Cover Image: Doomsday Clock Part 1

Doomsday Clock Part 1

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I will fully admit this is stretching my usual style of comic, but it wasn't TOO much of a stretch because I still rather enjoyed it. I can't do huge quantities of gore and violence, which means I often avoid Watchmen and similar titles. But this one wasn't so bad. Obviously, there's still a lot of blood and murdering, but it didn't seem to be quite as ridiculously over the top as it is in other books. I don't know much about the Watchmen series, and my knowledge of DC isn't as up to date as it might be, but I didn't get confused by much of anything through the plotline which I was impressive. Good to know the characters, but not strictly necessary to know their full backstories or specifics. Not sure if it pulled me in enough to get Volume 2 immediately, but if I start looking for a comic to read for a few hours, it would certainly be on the list of possibilities.

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As a longtime fan of Watchmen, I was really looking forward to this, and it did not disappoint. It might not surpass the original, but it's a worthy entry in the growing sub-genre of Watchmen spinoffs and adaptations.

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Aside from seeing the Watchman movie year ago I have not read or watched anything else related to the Watchman. As a huge fan of Geoff Johns, it was a no brainier for me to want to read this. This graphic novel takes place 7 years after the conclusion of The Watchman. Readers instantly find out that Dr. Manhattan has disappeared and Adrian Veidt believes that he is the only hero who can stop a nuclear annihilation from happening. We follow Veidt, a new Rorschach, Mime and Marionette as they seek answers to where Dr. Manhattan might be. It is through their hunting that the characters come across familiar DC faces.

There were times where I found myself confused while reading this and I don't know if it is due to my own lack of knowledge pertaining to The Watchman or the fact that the plot was weak in areas. However, I would be interested in reading volume 2 to see what happens next.

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The only complaint about this DC/Watchman crossover is that by the time we get to the end it doesn't feel like a lot has happened, or that there really is a lot of 'crossover'. There was a decent amount of time going back to the Watchman and setting all that up, getting the characters out and together. I am interested in seeing where it goes next, it did pick up dramatically.

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Can't wait to read the rest of this series! it's been a long time coming. A need for any library building their comic collection.

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ARC from Netgalley.

I'll leave this review short, because I don't really have much to say.
Doomsday Clock was written to accomplish two things:
1) Bring The Watchmen properly into the DC Universe.
2) Explain the whole plot with Dr. Manhattan and the post-New 52 re-imagining of the DCU.

This Volume does #1, but stalls for #2 til Volume 2 comes out.

The story we have here continues the story of Watchmen, but also focuses way too much on side characters that I could care less for. I'll be slightly harsh and say it reminds me of both Orwell's Animal Farm AND both the recent Heroes in Crisis and Mister Miracle. Like Animal Farm, it's a good story when you focus on the characters (animals), but when you then have to relate it to modern problems (the Cold War), it starts to skew away from being good. For me (and I know many don't agree with me) both Heroes in Crisis AND Mister Miracle were way to over-hyped to enjoy. I have a feeling that this overall story will be the same.

I really enjoy the writing of Geoff Johns, and have for years, but this just didn't resonate with me.

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The DC Universe has been sliding to the crazies since The Rebirth event. Now add in characters from The Watchmen universe such as Mime and Marionette, Adrian Veidt, and Dr. Manhattan, mix in a Superman conspiracy to make the world even crazier with Adrian Veidt confronting Lex Luthor while Mime and Marionette join with Joker to keep the pot boiling. Be interesting to see what happens in Part 2.

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That was weird. But, maybe I'm just coming at it from a weird place since I've never thought that the Watchmen comic was the be all and end all of graphic novels.

In this, some of the people from the Watchmen universe come over to the DC Superhero main universe and a lot of chaos ensues. Mostly everyone is looking for the blug guy, Dr. Manhattan.

It was an okay story. A little hard for me to follow in places, but, again, that could have been because of my ambivalence about the Watchmen series.

Still, it's an interesting start (since it's only part one) to bring Watchmen and DC together.

I received this book via Netgalley thanks to DC Entertainment

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Doomsday Clock is set after the events of The Watchmen. Ozymandias and Rorschach are working together to find Dr. Manhattan and his last known location is in the current DC universe. So the two of them plan to use Lex Luther and Batman to try and locate Dr Manhattan.

It is an interesting story. They are playing with the same ideas from Watchmen but placing it in the current DC world. Superman is having nightmares and Gotham is turning against Batman. Add this to the appearance of Watchmen characters and you have a really good story.

The art is great. I love the signs and newspaper headlines. The color choices also help make the book feel a bit more gritty because everything is in darker tones. This gives it the feel of taking place in Watchmen's universe where so much tragedy had just taken place.

With so many twist and turns I cannot wait to see where it goes next.

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This was definitely interesting. I like seeing the continuation of the story of the Watchmen and the reason for why Oz did what he did makes sense. I liked the addition of the new characters. That back-story, wow! So harsh and how they ended up makes a lot of sense.

Batman was in this one and he was a jerk! Though he didn't deserve what he got, despite his huge jerkiness.

