BEFORE WATCHMEN: OZYMANDIAS #2

Fucking great cover by Jae Lee, right? The only problem is that it doesn't exactly have anything to do with what's inside this issue. There are a group of Asian women in their underwear and wearing surgical face masks while they cut up cocaine in this issue...but they're not in full Dominatrix outfits or have gas-masks and they certainly don't have power over Ozymandias. Perhaps this cover has something to do with what happened in #1, which I read (both written by Len Wein, who edited the original Watchmen series), but vaguely remember. I guess that's not a good thing if I don't remember #1 which came out a few weeks ago. & while I haven't given up on Before Watchmen, at this juncture the art has been a lot better than the writing. So admire this awesome cover and don't even bother opening up the book.
*1/2 (out of ****)

BATMAN: EARTH ONE

So there's a new DC series called Earth 2...and it takes place in a parallel universe where Superman and Batman are dead. This book, and last year's Superman: Earth One, take place in a different parallel universe. So what the fuck is the regular DC universe called? Earth Zero? Earth Three? So there's that mild annoyance. The other annoyance is...Gary Frank drew this and Geoff Johns wrote it...and that's a superstar team. They did a great storyline about Braniac in Action Comics a few years back. I'd rather see them doing a Batman story in a regular, monthly book than this, which is a long, hardcover graphic novel. I'm guessing DC makes more cash selling hardcovers. So it's all about money, eh? This particular book is readable, it's enjoyable, but nothing outstanding. It's more or less an origin tale with various differences; The Penguin is just a corrupt mayor. Two Face is just a fresh-faced, Hollywood-style rookie cop. It's light and forgettable. **1/2