BEFORE WATCHMEN REVIEW SPECIAL!

SPOILERS!

"They chose the wrong man to mug."

"Because you didn't have anything on you?"
"Because I'm not dead."

Hello everyone! It's Friday and that means reviews! Today, I'll be reviewing two of the Before Watchmen #1s! Rorschach and Dr. Manhattan!
Honestly, I was excited for BW, because of the creatives teams that were involved. Azzarello and Bermejo on Rorschach? Sign me on!!! So let's get to it.



BEFORE WATCHMEN: RORSCHACH #1

by Brian Azzarello and Lee Bermejo

I LOVED Azzarello and Bermejo's OGN Joker. It was a well-paced, brutal, and fun trip through Gotham from the viewpoint of someone who looks at Batman in a negative way. When I heard that these two were going to be working on Rorschach, a little voice in my head said, "PREPARE YOUR WALLET." As I said earlier, I loved Joker and Rorschach is my favorite Watchmen character. So here I am, finally reviewing this book. Is it worth it?

Yes. Yes it is. Azzarello decides not to write an origin story for the character like almost ALL of the other BW series have. Right from the getgo, we are thrown into the middle of Rorschach's career. He's on the trail of a gang under the sewers, while the two detectives that showed up in the opening of Watchmen investigate a serial killer named the Bard. The book ends on a note where you want to see how ol' Rorschach gets his revenge on the guys who beat him up. 

 Azzarello's character work is spot on, especially with the entries from Rorschach's famous journal.

Even better, Bermejo's art is spectacular, verging on the line between slightly cartoony and heavy realism. Everything looks beautiful in the way he's draws the panels. Unlike with Joker, Bermejo relies solely on his own inks instead of Mick Gray's, which gives the book an even keel, and keeps  the style realistic . So pick up Rorschach. I beg you. This just might be the start of an amazing series. Hurm.

STORY: 5/5

ART: 5/5

VERDICT: 5/5

BEFORE WATCHMEN: DR. MANHATTAN #1

by J. Michael Straczynski and Adam Hughes

Don't go into Before Watchmen: Dr. Manhattan #1 expecting something you've never seen before. I know I did, and it was a mistake. A big one.

Its in the story department where Dr. Manhattan fails. It retreads on things we already saw with Watchmen #4. It provides more insight on Dr. Jon Osterman's childhood, and shows us the Crimebusters' meeting in a slightly new light. That's all. No cliffhanger.

Thankfully, Straczynski gets Jon's lifeless monologue right, and finally shows us what really happened on his father's deathbed.

It's in the art department where it succeeds. Hughes relies very heavily on ink. He outlines characters in solid black and the end result looks great. I like the way he presents Dr. Manhattan (by giving him almost no ink at all), and visually separates him from everyone else.

So, if this is a light week for you, stroll to your comic shop, and maybe give this a try if you're curious, or willing to ignore the story and be rewarded with some great art. Alas, a final word. Beware of Dr. Manhattan's "smurf". It shows up in three panels.

STORY: 2/5

ART: 4/5

VERDICT: 3/5