Brandon Borzelli's Geek Goggle Reviews
Before Watchmen Comedian #3 of 6
DC Comics
Azzarello & Jones
Comedian's series rolls on with another unfocused and garbled mess of a story, editorially, with Before Watchmen: Comedian issue number three. I'm not sure how this character portrayal fits in with the other Before Watchmen books or the original Watchmen work. I simply can't believe this is going to drag on for another three issues as this doesn't seem to be a story in as much as it's a collection or snippets of the Comedian doing things that don't really fit together in this series, let alone in the larger mosaic of the character's appearances.
The purpose of this issue is to show how the Comedian got jaded after coming home from Vietnam. The book has all the stereotypes about war protestors and tomatoes being thrown at soldiers. The problem is we have no reason to believe that the character ever wasn't jaded or bitter. Even when the topic of his daughter is injected into the story, I still would never characterize The Comedian as anything but a heartless, cold bastard.
After the airport incident, The Comedian takes the fight to the home front. He's angry and takes it out on some rioters. The comic turns ugly as the story takes on a very racial tone. I can't say the material is all that unrealistic but again, it seems odd that the Comedian would play up on these racial stereotypes in this manner. And wasn't the Comedian in a riot covered in the original work? This was very odd.
The book isn't a complete waste. The comic does provide a one-and-done story which is always nice. The book does have a nice set up and ending that serve as good book ends to give the story a nice frame. Though, I still find it odd that his confidant is Bobby Kennedy, but that's another matter entirely.
The artwork has some problems with it. For one thing, The Comedian looks like a drag queen in a couple of panels during the riot sequence. Understandably, the painted face has a lot to do with it but I just don't like the positioning and movements he shows. The artwork is actually at its best during the opening and closing scenes as we get some real emotions and genuine reactions from the characters. Overall, it's a good visual story but definitely misses my expectations given the creators involved.
This comic is a nice snapshot of a story for The Comedian. However, the story is very difficult to place in the larger context of the character in other comics. It's difficult to pull off a character that is so blatantly against rules and yet takes orders from Senators and has deep emotions when he sees a familiar face. The book is just not the best effort editorial nor in its execution.
2 out of 5 Geek Goggles
