Joining the roster of seven mini-series, the two-issue BEFORE WATCHMEN: MOLOCH will be written by current BW: NITE OWL, BW: DR. MANHATTAN and upcoming SUPERMAN: EARTH ONE Vol. 2 writer J. Michael Straczynski with art by Eduardo Risso (SPACEMAN and 100 BULLETS).
If you don't know who Moloch is, he's a villian in the Watchmen universe. In fact, you may have recently seen a glimpse or two of him in BW: COMEDIAN or BW: OZYMANDIAS. And now, you're about to learn a lot more.
Then there's the art of Eduardo Risso. Again, looking back on both the original and the current Watchmen stories, we mostly have seen him to be a tall, skinny man with weird Spock ears. Risso completely twisted him. At first I wasn't a big fan. It almost seemed as though Risso was just making him a little goblin of sorts. As I continued to read and think about it and tried to make heads or tails of the visuals when it hit me like a ton of bricks. Risso portrayed Jacobi as he sees himself – this little monster who was ugly and unworthy of attention or love. Notice whenever he was in a happier place – the carnival, on stage, etc – he was shown more normal. Whenever he wrestled with his self esteem, he was portrayed as a grotesque weirdo. It's positively brilliant and made the book that much more interesting. Read Full Review
His use of illusion starts off heartfelt but turns lethal in the face or torment and ridicule. Moloch's rise to criminality is similar to that of The Penguin. While Gotham City can be unforgiving, the world of Watchmen knows no bounds which goes to show that Moloch is truly a product of his environment. Read Full Review
In a bit of news that I'm suspecting isn't really sad to anyone, we are going to suspend our “5 Thoughts” columns on these books because, frankly, they are getting harder and harder to find interesting things to talk about. We will be back with a “Dollar Bill” review, as well as an eventual review of the “Curse of the Crimson Corsair” which may need to be done 4 Color News and Brews style (that is, drinking while doing it), and eventually a series-wide wrap up. Try not to miss us too much! Read Full Review
I can't say I really enjoyed this story at its core mostly because I felt a lot of it was cliche. Having said that, I think it has a lot of redeeming qualities. It's very clear that Straczynski took the time to break down the character. He highlighted not only who the character is, but what pushed him to make specific decisions. He explained through the character's actions the different things that propelled and shaped him. I felt that although I wasn't crazy about the story itself, I can't deny the fact that it was really well written -- because it was. This issue is organized and structured in a way that is easy to understand. Straczynski doesn't write in a moment and explain a life event without thinking about the bigger picture. How does this moment shape the character and his actions? You can tell these are things the writer thought about and for that reason, the issue was executed well. Read Full Review
Eduardo Risso offers a much different take on the title character than what we saw from Dave Gibbons in the original source material. Moloch always seemed like a tall, lithe figure in Watchmen, but here, he's far less imposing physically. He's almost dwarven in his depiction, small and meek and frail. It reinforces the pitiable nature of the character. Risso exaggerates the pointed ears as well, making Edgar seem far less normal, almost inhuman. His physical inhumanity is mirrored by the behavioral monstrousness of everyone around him. Risso's shadowy style is a great fit for a villain's story. Read Full Review
(Bangs beer mug on table!) Bring me more ALE!!! Read Full Review
This issue builds and builds drama and adds weight for Moloch to carry on his shoulders and we find ourselves on the day of his parole as the issue comes to an end. He wants to be a better man, he's more timid like he was in the original Watchmen and his life is one of regret and shame. He's going to change his ways. He's going to lay low. He's a free man that wants to be a better one. However it's the impact of a certain purple and yellow costumed villain in the making, who is waiting for Moloch at the prison gates that makes the prospect of what's to come in the next issue a way more tantalizing prospect and the point of this squeezed in miniseries suddenly becomes a little clearer. Read Full Review
Given where Straczynski chooses to leave off in this issue, I'm not even sure where the second chapter is going to move from here. That could be a bad sign, or it could signal the beginning of a more interesting and less predictable avenue in Moloch's story. Read Full Review
This is a shame, as a Moloch story is one of the more potentially interesting Watchmen spinoffs, and as with the Minutemen or the Tales of the Black Freighter, it might have actually broken new ground. But like the Minutemen, the story circles around to cling to the events of Watchmen, making this nothing but padding. The ending, admittedly, hints at a potentially interesting twist–"and an unconvincing redemption for the lead character"–but the series was already "potentially interesting" before I cracked it open, and that potential never paid off. Read Full Review
"Before Watchmen: Moloch" #1 feels like a comic that has no purpose. I'm always in favor of new art from Risso, but that's not enough reason to push this through the publication schedule. There's no hook here, nothing that makes you think, "I can see why they wanted to publish this comic, too." This is for Risso die-hard fans only. Read Full Review
© 2024
Prev
