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Before Watchmen: Nite Owl
Before Watchmen: Nite Owl #1
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.
“The hero known to the public only as Nite Owl announced his retirement today.” Plus: Don’t miss the CRIMSON CORSAIR backup story by writer LEN WEIN and artist JOHN HIGGINS!
“The hero known to the public only as Nite Owl announced his retirement today.” Plus: Don’t miss the CRIMSON CORSAIR backup story by writer LEN WEIN and artist JOHN HIGGINS!
32 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 2012
About the author
J. Michael Straczynski
1,385 books1,311 followersJoseph Michael Straczynski is an American filmmaker and comic book writer. He is the founder of Synthetic Worlds Ltd. and Studio JMS and is best known as the creator of the science fiction television series Babylon 5 (1993–1998) and its spinoff Crusade (1999), as well as the series Jeremiah (2002–2004) and Sense8 (2015–2018). He is the executor of the estate of Harlan Ellison.
Straczynski wrote the psychological drama film Changeling (2008) and was co-writer on the martial arts thriller Ninja Assassin (2009), was one of the key writers for (and had a cameo in) Marvel's Thor (2011), as well as the horror film Underworld: Awakening (2012), and the apocalyptic horror film World War Z (2013). From 2001 to 2007, Straczynski wrote Marvel Comics' The Amazing Spider-Man, followed by runs on Thor and Fantastic Four. He is the author of the Superman: Earth One trilogy of graphic novels, and he has written Superman, Wonder Woman, and Before Watchmen for DC Comics. Straczynski is the creator and writer of several original comic book series such as Rising Stars, Midnight Nation, Dream Police, and Ten Grand through Joe's Comics.
A prolific writer across a variety of media and former journalist, Straczynski is the author of the autobiography Becoming Superman (2019) for HarperVoyager, the novel Together We Will Go (2021) for Simon & Schuster, and Becoming a Writer, Staying a Writer (2021) for Benbella Books. In 2020 he was named Head of the Creative Council for the comics publishing company Artists, Writers and Artisans.
Straczynski is a long-time participant in Usenet and other early computer networks, interacting with fans through various online forums (including GEnie, CompuServe, and America Online) since 1984. He is credited as being the first TV producer to directly engage with fans on the Internet and to allow viewer viewpoints to influence the look and feel of his show. Two prominent areas where he had a presence were GEnie and the newsgroup rec.arts.sf.tv.babylon5.moderated.
Straczynski wrote the psychological drama film Changeling (2008) and was co-writer on the martial arts thriller Ninja Assassin (2009), was one of the key writers for (and had a cameo in) Marvel's Thor (2011), as well as the horror film Underworld: Awakening (2012), and the apocalyptic horror film World War Z (2013). From 2001 to 2007, Straczynski wrote Marvel Comics' The Amazing Spider-Man, followed by runs on Thor and Fantastic Four. He is the author of the Superman: Earth One trilogy of graphic novels, and he has written Superman, Wonder Woman, and Before Watchmen for DC Comics. Straczynski is the creator and writer of several original comic book series such as Rising Stars, Midnight Nation, Dream Police, and Ten Grand through Joe's Comics.
A prolific writer across a variety of media and former journalist, Straczynski is the author of the autobiography Becoming Superman (2019) for HarperVoyager, the novel Together We Will Go (2021) for Simon & Schuster, and Becoming a Writer, Staying a Writer (2021) for Benbella Books. In 2020 he was named Head of the Creative Council for the comics publishing company Artists, Writers and Artisans.
Straczynski is a long-time participant in Usenet and other early computer networks, interacting with fans through various online forums (including GEnie, CompuServe, and America Online) since 1984. He is credited as being the first TV producer to directly engage with fans on the Internet and to allow viewer viewpoints to influence the look and feel of his show. Two prominent areas where he had a presence were GEnie and the newsgroup rec.arts.sf.tv.babylon5.moderated.
