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Before Watchmen: Minutemen
Before Watchmen: Minutemen #6
“You’ll do what I say or I’ll burn this place to the ground and kill every person you know.”
32 pages, Paperback
First published January 23, 2013
About the author
Darwyn Cooke
248 books362 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 - 20 of 20 reviews
December 27, 2016
Without the Before Watchmen label, I honestly believe that Minutemen could have done better in terms of sales and the number of nerdy discourses it could have sparked. Darwyn Cooke has crafted a beautiful yet downright dark and heavy story about this group of masked vigilantes.
In many ways, Minutemen mimics what the Alan Moore has done excellently in Watchmen: that is the character interactions that ultimately led to the implosion of the gang itself. It is a multilayered clash of persona that kept the Minutemen interesting to read.
I also believe that Darwyn Cooke (may he rest in peace because I still cannot move on to the reality that the devil 2016 took a great person's life) deserves recognition from this work. The way he reveals (or hides) things to his readers, on how he messed with our minds, is simply no less than brilliant storytelling.
In the end, as what the Comedian has also explained in a meta-ish way, there are many versions of the truth. So even though the series did not give its readers the "real" truth, we just have to settle for the one that gives us comfort.
You should really, really have to read Before Watchmen's Minutemen. The other BW series are entirely optional, but certainly not this.
In many ways, Minutemen mimics what the Alan Moore has done excellently in Watchmen: that is the character interactions that ultimately led to the implosion of the gang itself. It is a multilayered clash of persona that kept the Minutemen interesting to read.
I also believe that Darwyn Cooke (may he rest in peace because I still cannot move on to the reality that the devil 2016 took a great person's life) deserves recognition from this work. The way he reveals (or hides) things to his readers, on how he messed with our minds, is simply no less than brilliant storytelling.
In the end, as what the Comedian has also explained in a meta-ish way, there are many versions of the truth. So even though the series did not give its readers the "real" truth, we just have to settle for the one that gives us comfort.
You should really, really have to read Before Watchmen's Minutemen. The other BW series are entirely optional, but certainly not this.
December 21, 2022
دارم خودمو با کمیکهای واچمِن خفه میکنم. خودم هم نمیدونم چرا؟!
September 8, 2016
Next on Minutemen, Hollis Mason wusses out. Not the best ending, but this was overall a nice intro to the Minutemen, heavily influenced by the opening credits of the movie, I suspect. But that's ok, because now the movie is canon.
May 12, 2017
A true love letter to Watchmen!
April 27, 2014
Para mí la mejor serie de los "Antes de Watchmen". La historia de Silueta (Úrsula Zandt) es brutal. También me gusta mucho más Hollis, el primer Búho Nocturno, y el final con Justicia Encapuchada... Madre mía. Te tiene en vilo durante los 6 números, y te engancha cada vez más. Muy recomendado!
September 29, 2015
We couldn't have asked for a more "conclusive" ending. This was superb.
February 7, 2023
More of a Nite Owl (OG) story than a Minutemen story, but perhaps contains the biggest bit of functionally interesting, although ultimately unsubstantial retconning, which is something I enjoy, despite it being just novelty. I really enjoy the artwork in the Minutemen portions of Before Watchmen. I feel satisfied at the ending, even though all of the Before Watchmen material has to defy substantiveness by its very nature.
December 10, 2023
A fantastic end to the series. Ties up many of the story arcs and loose ends very well, has a nice couple of twists and leads well into the Future Watchmen. There is not a panel wasted, pleasingly, and not an indulgence of darkness or propaganda. Like many of the Watchmen comics, I feel this series was dark for the sake of it at times and inconsistent, but this one Is a true superhero comic, with the grey zone of responsibility, the greater good and heroism on display.
September 17, 2017
It's kind of a funny story... Edward 'The Comedian' Blake*
September 16, 2019
Crítica | Antes de Watchmen: Minutemen: https://www.planocritico.com/critica-...
April 12, 2021
Edward Blake, ne yaptın sen?
January 23, 2025
The ending would hunt me forever 🥲👍just like watchmen
May 5, 2019
I think it takes a genius to start from a preposterous premise ( Watchmen prequel not written by Alan Moore ) and make it great, so Darwyn Cooke has made me love his Minutemen version but also added it to my imagination as an integral part of one of my all-time comic books. I think that Alan Moore, although in his current old grumpy genius impersonation would probably enjoy these issues a lot.
