We’re back again with a new adventure in the life of Eddie Blake AKA The Comedian in issue number two of ‘Before Watchmen – The Comedian’. The book picks up a few months after the first issue in the Miami Beach Convention Center where Muhammad Ali is fighting Sonny Liston. Blake is in the crowd watching the fight with Bobby Kennedy.
The rest of the issue takes place during the Comedian’s tour of Vietnam and heavily features the hero’s signature brand of violence and humor. Unlike the first issue where writer Brian Azzarello was the star because of the excellent story he told, issue two is more about the artist J.G. Jones. The art was the outstanding component here because Jones was given the opportunity to go wild with some of the war scenes.
However, despite the general good feelings I had about the artwork, the story was really lacking. Yeah, I got more of twisted variation of history that I liked so much from the original book and the first issue of this series, but there was really only one instance of that here. It’s almost as if the entire book was filler until it got to the important stuff in the end.
Basically, the issue didn’t do too much for me. The Comedian has been in some wars and he’s done some pretty shitty things during these wars. These are things that are well established. I was hoping to get more on his relationship with the Kennedys or some of his other super hero escapades. Hopefully is gets back to something interesting in the next issue.
Verdict: Borrow
BEFORE WATCHMEN – COMEDIAN #2
Written by BRIAN AZZARELLO
Art by J.G. JONES & ALEX SINCLAIR
