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Before Watchmen: Minutemen
Before Watchmen: Minutemen #2
Darwyn Cooke brings readers the tale of the Minutemen. Formed in 1939 by Captain Metropolis and Sally Jupiter, the team brought together some of the most well known crime-fighters of the era. But public glitz and glamour only hide the grim and gritty reality behind the masks.
"This isn’t a book. It’s a bloody confession!" Plus: Don’t miss the CRIMSON CORSAIR backup story by writer LEN WEIN and artist JOHN HIGGINS!
"This isn’t a book. It’s a bloody confession!" Plus: Don’t miss the CRIMSON CORSAIR backup story by writer LEN WEIN and artist JOHN HIGGINS!
32 pages, Paperback
First published July 11, 2012
4 people are currently reading
185 people want to read
About the author
Darwyn Cooke
248 books359 followersDarwyn Cooke was an Eisner Award winning comic book writer, artist, cartoonist and animator, best known for his work on the comic books Catwoman, DC: The New Frontier and Will Eisner's The Spirit.
In 1985, Cooke published his first comic book work as a professional artist in a short story in New Talent Showcase #19, but economic pressure made him leave the career and he worked in Canada as a magazine art director, graphic and product designer for the next 15 years.
In the early 1990s Cooke decided to return to comics, but found little interest for his work at the major publishers. Eventually he was hired by Warner Bros. Animation after replying to an ad placed by animator Bruce Timm.
He went on to work as a storyboard artist for Batman: The Animated Series and Superman: The Animated Series, and in 1999 he animated the main title design for Batman Beyond. He then worked as a director for Sony Animation's Men in Black: The Series for a year.
DC Comics then approached Cooke about a project which he had submitted to the publisher years earlier which eventually became Batman: Ego, a graphic novel published in 2000.
The critical success of that project led to Cooke taking on more freelance work, such as X-Force, Wolverine/Doop and Spider-Man's Tangled Web for Marvel Comics and Just Imagine... Stan Lee for DC.
In 2001, Cooke and writer Ed Brubaker teamed up to revamp the Catwoman character. They started with a 4 issue serial "Trail of the Catwoman" in Detective Comics #759-762 in which private detective Slam Bradley attempts to investigate the death of Selina Kyle (AKA Catwoman).
The story led into a new Catwoman title in late 2001 by Brubaker and Cooke, in which the character's costume, supporting cast and modus operandi were all redesigned and redeveloped. Cooke would stay on the series, which was met with critical and fan acclaim, up until issue #4. In 2002 he would write and draw a prequel, the Selina's Big Score graphic novel which detailed what had happened to the character directly before her new series.
Cover to DC: The New Frontier #6.
Cover to DC: The New Frontier #6.
Cooke's next project was the ambitious DC: The New Frontier (2004), a six issue miniseries which sought to tell an epic storyline bridging the gap between the end of the golden and the start of the silver age of comic books in the DC Universe. The story, which was set in the 1950s, featured dozens of super-hero characters and drew inspiration from the comic books and movies of the period as well as from Tom Wolfe's non-fiction account of the start of the US Space Program The Right Stuff. The major DC characters are introduced in "The New Frontier" in the same order that DC originally published them, even down to the correct month and year in the story's timeline. In 2005, Cooke won an Eisner Award for "Best Limited Series", and a Joe Shuster Award for "Outstanding Canadian Comic Book Cartoonist" for his work on the series.
Most recently, Cooke contributed to DC's artist-centric anthology project Solo. His issue (#5, June, 2005) featured several different stories in different styles with a framing sequence featuring the Slam Bradley character. In 2006, Solo #5 won an Eisner Award for "Best Single Issue."
In July 2005, it was announced that in 2006 Cooke and writer Jeph Loeb would produce a Batman/Spirit crossover, to be followed shortly afterwards by an ongoing Spirit series written and drawn by Cooke. Batman/The Spirit was ultimately published in November 2006, followed in December by the first issue of Cooke's The Spirit. In June 2007, Cooke and J. Bone won a Joe Shuster Award for "Outstanding Canadian Comic Book Artists" for their work on "Batman/The Spirit", and Cooke won "Outstanding Canadian Comic Book Cartoonist" for his work on "The Spirit".