Ratings & Reviews
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Displaying 1 - 25 of 25 reviews
December 15, 2018
Hurm...
I mean come on this is beautiful how much have i missed the world of watchmen whenever i do there are before watchmen mini series that i haven't finished yet and i go back to them
This is actually extra Interesting because of Rorschach he is tagging along and he keeps things interesting as always
Nite Owl is very underrated for me i mean he can invent all these gadgets yet he isnt really one of my favorites i don't know why
Silk Specter as sexy as ever
Dr Manhattan shame on you you cheat lol
The comedian lives by his code and by his code only But he actually sees things for what they really are.
I mean come on this is beautiful how much have i missed the world of watchmen whenever i do there are before watchmen mini series that i haven't finished yet and i go back to them
This is actually extra Interesting because of Rorschach he is tagging along and he keeps things interesting as always
Nite Owl is very underrated for me i mean he can invent all these gadgets yet he isnt really one of my favorites i don't know why
Silk Specter as sexy as ever
Dr Manhattan shame on you you cheat lol
The comedian lives by his code and by his code only But he actually sees things for what they really are.
January 2, 2017
Newsflash: Geoff Johns has just teased (January 1, 2017) that he's back to writing comics again in this tweet so aside from the DC Rebirth #1 reveal, I guess this is a high time for us to read Watchmen and the Before Watchmen series!
Back to my review, Before Watchmen: Nite Owl is a details how Daniel Dreiberg, a nerd who is a very big fan of the first Nite Owl, managed to discover the secret hideout of Hollis Mason. Dan then later trained with Hollis as a protégé, then eventually took up the mantle of the Nite Owl. The best scenes in this issue though are Nite Owl's awkward yet funny conversations with Rorschach.
The nerd and the brooder as partners? It works.
The first crimebusters meeting is also here. Unlike Len Wein's Ozymandias which has faithfully recreated the original material down to the last word, J. Michael Straczynski (6 consecutive consonants? Woah.) has changed bits of it, facetiously adding post-meeting dialogue between our BFF's Owl and Rorie.
Nite Owl issue one is an easy read. Despite some of the heavy scenes it shows, it is lighthearted with a handful of quips that made me smile.
Back to my review, Before Watchmen: Nite Owl is a details how Daniel Dreiberg, a nerd who is a very big fan of the first Nite Owl, managed to discover the secret hideout of Hollis Mason. Dan then later trained with Hollis as a protégé, then eventually took up the mantle of the Nite Owl. The best scenes in this issue though are Nite Owl's awkward yet funny conversations with Rorschach.
The nerd and the brooder as partners? It works.
The first crimebusters meeting is also here. Unlike Len Wein's Ozymandias which has faithfully recreated the original material down to the last word, J. Michael Straczynski (6 consecutive consonants? Woah.) has changed bits of it, facetiously adding post-meeting dialogue between our BFF's Owl and Rorie.
Nite Owl issue one is an easy read. Despite some of the heavy scenes it shows, it is lighthearted with a handful of quips that made me smile.
August 29, 2026
I will see about reading Watchmen once more after I finish all these 32 little stories, and then let's see. This one covers the initiation of the younger Nite Owl. I am enjoying this setup of the mayhem that was one of the greatest work in comics history.
I have always loved comics, and I can, and I have. I love comics to bits; may the comics never leave my side. I loved reading this and love reading more. You should also read what you love, and I hope you will always love it. Even though I grew up reading local Indian comics like Raj Comics, Diamond Comics, or even Manoj Comics, now is the time to catch up on international and classic comics, Mangas, Mahwas, and Graphic novels. I am on my quest to read as many comics as I just want to Keep on Reading.
I have always loved comics, and I can, and I have. I love comics to bits; may the comics never leave my side. I loved reading this and love reading more. You should also read what you love, and I hope you will always love it. Even though I grew up reading local Indian comics like Raj Comics, Diamond Comics, or even Manoj Comics, now is the time to catch up on international and classic comics, Mangas, Mahwas, and Graphic novels. I am on my quest to read as many comics as I just want to Keep on Reading.
