Before Watchmen: Ozymandias #1

Before Watchmen: Ozymandias

by Len Wein, Jae Lee (Illustrator), John Higgins (Backup illustrator)

"I have goals to achieve. Dreams to make come true." Plus, a new CRIMSON CORSAIR backup feature from writer LEN WEIN and artist JOHN HIGGINS!

Genres: Comics, Graphic Novels, Dc Comics, Fiction, Comic Book, Superheroes, Graphic Novels Comics

32 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2012

About the author

Len Wein was an American comic book writer and editor best known for co-creating DC Comics' Swamp Thing and Marvel Comics' Wolverine, and for helping revive the Marvel superhero team the X-Men (including the co-creation of Nightcrawler, Storm, and Colossus). Additionally, he was the editor for writer Alan Moore and illustrator Dave Gibbons' influential DC miniseries Watchmen.

Wein was inducted into the Will Eisner Comic Book Hall of Fame in 2008.

Reviews

[Jedi JC Daquis]

Happy 2017! My first (Re)read this year is Before Watchmen: Ozymandias. This six-part series is written by Len Wein and illustrated by Jae Lee.

We all know Adrian Veidt or Ozymandias as the one closest to being an antagonist in the Watchmen series. This guy, dubbed as the "smartest man of the world", the one who was the one responsible for millions of deaths at the end of Watchmen is more than that. This origin story of Veidt adds more depth and ambition to his character.



Len Wein interprets Ozymandias as a narcissistic and egotistic man, who with his intellectual and physical prowess plans to rule and change the world. Geez, number of "I"s in this issue is significantly more than the "na"s in Hey Jude. Wein has carefully crafted the significant moments of Veidt's life from youth until the moment he decides to wear that awful purple robe and boots.

Jae Lee in his unique art perfectly complements Wein's interpretation. The drawings are well-placed, almost always under the notion of self-centeredness and symmetry. Lee's art reeks of dark ambition, vague sensuality and pride.

[Andrew]

Although verbose, this was a fantastic start.

[Frédéric]

Well this 4* rate is the mix of 3* for the script and 5* for the art. A little verbous, but I guess it goes with the main character, it is correctly packed but gives not much in the end, just like the Rorsach storyline in a way. Ozymandias' story as teenager/young adult is the very definition of cliché and gets more interesting in the second half only. The end seems to come a little bit too fast in my opinion.
On the other hand Jae Lee's art is exquisite from beginning to end. Beautiful doesn't even begin to describe it. I would add that June Cheung colors are brilliant and perfectly suited for Lee's pencils.

[Vikas]

The art was certainly different than all the other issues so far, and that would make sense, as each series is done by different artists. Let's go back now to #2 in the Minutemen series.

I have always loved comics, and I can, and I have. I love comics to bits; may the comics never leave my side. I loved reading this and love reading more. You should also read what you love, and I hope you will always love it. Even though I grew up reading local Indian comics like Raj Comics, Diamond Comics, or even Manoj Comics, now is the time to catch up on international and classic comics, Mangas, Mahwas, and Graphic novels. I am on my quest to read as many comics as I just want to Keep on Reading.

[Ana Boto]

He conocido a Jae Lee. Y por primera vez el guión ha pasado a un segundo plano. Mañana empezaré nuevamente el cómic como si no existieran los bocadillos. Solo para deleitarme sin distracciones con la exquisitez de Lee y con los colores de J Chung, Higgins y withmore.
Es una pre-historía a Watchmen, textos un pelín largos y aburridos para mi gusto, pero, me
Ayuda a entender el hilo conductor de Watchmen, tan difícil, y sobre todo, a Veidt-Ozymandias.

[Derek]

"I MET A TRAVELER..."

Chapter one chronicles the early beginnings of Adrian Veidt. How his parents moved to America and named him Alexander Adrian Veidt. Alexander after his father's greatest hero, Alexander of Macedonia. We see Adrian's genius early on. And after his parents die he quits school and gives away his inheritance and goes to Turkey to study Alexander, to find some answers by retracing the hero's path. Finding the right Illumination, he returns to New York and makes a killing on the Stock market, and in enters Miranda St. James, the love of his life. Adrian neglects her after a while, his business taking up all of his time and one night she wonders into the wrong seedy bar and meets Moloch and gets a bad batch of drugs that kills her. Her death gives Adrian the impetus to become a masked vigilante.

[Stacey Adams]

Ozmandias tells his life story in this book. As the smartest person alive he amasses great amounts of money to use for whatever whim's he has in trying to save the world or is he just trying to control it? He's arrogant and stoic but has an interesting compelling story. He's a loner and not easy to know. Ozmandias isn't only smart he's an extremely talented fighter. Learning in a dojo as a child how to combine his intelligence with his physical ability. He is a force to be reckoned with. I enjoyed this book very much.

[Dan]

The beauty of Ozymandias as a character is that he’s an interesting guy who has traveled all the way around the spectrum back to boring. By being a Herculean uber-man, he’s also a bland cypher that no one really wants to get to know beyond a surface level. So it’s quite interesting to throw a romance at him. We’ll see how it plays out…

[Jonathan]

Illustrations were good and stories were not. The section on the crimson corsair was absolutely brutal to trudge through. I very poor imitation of the original Watchmen. I would only recommend this book if you are illiterate.

[Wisdom Wasp]

This a really good intro to the Ozymandias character - interesting story, well written. I'm not sure if Jae Lee's art is too my liking but it does seem to complement the story well. A bit too many times seeing Adrian's bare butt though

[Dkolacinski]

This series of back stories is brilliant in both style and content, reflecting back on the golden age of super heroes but with a critical eye.

[Noeli Cobaya Debiblioteca]

Me encanto esta introducción al personaje de ozymandias.

[Paul Dinger]

The Silk Spectre shows how it should have been done. Yet, it isn't as good because it all has been done and better in the book The Watchmen. At the very least this should have been done with complete disregard to the original text and given us an original story, all it does is remind us how good the original was, and hey can't we read that? Despite very good art by Jae Lee and scripting by Len Wien, a true master of the comic form, there is nothing new here, keep walking.

[Dani]

Astonishing! Jae Lee did an amazing work! This issue is pure art. Though I didn't liked Ozymandias as a character in Watchmen -for me it was the most disregarded character of the series-, this story is interesting and well-written.

[Christopher]

Started out as one of the better BW stories - origin and backstory of the character but then issues 3-6 sadly turned into just expanding what was already covered in the original graphic novel. Could have been so much better.

[E.S.]

Really good artwork

[Sourya]

Only because of the art. Which is nothing short of phenomenal.

[s e n t i m e n t a l i t i e s olittlebear]

The telling of how he became Ozymandias. Not much interesting about it, It read for a moment a bit more like a love story than anything which made it rather boring all in all ..

[Eugenio Tena]

The artwork is fantastic, classy, very art deco, the story is no so good

[Elena]

No, Elena, no; no te encariñes con otro chiflado.

[Noel Manhattan]

El arte de Jae Lee es cautivador. El color de June Chung le hace justicia.

[Bruce Portman]

A really but razonable look to the Ozymandias plan if you know the Watchmen Storyline, if you dont, then it will be the introduction to an epic moral history. Very recomendable.

[Louise]

really enjoyed the art in this one

[Jose Brox]

2.5 estrellas. Guion de 1 estrella (simplón, superficial), dibujo de 4 estrellas.

[Sarah]

This on has the best art work so far in the series!