Before Watchmen, Bd. 8: Crimson Corsair

Before Watchmen: German Editions

by Len Wein, John Higgins

In einem Piraten-Abenteuer von Original-"WATCHMEN"-Redakteur Len Wein und "WATCHMEN"-Kolorist Kyle Higgins trifft der Fluch des Roten Korsaren den jungen Gordon McLachlan, für den eine düstere Odyssee beginnt. Geschichten mit Moloch, dem schurkischen Meister der Magie, und Dollar Bill, das von einer Bank finanzierte Mitglied der Minutemen! Helden, Schurken und Piraten! Neue Storys aus der Welt der Watchmen!

Genres: Comics, Comic Book, Fiction

152 pages, Paperback

First published December 16, 2013

About the author

Len Wein was an American comic book writer and editor best known for co-creating DC Comics' Swamp Thing and Marvel Comics' Wolverine, and for helping revive the Marvel superhero team the X-Men (including the co-creation of Nightcrawler, Storm, and Colossus). Additionally, he was the editor for writer Alan Moore and illustrator Dave Gibbons' influential DC miniseries Watchmen.

Wein was inducted into the Will Eisner Comic Book Hall of Fame in 2008.

Reviews

[Derek · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a creepy, terrifying tale, but oh so enjoyable to read. It tells the story of Gordon McClachlan, a Midshipman of His Majesty's navy. His ship, the Pendragon is shot down by a Spanish fleet, and while Gordon survives the churning funeral pyre that became his ship, he's picked up by The Flying Dutchman, a mythical ship that sails for all eternity gathering the souls of the drowned. Gordon meets The Crimson Corsair, the ship's captain, who gives him a task. If Gordon wants to retrieve his lost soul he has to complete three tasks, first collect the Golden ring of an unborn child, second, bring back a tattoo of a dead man's chest, and the third is a riddle Gordon has to figure out. As if the odds aren't against him already, he has to battle a group of French slavers and negro natives out for white blood.

[Anne/ Roebbes_reads_and_treats · Rating 3 out of 5]

I think this might be more interesting for someone who already knows the Watchmen. As introduction into their world it is rather confusing.

[Stacey Adams · Rating 3 out of 5]

Although I love the Watchmen and Before Watchmen books this one wasn't my thing. Pirates, not my interest so I'm biased against this book. But it was well done. The soul lost on the Flying Dutchman made for a good story. Gordon McClachlan boards a ship as part of King George III's royal navy only to be quickly involved in a mutiny. Cannon fire from a Spanish Frigate destroy the ship leaving one survivor who ends up in a fate worse than death leading him on a search for the 3 things needed to reclaim his soul The story that follows is brutal and bloody.

[Marcos_e.e · Rating 3 out of 5]

Nota 6.
Tá, foi deveras decepcionante, mas a vibe pirata e os desenhos são bem diferentes, q fez valer. Agora o roteiro do Len Wein, foi muito no óbvio e previsível, tanto na direção da trama quanto no texto dos balões. Parece que real ele não trabalhou no roteiro direito e só colocou as primeiras ideias que vinham na mente, por isso os clichês. Poderia ter sido uma história com mais substância, dada a história original do Cargueiro Negro que tá em Watchmen. É isso, fiquei preocupado agora pq Ozymandias que é um que quero ler dessa série, tbm é escrito pelo Len Wein e essa obra aqui mostra que ele tá fora de forma pra escrever.

[Sam Nicholson · Rating 3 out of 5]

6/10

[Daniel · Rating 3 out of 5]

"Crimson Corsair" ist ein Sammelband aus der "Before Watchmen"-Reihe. In diesem Band sind drei Geschichten vereint, die unterschiedlicher nicht sein könnten. Ich werde sie hier alle kurz besprechen.

