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Before Watchmen: Silk Spectre
Before Watchmen: Silk Spectre #3
Laurie Juspeczyk would one day play a pivotal role in the fate of the world in the pages of WATCHMEN, but before then, she was a young girl trying to follow in her mother's footsteps as one of the world's greatest crime-fighters--whether she wanted to or not.
“San Francisco, baby. The best part of the trip...is the trip.” Plus: Don’t miss the CRIMSON CORSAIR backup story by writer LEN WEIN and artist JOHN HIGGINS!
“San Francisco, baby. The best part of the trip...is the trip.” Plus: Don’t miss the CRIMSON CORSAIR backup story by writer LEN WEIN and artist JOHN HIGGINS!
32 pages, Paperback
First published September 5, 2012
1 person is currently reading
112 people want to read
About the author
Darwyn Cooke
246 books356 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 - 12 of 12 reviews
April 6, 2017
The only good thing about it was that silent origin story of the Comedian's badge.
January 6, 2017
Trippy to mature. Issue three of Silk Spectre builds up the character of Laurie as the Silk Spectre that we are familiar with in Watchmen. The Comedian is here and Darwyn Cooke's interpretation of the character is way better than Azzarello's.
The Comedian's smiley pin gets its bittersweet backstory in this issue.
You know why the Comedian always wears that smiley pin? Perhaps he is the comedian. Or perhaps, it is dear to him, reminding him of someone.
The Comedian's smiley pin gets its bittersweet backstory in this issue.
You know why the Comedian always wears that smiley pin? Perhaps he is the comedian. Or perhaps, it is dear to him, reminding him of someone.
September 10, 2012
Silk Spectre issues #1 and #2 were only leading up to this point in the story, and here we begin to build up to the finale. The story (and art) becomes so suddenly stunning that it makes me wish this was a 6-parter rather then 4.
This issue has a slow and somewhat irritating beginning, but it pushes past that and ties back into the Watchmen characters and lifestyle.
Darwyn Cooke renders Silk Spectre utterly true to her character.
In Watchmen, she is the least developed and the most whiny, but Cooke is able to take that and create a relatable main character. Which, arguable, this may not be in the dark tone of Watchmen, but Silk Spectre has never embodied that.
All the other characters from Watchmen stay true to their character and background. This is perhaps one of the simpler stories of the Before Watchmen series, but it's free from jarring inconsistencies and stands alone quite well.
If you're looking for a dark, gritty read that covers deep and literary subject matter, this is not your series, but this certainly has its strengths and is worth your time.
This issue has a slow and somewhat irritating beginning, but it pushes past that and ties back into the Watchmen characters and lifestyle.
Darwyn Cooke renders Silk Spectre utterly true to her character.
In Watchmen, she is the least developed and the most whiny, but Cooke is able to take that and create a relatable main character. Which, arguable, this may not be in the dark tone of Watchmen, but Silk Spectre has never embodied that.
All the other characters from Watchmen stay true to their character and background. This is perhaps one of the simpler stories of the Before Watchmen series, but it's free from jarring inconsistencies and stands alone quite well.
If you're looking for a dark, gritty read that covers deep and literary subject matter, this is not your series, but this certainly has its strengths and is worth your time.
March 1, 2022
Closer to 3.5 stars, but I round up because I’m a gem.
So far I think I might be liking these Spectre stories best within BW, but who knows since I’ve spread them out so much. I like to savor, what can I say? Also, the omnibus is heavy as fuck and that makes it inconvenient to read.
Anywho, the art is great in this issue, as is the further characterization of Comedian as an absentee father figure, if such a term exists. Nice little origin for his iconic button too!
So far I think I might be liking these Spectre stories best within BW, but who knows since I’ve spread them out so much. I like to savor, what can I say? Also, the omnibus is heavy as fuck and that makes it inconvenient to read.
Anywho, the art is great in this issue, as is the further characterization of Comedian as an absentee father figure, if such a term exists. Nice little origin for his iconic button too!
August 29, 2019
Muy ambientado en los sesenta. Muy bueno
May 11, 2025
love how psychedelic this is, that opening scene is stellar.
September 8, 2016
And then there was that time Laurie tripped and started talking like Delirium from Sandman (a character I'd much rather be reading about). And her pet bird's skeleton started talking and said the best line in a Watchmen comic ever: "Sorry doesn't disperse the birdseed, you twat." And also a cameo by...Frank Sinatra as portrayed by Toby Jones?
Also, nudity. Just a lot of nudity. And more heavy-handed cramming-in of Comedian symbols. Just in case Laurie's background is still a mystery to anyone reading Watchmen. I mean, this is a LOT of smiley faces. A lot. Hooray for origin stories!
Also, nudity. Just a lot of nudity. And more heavy-handed cramming-in of Comedian symbols. Just in case Laurie's background is still a mystery to anyone reading Watchmen. I mean, this is a LOT of smiley faces. A lot. Hooray for origin stories!
November 18, 2012
The art is very enjoyable, 60s psychedelic stuff is always fun....but the plot/story of the arc so far is not as enthralling as i expected. The first few issues were rough, but issue 3 it is improving, so where is #4????
September 11, 2012
ugh too cute............
October 10, 2012
Laurie is boring but the Comedian stirs things up. He also gets his symbol. He saved this one from being terrible.
December 7, 2012
Nobody does Acid Trips like Amanda Conner, well worth reading for the opening section alone.
May 24, 2013
Hasta los más pequeños detalles son soberbios.
Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews