NB of the Week

Work sleep late boo.
Before Watchmen: Minutemen #1 (of 06) - The Minute of Truth: Chapter One
A lot has been said about DC's decision to make prequels to Watchmen. Love it or hate it, at the end of the day it's a brand and the only way to continue making money from it is to use it and they'd be stupid to not try something. First on the list of releases is Minutemen and I was very surprised at how similar it felt to Moore's original.
In Watchmen, we didn't get a lot of back story to the Minutemen. We got some chapters from Hollis Mason's  "Under the Hood" and some flashback sequences but that's it. Someone elsewhere said it best: Watchmen is about the end of heroes while this is about their beginning.
This issue is "quick" and simple in it's concept. We are given introductions to the original Minutemen through the eyes of Mason and his book. Every body's small, quick origins before joining together. Not much progression outside of those lines and it worked for a starting point into these minis. Each character has their click as to how they fit into the costumed world and we see how their flaws are already leading into what we know and saw in Watchmen.
And I have to say, when first announced, this was one of the bottom books for my excitement. Darwyn Cooke writes and draws this mini and even though I read, own and love DC New Frontier, I wasn't sure if he has the style and fit for the darker tone that we all know these should and would have and he proved me wrong. His words are older and crisp as they should be. He goes more edgy than what I feel Frontier had and it was a great tone setter for how these books hopefully are. His art, while absolutely cartoony, still manages to fit his atmosphere perfectly. It almost gives off the quality of innocence that should probably be with an old-school hero team but becomes almost ironic when put to the words, which is a perfect feel to have.
Obviously my hope is that all these minis have the same feel as this book and come off as well crafted but only the time shall tell on that. As it stands, DC's risky move is a perfect 1 for 1 in my book.