In July 2006, it was announced that Warner Bros. Animation and DC Comics would release a series of direct-to-DVD animated movies based on important DC com
In 1985, Cooke published his first comic book work as a professional artist in a short story in New Talent Showcase #19, but economic pressure made him leave the career and he worked in Canada as a magazine art director, graphic and product designer for the next 15 years.
In the early 1990s Cooke decided to return to comics, but found little interest for his work at the major publishers. Eventually he was hired by Warner Bros. Animation after replying to an ad placed by animator Bruce Timm.
He went on to work as a storyboard artist for Batman: The Animated Series and Superman: The Animated Series, and in 1999 he animated the main title design for Batman Beyond. He then worked as a director for Sony Animation's Men in Black: The Series for a year.
DC Comics then approached Cooke about a project which he had submitted to the publisher years earlier which eventually became Batman: Ego, a graphic novel published in 2000.
The critical success of that project led to Cooke taking on more freelance work, such as X-Force, Wolverine/Doop and Spider-Man's Tangled Web for Marvel Comics and Just Imagine... Stan Lee for DC.
In 2001, Cooke and writer Ed Brubaker teamed up to revamp the Catwoman character. They started with a 4 issue serial "Trail of the Catwoman" in Detective Comics #759-762 in which private detective Slam Bradley attempts to investigate the death of Selina Kyle (AKA Catwoman).
The story led into a new Catwoman title in late 2001 by Brubaker and Cooke, in which the character's costume, supporting cast and modus operandi were all redesigned and redeveloped. Cooke would stay on the series, which was met with critical and fan acclaim, up until issue #4. In 2002 he would write and draw a prequel, the Selina's Big Score graphic novel which detailed what had happened to the character directly before her new series.
Cover to DC: The New Frontier #6.
Cover to DC: The New Frontier #6.
Cooke's next project was the ambitious DC: The New Frontier (2004), a six issue miniseries which sought to tell an epic storyline bridging the gap between the end of the golden and the start of the silver age of comic books in the DC Universe. The story, which was set in the 1950s, featured dozens of super-hero characters and drew inspiration from the comic books and movies of the period as well as from Tom Wolfe's non-fiction account of the start of the US Space Program The Right Stuff. The major DC characters are introduced in "The New Frontier" in the same order that DC originally published them, even down to the correct month and year in the story's timeline. In 2005, Cooke won an Eisner Award for "Best Limited Series", and a Joe Shuster Award for "Outstanding Canadian Comic Book Cartoonist" for his work on the series.
Most recently, Cooke contributed to DC's artist-centric anthology project Solo. His issue (#5, June, 2005) featured several different stories in different styles with a framing sequence featuring the Slam Bradley character. In 2006, Solo #5 won an Eisner Award for "Best Single Issue."
In July 2005, it was announced that in 2006 Cooke and writer Jeph Loeb would produce a Batman/Spirit crossover, to be followed shortly afterwards by an ongoing Spirit series written and drawn by Cooke. Batman/The Spirit was ultimately published in November 2006, followed in December by the first issue of Cooke's The Spirit. In June 2007, Cooke and J. Bone won a Joe Shuster Award for "Outstanding Canadian Comic Book Artists" for their work on "Batman/The Spirit", and Cooke won "Outstanding Canadian Comic Book Cartoonist" for his work on "The Spirit".
In July 2006, it was announced that Warner Bros. Animation and DC Comics would release a series of direct-to-DVD animated movies based on important DC com
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Displaying 1 - 14 of 14 reviews
December 27, 2016
Brilliant narration! That dark and twisted ending is something to look forward to, but it leaves a huge heaviness in your heart.
Issue two has some intense scenes that are quite hard to digest. Darwyn Cooke has dropped a big bomb in this issue, something that is frequently seen when you are at the end, but not as early as this.
