At first, Laurie thinks life is “hakuna matata” in Before Watchmen: Silk Spectre #2. But unlike the last issue, superheroics do come into play. Here’s DC‘s official description:

“I’ve just come to a horrible realization…My mom would be really proud of me right now.” Plus, a new CRIMSON CORSAIR backup feature from writer LEN WEIN and artist JOHN HIGGINS!

Darwyn Cooke and Amanda Conner once again collaborate on the script, and they once again do a great job of capturing the teenage voice and point of view. They’re especially adept at conveying the live-in-the-moment naivete that is characteristic of many teenagers and of the 1960’s in general. Laurie’s doing the hippie thing in San Francisco, blissfully unaware of the direction her life is taking. It’s not that she stupid, she’s just young and over-confident and thinks she knows everything.

The writing stumbles a bit when it comes to the costumed hero portion of the book. As DC’s quote indicates, Laurie realizes  she’s fulfilling her mother’s wish in becoming a hero, but only after she’s taken on the role of Silk Spectre. For someone who has railed so hard against her mother, she takes up her mantle without hesitation. Additionally, the book’s antagonists -a musician and a record exec who are plotting to distribute contaminated LSD that compels users to buy more merchandise- verge too close to traditional comic book supervillainy, which the super-serious original Watchmen intentionally avoided.

While the script has its faults, Conner’s art is once again top-notch. I seriously have not a single complaint. The layouts are almost musical, with repetitions and variations of the nine panel format used by Dave Gibbons. Her visual motifs are equally brilliant, with the unity of the book’s art shoring up the weaknesses of the plot. Paul Mounts‘ colors are as crucial to the look of the book as Conner’s pencils. Given that this is the psychedelic 60’s, coloring is paramount, and Mounts delivers. My favorite part is the distinctive color palette he uses for each scene: lots of colorists use the appropriate values to match the amount of light or darkness in a scene, but few take the hue into account (for example, in a predominantly blue room, Mounts gives even the non-blue colors a blue tinge.) In short, there is a wide range of colors that is simultaneously very consistent, and the result is beautiful.

Overall, Before Watchmen: Silk Spectre #2 maintains the high quality we saw in the first issue. On a panel-by-panel basis, the writing is fantastic, although the story arc as a whole slips. Final note: I’m finding it harder and harder to reconcile the predominantly cheerful teenage Laurie, with the lost, jaded adult we meet later. We can always chalk the disparity up as a case of “people change,” but I really hope Cooke and Conner address the personality shift before the series’ end.

4/5