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Before Watchmen: Silk Spectre
Before Watchmen: Silk Spectre #4
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.
“I don’t know who this broad thinks she is, but I want her deader than my last wife.” Plus: Don’t miss the CRIMSON CORSAIR backup story by writer LEN WEIN and artist JOHN HIGGINS!
“I don’t know who this broad thinks she is, but I want her deader than my last wife.” Plus: Don’t miss the CRIMSON CORSAIR backup story by writer LEN WEIN and artist JOHN HIGGINS!
32 pages, Paperback
First published October 24, 2012
1 person is currently reading
107 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 - 11 of 11 reviews
January 6, 2017
Good ending. I enjoyed how the Silk Spectre series easily ties up with the Watchmen series. The narration is great and Darwyn Cooke is smart enough to give facetious remarks that serve as references to Watchmen, like Laurie not dreaming of making out with the Nite Owl.
More than just a panchira. This panel alludes to the one in Watchmen where the Comedian is thrown outside his condo unit.
This is also a love letter to all YA stories with themes that center on freedom, rebellion and maturity. Laurie has finally realized what Sally Jupiter has been training her for, yet still having her own set of rules.
More than just a panchira. This panel alludes to the one in Watchmen where the Comedian is thrown outside his condo unit.
This is also a love letter to all YA stories with themes that center on freedom, rebellion and maturity. Laurie has finally realized what Sally Jupiter has been training her for, yet still having her own set of rules.
May 12, 2025
great ending, i will be reading watchmen now 🌸
August 29, 2019
Excelente, me gustó la saga
August 17, 2014
Just love the art. It has that Archie's and the sixties quality to it that just goes perfect with the subject. The story (at times) isn't dark enough (this is a watchmen comic after all) but adds some clever interpretations. I like the happy face earrings and skull neck band. In any case, try it if you like Watchmen.
August 29, 2022
3.5 stars
Hard not to feel bad for both generations of Silk Spectre. But as the capper to her “origin story”, this issue feels complete and correct. I have no doubt that this character is exactly who she is in the original text. Smart end point too!
Hard not to feel bad for both generations of Silk Spectre. But as the capper to her “origin story”, this issue feels complete and correct. I have no doubt that this character is exactly who she is in the original text. Smart end point too!
May 19, 2013
Finito uno o due mesi fa, e me ne vengo fuori ora.
Potrebbe essere potenzialmente la serie più brutta del Before Watchmen, si salva solo per le tavole di Amanda Conner, che sono molto '60s e ricreano lo spirito di quegli anni, ma a livello di storia è molto noiosa, si tira avanti a fatica ed è davvero troppo "teen". L'unica cosa che la salva è l'apparizione del Comico, che dà, per poco, un'aria più seria e dura, per poi riscadere nella totale mediocrità.
Dimenticabilissmo.
Potrebbe essere potenzialmente la serie più brutta del Before Watchmen, si salva solo per le tavole di Amanda Conner, che sono molto '60s e ricreano lo spirito di quegli anni, ma a livello di storia è molto noiosa, si tira avanti a fatica ed è davvero troppo "teen". L'unica cosa che la salva è l'apparizione del Comico, che dà, per poco, un'aria più seria e dura, per poi riscadere nella totale mediocrità.
Dimenticabilissmo.
December 7, 2012
The only real disappointing section of this book is that it ends where Watchman begins. I began to wonder if they just said, 'what if Watchmen never happened?' Why not? Amanda Connor is great on the art. This book shows how they should have done it all.
January 28, 2013
Poor Nite Owl, and Laurie is made out to be a bit of a skank by the end which is hardly an attractive quality. Still one of the best stories though, with great artwork. The page where her mother lectures her is amazingly done and deserves 5* on its own. Would've liked more done that way.
September 8, 2016
And now we've been brought full circle to the beginning of Watchmen. Time for Laurie to annoy everyone in her classic way. Although she gets an extra star for being just a little kick-ass in this one. But just one star--she will never be more than meh.
January 11, 2013
A story essentially of passing a torch. Albeit an unusual one.
May 24, 2013
¡El origen del Smiley!
Displaying 1 - 11 of 11 reviews