know everything that was being planned being acknowledged. I liked the pieces slowly falling into place, and the beautiful artwork, the chilling ending. It's a fascinating bit of 'what if.'
Crimson Corsair served its place as a follow-up, just as Tales of the Black Freighter served its purpose well. The artwork was visceral and unsettling - I may have cringed in a few places, which is the best admission to give for this sort of comic. At points the story was difficult to follow, but that might have been my reading rather than the actual comic itself.
Dollar Bill? A solid homage to the poor boy. It's a bit of a forgettable story overall, but that is... kind of what Dollar Bill is. I think it was something nice to have since he's glossed over and such a tragic death. The ending was solid.
Overall, this was better than I expected it to be and I'm curious about the rest.
I could easily see any of the Ozymandias covers and variants as being worthy of hanging up on the wall. Crimson Corsair? Utterly gorgeous homage to the old horror comics. Dollar Bill? A perfect imitation/example of what his comic would be. It works, and it is a disservice to these comics to rate them up against what is arguably the best comic book in existence. These are fun. They likely got more people reading Watchmen. What more might you want?
I liked Ozymandias's story and the attempt to unravel his thinking over the years. I liked the scenes between him and Dr. Manhattan in particular, and the fact that Manhattan had to know everything that was being planned being acknowledged. I liked the pieces slowly falling into place, and the beautiful artwork, the chilling ending. It's a fascinating bit of 'what if.'
Crimson Corsair served its place as a follow-up, just as Tales of the Black Freighter served its purpose well. The artwork was visceral and unsettling - I may have cringed in a few places, which is the best admission to give for this sort of comic. At points the story was difficult to follow, but that might have been my reading rather than the actual comic itself.
Dollar Bill? A solid homage to the poor boy. It's a bit of a forgettable story overall, but that is... kind of what Dollar Bill is. I think it was something nice to have since he's glossed over and such a tragic death. The ending was solid.
Overall, this was better than I expected it to be and I'm curious about the rest.