February 11, 2013
***This issue is a 3 but the series as a whole is a 4.***
Alan Moore, having wiped his hands clean of what he perceives to be the scum from unauthorized works inspired by Watchmen, had this to say about people who choose to read the prequels:
Moore's work is the be all and end all, no one is disputing that. However, I was curious to see how other artists and writers envisioned these characters. I most especially wanted to know more about the Minutemen, for without them there would be no Watchmen.
The story is told from the point of view of Hollis Mason (the first Nite Owl), with the narrative switching from present day (Hollis dealing with the various reactions of the disbanded Minutemen to his as-yet unpublished tell-all book) and the past (the formation of the Minutemen and their relationships amongst each other). Some issues are better than others; I thought 5 and 6 were fine but 1-4 were much better (this could be attributed to the death of Ursula/The Silhouette, my favorite Minute(wo)man). I wasn't entirely dissatisfied with the conclusion, though I felt like it could have played out better. It wasn't rushed, exactly, but it seemed like the tale unfolded nicely in the first few issues and then, as if Darwin Cooke remembered he only had six issues in which to tell the story, he and his team tied all loose ends in a way that didn't quite feel organic. I'm not familiar with Cooke's work, so I was surprised by the quality of the writing and artwork. I was especially pleased with the color palette, which was reminiscent of Watchmen without copying it.
As a fan of Watchmen, I'm not even sure I consider these canon, to be honest. I wouldn't tell a Watchmen n00b to read these first since the series feels more like supplementary material; they are not necessary to understand Moore's Watchmen or its characters. However, even though the prequels may not enhance the original comic, I would recommend Watchmen fans to at least give these a try--unless you give a damn about what Alan Moore thinks of you.
Alan Moore, having wiped his hands clean of what he perceives to be the scum from unauthorized works inspired by Watchmen, had this to say about people who choose to read the prequels:
"The kind of readers who are prepared to turn a blind eye when the people who create their favorite reading material, their favorite characters, are marginalized or put to the wall--that's not the kind of readers I want. So, even if it means a huge drop in sales upon my other work, I would prefer it that way. I mean, there's no way I can police this, of course. But, I would hope that you wouldn't want to buy a book knowing that its author actually had complete contempt for you." (source)First of all, screw Alan Moore for putting his readers in that kind of a slot. I can appreciate his masterpiece separately from these prequels. Watchmen is quite possibly the best comic book I've ever read, a true work of art from both a literary and artistic standpoint, and Before Watchmen could never, ever attain that kind of prestige, nor does it try to. So what, just because I want to read the prequels means I'm an idiot with such an unquenchable demand for these characters that I want to see them diluted into pale imitations of what they used to be? I don't think so!
Moore's work is the be all and end all, no one is disputing that. However, I was curious to see how other artists and writers envisioned these characters. I most especially wanted to know more about the Minutemen, for without them there would be no Watchmen.
The story is told from the point of view of Hollis Mason (the first Nite Owl), with the narrative switching from present day (Hollis dealing with the various reactions of the disbanded Minutemen to his as-yet unpublished tell-all book) and the past (the formation of the Minutemen and their relationships amongst each other). Some issues are better than others; I thought 5 and 6 were fine but 1-4 were much better (this could be attributed to the death of Ursula/The Silhouette, my favorite Minute(wo)man). I wasn't entirely dissatisfied with the conclusion, though I felt like it could have played out better. It wasn't rushed, exactly, but it seemed like the tale unfolded nicely in the first few issues and then, as if Darwin Cooke remembered he only had six issues in which to tell the story, he and his team tied all loose ends in a way that didn't quite feel organic. I'm not familiar with Cooke's work, so I was surprised by the quality of the writing and artwork. I was especially pleased with the color palette, which was reminiscent of Watchmen without copying it.
As a fan of Watchmen, I'm not even sure I consider these canon, to be honest. I wouldn't tell a Watchmen n00b to read these first since the series feels more like supplementary material; they are not necessary to understand Moore's Watchmen or its characters. However, even though the prequels may not enhance the original comic, I would recommend Watchmen fans to at least give these a try--unless you give a damn about what Alan Moore thinks of you.
