Of all the characters in the “Watchmen” universe, Ozymandias was the most uninteresting to me. I found him boring as a character and rather shallow. He didn’t seem as fleshed out as the other characters in the original book. Before Watchmen: Ozymandias changed all that. His book is my favorite out of all of them so far.
Before Watchmen: Ozymandias Issue #2 of the series continues to keep me mesmerized by the back story of this hero who ends up becoming the villain. We get to see Adrian Veidt fully embrace his role as a crime fighter. Ozymandias begins the hunt for the drug lords of his city who he blames for the death of his love. He also begins investigating the murders of the Minutemen to keep from suffering their fates. His nightly patrols end up bringing him face-to-face with a surviving member of the crime fighting group.
Writer Len Wein effectively fleshes out the Ozymandias character. He gives him a depth and soul I think was missing from the “Watchmen” book. We see his motivations in this series. All we really witness in the graphic novel is a rich guy who wants to destroy the Earth for some insane concept his warped mind led him to believe was true. In this, we experience the events that drove Ozymandias to become the person he is in the original book.
Artist Jae Lee continues to thrill me with his superb illustrations. His work is so classy and unique. It will go down in comic history as some of the best. I’ve never seen anyone marry the works of Norman Rockwell with classic comic art the way Lee does. It’s simply breathtaking.
Part Ten of The Curse of the Crimson Corsair: The Devil in the Deep…! sees the central character washing up on the shores of an unknown island. What seems to be a blessing reveals itself to be anything but as natives frantically run out of the jungle. They are followed by slave hunters shooting them down and collecting the survivors to sell. Our hero is shot in all the commotion and found to be of little use to the traders.
Before Watchmen: Ozymandias Issue #2 continues to push this particular title to the top of the pile. I’m excited to see where Len Wein will take the character in future issues. Let’s not forget my anticipation at seeing more of Jae Lee’s fine artwork.
For more articles by Eric Shirey, check out:
Before Watchmen: Comedian Issue #2 Comic Book Review
Before Watchmen: Silk Spectre Issue #2 Comic Book Review
Before Watchmen: Minutemen Issue #2 Comic Book Review