November 17, 2012
Il migliore della serie finora.
L'ultima opera del grande Joe Kubert prima di morire.
Ciao Joe.
L'ultima opera del grande Joe Kubert prima di morire.
Ciao Joe.
May 5, 2025
While Nite Owl changes some of the characterisation that I’d believe the characters to be from the original Watchmen, these four issues left me wanting more. A tight story with some horrific moments. This was a good team up story with Rorschach and is thrilling most of the way through. There is some in my opinion perfect Rorschach dialogue, and I feel it matches the chemistry and team up between him and Nite Owl II. These are a fun read, and probably my favourite of the Before Watchmen so far.
December 13, 2016
Night Owl is with Rorschach one of my favorite characters from The Watchmen. I loved this comic book. It is interesting, it provides some plausible back story to how the two characters met and first worked together. I had a good time reading that one.
February 12, 2020
Es un cómic duro, sórdido, pero tan real como un cómic puede llegar a ser. Maneja de una manera soberbia un tema tan delicado como la moral. Y sin dejar de mostrar acción y un toque exacto de violencia. Nite Owl viene a demostrar que "héroe" y "perfecto" no necesitan ir en la misma descripción.
October 15, 2021
So far all of these before watchmen stories have been retreading, with detail, ground that anyone who has read watchmen already knows. This one, however, has shades of character that inform Nite Owl (Dan) in new ways without betraying what we know already. Very well done.
August 17, 2017
This series of back stories is brilliant in both style and content, reflecting back on the golden age of super heroes but with a critical eye.
July 18, 2023
I enjoyed this a bit more than I expected. Felt sorry seeing Nite-Owl's dad being abusive.
June 28, 2012
Note: This is a guest review written by me for the Civilian-Reader blog.
My prior experience with Watchmen is limited to the 2009 film adaptation. I remember that it was an extremely weird experience, as I had no prior familiarity with it and I was rather confused for the whole of it. My friends helped fill in a few blanks later during dinner and then that was that. As you can no doubt tell, I was not motivated to go pick up Alan Moore and Dave Gibbons’ graphic novel and read the source material.
Recently, however, I’ve been getting back into comics after a rather long break, and when I heard that DC was planning a prequel phase, the Before Watchmen series, I was mildly curious. I like the idea of prequels, especially for things like these. To give but one example, Tolkien’s Silmarillion is one of my favourite novels ever; although it is almost entirely prequel stories set in Middle-Earth and in Valinor and our heroes of the original trilogy barely feature in it.
So when the Before Watchmen comics started releasing last month, I picked them up one by one: the first issues of Minutemen, Silk Spectre, Comedian and Nite Owl. I still somewhat prevaricated on this, and didn’t read them right away as I had some other reading commitments to get out of the way first.
..........................
“The hero known to the public only as Nite Owl announced his retirement today.”
J. Michael Straczynski’s Nite Owl #1 tells the story of the character’s “future” as the first Nite Owl, Hollis Mason, retires and Dan Dreiberg steps in to assume the crime fighter’s identity. JMS is another comics writer I’m unfamiliar with, although I’m given to understand that he has written one of the most popular Superman storylines ever, Earth One [I really enjoyed it – Stefan], which I’m rather keen to get my hands on if I can. So far, it’s not on Comixology, which is a shame.
Anyhoo... I actually found myself enjoying this issue. Nite Owl is another character I barely remember from the movie, other than him being some kind of a knock-off Batman (incidentally, Scott Snyder notes in his ongoing Batman series that Owls and Bats are mortal enemies!). JMS adds quite a bit of background to the character and shows why he became Nite Owl, what motivated him to take that step and why he was infatuated with the superhero to begin with. The character history loosely mimics that of Laurie’s from the movie, but I didn’t have any problems with it. The events are loosely connected and there is sufficient meat there to really differentiate them both.
