posted
I am really enjoying this ... Minutemen # 1 and Silk Spectre #1 had excellent art and the stories referenced the darkness of the characters lives without going there and retelling those stories ... we get new stories instead.
Amanda Conner was perfect for the Sally Jupiter's story.
can't wait for Jae Lee's Ozymandias!
[ June 14, 2012, 01:16 PM: Message edited by: Power Boy ]
From: Ninja Land | Registered: Nov 2004
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quote:Originally posted by Cobalt Kid: Yes, Moore refused royalties for Watchman and V, and they $$ went to his co-creators instead.
Is this not also a legal maneuver ... so in a future lawsuit, he can say he never agreed, and then claim he is owed much more?
Anyway, My thing on the controversy is ... Alan ... your fans want comics ... don't be a jerk, write them. or at least get out of the way.
I am not a fan of the original Watchmen. I thought it was over the top, and the whole nuclear thing was played out. (I confess I did just read it about 5 years ago)
also, I thought his depiction of gay characters was ... as if they were criminals or it was their dirty secret. Maybe, one could say it is accurate of the life style of some people at the time but ... i thought it was too 'sensational' or he was trying to be shocking or edgy rather than telling these character's honest stories.
Meanwhile, Mr. Cooke threw a line out there in MinuteMan #1 ... "Did you think those kids cared she was a lesbian? Would they be less thankful? Would they have owed her less?"
That was nice, if a bit forced as a redemption of the Silhouette ... and it goes to show what I like about Minuteman #1 and Silk Spectre #1 ... These stories are about heroes!
The original Watchmen wasn't about heroes at all. IMHO.
(I should probably duck!)
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and .... Adam Hughes!!! awesome!!! and Jae Lee dosn't do enough either ... he could draw the worst story and it would be beautiful. Darwin Cooke can drawn some fight scenes ... there is so much energy in the Silouhette's sequence! and he's a great writer too! The stories so far are really about the individual character's stories.
From: Ninja Land | Registered: Nov 2004
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quote:Originally posted by Power Boy: I am not a fan of the original Watchmen. I thought it was over the top, and the whole nuclear thing was played out. (I confess I did just read it about 5 years ago)
Not reading the "Before..." stuff, but thought I'd point out that Nuclear paranoia was EXTREMELY relevant at the time. There are a number of elements that probably don't age well, but as a snap shot of what 1986 was like, even an alternate reality of '86, Watchmen is highly accurate.
quote:Originally posted by Power Boy: also, I thought his depiction of gay characters was ... as if they were criminals or it was their dirty secret. Maybe, one could say it is accurate of the life style of some people at the time but ... i thought it was too 'sensational' or he was trying to be shocking or edgy rather than telling these character's honest stories.
This was also very much a product of 1986 mentality for the depiction of gays, if anything more was slightly more progressive in addressing gays at all (other than as complete caricatures). Certainly his depiction of how they would have been portrayed by someone like Hollis decades before (when dealing with Silouhette), was completely in keeping with the times.
quote:Originally posted by Power Boy: The original Watchmen wasn't about heroes at all. IMHO.
It's not. There are no real "heroics", just people acting according to their worldview. You have these six people with completely different views of the world whose perceptions are all challenged and no one is proven definitively right or wrong (this was the movie's biggest failing - taking sides).
From: Moncton, New Brunswick, Canada | Registered: Sep 2004
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posted
well, I don't think it was extremely relevant. Gorbachev took office in 1985 I believe, and the Cold War had been going on for like 40 years at this point. We didn't have drills in case of nuclear attack or anything.
I think his gay characters are caricatures, of depravity. Another stereotype, that was going out of fashion in educated circles in the 80s. Besides, when its basically all the story they get, is how they are corrupt heros on the decline and they have all these secrets about their sexuality ... I'd prefer this not to be explored at all. He certainly didn't have anything nice to say.
From: Ninja Land | Registered: Nov 2004
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posted
At the time I don't remember the gay characters being any worse than anyone else, and so was happy to see them. As Harvey Fierstein might point out, the visibility was valuable.
From: Manhattan, NY | Registered: May 2011
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posted
Just getting to read the first issues that are out.
