Just when you thought DC would calm down after the backlash of their drastic logo change earlier this month, they’re here to alter more of your childhood favorites by bringing us a series of prequels to Alan Moore’s epic Watchmen series from decades ago with their Before Watchmen line of books.

Catchy name, right? That’s about the caliber of originality you can expect to see with these books, with the major saving grace being the talent that DC has gathered for the event. Here’s what they had to say.

Stepping up to the challenge is a group of the comic book industry’s most iconoclastic writers and artists – including Brian Azzarello (100 BULLETS), Lee Bermejo (JOKER), Amanda Conner (POWER GIRL), Darwyn Cooke (JUSTICE LEAGUE: NEW FRONTIER), John Higgins (WATCHMEN), Adam Hughes (CATWOMAN), J.G. Jones (FINAL CRISIS), Andy Kubert (FLASHPOINT), Joe Kubert (SGT. ROCK), Jae Lee (BATMAN: JEKYLL AND HYDE), J. Michael Straczynski (SUPERMAN: EARTH ONE) and Len Wein (SWAMP THING).

BEFORE WATCHMEN includes:

• RORSCHACH (4 issues) – Writer: Brian Azzarello. Artist: Lee Bermejo
• MINUTEMEN (6 issues) – Writer/Artist: Darwyn Cooke
• COMEDIAN (6 issues) – Writer: Brian Azzarello. Artist: J.G. Jones
• DR. MANHATTAN (4 issues) – Writer: J. Michael Straczynski. Artist: Adam Hughes
• NITE OWL (4 issues) – Writer: J. Michael Straczynski. Artists: Andy and Joe Kubert
• OZYMANDIAS (6 issues) – Writer: Len Wein. Artist: Jae Lee
• SILK SPECTRE (4 issues) – Writer: Darwyn Cooke. Artist: Amanda Conner

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Welcome to The Pull List Comic Reviews! First off, a huge thanks to John Carle for covering the column last week, he did a fantastic job. Make sure you check out The Flickcast’s podcast this week where he was also a guest-host! The dude’s everywhere. Okay, on with the comics. As always, WARNING: SPOILERS AHEAD.

PULL OF THE WEEK:

Lobo: Highway to Hell #1 (of 2) – DC Comics – $6.99 US
Writer: Scott Ian Artist: Sam Keith
Score: 8.5

You’re sitting there, asking yourself “How in all that is holy is Lobo: Highway to Hell the Pull of the Week?” Believe me, I’m asking myself that very same question. You see I’ve never dug Lobo. I’ve read a good chunk of his various issues over the years and I’ve never seen the attraction to the character, but seeing as variety is the spice of life, I figured I’d give this a shot. The premise sounded interesting enough…

Lobo’s chillin’ at home when he receives a message – in the form of slain dolphins – from the big bad himself: the Devil. Even though the Main Man has been banished from Hell for quite awhile now, he figures it’s time to go on a road trip and pay a not-so-friendly visit to his old pal, Beelzebub. Along the way everyone’s favorite Czarnian runs into more violence, mayhem, booze and floozy “women” than he can shake a stick at, but what happens when he finally comes face to face with the cutest evil… waitaminute… CUTE?!?

He hasn’t had a starring role since 2007’s Batman/Lobo: Deadly Serious, so when DC Comics dusted the mothballs off of the character, they decided to get a fresh take on him. Enter Scott Ian, the guitarist for the band Anthrax. Ian’s first foray into comic writing is pretty decent, but it’s how he handles the title character that blew me away. There was just enough here to add weight to the usual aloofness that the character normally projects, which clicked beautifully. While the big payoff will be next issue’s finale, so far this has been a very enjoyable ride.

The Maxx creator Sam Keith, who had both writing and artistic duties on the aforementioned 2007 mini-series, makes his return to the character. Bringing his distinctive style that is every bit as manic as Lobo is, the art looks great, even while juggling different levels of detail throughout the issue. From what I could tell, the creative team looked like they catered to each other’s strengths, culminating in a fun romp that became our Pull of the Week.

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