While we will continue to review the forthcoming #1s in the “Before Watchmen” line, for all the other issues, we will be offering “5 Thoughts” about each book’s remaining issues. Feel free to give us your own 5 thoughts in the comments.
Written and Illustrated by Darwyn Cooke
“This isn’t a book. It’s a bloody confession!”
5 Thoughts About “Before Watchmen: Minutemen” #2
1) Darwyn Cooke is a big Mystery Men fan
I never thought Cooke would mirror a scene from the Ben Stiller/William H. Macy joint Mystery Men, but there is an entire page in the book dedicated to basically aping this.
2) Cooke continues to excell
There is a panel on the first page of an egg on a plate that is so beautiful and so expertly drawn, that it manages to overshadow the rest of the work in this book. That a near throwaway panel can be so enchanting is testament to Cooke’s immense talent and unwavering eye for detail.
3) The nobility of the masked man is brought into question very early
In “Watchmen,” the presumption is that the Minutemen started out as a “pure” form of crime fighting, and that over time, the sheen wore off the group. However, here, their first mission ends in a cover-up and the politicizing of their exploits is near instantaneous.
4) Sexaulity is an issue that permiates all of these books
Each of the “Before Watchmen” books has had a strong emphasis on the sexuality of the characters, something that certainly is suggested in Moore’s original text, but is really brought out here. In “Minutemen” in particular, 3 of the 8 crimefighters are gay, and their stories are given a good amount of time here. This, again, feels like Cooke fleshing out the characters, not Cooke deciding to focus on the more “mature” content.
5) Sides are already being drawn
Very early on in this book, we see the true crimefighters (Nite Owl, Mothman, Silhouette) versus the attention seekers (Dollar Bill, Captain Metropolis, Silk Spectre). One group is more concerned with how they are being perceived, the other is more interested in actually helping others. This is a pretty markedly different group than their predecessors, the short lived “Crimebusters,” all of whom wanted to truly fight crime, but had varying methods to doing so.
David will be back with 5 Thoughts on “Silk Spectre” #2 next week. Same Watchmen time, Same Watchmen site.