Moloch der Zauberer

Der Sammelband bietet zunächst einen Einblick in die Geschichte eines anderen Protagonisten der Original-Geschichte: Moloch, der Magier. Als klassischer Schurke ist er ein beliebter Gegner der Heldentruppe, wird von ihr immer und immer wieder überwältigt und eingesperrt. Anders als andere Superschurken wird Moloch allerdings eines Tages geläutert.

Dass er am Ende nur eine Figur im Spiel des eigentlichen Antagonisten ist, tut einem nach der Lektüre seiner Geschichte schon beinahe leid. Ich glaube nicht, dass es möglich ist, ihn danach noch einmal mit den gleichen Augen zu sehen.

Dollar Bill

Im Original ist "Dollar Bill" eine nebensächliche Figur. Auch hier wird seine Geschichte ohne großen Schnick-Schnack erzählt; zwar stringent aber in Sachen Illustration nicht unbedingt herausragend kreativ umgesetzt.

Trotzdem ist sie unbedingt lesenswert. Denn obwohl Dollar Bill nur das Maskottchen einer Bankengruppe ist, das durch seine Geldgeber in das Leben eines Helden gestoßen wurde, verfügt er vielleicht sogar über einen besseren Charakter, als die meisten anderen Protagonisten zusammen. Und das tut Zwischendurch auch einmal gut...

Besonders sein in "Watchmen" nur angerissener Tod bekommt einen zumindest leicht anderen Dreh.

Crimson Corsair

Eine der interessantesten Ideen, die im Original-Watchmen-Comic von 1986 realisiert wurden, war ganz bestimmt der alles kommentierende Piraten-Comic. Immer wieder trifft der Leser des Originals auf die in ihrer Popularität völlig unverständliche Figur.

Nicht wenige Leser fragte sich bestimmt, wie es dazu kommen konnte, dass ausgerechnet ein Comic über einen Piraten - bei uns eine undenkbare Sache - in einer düsteren Welt wahnsinniger Superhelden und noch wahnsinnigerer Superschurken gelesen werden sollte. Die Antwort ist verblüffend einfach: In einer Welt, in der Superhelden eben tatsächlich existieren und (auch nicht verwunderlich) in Wahrheit sogar gefürchtet werden, brauchen Menschen eben auch andere Comics. Gut ... das erklärt zwar nicht unbedingt den Piraten, ist aber solide genug um akzeptiert zu werden. Und der so entstandene Crimson-Corsair-Comic ist durchaus akzeptabel. :)

[Rob · Rating 3 out of 5]

Crimson Corsair happens to be a good (if not the only good) addition to the Before Watchmen series. John Higgins illustration was superbly done and very haunting.

Just like Black Freighter it is a story of a sailor and his sea adventures. People somehow can't find the parallelism of Crimson Corsair to the Before Watchmen series. But if you analyze it you will see that Gordon from Crimson Corsair and the Watchmen suffered the same fate.

Gordon's life was destroyed by an evil ghost ship, he was given a chance to live. In the process of trying to get his life back he lost a bit of his morality and ended up to become the evil he so hated.

Watchmen characters suffered the same history. Their lives were messed up when they were young, it pushed them to redeem their lives by trying to be heroes. In the process some of them lost their morality and became evil in some ways.

It's like a summary of what F. Nietzsche once said "He who fights with monsters should look to it that he himself does not become a monster. And when you gaze long into an abyss the abyss also gazes into you."

[Michael · Rating 1 out of 5]

Der schwächste Band der BEFORE WATCHMEN - und das will schon etwas heißen. Eigentlich von hinten bis vorne eine echte Zumutung. Eine bescheuerte MOLOCH-Geschichte von JMS. Übeflüssige Anmerkungen zu Dollar Bill. Und eine völlig mißlungene Piratengeschichte. Völlig mißlungen im Watchmen-Kontext.
Schande, Schande, Schande.

[Tawfek · Rating 2 out of 5]

i didnt really enjoy this tale there was alot of big words included and i kind of fell from the story
its a story in 57 pages that could have been easily told in 24 pages
we spent half of the story learning how the main char feels right now