'Before Watchmen' is Over

All this useless beauty.

I wrote a number of articles about Before Watchmen a year or so when DC Comics was gearing up for its initiative. This one was an aggregation of how some industry professionals said they felt about the matter.

This past week the last of the issues appeared as The Comedian #6 saw print. (On the dais at C2E2 yesterday, Len Wein stated that he regretted that The Comedian had fallen behind schedule and made it to the printer last. Mr. Wein had been hoping all along that his Ozymandias #6 would be the last of the crop of prequels because of how he feels its story leads so seamlessly into the opening of 1986's Watchmen #1.)

The gently breathtaking Jae Lee artwork on the Ozymandias series was my favorite in all of the Before Watchmen books, but did these series accomplish anything?

All this useless beauty. Elvis Costello crafted that phrase years ago and I feel it applies perfectly to Before Watchmen. Maybe you'll listen with me as Mr. Costello sings his composition for us.