Though the purists of the series will likely lament the mere mention of Before Watchmen (why though?), DC's 2012 event is worth noting for several reasons - one of them being that, y'know, some of the minis were actually quite good. Gasp!
The late, great Darwyn Cooke started things off with a mini recounting the release of Hollis Mason's autobiography, 'Under the Hood'. In it, Cooke explores Mason's days as the original Nite Owl during the forties, and his art - as always - retained its wonderful style. Other series, such as the ones that focussed on Ozymandias and Doctor Manhattan, were also critically well received, although the rest released to a mixed reception.
There's a tonne to unpick in the 2012 event, and while some are happy with the OG novel and nothing else, exploring the world that Moore and Gibbons created with a different voice to guide you is a great opportunity, and a surefire way of extending your stay in the Watchmen mythos.
WhatCulture's very own resident movie guy, Ewan has been working in the content creation biz for over 10 years now, having started as a freelance contributor to WhatCulture Gaming all the way back in 2015. After graduating with a First-Class Honours in History from Northumbria University in 2017 (where he won a prize for a totally killer dissertation on the Watergate years), Ewan took on the role of Comics Editor at WhatCulture and quickly developed WhatCulture Comics into one of the biggest superhero-focused channels on YouTube. He followed this with a brief hiatus at Screen Rant in 2021, where he worked across the Gaming and Film sections as a writer and editor, before returning to WhatCulture as a Senior Content Producer / Presenter in 2023. He started his own podcast, We Love Dad Movies, in 2022, and has contributed several written pieces to the Eisner-nominated comics website Shelfdust as well.
In his current role, Ewan incorporates his love of cinema, comic books, and history into written pieces and video essays for WhatCulture's Film & TV channel, as well as WhatCulture Gaming and WhatCulture Horror, with a particular focus on nineties-era Dad Movies, old school Westerns, and Golden Age Hollywood Noir. John Carpenter is his fave, and he thinks Batman Beyond should never have been cancelled. If that's your vibe, you'll probably like his stuff.
