When the original Nite Owl Hollis Mason retires, who will answer the call to take his place? Writer J. Michael Straczynski and artists Joe and Andy Kubert team to assemble the tale of tech-wizard Dan Dreiberg—the man who would carry the mantle of one of the world’s greatest heroes.
WARNING: This week’s book is suggested for mature readers. It contains excessive profanity, violence, and nudity.
Welcome back to another exciting week here at DC Universe Book Club! DC Universe’s very own community run book club. I’m so happy to see you!
Watchmen. Between HBO’s show and DC Comic’s Doomsday Clock; Alan Moore and Dave Gibbon’s Masterpiece has never been more relevant. It seems everyone’s got Watchmen fever these days.
So it seems fitting that us here at DCUBC indulge in some Watchmen Universe goodness, with Before Watchmen: Nite Owl.
This is a prequel, so reading Watchmen beforehand is not necessary.
This was on my very long “need to read” list no better time than now. @Don-El love to hear what you think of JMS’s book, I had a non spoiler thread going when I read it, amazing story.
Heh, so I was going to just read one issue for tonight, and…that turned into reading the whole series. Really good stuff, definitely one of the best of the Before Watchmen books.
It’s deep and wide for sure. One section that really cracked me up though was where JMS talks about the many times he and his wife would have dinner with Harlan Ellison and his wife, but how strangely Harlan would always invite one other person every time, as if he didn’t want to eat alone with Joe M. So classic and hard as tacks crass of Harlan with the answer, too too funny. I grew up reading Harlan’s 60’s bizarro sci fi like “The Beast That Shouted Love At the Heart of the World” or “A Boy and His Dog.”
Don’t want to read the other comments yet as I just finished issue 1, but the first portion of that story really packs a punch if you’ve read JMS’s autobiography. Violent father who hates his sons interests in superheroes is JMS’s story. The rest of issue 1 is just great but more about that later.
What is your history with Watchmen?
I had procrastinated watching the film and was curious as to the show for some time, but finally got into gear after the watch-along Dec. 28th for Watchmen Under the Hood. So I watched the film last week, this week I read the Before Watchmen comics and watched the HBO series. Currently, I’m reading Doomsday Clock, and next I plan to read the Watchmen series.
Is this your first time reading Before Watchmen: Nite Owl?
Yes, though technically I read it before I saw this thread
What did you think of our titular hero, Nite Owl?
Sweet is the first word that comes to mind. I was impressed with his ideas at such a young age, and his determination. How he found something positive to get him through hardship.
What was your favorite page or panel?
Honestly, it was probably the part where they’re all gathered together and he’s convinced that he would be paired with Silk Spectre. We read this scene several times throughout the Before Watchmen series, and it makes me wonder what would have happened if Dr. Manhattan hadn’t changed Captain Metropolis’ perspective. If he hadn’t changed things so that he could be paired with her. Would things have turned out better? Would he have become friends with Rorschach or at least understood him more? Learned from him and his perspective?
Okay teach, I read my assignment. Now let’s tackle those questions!
I. My history with Watchmen…well, I bought the trade years and years ago but never got around to reading it in full until years after the fact. Before that, I knew of Watchmen but had never jumped into that particularly popular and prolific pool of prose and pictures.
So, I’d say I have a long association with it, but mostly by association, rather than actually having experienced the material.
II. I read all of the Before Watchmen books as they came out, so this was a re-read for me. Nite Owl’s book is one of my favorites of Before Watchmen.
III. After Rorschach and Dr, Manhattan, Nite Owl is a favorite of mine, so it’s safe to say I like him quite a bit. For this mini-series in particular, it certainly helps that the writing and art are by titanic talents who’ve also graced assorted DC titles that I’m also a big fan of.
IV. I don’t really have a favorite scene. The art is quite lovely from start to finish as a whole.
WARNING: This week’s book is suggested for mature readers. It contains excessive profanity, violence, and nudity. 
Read all four issues between 2019-12-30T06:00:00Z → 2020-01-05T06:00:00Z 
Tackle the below discussion questions at your leisure
Let us know what you thought of the book as a whole!
Spoiler discussion begins right now!
Discussion Questions
Really good stuff, definitely one of the best of the Before Watchmen books.
WARNING: If you read this book, Alan Moore may emerge from your closet tonight and devour you. 
