We enter our second round of Before Watchmen with issue 2 of Minute men. Due to comic con scheduling I’ll be filling in for Miguel this week. Now although I haven’t read the original series in years, I thought we’d take a different approach this week by reviewing this issue from the eyes of a reader who may have never read the original.

Before Watchmen: Minute men proves that when it comes to period storytelling there is no one better then Darwyn Cooke. Cooke’s attention to detail and style not only sells the time period of the story but also creates the illusion that you are actually reading a golden age comic book.

Being a true historian of comics Cooke explores the fact that superheroes were originally created as source of propaganda in how the Minute Men choose their missions. When Silhouette suggests the team join her current investigating into human trafficking and child slavery Sally Jupiter shots it down by suggesting that mission might be too dark and depressing for the team’s image. This seems like a clever metaphor for type of comics of that era and how big studios tried to keep their books fun and exciting and although they dealt with dark themes of horror and murder, they tried not to get too serious.

Just like early superhero comics attempted to take peoples minds off the depression and troubled times, the Minute Men try to hide the seriousness and darkness with flashy costumes and stories of adventures. Darkness within themselves that will lead them to grim and bleak world portrayed in Watchmen.

Darwyn Cooke’s timeless storytelling in both is scripts and comic art really shine in this series, showing he is a true master of his craft. For more on Cooke’s work check out Parker The Score, also released this week by IDW.

Comments

comments