Before Watchmen: Dollar Bill

Writer Len Wein and artist Steve Rude, bring their creative talents together to craft the tale of the least known Minutemen character, Dollar Bill.  Will you buy this one-shot offering, due out in January 2013?

Review: Minutemen Issue 4

Despite two more issues left in the miniseries, writer and artist Darwyn Cooke, begins to close the curtain for The Minutemen and one of the characters as well. Watch the team begin to unravel!

Review: Before Watchmen Nite Owl Issue 3

All of a sudden, another member of The Watchmen, gains unnecessary attention in this issue, as writer J. Michael Straczynski takes the series beyond the scope of Dan Dreiberg's origin story and early adventures.

Review: Before Watchmen Minutemen Issue 3

The stability of The Minutemen as a group continues to unravel as one particular member is driven out. What lies ahead for the fractured team? Writer and artist Darwyn Cooke continues his dark depiction of the early days of The Minutemen with issue three.

Review: BEFORE WATCHMEN: Ozymandias Issue 2

Adrian Veidt wades into the criminal underworld after the death of someone close to him. Despite his success in defeating crime lords and their ilk, the eager young hero is in for a surprise though, as his journey leads him to The Minutemen.

Review: Before Watchmen Nite Owl Issue 2

A guest appearance by Rorschach highlights another grim chapter in Nite Owl's career. How does a mysterious yet seductive stranger fit into his future though?

Review: Before Watchmen Minutemen Issue 2

The turning point of the miniseries starts here! Issue 2 offers a deeper and more sinister look into the lives of the team. Writer and artist Darwyn Cooke takes us behind the curtain of the famed super-group!

Review: Before Watchmen - Ozymandias Issue 1

Adrian Veidt looks back at his life in the first issue of his miniseries. Falling a bit flat with any new additional content, writer Len Wein adds an interesting connection to an old Watchmen foe.

Review: Before Watchmen Nite Owl Issue 1

The early beginnings and adventures of Dan Dreiberg are captured in the first issue of his miniseries. What's his connection to the Minutemen?

BEFORE WATCHMEN: Silk Spectre and Minutemen Reviews

Despite the controversy of the release of these prequel stories, the initial two titles Minutemen and Silk Spectre, are excellent stories that expand upon the Watchmen mythos. Both miniseries are written by Darwyn Cooke and the settings of the stories are so remote from the source material so as to not tread on Alan Moore and Dave Gibbons' masterpiece.

Before Watchmen: Minutemen Issue 1 Variants

Here are the variant covers for the recently released Before Watchmen: Minutemen miniseries by Darwyn Cooke.  The group variant is by Michael Golden. The Hooded Justice variant is by Jim Lee.

Available at the release of Before Watchmen: Minutemen, you can also order these variants via Amazon:

    

Before Watchmen: Silk Spectre Issue 1 Variants

 

 

DC Comics has unveiled the various variant covers for the upcoming Silk Spectre miniseries. Shown are Dave Johnson's and Jim Lee's covers as well as the digital combo cover by Amanda Conner.

These variant covers are also available via Amazon:

     

Images via DC Comics

Before Watchmen

The Before Watchmen initiative by DC Comics certainly drew a lot controversy and criticism but it's time we moved past that. Regardless of how much we decry the decision to expand upon the Watchmen saga, we mustn't forget that it's still property owned by DC Comics/Warner Bros. and they can basically do whatever they want. I respect Alan Moore's work and it's unfortunate that the situation resulted in this manner. You can ultimately decide to boycott this entire release and send DC Comics the message that you still care about the integrity of the Watchmen miniseries.

What's notable about one of the titles forthcoming, is the Minutemen miniseries. It's interesting to see that writer Darwyn Cooke was tapped to tackle this super group. I would've preferred to see someone like James Robinson helm the early adventures of the Minutemen during that time period. While Cooke's work on DC: The New Frontier was outstanding, Robinson has the experience and pedigree if you will, with that era of heroes. Cooke's work might differ from the grim and gritty portrayal of the Minutemen, by Moore and focus more on characterization. Not to knock Cooke's work but it appears that we're getting a totally different look at the Minutemen artistically and story wise.

While we're looking forward to Before Watchmen, we won't be picking up all the planned releases.  Nevertheless, it's exciting to see DC Comics revisit this classic and enjoy a different look at the saga.

Images copyright DC Comics