Author: J. Michael Straczynski
Publisher: DC Comics
Rating: worthy
Illustrators: Adam Hughes, Andy Kubert, Joe Kubert
Before Watchmen: Nite Owl came out in four comic issues originally, written by J. Michael Straczynski with art by Andy and Joe Kubert. Night Owl 2.0's real name is Dan Dreiberg, and again (this seems to be a common feature amongst the Minutemen!), he was an abused child. He became obsessed with the original Nite Owl, and ran down his true identity by means of surreptitiously sticking a tracking device on the 'Nite Owl mobile'.
Nite Owl threatens Dan initially when he discovers he has a stalker, but later he relents. In this Nite Owl 2 parallels the girl he's going to end up with - Silk Spectre 2. Both of them are the only members of the Watchmen who carry over a super hero identity from the Minutemen, and they’re also the only two who are specifically trained by their forebears and namesakes for their role.
Dan comes home one day to discover his father beating on his mother, and instead of trying to stop it, he retreats to his room where he discovers that his father has smashed his Nite Owl collection of memorabilia. He soon discovers that his father is dead - died of a heart attack, his mother assures him, and neither of them shed a tear. It’s at the funeral that Hollis approaches him with his offer to take him on as a side-kick, but later Hollis announces that he's going to retire and pass the reins over to Dan.
On his first night patrol, Dan encounters Rorschach who takes a shine to him. They eventually partner up, although they don't always get along. Rorschach's uncompromising and derogatory attitude towards women is hard for Dan to work with, especially when Rorschach tries to attack the Twilight Lady, a feisty Dominatrix who helps Dan solve a case, and with whom he hooks up briefly, in his briefs....
Before Watchmen: Doctor Manhattan was originally four comic issues written by J. Michael Straczynski with art by Adam Hughes. The Manhattan story was the least interesting to me amongst the three hardback Before Watchmen compendia that I read, especially since it was pretty much already told in the movie.
The Dr Manhattan story here was a bit too loosely-wrapped for my taste, offering nothing but a lot of mumbo-jumbo under the flimsy guise of deep metaphysical and philosophical bullshit. It didn't sit well with me!
But this volume I rate a worthy read if only because of the Nite Owl story.
