Now, on to my review... I never intended to follow all the 'Before Watchmen' titles, after all, although I'm a fan of how the Silk Specter might look, it's a character that I don't have any curiosity about.
The Comedian was another character I had no interest in either - so I skipped that.
Nope... I was interested in the core characters... Nite Owl, Rorschach, Dr. Manhattan perhaps... and of course, Ozymandias. The mini-series is written by Len Wein, and penciled by Jae Lee.
Now, Len's an old hand at dishing out great stories, but this project's pull will have to be the fact that 1) it's about Ozymandias and 2) it's drawn by Jae Lee. So this was definitely going into my must buy list.
That said, how did issue #1 go? One word... Brilliant!
I liked Jae's art, of course - and comic books are a visual medium, but visuals will only get you so far. For any issue to really stand out, the visuals have to be complemented by a great story. Well Len does not disappoint in this regard. He tackles the story as a narrative. We are drawn into Ozymandias' thoughts as he observes his plans moving smoothly (it's the scene in the Watchmen comic, showing him as he is closely monitoring global events, presumably before Nite Owl, Silk Specter and Rorschach arrive).
With this one scene, we are drawn into Ozymandias' thoughts as he reviews all the events that presumably led to his current situation. Without going into too much details, the comic shows us key events that shape Ozymandias' personality. How he learned and how his knowledge both helped him and made him a loner... but more likely helping him become better.
This is just the start, and to my glee... there are other issues still in the pipeline. So far, I can also say that this title is the best of all that have come out - though I have yet to read the first issue of Doctor Manhattan.
If anything I hope to better understand what shaped the man, what made him decide to single handedly save the world in his own manner, and maybe get a glimpse of how he planned - specially against a possible foe like Dr. Manhattan. Adrian Veidt is a complicated character - no question about that... and I am ready to understand him a whole lot better. That is my expectation of this mini-series.
So far, it is being met.
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