The art (pencils by Andy Kubert, inks by Joe Kubert, and colours by Brad Anderson), was decent. It was just about on par with Silk Spectre and Minutemen. The one thing I didn’t like about it though was that in a lot of the panels, the characters have too many “lines” on their bodies. I’m not sure if that’s a valid criticism per se, but it is pretty major throughout. I suppose that’s just Andy Kuberts’ style. One thing that’s pretty apparent throughout is that Anderson has used black a LOT for his colour palette. It lends the panels a rather dark, shadowy feel. That, along with the hard-set to the expressions of most characters, gives the entire comic a heavy, gritty feel. For the best, I suppose.
..........................
You can find the full review over at Civilian-Reader:
http://civilian-reader.blogspot.co.uk...
My prior experience with Watchmen is limited to the 2009 film adaptation. I remember that it was an extremely weird experience, as I had no prior familiarity with it and I was rather confused for the whole of it. My friends helped fill in a few blanks later during dinner and then that was that. As you can no doubt tell, I was not motivated to go pick up Alan Moore and Dave Gibbons’ graphic novel and read the source material.
Recently, however, I’ve been getting back into comics after a rather long break, and when I heard that DC was planning a prequel phase, the Before Watchmen series, I was mildly curious. I like the idea of prequels, especially for things like these. To give but one example, Tolkien’s Silmarillion is one of my favourite novels ever; although it is almost entirely prequel stories set in Middle-Earth and in Valinor and our heroes of the original trilogy barely feature in it.
So when the Before Watchmen comics started releasing last month, I picked them up one by one: the first issues of Minutemen, Silk Spectre, Comedian and Nite Owl. I still somewhat prevaricated on this, and didn’t read them right away as I had some other reading commitments to get out of the way first.
..........................
“The hero known to the public only as Nite Owl announced his retirement today.”
J. Michael Straczynski’s Nite Owl #1 tells the story of the character’s “future” as the first Nite Owl, Hollis Mason, retires and Dan Dreiberg steps in to assume the crime fighter’s identity. JMS is another comics writer I’m unfamiliar with, although I’m given to understand that he has written one of the most popular Superman storylines ever, Earth One [I really enjoyed it – Stefan], which I’m rather keen to get my hands on if I can. So far, it’s not on Comixology, which is a shame.
Anyhoo... I actually found myself enjoying this issue. Nite Owl is another character I barely remember from the movie, other than him being some kind of a knock-off Batman (incidentally, Scott Snyder notes in his ongoing Batman series that Owls and Bats are mortal enemies!). JMS adds quite a bit of background to the character and shows why he became Nite Owl, what motivated him to take that step and why he was infatuated with the superhero to begin with. The character history loosely mimics that of Laurie’s from the movie, but I didn’t have any problems with it. The events are loosely connected and there is sufficient meat there to really differentiate them both.
The art (pencils by Andy Kubert, inks by Joe Kubert, and colours by Brad Anderson), was decent. It was just about on par with Silk Spectre and Minutemen. The one thing I didn’t like about it though was that in a lot of the panels, the characters have too many “lines” on their bodies. I’m not sure if that’s a valid criticism per se, but it is pretty major throughout. I suppose that’s just Andy Kuberts’ style. One thing that’s pretty apparent throughout is that Anderson has used black a LOT for his colour palette. It lends the panels a rather dark, shadowy feel. That, along with the hard-set to the expressions of most characters, gives the entire comic a heavy, gritty feel. For the best, I suppose.
..........................
You can find the full review over at Civilian-Reader:
http://civilian-reader.blogspot.co.uk...
August 7, 2015
Now we have the origin story of the second Nite Owl, Dan Dreiberg, and his partnership with Rorschach (well actually in this timeline according to Rorschach himself he is still just Walter Kovacs pretending to be Rorschach).
