Antes de Watchmen: Dr. Manhattan núm. 01

Before Watchmen: Dr. Manhattan

by J. Michael Straczynski, Adam Hugues, John Higgins

Si hay un cómic que opta al puesto del mejor cómic de la historia del medio es Watchmen, la espectacular obra maestra firmada por Alan Moore y Dave Gibbons. Ahora, de la mano de los mejores artistas de la industria, llega hasta nosotros Antes de Watchmen, una genial colección de series limitadas y números especiales que indagan en el mundo de Watchmen y sus personajes, con un respeto absoluto hacia la obra original.

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

32 pages, Paperback

First published August 22, 2012

About the author

Joseph Michael Straczynski is an American filmmaker and comic book writer. He is the founder of Synthetic Worlds Ltd. and Studio JMS and is best known as the creator of the science fiction television series Babylon 5 (1993–1998) and its spinoff Crusade (1999), as well as the series Jeremiah (2002–2004) and Sense8 (2015–2018). He is the executor of the estate of Harlan Ellison.
Straczynski wrote the psychological drama film Changeling (2008) and was co-writer on the martial arts thriller Ninja Assassin (2009), was one of the key writers for (and had a cameo in) Marvel's Thor (2011), as well as the horror film Underworld: Awakening (2012), and the apocalyptic horror film World War Z (2013). From 2001 to 2007, Straczynski wrote Marvel Comics' The Amazing Spider-Man, followed by runs on Thor and Fantastic Four. He is the author of the Superman: Earth One trilogy of graphic novels, and he has written Superman, Wonder Woman, and Before Watchmen for DC Comics. Straczynski is the creator and writer of several original comic book series such as Rising Stars, Midnight Nation, Dream Police, and Ten Grand through Joe's Comics.
A prolific writer across a variety of media and former journalist, Straczynski is the author of the autobiography Becoming Superman (2019) for HarperVoyager, the novel Together We Will Go (2021) for Simon & Schuster, and Becoming a Writer, Staying a Writer (2021) for Benbella Books. In 2020 he was named Head of the Creative Council for the comics publishing company Artists, Writers and Artisans.
Straczynski is a long-time participant in Usenet and other early computer networks, interacting with fans through various online forums (including GEnie, CompuServe, and America Online) since 1984. He is credited as being the first TV producer to directly engage with fans on the Internet and to allow viewer viewpoints to influence the look and feel of his show. Two prominent areas where he had a presence were GEnie and the newsgroup rec.arts.sf.tv.babylon5.moderated.

Reviews

[Jedi JC Daquis · Rating 4 out of 5]

JMS is taking the Dr. Manhattan series to an interesting place. Last time I've read Watchmen, Dr. Manhattan can perceive time differently than us, yet he cannot change the events that have already happened and even the future, or at least he doesn't want to. Here's a story where Jon can see events that happened OUTSIDE his own timeline. He sees himself not becoming Dr. Manhattan, getting out of the chamber and not molecularly separated in the intrinsic field generator.


What's in the box? The Schrodinger's cat is a clever way to start the concept about parallel universes.


Dr. Manhattan is the trickiest one to write. The writer must be able to communicate effectively to its readers how the Doctor can perceive things. JMS so far has been able to do this effectively. I think that his Schrodinger's cat analogy/allusion with Jon Osterman's fate is a good theme to start this four-issue series.

[Michael J. · Rating 2 out of 5]

As a group, the Before Watchmen mini-series tried and usually failed to capture the magic of Alan Moore's original story. Here, in Dr. Manhattan, J. Michael Straczynski does one of the better jobs of trying to go metaphysical and symbolic and beyond the superficial trappings of the core superhero story. The ability of Dr. Manhattan to view past events from an alternative outcome (what if?) is clever and interesting, but by focusing so much on what's going on inside his head it makes for a rather tedious and boring story. I wanted to like this, but mainly couldn't wait to finish it (and not because I was engaged or captivated by the story). I expect more from JMS. On the other hand, the art is excellent. No need to add this to your watchlist (ha!) unless you are a completist.

[Tawfek · Rating 4 out of 5]

writing from dr.manhattan's point of view isnt easy good job
what am i ?
why am i?
who am i?

[Susan Bin · Rating 2 out of 5]

even ah couldnt save the terrible writing (jms i expect more from you)

[Venus Maneater · Rating 3 out of 5]

It was nice to get a closer look at Dr Manhattan's perception of time and space. The writing isn't horrible, but JMS can't hold a candle to Moore. Writing about metaphysics in metaphors, without sounding like a pretentious neckbeard is difficult and JMS just barely pulls it off.

[Dan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Now THIS is what I came to Before Watchmen looking for. The addition of this lore, the first which actually fucks with the text of the original book, enhances the omnipotence of the blue doctor to a degree that I always assumed had to exist but was kept slightly limited in order to keep the narrative manageable. He is perhaps the perfect character to withstand the inherent damage of prequelization for this very reason.

[Cinnamon · Rating 4 out of 5]

Bit of rehash from the original watchmen comic

[Brianna florence · Rating 4 out of 5]

Yes

[Tomás Sendarrubias García · Rating 1 out of 5]

Siguiendo con las miniseries que se publicaron bajo el título común de Before Watchmen y que están saliendo en formato DC Pocket, ha llegado el momento de echar un nuevo vistazo al tomo dedicado al Doctor Manhattan, obra de Joe Michael Straczynski y el dibujante Howard Hughes. y que bueno... no ha sido el mejor de los cómics que he leído, la verdad.

