I saw the delays in publishing DC's Doomsday Clock maxi-series, so I decided to wait until it was completed and pick up a collected edition of the big DC/Watchmen crossover. I like Gary Frank's artwork and Geoff Johns is usually pretty reliable, but I have read mixed reviews. What say you? Has anyone here read it, and if so, do you feel that it is worth checking out?
YES!!! Excellent concept and cover.
ReplyDeleteI have the original maxi series and there are definite reasons for mixed reviews.
spoiler alert «¥»«¥»«¥»
Original Saturn Girl "ends" in a stupid manner and the new Legion is introduced.
"They" show how time is rewritten.
There is a snapshot clue trail that doesn't really make sense. Have no idea how the copies were found and linked together.
A payoff confrontation between Superman and Dr Manhattan that does make sense -- the Doc's concentration is broken at the last minute.
Possibly why Jor-el was brought back and how the current Mr Mxyzptlk could have been overcome.
The ending was a growth of the character.
I enjoy this cover for another reason too. I've long wondered why couldn't every MACRO SUPERPOWERED GOOFBALL take a very remote square inch of Outer Space, shrink into it, and be God to their own created universe?? If they have that much power and ability then it should be easy for each of them to do it.
ReplyDeleteYour cover-sim is better than the artwork done for the actual limited series. The aforementioned tardiness of which is usually encountered more often with indie comics. That's why I have to answer your question with: No! It's definitely _not_ worth it.
ReplyDeleteMore's the pity. :-(
Doomsday Clock was ok, not great just ok. I did like the way Firestorm was utilized though. Check it out just for that.
ReplyDeleteDr. Manhattan was an experiment-transformed human, while the Beyonder originated in his superhuman form in a parallel dimension and was released into Earth's Dimension by an Owen Reece, who turned into the Dr. Manhattan-like(?) Molecule Man.
ReplyDeleteOnly worth it if you can read it without paying for it. Any money you put into DOOMSDAY CLOCK is money wasted and lost forever.
ReplyDeleteI just finished reading the first half. It was pretty good, and had some great moments with Rorschach II.
ReplyDeleteGotta love Beyonder's white 70's leisure suit!
ReplyDeleteRoss: I hate that a reader felt the need throw in a spoiler dump. It isn't going to help your decision.
ReplyDeleteThat said, it reads 100% as a complete story, but buy the complete series (which I believe is only in tpb form), as it will be ultimately much cheaper, unless you rent it from a library. Whenever a library opens again.
DDC is a love or hate book. There certainly is some editorial-edict to it, and I've heard multiple times that the pace of the last issue (not necessarily the ending)had to do with Dan DiDio leaving, and the sale of DC to AT&T looming on the horizon.To me it felt like it needed maybe two more pages.
New comics are $3.99, you can get the trade for, what, four new issues of any book. I have the single issues, if you want them, I can mail them to you. But first tell me where the Allred Doc Manhattan comes from. --Wayne (reply here as I don't check my gmail address often, I forget.)
I lost interest with the series with all the delays. Saturn Girl should NEVER have been brought into it, what a waste there. I would give this a C- at best, it really deserves a D+ grade. Rent from the trade from the library or read for free somewhere, this is NOT worth spending any money on.
ReplyDeleteI appreciate all the feedback on Doomsday Clock. What about the artwork? From the previews I saw, Frank leaned heavily into the nine-panel grid that Dave Gibbons used so effectively in Watchmen. Did it work for you?
ReplyDeleteI borrowed the first Doomsday Clock volume from the library back when it first came out. It was okay, but not great. Possibly the second volume is better, but I've not gotten around to it yet. I am somewhat concerned about what the series represents though. DC really screwed over Moore and Gibbons with the Watchmen contract--they may have started with the best of intentions, but once the money started rolling in ... Every dollar DC makes off the IP makes it that much less likely that they'll be persuaded to do the right thing and let the rights revert back to the creators.
ReplyDelete@Ross: Not so much.
ReplyDeleteMaybe if Rorschach Jr. had gotten to meet the Question. Or, failing that, I'd have settled for an awkward path-crossing between Batman, Ted Kord's Blue Beetle, and the Nite Owl!
ReplyDeleteRoss: Frank's artwork is impressive to start, maybe because no one was expecting a decent nin panel re-creation. One problem I found was repititious faces of emotion. Supergirl screaming and Mime screaming were exactly the same. (Johns introduces Marrionette & Mime from that universe, and in the Charlton Action Heroes era, Punch and Jewelee were a married couple who fought Captain Atom, so I give props to Johns for making analogues as Moore did.)
ReplyDeleteThe story is pretty much three arcs, and the art changes by the time it went from bi-monthly to almost tri-monthly. Frank likely was just using the same "screaming" faces on different characters to save time.
So as usual, the Legionnaire gets the short end of the stick, eh?
ReplyDeleteThanks for the warning. My local library has some comics in paperback, so maybe once the pandemic passes, I can find a library edition of DDC so I won't need to pay to read it.
I blame it all on the trend started with "The Dark Knight Returns." Frank Miller has much to answer for!
ReplyDeletethe beyonder is lookin' a bit like elvis here......thank you very much.....lol
ReplyDelete