Minutemen #1 was a very good introduction to the characters, with Hollis Mason (Nite Owl I) being our narrator.
We get his view on all of his teammates. Fleshing out a few of them a little more than the original book did. Nothing drastic, but filling in some holes.
The art is great. Darwyn does a faboo job as always in both the writing and art department here.
From: Turn around... | Registered: Jul 2003
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cleome46
or you can do the confusion 'til your head falls off
posted
I checked out some scans from the various prequel books, and mostly my reaction was... meh.
There's no doubt the creators involved are very talented, but I was happy to leave this kind of thing to my own imagination and to that of other fans. No matter how good these books are, I'm afraid they're never going to measure up to the "mystery of the unexplained" that I already built in my head from reading the original stories.
I'd rather see the creators striking out on their own, doing something that has the feel of a personalized story, rather than something built to fit in with Moore's and Gibbon's original vibe. No matter how well the newer creators match it, I fear it still has a warmed-over, imitative feel to me. A good imitation is still an imitation.
-------------------- Hey, Kids! My "Cranky and Kitschy" collage art is now viewable on flickr. Drop by and tell me that I sent you.
From: Vanity, OR | Registered: Dec 2008
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posted
I can appreciate that Cle, but on the other hand, if all creators did was new things that they wanted to, the very thing that drew most of us here would be long gone. If a creator feels strongly enough about a project...any project, then I say good for them. Most of the talent involved also do their own thing from time to time. But as Coleen Doran will tell you, you have to pay the bills sometimes and get the capital needed to go and do your own thing.
From: Turn around... | Registered: Jul 2003
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Another good strong first issue. Does it tread any truly new ground...no, to be fair though, none of these books, as prequels) will. All they can do is expand on what was hinted at and make things clearer.
But it gives us a better look at what drives the second Silk Spectre, and why she feels the way she does about her mother. Darwyn does a good job of letting us know what pushed her to the edge.
Amanda Conner's art is gorgeous here as well.
From: Turn around... | Registered: Jul 2003
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cleome46
or you can do the confusion 'til your head falls off
posted
quote:Originally posted by Dev - Em: I can appreciate that Cle, but on the other hand, if all creators did was new things that they wanted to, the very thing that drew most of us here would be long gone.
I keep thinking of the lighthouse scene from Dylan Horrocks Hicksville graphic novel, and I'm honestly not too sure that's true. Or at the very least, if more creators had had more free reign twenty-five, fifty, seventy-five years ago, comics might not be in the ugly, ever-contracting, cultish rut they are (at least commercially) today.
But I realize that's all conjecture, you can't prove a negative, and so on.
quote:If a creator feels strongly enough about a project...any project, then I say good for them. Most of the talent involved also do their own thing from time to time. But as Coleen Doran will tell you, you have to pay the bills sometimes and get the capital needed to go and do your own thing.
Yeah, I know. But by the same token, my own finances are extremely limited. I'm likely to choose the product that's more about the creator themselves, rather than the creator imitating something else somebody before them did just as well, or better. Since I really can't have both.
When I saw the excerpts from the Silk Spectre comic, for instance, my initial reaction was: I've seen this almost image for image before, and it was better and fresher back then.
-------------------- Hey, Kids! My "Cranky and Kitschy" collage art is now viewable on flickr. Drop by and tell me that I sent you.
From: Vanity, OR | Registered: Dec 2008
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posted
I've stayed away from the BW projects except for Minutemen, just as I intended when all the series and creators were first announced. I'm a big Darwyn Cooke fan, so having him writing and drawing that was a no brainer for me regardless of what the project was.
And, as expected, issue 1 was a good, solid, enjoyable read. Using Hollis Mason's narration/script worked very well for me. Cooke can just TELL a damn good story with style and flair, so it's very much worth the $4 cover price, imo. I doubt it will live quite up to other Cooke classics like DC: New Frontier or the excellent Parker GNs (the latest of which I bought hot off the press 2 weeks ago!), but I rarely get ANY book that displays such craft as anything Cooke does! I'm just glad to have so much output from him to look forward to!
-------------------- "Suck it, depressos!"--M. Lash
From: The Underbelly of Society | Registered: Jul 2003
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