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COMICS: First Look At BEFORE WATCHMEN: DR. MANHATTAN #1

On sale tomorrow, Before Watchmen: Dr. Manhattan #1 promises to further explore the early years of the iconic Alan Moore and Dave Gibbons creation. The prequel is written by J. Michael Straczynski (Thor) and pencilled by Adam Hughes (Justice League of America).

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By Josh Wilding - 8/21/2012
"I watch as a box containing a mystery is lowered into the soil."
And don’t miss the latest chapter of the CRIMSON CORSAIR backup epic from writer LEN WEIN and artist JOHN HIGGINS!


Click on the preview pages below to view the full-size versions.



BEFORE WATCHMEN: DR. MANHATTAN #1
Written by J. MICHAEL STRACZYNSKI
Pencils & Cover by ADAM HUGHES
Variant Covers by PAUL POPE, JIM LEE
Source: Blastr
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31 Comments
TheAmazingSpidey63 - 8/21/2012, 4:22 PM
LMAO at the first pic, dude!! Looks like Dr. Manhattan is getting on with the action here. ;P


Stay EPIC, my friends!
TheAmazingSpidey63 - 8/21/2012, 4:23 PM
I'm not sure if the cover artist drew that intentionally or what, but d@mn this had me laughing. XD
NorrinRaddical - 8/21/2012, 4:27 PM
Hughes is EXTRAORDINARY. he knows exactly what he's doing...

am I in the minority thinking all the Jim Lee covers are the absolute WORST? phoned in, dated, and dull
NorrinRaddical - 8/21/2012, 4:28 PM
@ Yossarian
most likely trades per series/character, no word on where the Corsair backups will end up
Greengo - 8/21/2012, 4:28 PM
Dr. Manhattan is my fav
answer - 8/21/2012, 4:44 PM
MarkV - 8/21/2012, 4:45 PM
Shameless cash grab
comiccow6 - 8/21/2012, 4:52 PM
^^ Before Watchmen #1: Newsstand guy
AtomicChipmunk - 8/21/2012, 5:13 PM
Adam Hughes cover puts Jim Lee's variant to shame. Lee's poses are not interesting at all.
Tomontherun99 - 8/21/2012, 5:46 PM
This looks fantastic, I might actually pick this one up rather than trade-wait for the rest of them, and in response to @MarkV, so what if they are a cash grab? You don't have to buy them and what difference does it make if they are, if they entertain people then does it really matter?
longbowhunter - 8/21/2012, 6:00 PM
I hope this is good. Dr. Manhattan is my favorite Watchmen character. I plan on picking up some of these in trade as are released.
Ancar - 8/21/2012, 6:04 PM
Looks fantastic - Huges at his best!!! But Jim Lee's cover is terrible, all of them actually!
drewXdeficit - 8/21/2012, 6:25 PM
1. This series has been much better than some dicks have been willing to admit, and I've enjoyed each installment thoroughly.

2. Dr. Manhattan is my favorite in Watchmen, and this preview has me excited. I can't wait to read it!

3. People like to hate on Jim Lee, and I find that, for lack of a better term, stupid. If you think you can do better, please do. I mean it. Draw your own Before Watchmen covers and post them.
hope420 - 8/21/2012, 6:41 PM
I love Hughs art but I kida wish Jae Lee was doing this one and Hughs was doing the Ozymandias book.
hope420 - 8/21/2012, 6:41 PM
*Hughes hahaha
AnditsOn1 - 8/21/2012, 6:59 PM
For before watchmen line-up, nite owl is the best if you ask me (most intriguing, most understandable, able to keep up the momentum all the way to issue 02, while other titles like silk spectre, or comedian quickly went downhill after issue 01.) So, yeah, I believe this is going to be another super awesome title from JMS.
kevberg - 8/21/2012, 7:07 PM
ADAM HUGHES is just a top notch storyteller. when teamed with a writer like JMS, its just a satisfying read.

This once again proves he's not just a good girl artist...i can't wait to read the rest!
RustyShackelford - 8/21/2012, 7:45 PM
Jim Lee's an amazing artist well actually probably my favorite artist but this cover is a lil disappointing and I've not been impressed with his art in JL. BUT Ivan Reis is starting to surpass Jim Lee on my favorite artist list.
AtomicChipmunk - 8/21/2012, 8:01 PM
@drewXdeficit

So we have to be a professional comic book artist to critize another cb artist?
Having an opinion = being stupid?
drewXdeficit - 8/21/2012, 10:21 PM
@AtomicChipmunk

No, you don't have to be a professional. You should probably give reasons for your opinions, though, or you run the risk of looking like an idiotic, go-against-the-grain-for-no-reason-other-than-to-look-cool Internet nerd. More often than not, I see people criticize Lee's work without any reasoning--a simple, "It sucks!" or something to that nature.