I don't want to spoiler this for anyone, so am not going to say too much. The beginning was rather political and I don't quite understand how it got to nukes all around, but I just went with it. The storyline jumped a tad and when coming from the mind of the "new" Rorschach it was really difficult to follow, but again, I just went with it.

Honestly, I think the introduction of the DC characters of Batman, Lex Luthor, etc, weakened the story, though the Joker, who I normally don't like, really stole the scenes he was in. The Watchmen characters, new and old, were the strong points for me. The artwork was crisp and I liked it for the most part.

And WHAT was Dr. Manhattan THINKING re: one particular character?!?! I REALLY can't wait to see what he has to say for himself when they finally find him.

So yeah, invested in wanting to read the next one. I want to see what happens to both worlds, what happens to Bats, etc. Very violent, rather over the top with Mime and Marionette, but it fit the characters and the storyline. One sex scene, but if someone is reading this and gets to that point, I highly doubt that will faze them.

4, solid I want to read the next one, stars.

My thanks to NetGalley and DC Entertainment/DC Comics for an eARC copy of this book to read and review.

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I'm of two minds on this story.

First and foremost the original Watchmen comic is a spectacular representation of what the genre can do and still one of my favorite comics.

The Before Watchmen comics were an unnecessary addition to the canon, but they weren't all bad. Some were better than others, but overall... not great.

I'm judging this solely on the arc covered in this book and even then, it feels a bit scattered and all over the place. I know that Johns is trying his best to ape Moore's style and layout from Watchmen but I don't know that it ever worked for me.

HOWEVER, I'm not a consistent reader of DC books, for the most part, so there's a lot of context I likely don't have with regards to what's happening in the DC universe, but even leaving that aside... I'm not particularly enamored with the Watchmen character plots in the book either. The way everything finished in the original comic was close to perfect and trying to fill in the details beyond that is only going to be disappointing for me.

Gary Frank's art, however, is as great as always. When I think of Superman most times, I think of Curt Swan, or Gary Frank and his solid presentation of the familiar DC heroes is enjoyable. The villain scenes in the final issue of this collection are also excellent, as are Frank's versions of the Watchmen heroes.

I'll probably end up reading the second half of the collection when it comes along but if you're a big fan of Watchmen, this is probably skippable. But definitely flip through and check out the Gary Frank art.

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I received this book in exchange for a honest review from NetGalley.

Overall this book is very good for what it is. This is a continuation of the Watchmen plot from a different point of view. I find it really cool that the new writer has brought the Watchmen universe into the greater DC universe. It is an interesting take on the Watchmen series and I am interested to read more. Overall I am in general not a huge Watchmen super-fan ( I like it a lot but i won't freak out over changes) so I don't really mind the changes.

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People really like to give this series flake for all of the long release dates. But it's well worth it. Geoff Johns uses what makes Watchmen such a great series into something worthy of follow up. The grim-and-gritty setting really is just a background like the original comics. Here a story is playing out where people have to go back and see how much the series foreshadows and how much it plays alongside the current narrative. It's one of comic's greatest strengths in narratives.

The DC universe on first inspection seems very simple in comparison to Watchmen's noir-like settings. Each issue bring up different points of conduct that highlights DC as a creative powerhouse. When looking closely though, everything seems to focus on Superman despite him not being the center of attention in this half. Even the main point of all this, Dr. Manhattan shows more autonomy than he thought possible. Which is where I believe all of this is going. Superman and Manhattan are more than just driving forces, they're what people hope for the most. However, beneath all of those notions are people who face complications that cannot be easily solved.

That's one of the other main points, nostalgia. People are hoping for a return to form and status quo, but that's exactly what holds the DC back in places. The argument between Batman and Ozymandias even brings this up. Writers like Scott Snyder and Grant Morrison make Batman more than just a superhero chasing the Joker, he also helps out Gotham as Bruce Wayne. But the people behind DC always revert him back after some light at the end of the tunnel.

As for what it means in the real world. People have this problem dealing with misinformation on a regular basis today. With the Superman Theory, they're insecurities feel all but justified. Superheroes are supposed to make the world better, but if they're just a product to sell stories; what's the point? If people would rather listen to fiction or their own perceptions rather than try to fix their own lives, what's the point? I can already tell that the second half will come with no easy answers.

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A Watchmen/DC sounds amazing. This version of DC is darker than what is traditional. The world is in upheaval and citizens of Gotham are calling for the arrest of Batman. Meanwhile, earth in the watchmen universe, after the departure of Dr. Manhattan, has discovered Viedt's treachery. Viedt, along with a new Roarshach, are going to looking for Dr. Manhattan and they are sure the place to find them is in the DC universe.

This was the first of ?? volumes. Because of this, the artist and writer were in no hurry to move the story along. The pieces of the puzzle had been mostly brought together by the end of this first volume, but, because there was so much to set-up, the story can bog down at times. The assay work is attractive and completing and every location had a very definite feel and background.

I look forward to the next volumes which may bring scenes from this one into sharper focus. Thank you to the publisher and Netgalley for the opportunity to read this graphic novel.

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