Before Watchmen - Nite Owl, Dr. Manhattan, Moloch

 

As I've said before, I've been a fan of Watchmen since it came out and have "watched" for the various spin-offs when I can find them and generally enjoy them. This compendium, written by Michael Straczynski, builds a nice backstory on Nite Owl as well as a naturally confusing back-n-forward story on Dr. Manhattan, and an overview of Moloch's history.

In the Nite Owl section we learn of this NO's childhood obsession with the original NO and how he inspired him and eventually discovered his identity and trained under him until he took over the mantel, with new, improved technology. It also shows some of the partnership with Rorschach and their differences in approach - and a bit more of Rorschach's backstory - as well as Dan Dreiberg's relationship with The Twilight Lady and how that affected him.

Dr. Manhattan's tale is appropriately convoluted with a Schrodinger's Cat reference as he explores different possible timelines, some in which he never becomes Dr. Manhattan and lives a happy life, and some variations of his "superhero" career, along with his relation to Ozymandias, and the variations of Ozy's plans for him. 

We also get some background on villain Moloch's fairly tragic life as a deformed child shunned by family and peers alike until he becomes a magician and learns to use his tricks for criminal gain. We also see Ozy's agenda for a post-incarceration Moloch and his part in Ozy's master plan, as detailed in the original Watchmen series.

Really well written and illustrated (by various artists) throughout, with clever storylines, interesting characterizations, and nice interplay between everyone involved as they are fleshed out a bit more. I truly enjoyed this one!