March 7, 2013
The Before Watchmen experiment has been many things: Intriguing, uneven, surprising, and yes, sometimes downright bad. Thankfully, Minutemen sidestepped the latter description and Darwyn Cooke has written a series that I am pleased to place within the Watchmen canon. I’m sure that this is due at least in part to having had such rich (and largely untapped) source material to work from. After all, while the Minutemen informed Watchmen and its protagonists quite a bit; it wasn’t their story like it was Nite Owl’s or Rorschach’s, and the Minutemen series has had that much more of a tale to spin because of this.
Minutemen #6 brings the series to a satisfying close. The first half of the comic wraps up Hollis Mason’s search for the Hooded Justice, after Mason suspects that he is responsible for the kidnappings the Silhouette had been following. After tracking Justice to an old, rusted-out lighthouse (because where else do the mysterious and nefarious go?), Mason confronts and subsequently kills Hooded Justice. It was good… but a little anticlimactic. Since this was the last big story that Minutemen needed to wrap up, I was surprised at how quickly it was resolved and, with half an issue left to read, a little perplexed as well.
Complete Review: http://www.paperdroids.com/2013/01/29/comic-book-review-minutemen-6/
Minutemen #6 brings the series to a satisfying close. The first half of the comic wraps up Hollis Mason’s search for the Hooded Justice, after Mason suspects that he is responsible for the kidnappings the Silhouette had been following. After tracking Justice to an old, rusted-out lighthouse (because where else do the mysterious and nefarious go?), Mason confronts and subsequently kills Hooded Justice. It was good… but a little anticlimactic. Since this was the last big story that Minutemen needed to wrap up, I was surprised at how quickly it was resolved and, with half an issue left to read, a little perplexed as well.
Complete Review: http://www.paperdroids.com/2013/01/29/comic-book-review-minutemen-6/
May 19, 2013
Minutemen è la serie perfetta da affidare a Darwyn Cooke, uno dei migliori cartoonist contemporanei. Cooke, gestendo questo gruppo di eroi degli anni quaranta, è riuscito a caratterizzare perfettamente ognuno di loro, dando spessore ad ogni membro, creando un'ottima trama e buoni intrecci con un finale crudo ed inaspettato.
La parte grafica è eccelsa, un Cooke davvero in ottima forma, ed i colori di Phil Noto non fanno altro che esaltare queste splendide tavole.
Nel BW, è una delle migliori serie, indubbiamente.
La parte grafica è eccelsa, un Cooke davvero in ottima forma, ed i colori di Phil Noto non fanno altro che esaltare queste splendide tavole.
Nel BW, è una delle migliori serie, indubbiamente.
May 21, 2016
He de decir, que esta historia me pareció increíble. La disfruté enormemente, desde el inicio hasta el (indescriptible) final.
Cuando leí Watchmen me sentí bastante interesado por la historia de los Minutemen, y si bien no recuerdo del todo el tono que tenía Bajo la Capucha en Watchmen, he de decir que esta interpretación de los sucesos y la historia de la primera generación de encapuchados fue sensacional. Considero, sin lugar a dudas, que es imperdible para aquellos que disfruten de lo que es Watchmen. Ahora, habrá que leer el resto de Before Watchmen para ver si son tan buenas como esta.
Cuando leí Watchmen me sentí bastante interesado por la historia de los Minutemen, y si bien no recuerdo del todo el tono que tenía Bajo la Capucha en Watchmen, he de decir que esta interpretación de los sucesos y la historia de la primera generación de encapuchados fue sensacional. Considero, sin lugar a dudas, que es imperdible para aquellos que disfruten de lo que es Watchmen. Ahora, habrá que leer el resto de Before Watchmen para ver si son tan buenas como esta.
January 23, 2013
this was really satisfying and now im wishing darwyn wrote all the other bw issues
January 25, 2013
Of the Before Watchmen titles I've read, Minutemen has been by far the best - this was an excellent conclusion (with a nice twist) to a really good series. A shame they all havent been this strong.
May 25, 2013
Directamente a mi Tebeoteca con mis cómics favoritos.
Displaying 1 - 20 of 20 reviews