You commented that his poses are not interesting, and that is a genuine critique of his work. So while you are not the type of person I was addressing when I said that. However, I would still put it to you to draw something better and post it.
MarkV - 8/21/2012, 10:22 PM
@Tomontherun99


...um...kind of using my argument against me...I don't really have a good defense to that...LOL


/runs away
MarkV - 8/21/2012, 10:23 PM
OK,

Should have said what I really felt. I personally don't like prequels, or any kind of prequel history making. Thats just me, though. I'm sure not everyone will feel the same way.
drewXdeficit - 8/21/2012, 10:29 PM
I'm just gonna throw this out there:

Saying you don't like prequels is like saying you don't like pizzas. You may not like EVERY pizza, but I'm sure we can find a pizza that you'd enjoy.

Prequels are just like any other story. it begins at point A and ends at point B. In this case, however, point B just happens to be another, previously established point A, if that makes sense.

I don't say that to tell you that you're wrong for not wanting to read Before Watchmen or anything like that; it's just something to think about.
Oxbow - 8/21/2012, 11:43 PM
Spidey63-lol I thought it looked funny too, man...he's really giving her the ol' what for there!

I also wish Jae Lee was doing this series...
Manhattan= favorite character
Jae Lee= favorite artist
JMS= favorite writer (out of the prequels)

I got Ozymandias #1 just because of Jae Lee. The art is amazing, though I don't like the character enough to get every issue...maybe i'll read it in trades. I'm going to get this one tomorrow though...I hope JMS can stay in Manhattan-time throughout the series (where everything is happening at once) and pull it off. This one has the most potential, besides the Minuteman spinoff imo.

Hope Alan Moore doesn't put a curse on these people...
Ichaos - 8/22/2012, 12:42 AM
Lame. What next a prequel to Casablanca?
DTor91 - 8/22/2012, 1:35 AM
I've been so looking forward this because of Hughes. It's been forever since he's done interior work. As for that Jim Lee variant.....wow. Jim Lee is one of my biggest inspirations, but I've been noticing his work has not been as solid as it usually is since Hush. I glanced at that cover thinking it was Liefeld's work. It's disproportionate, the arms and small and slim torso are a dead giveaway of that. This was definitely phoned in.
Maia87 - 8/22/2012, 2:56 AM
Man, the Jim Lee cover sucks. Look at that wrong anatomy LMAO.
KrazyForKomix - 8/22/2012, 6:20 AM
I thought Liefeld did the 3rd cover.
Oooops, my bad.
NorrinRaddical - 8/22/2012, 7:03 AM
yossarian - i agree! I'd settle for an "Absolute edition" of the Minutemen alone

drewXdeficit - i have to "second" everything Derezzed noted.

i maintain my original, completely valid critique, as both a fan AND a professional (valid even if i WASN'T either), that Jim Lee's art, while perfect for the JL book, is "phoned in, dated, and dull" here, and that his covers for ALL the Watchmen prequels are the WORST. quite frankly, the top 3-8 jpgs in the article above is all the proof one needs.

he's opted for these meaningless "line-up" brick wall poses on all of his, whereas every other artist has taken this opportunity to do as much with the design, story, or character as possible. Hughes and Pope say SO much about these characters; Lee's says NOTHING. it's style over substance, a style that is executed so ho-hum here, that, as stated above, people thought it might've been a Jim Lee rip-off.

Jim Lee is rumored to get paid in the ballpark of $1,000 a page. I would never in a million years claim to be better than Jim Lee, but if you or DC want to pay me $1,000, i may or may not win your put-your-money-where-your-mouth-is blind taste test with everyone here, but i sure as heck would put a tremendous amount more time and care into the composition, craft, and overall resonance of my Manhattan cover.

@ ANSWER - that drawing by Donald Gray shows more care in saying something about the story than Lee's cover

@ KrazyForKomix - not even Liefeld! it honestly looks like those style-over-substance employees Liefeld used for all the EXTREME books (matsuda? winn? where are they now?)
KrazyForKomix - 8/22/2012, 8:58 AM
Adam Hughs would indeed, improve any title he signs on to (please . . . no one bring up the supernaturally based genres). But maybe his art should be allowed to grace the pages of Wonder Woman, Birds of Prey, or World's Finest.
I'm just saying . . . the boy's got skills.
drewXdeficit - 8/22/2012, 10:38 AM
First of all, I wasn't mad that people said they don't like Jim Lee. I was upset that people painted themselves as the stereotypical, "Worst cover ever!" Comic Book Guy from The Simpsons. All you dummies do is bitch and moan about everything. You turn every article into a "Marvel vs. DC" argument, then complain about the content on every page.

You're helping to turn a website I genuinely enjoy reading into a farcical parody of what geeks are supposed to be. I'm sorry if that offends you. So I asked for some explanation as to why someone would critique Jim Lee's art harshly. Guess what I got? One legitimate, well thought-out answer (from NorrinRaddical) and a slew of unarticulated, copy-and-paste complaints.

Congratulations. You're all dipshits.

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