Doomsday Clock: The Complete Collection by Geoff JohnsMy rating: 4 of 5 stars
I'm a little biased here. I love Watchmen, I love Black Label, I read DC comics, and so this was right up my alley. A well-crafted story with gorgeous art in a world that I am invested in already, there's not much more one can ask from a comic.
And this comic knows that. It knows its readers, or at least some of them, are fans. It not only knows it, it thrives on it. This is a comic that relies on readers being fans. From small details to big concepts, the comic works best when the reader can stare at a panel, squint, then squeal because they recognise a specific lantern or a series of histories. This extends even to the actual plot. The book focuses on "cool"-factor fights that feel cool because of how they are different from 'vanilla' comic book fights. The book leans into themes work best when you already know what the characters stand for. When you can whisper "Classic Ozymandius", or "That's not like Batman at all".
This book works best when its reader can tap into a rich background of DC-comics knowledge. And that, consequently, is also its biggest weakness. After all, this inevitably means that when you don't get a reference, the panel making it feels off. It feels empty. It feels like you're supposed to be surprised, but you are not because you don't see what the authors want you to. You can't see it.
If I wasn't already a fan of the universe, I don't know if it'd be a four-star book anymore. It'd still be a good book, but that good? I don't know.
But I am a biased, and I am a fan, so four-stars it will remain.
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