I guess (the late) Cooke still has many things in store for us. Hopefully.
Issue two has some intense scenes that are quite hard to digest. Darwyn Cooke has dropped a big bomb in this issue, something that is frequently seen when you are at the end, but not as early as this.
I guess (the late) Cooke still has many things in store for us. Hopefully.
November 3, 2019
I have a lot of questions lol. This one isn’t as straightforward as the first one. Hopefully the next issue reveals more about what’s going on in the background. Still loving Darwyn Cooke’s writing and artwork.
July 14, 2016
Hooded Justice and Captain Metropolis? Dafuq
February 20, 2026
This issue helps set up the conflict between Hollis (Nite Owl), his book, and everyone else who would rather not have their reputation tarnished. It's humorous to see all the complete weirdos in the audition scene. This makes complete sense because what sane person would actually apply to become a superhero from a paper ad when you think about it. Seeing the Minutemen fail to save the day before covering it all up just shows how a lot of superhero's have been pretty sketchy from the beginning. Seeing everyone's reaction to Ursula (The Silhouette) suggesting they should go save the children is prettying telling of their character. People like Sally (Silk Spectre) and Larry care more about public appearance. Hollis and Byron (Mothman) joined her with no hesitation and genuinely wanted to help. The others didn't seem too bothered either way, staying back to drink.
Cutting between them finding a dead child and Hooded Justice tying Captain Metropolis up was pretty wild though. This does relate back to the OG Watchmen when we got segments from Hollis's book where he reveals Ursula wasn't the only closeted Minutemen member. She's just the one who got thrown under the bus. For a comic with a short page number, it actually incorporates quite a lot of plot points. It was definitely entertaining to follow. The lead up to them finding the kid at the end was intense and engaging to watch.
Cutting between them finding a dead child and Hooded Justice tying Captain Metropolis up was pretty wild though. This does relate back to the OG Watchmen when we got segments from Hollis's book where he reveals Ursula wasn't the only closeted Minutemen member. She's just the one who got thrown under the bus. For a comic with a short page number, it actually incorporates quite a lot of plot points. It was definitely entertaining to follow. The lead up to them finding the kid at the end was intense and engaging to watch.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
August 11, 2021
Rating: 7.5/10
Age: 13+ (graphic language and low violence
Story: the story is about the minutemen teaming up and getting Nite Owl into the team and more but I will not add spoilers.
Art: art was good but could have been better.
It only has 28(32 pages if hardcover) pages which is short but acceptable.
Age: 13+ (graphic language and low violence
Story: the story is about the minutemen teaming up and getting Nite Owl into the team and more but I will not add spoilers.
Art: art was good but could have been better.
It only has 28(32 pages if hardcover) pages which is short but acceptable.
October 20, 2021
Reading Watchmen, I’ve always wanted to spend more time with the Minutemen. This prequel is somewhat basic, but it grants me the added time I’ve always wanted. Great artwork too!
December 10, 2023
Sparkles at the start but takes a turn into the dark near the end. Not for everyone, although mostly alluded to the themes are quite intense. Art and writing is great
Crimson corsair is at its best
Crimson corsair is at its best
September 8, 2016
Well that was dark. I love the different motivations showing you that the Minutemen were doomed from the outset. And the three overlapping stories at the end were creepy, sad, and great cliffhangers.
January 25, 2013
***This issue is a 4 and the series as a whole is a 4***
My review of the series can be found here.
My review of the series can be found here.
September 16, 2019
Crítica | Antes de Watchmen: Minutemen: https://www.planocritico.com/critica-...
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July 19, 2013Así, sí.
May 25, 2013
El guión de Darwyn Cooke aprovecha todos y cada uno de los cabos sueltos de Alan Moore. Y lo hace muy correctamente.
February 6, 2017
This chapter got Much Darker, i like
September 29, 2012
Ugh. Fairly creepy.
Displaying 1 - 14 of 14 reviews