Jae Lee and Len Wein absolutely killed it on “Before Watchmen: Ozymandias” #1 – will they be able to make magic happen twice?
Written by Len Wein
Illustrated by Jae Lee“Why not just kill me now and be done with it?”
1. Crossing the Streams
This issue continues the trend of these books telling a story that involves more classic “Watchmen” characters than just their titular character. At the end of this issue, the Comedian pops by, and while I’ll admit that these two interacting could be a lot of fun, I’m sort of disappointed. I don’t know why I have this pristine image of the events of these minis being separate, but I didn’t really need to see these characters interact; I wanted to see them before they interacted.
That said, the way that Wein has them meet up is logical, interesting, and connects with “Minutemen,” something I didn’t expect any of these books to do. Leave it to the editor in the bunch to find a way to make it happen.
2. Shadow
Lee and June Chung use shadow and silhouette absolutely brilliantly throughout, but especially in the action sequences. By having the action take place in silhouette, the elegance of Veidt’s movements are clear, and everything seems much more plausible and realistic. It also gives the book a classiness that sets it apart from not only the “Before Watchmen” line, but from most other comics.
3. Closest in Tone/Furthest in Look
In many ways, this book feels the most like the original Moore/Gibbons “Watchmen,” but it looks the least like it. Lee’s art looks like something that 1987 wouldn’t know what to do with, especially not in a mainstream superhero setting. But all the themes are there, and the work has the perceived weight of the original, but just with art that feels 180 degrees off. But that juxtaposition works really well, and gives the book a grounding that I don’t think all the others have; “Silk Spectre” is truly an origin story, and “Minutemen” is laying the groundwork for something in the future, where “Comedian” is a weirdly nostalgic look at terrible events and “Nite Owl” is just plain bad. But “Ozymandias” seeks to uncover what is behind the most mysterious character from the original series, and in doing so, is making a far more interesting book than most would’ve expected.
4. Circles
Lee places circular windows throughout the book, sometimes to focus attention, like a microscope, or sometimes to pull back on the larger scene. The issue would work just fine without them, but the added scope they add is yet another small touch that the art in this book brings on its way to kicking your ass. The layouts are both straightforward and complex, and these circles manage to pop up a lot without feeling intrusive, which isn’t easy to do.
5. The Cover
Covers don’t have to accurately reflect what is inside the issue, but they should sugest it. And this cover, while striking, is so different in tone and subject from the issue inside that I can’t help but think that this was completed before the issues were even written. That said, if Gasmask Dominatrix is’t a band name yet, it will be soon.