Acercarse al Doctor Manhattan, con su perspectiva no lineal del tiempo, puede ser todo un reto, cierto, pero creo que Straczynski podría haberlo hecho mejor, y tampoco es el mejor dibujo que los lápices de Hughes pueden ofrecer.

No tengo mucho más que decir, me da la sensación de que la historia no cuenta nada, no aporta nada y no dice nada. Así que... pues nada.

[Gregisdead121 · Rating 2 out of 5]

Issue#1 :2 stars
mostly rehashed what we already were shown in the 2009 Watchmen film with ,towards the end,an additional bit of new material. If you are unfamiliar with this comics story ,it's film,it's a great introduction. I loved the art ,it was clear and well colored. Though the dialogue was stiff and repetitive it didn’t bore me. I'm excited to see where the following issues intend to take us

[Samy · Rating 2 out of 5]

Rehashes way too much already seen in The Watchmen. It copies the tone accurately I'll give it that. Rating is for the whole thing.

[Geoff Sebesta · Rating 3 out of 5]

Stunning illustrations but the storyline (where the entirely of Watchmen is retconned as Dr. M going "I meant to do that!") is a shockingly poor choice.

[Noeli Cobaya Debiblioteca]

Uno de los personajes más fuertes, simbólicos y filosóficos, quedé encandila da.

[a k · Rating 4 out of 5]

"what's in the box?"

this persistent compulsion, of course jon's tormentedly numb.

[Phoebe · Rating 1 out of 5]

Acknowledge the writer ability to engage reader. Highly recommended this book on this shelf.

[Jonathan · Rating 2 out of 5]

So this comic is pretty much an exact copy of the story of Dr. Manhattan from the original Watchmen series. It's written similar to the original comic in that it's written non-linearly and switching time frames between frames. This is nice to see, but it's just the same thing from the original comic. The story hardly adds anything new to the story except for an over arching theme of multiple possibilities. It bootstraps Schrödinger's cat thought experiment to th narrative but not in a good way. It seems like it was written by someone who read the introduction paragraph on wikipedia about quantum physics and went: "ooh cats! people like cats so i'll write this into the story." The story doesn't change form the original until the very end, where it switches an event which changes the future. The art is cleaner and more realistic looking than some of the other Before Watchmen stories. The color palate is subdued, making it look a bit older than some of the others. Unfortunately since it's drawn a little more realistically there are some part which look like it's drawn from a reference or struggles with perspective. Seeing as this was just a repeat of the story you've already read in the original Watchmen story and the new elements involved were half hearted and the art struggled at some points, this is one of the lesser comics in the Before Watchmen series. Oh but the cover makes a great reference if you're trying to make a Silk Specter costume :3

[Shelby · Rating 5 out of 5]

'Even as I think these words for the first time, the ME who is my future self is REMEMBERING me thinking these words for the first time.'

I love the point of view and overall temperament of Dr. Manhattan so I was super psyched to read this part of the 'Before Watchmen' series. The art is beautiful and even though the first issue addresses the same topic of becoming Dr. Manhattan as the original comic does, I'm still over the moon for this character.

Can't wait to read the rest.

[Rosemarie Short · Rating 3 out of 5]

I think it's worth warning those that read the original Watchmen series that this comic resells the story of Dr Manhattan from there; almost a word for word retelling at that. If you never have, and never intend to, read the original than this will appeal. Otherwise you're rather throwing money away by purchasing; better to look at the Dollar Bill or Minute Men origins - you'll get more out of it!

[Subroto · Rating 5 out of 5]

If you like getting mind fucked (read if you thought you got or could think how things must have been to Dr. Manhattan with his curse / boon) this is your book.

Takes on perfectly from the mind fuck platform put in place in the original.

[Christopher · Rating 4 out of 5]

One of the better Before Watchmen stories - art is magnificent and characters are great with the structure and layout above average. The story was great the first few issues but issue #4 was kind of a letdown and unnecessary.

[Philippe Ory · Rating 4 out of 5]

The themes and the way the way they are developed make this a great series that is quite faithful to the original. "What's in the box?" is a great leitmotiv. It's a better experience if you read all four episodes in one sitting.

[Robb · Rating 2 out of 5]

So far story is pretty much how I remember it being told in the original graphic novel, not much "before watchmen" taking place yet. There is a little more of the quantum physics angle presented which can cause brain swelling for those expecting a quick read.

[s e n t i m e n t a l i t i e s olittlebear · Rating 2 out of 5]

I liked it until he became Dr. Manhattan. I just don't like his character anyway though..

[Eugenio Tena · Rating 5 out of 5]

You gotta love Adam Hugues, the art is like a stream of pinups, and the story is the weirdest non conventional surprise of this series!!! Read it!!

[Daniel Piqueras delgado · Rating 5 out of 5]

¡FABULOSO!.

[Noel Manhattan · Rating 5 out of 5]

Una maravilla en todos los sentidos. El color de Laura Martín es extraordinario. Una pena que no haya tenido una mayor repercusión.

[Erikka · Rating 4 out of 5]

Ooooo. Trippy.

[David · Rating 2 out of 5]

Deckt sich größtenteils mit der Vorgeschichte Manhattans, wie man sie schon aus Watchmen kennt.