The More Things Change, The More They Stay The Same
Written By: Geoff Johns
Art By: Gary Frank, Brad Anderson
Cover Price: $4.99
Release Date: November 22, 2017
It's finally here all you comic loving boys and girls out there. The event that we've been anticipating since Rebirth was announced and hopefully from this, we get the big reveal about what happened to the DC Universe after Earth-0 was put back together following the events of Flashpoint....... Also, what's up with the ten years being taken out of the timeline. Really though, there's not a lot to do to catch you up before getting into this besides for the idea that everything that will take place here is a year ahead in the timeline and by the end, the rest of the books in DC's lineup will be caught up to what we're about to discuss. Let's not put this thing off anymore and dive into the Doomsday Clock. Let's check it out.
Our issue begins by showing us the world of the Watchmen seven years after the events of the Watchmen book and it doesn't look like Ozymandias' plan of a peaceful coexistence between the super powers of the world has quite come to fruition. That pesky Rorschach journal being dropped at the New Frontiersman at the end of the original Watchmen saw to that, but the world is on the brink of nuclear devastation again and it's up to the heroes of this world to put a plan together to stop it once again. Too bad that the heroes aren't all that heroic and that most of the faces in this book are new ones to us or people just continuing on where the previous versions left off.
The majority of this book though is a Watchmen book so don't get any ideas that you'll get a sneak peek at what's going on a year from now in the DCU because while we do get a shot of Superman at the end having a nightmare, this is pretty much the last Hail Mary to save this world and to do that all the pieces have to be put into place........... and this is all about assembling those pieces.
All in all, the art by Gary Frank and Brad Anderson in this book is amazing and Geoff Johns really captures the tone of what a Watchmen book during our time would be, with what we as a people are afraid of or what sensational story would come off ridiculous as well and that merged with the juxtaposition of making these things happen in this world's 1992, while still referencing important people of that time really makes this its own creature and surprised me as how loyal it felt to the original material.......... because that was something I was really worried about.
Now while I can go on and on about how right the writing felt, it was the colors and the panel layouts that made this whole thing come together and feel like a true sequel to what we loved so many years ago. With that said though, this is more than a sequel to Watchmen. This is a bridge to see that world enter the DC Universe proper and with that aspect added to the story........... Well, we don't really get a whole lot of that, which was a bit disappointing, but at the end of the day, I'm happy with what we got here because it did a fine job in at least setting up the Watchmen side of this story and it kept me engaged to where I can't wait for the next issue to come out.
Bits and Pieces:
Now don't go thinking you're going to get a big old combination of both Watchmen and DC superheroes in this book because while this is the bridge to both those worlds, this issue primarily sets up what's been going on since Ozymandias tried to fool the world into peace and as far as that aspect to the story goes.......... It was pretty decent and the art looked great. Sadly, it really feels like people who aren't Watchmen fans might be lost in this event so far and I hope that it doesn't remain that way and opens itself up to a more casual reader. All in all though, I'm pretty excited for what the Doomsday Clock has to offer.
7.8/10
Excellent review but the real question is how was the pancake mix??
ReplyDeleteJim didn't share the pancake mix....... Breakfast was ruined.
Deletethe Cellar Dweller would never stand for this nonsense!
DeleteI hate Pancakes, but love swag!!!
DeleteI really enjoyed Doomsday Clock #1 and it has inspired me to go back and re-read the Watchman. I only vaguely recalled that story, and as the review said, this felt like a faithful sequel. Did we already know that the Kents were dead in the Rebirth universe? I'm guessing they've been dead for a while (possibly as far back as in the New 52), but that was news to me. I know Martha was alive before the New 52. I remember her hosting Clark and Conner for dinner during Blackest Night. I read Morrison's Superman run at the start of New 52 but then jumped ship. If we've known she's dead, was that a Flashpoint occurrence?
ReplyDeleteI was worried about how they'd handle Rorschach, and I was glad they didn't have him magically resurrected by Dr. Manhattan. Making him a new character will inevitably let me forgive it when he acts out of character.
I am curious if Dancing Mike will flip about the political undertones. The Doomsday Clock US president is very familiar. I'm glad he improved his golf score. :D
The Kents dying this way was something new that happened in the beginning of the New 52
Deletea Watchmen book with one page of Superman having a nightmare. Utter and complete garbage.
ReplyDeleteI am leaning that way
DeleteTo each his own. I enjoyed it. It reminded me why I loved the original watchmen and introduced new characters, set up the the story and kept me wanting to turn the page. In Geoff Johns I trust. He hasn't let me down.
ReplyDeleteThis was the first Geoff Johns beginning that let me down. It was pushed as the next big thing after Rebirth and ended up being more a Watchmen Sequel. As something that is supposed to fuse these two universes, I understand why it's set up this way, but I was hoping for more of a DCU start, not a Watchmen one. It just didn't give me the wow factor felling i was expecting.
DeleteAlso, because Johns was trying to make it feel like Watchmen, it just didn't feel like a Geoff Johns comic to me
DeleteI liked it as a Watchman sequel. But, I as part of Rebirth not so much. That could change, but right now I'm annoyed.
ReplyDeleteThat's how I felt...and I didn't want a Watchmen sequel!
DeleteI SWORE I wouldn't touch this. . .not because Watchmen is a sacred cow to me (It's not. I find it garishly-colored and parts of it so pretentious that it offers more insight into the overinflated ego of Alan Moore than the story at hand. . .but other than that, it's a pretty good series), but because I decided not to get hooked into ANOTHER big "Event" crossover. That said, my LCS practically pushed this on me with an "If you don't like it, I'll refund you." offer I couldn't pass up. And I liked it! Like other comments say above, it's definitely NOT a DCU Rebirth issue as much as a Watchmen sequel, but I loved the artwork and the gritty, desperate story. The $4.99 price tag is definitely a bit of a hype gouge, though. I predict that, despite all the hype and hoo-haw around this, it will (just like the "Before Watchmen" prequels nobody wanted) eventually become Longbox Junk worth no more than cover price. The price gouge will turn away all but the most interested after the first issue. A damn shame that DC has to grub for dollars this way because it IS a pretty good story so far.
ReplyDelete