Before Watchmen: Minutemen #1 Review

**starman** · 06-06-2012, 12:32 PM

Darwyn Cooke's art is amazing. I really wish he would have taken this script and done creator owned work instead, because I'm not a huge fan of his portrayal of the Minutemen. Each member of the team gets their fair share of the spotlight. Nice seeing a side of the members that you don't see in Watchmen, but it's hard to see them as the same characters, because this isn't Moore writing them. I wonder if Moore would have focused on their faults so much. Probably.

**Lexrules** · 06-06-2012, 01:06 PM

Originally Posted by starman

Darwyn Cooke's art is amazing. I really wish he would have taken this script and done creator owned work instead, because I'm not a huge fan of his portrayal of the Minutemen. Each member of the team gets their fair share of the spotlight. Nice seeing a side of the members that you don't see in Watchmen, but it's hard to see them as the same characters, because this isn't Moore writing them. I wonder if Moore would have focused on their faults so much. Probably.

Perfect review as to not to pick this up.

Thank You.

**starman** · 06-06-2012, 01:42 PM

Originally Posted by Lexrules

Perfect review as to not to pick this up.

Thank You.

I made the choice to get this because I love me some Cooke, but I did feel dirty reading it.

**Lexrules** · 06-06-2012, 01:44 PM

Originally Posted by starman

I made the choice to get this because I love me some Cooke, but I did feel dirty reading it.

LOL. That's cool buddy. Hope you enjoy the rest if you pick them up.

**starman** · 06-06-2012, 03:09 PM

Originally Posted by Lexrules

LOL. That's cool buddy. Hope you enjoy the rest if you pick them up.

Nope. Minutemen was the only one I was interested in. Now we'll have to see if I want to pick up the the rest of the issues. I didn't enjoy it as much as I thought I would, but I've got a month before the next issue so maybe it will grow on me. Now Secret #2. That was a great book this week.

**RoughNTumble** · 06-06-2012, 03:16 PM

to be honest...I found this to be kinda boring

and I've been looking forward to before watchmen

I think I'll just pick up all the first issues and then collect the remaining ones sometime in the future if l like them

**Global Honored** · 06-06-2012, 03:24 PM

I really liked it. I'm a huge Darwyn fan so maybe a little biased here, but I think it was terrific. Loved the short segments on Eddie and Hooded Justice. The opening monologue was very cool too. Dr. Manhatten and all. Can't wait until the next issue. Solid start for Before Watchmen. Moore's tone is still there.

**nosocialize100** · 06-06-2012, 03:24 PM

I thought it was boring also, but I did find it halfway entertaining. Only because of Cooke. Aside from the art and decent scripting, I kept thinking, why should I care?

I reviewed it with some pics at the site in my signature if anyone is interested.

**Yttrium** · 06-06-2012, 03:32 PM

I picked up the first issue on a whim, but I'm afraid I'm just not a Darwyn Cooke fan. His art style doesn't appeal to me. I'll pass on the rest. Frankly, though, I'm not really into the depressing Watchmen setting anyway. I didn't buy the original Watchmen series when it first came out, although I have to admit that I bought the TPB years later and managed to enjoy the plot despite the setting and Gibbon's art style. I can't justify spending the $4 per issue for the new stuff.

**Space_Butler** · 06-06-2012, 03:41 PM

Enjoyed it, particularly the segments involving the lesser-known Minutemen. It was especially nice to see Silhouette in action since her primary purpose in the original was to serve as an example of extreme bigotry and hatred from society. As well, it was interesting to take a look at Mothman from another perspective than just "guy who goes crazy". I mean, in the original both of their fates seemed to be why the characters were created, so it's an interesting flip of the coin to see why they were highly regarded in the first place.

**nosocialize100** · 06-06-2012, 03:43 PM

I don't think Minutemen is going to stop me from reading the other books in this line up, but probably not picking this series up again.

**RedRocker13d** · 06-06-2012, 04:30 PM

Enjoyed the book and I really don't care about these two second reviews from people who were probably against the book from the beginning. These books are going to sell like crazy (even my comic book shop sold out by 2 which never happens), so I really doubt most consumers care about this whole "You can't do this!" movement that a lot of posters on here have started to use. Can't wait for issue 2 and the rest of the first issues to come out.

**RedRocker13d** · 06-06-2012, 04:43 PM

Originally Posted by Space_Butler

Enjoyed it, particularly the segments involving the lesser-known Minutemen. It was especially nice to see Silhouette in action since her primary purpose in the original was to serve as an example of extreme bigotry and hatred from society. As well, it was interesting to take a look at Mothman from another perspective than just "guy who goes crazy". I mean, in the original both of their fates seemed to be why the characters were created, so it's an interesting flip of the coin to see why they were highly regarded in the first place.

I agree with this completely. It is also very amazing for me to actually see the things happening in this book that I had in my mind when reading the "Under The Hood" story pages in the original Watchmen. Seeing Nite Owl switch and fight crime, seeing The Comedian be a younger, more un-disciplined person, and even seeing Hooded Justice be so brutal. I was worried before I read this that no one would be able to match what my mind had depicted for some of these characters and now I know I shouldn't have worried at all. Darwyn Cooke seems to nail a lot of the same ideas I always had. Loved seeing these things actually come to life on paper.