Well writen and well paced. We see the motivations and training for taking the Nite Owl name. I really enjoyed reading this, the first of the Before Watchmen series that I think actually made justice to the original characters.
We see Rorschach before he completely turned into Rorschach, and it is awesome to witness his slow transformation but still only Walter. Another nice aspect is the fact that Dan is inherently a good guy while Walter isn't and that makes the partnership even the more interesting.
Overall I quite liked this one.
Well writen and well paced. We see the motivations and training for taking the Nite Owl name. I really enjoyed reading this, the first of the Before Watchmen series that I think actually made justice to the original characters.
We see Rorschach before he completely turned into Rorschach, and it is awesome to witness his slow transformation but still only Walter. Another nice aspect is the fact that Dan is inherently a good guy while Walter isn't and that makes the partnership even the more interesting.
Overall I quite liked this one.
April 5, 2013
Very nice story, with solid connections to the original graphic novel as it answers questions regarding the character's past. Since Nite Owl's origin was only hinted at before this series, I liked how this issue effectively delves into that material. Only drawback is the art, particularly with the colors. While decent, the images just don't compare with the visceral and gritty elements of Dave Gibbons' work in the graphic novel. I like the designs, but I would've preferred a more Jim Lee/Gary Frank style. Nevertheless, I would still recommend it, particularly for dedicated fans.
September 28, 2012
Meh. Not very interested in this one. And what's with the bit where they pair the heroes? Why were there ones between Dr. Manhattan and Silk Spectre? Is that Dr. Manhattan's doing or alternate realities or what?.. Just the way on the next page Nite Owl even said he was sure they were fated. Yes I've seen the movie, read Watchmen, blahblah so I know the end result, but in this comic as a standalone.. Ideas?
December 7, 2012
I recommend it for Joe Kubert's final art. It is his art although he is only listed as an inker. However, it is slavish to the Watchmen original and just shows how desperate this whole enterprise really is. Kubert's art makes you wish they got gutsey, they had the right author in J. Michial Straczynski who went balls out on several marvel titles. Say it aint so Joe?
November 11, 2013
This was a great star to the Nite Owl series. However the only reason it fell short of the full 5 stars is I just don't believe that he would have spoken about the Silk Spectre, and his feelings for her, so openly with Rorschach. Other than that, pretty damn cool...Can't wait to get the next one started!
January 6, 2013
Though I never liked Nite Owl at all, this issue was completely amazing! And it features Rorschach's first appearence on this series.
Well written and incredibly illustrated. It develops the relationship between both Nite Owls, Hollis and Daniel.
Well written and incredibly illustrated. It develops the relationship between both Nite Owls, Hollis and Daniel.
January 25, 2013
Was skeptical at first, but now am a huge fan of the Before Watchmen series. Just finished the four Nite Owl books and was pleasantly surprised. Great story on its own with nice ties to the original book.
May 16, 2015
Never really a fan of Nite Owl in the original books. at the time thought he was weak and a goody goody but have since realised he was the moral centre and conscience of the Watchmen. Will be interesting to see where this goes story wise
November 27, 2012
Crítica | Antes de Watchmen: O Coruja: https://www.planocritico.com/critica-...
May 24, 2013
No soy muy fan de los Kubert pero su arte en este cómic es impresionante. De todo lo que he leído hasta ahora... El color es el que menos me gusta.
July 9, 2013
Gostei muito, não acrescenta muito á história original mas os dois juntos são fantásticos.
August 3, 2013
The Nite owl arch of "Before Watchmen" is a fun read, but not a masterpiece, nor a must-read work.
Although it's not a waste of time, it's nothing near the original Watchmen.
Although it's not a waste of time, it's nothing near the original Watchmen.
September 14, 2020
Guion y dibujo de 3 estrellas. Hay algo de originalidad, pero no es sustancial. Se deja leer, pero no es memorable.
July 12, 2012
Best one out of the series so far!
Displaying 1 - 25 of 25 reviews