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Before Watchmen: Silk Spectre #2 Review

BW Silk Spectre 2The comic book event of the summer is nigh!  Before Watchmen, the much-anticipated prequel series to Alan Moore and Dave Gibbons’ Watchmen, will consist of seven limited series and an epilogue one-shot.  Stay tuned, as the Fanboy Comics crew will be reviewing each title as it is released. Hurm. 

 

This second issue of Silk Spectre shares many of the strengths I pointed out in my review of the last issue: the art is great, the characters are well-rounded and expressive, and the writing is solid. This issue breaks down a bit, but it remains a compelling next chapter in the story of Laurie Jupiter’s early years.

From the first page it’s clear that this is a very different type of story than what we got last issue. Previously, despite a few displays of athleticism on Laurie’s part, the story was more of a realistic teenage tale. This time, Laurie is embroiled in some traditional super-heroing. She even squares off against a thematic criminal gang (though why they are all dressed thematically is never really explained). A fair amount of time has passed since the end of the last issue, and we are quickly caught up through a montage of images framed as a letter Laurie has written to her “uncle” Hollis back home. A lot of information is clearly and cleverly delivered in a short amount of time, offering a satisfying catch-up for the reader on Laurie’s new status quo. Soon, Laurie is sniffing out a sinister plot in San Francisco . . . will she be able to stop it in time? Probably, but not without great personal cost . . .

I do have a few gripes with this issue. First, they kept the device from Issue #1 where Laurie sees things happening around her through the filter of her daydreams, but they do less in this issue to clearly separate this from reality. It may be done on purpose to signify that she is maturing and her fantasy world is keeping pace, but the end result is a bit confusing since it’s not always easy to tell when we’ve slipped into a daydream. Speaking of confusing, that aforementioned sinister plot is a bit of a doozy, and takes a little time to be fully explained in a way that makes any kind of sense. Furthermore, it is introduced when the scene switches jarringly over to the bad guys, who we have not yet been introduced to, so I found myself playing catch-up for a couple of pages. Also, and this may just be me, I found myself distracted during this scene—several prominent musicians from the ’60s are present, with The Beatles immediately recognizable, but I found myself being distracted from what was going on as I tried to determine who was who. This was made more difficult by the fact that real-world celebrities are mixed in with fictional ones, so I had a hard time knowing who I was supposed to recognize. A minor issue, but I found it annoying.

Overall, while not quite as strong as the first issue, I did find this to be an enjoyable read, and I think the story is continuing to head in an interesting direction. There are plenty of meaty details to chew on in this book, and I look forward to the next installment.

And now it’s time for…

JORDAN ATTEMPTS TO FIGURE OUT THE CRIMSON CORSAIR BACK-UP STORY USING ONLY THE BITS IN SILK SPECTRE.

All right, so I’ve missed several installments at this point. It looks like now our mutinous sailor, whose name I can’t remember, has been saved from the sea, where he was presumably tossed. Hooray, he’s saved! Or, is he? Hey, isn’t that the dead guy from last time? He’s alive! Oh wait, no . . . this is that cursed ship, the Flying Dutchman! The men who sail upon her are doomed to roam the seas forever as punishment for their sins! What will happen to First Mate No-Name? Whatever it is, I bet it isn’t happy . . .

 

Jordan Callarman, Fanbase Press Contributor

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