Before Watchmen arrives; trade-waiters are bored

I'm kidding, of course. But days like today -- a big day for readers of single issues (and you digital folks) with the release of the first Before Watchmen issue, Darwyn Cooke's Before Watchmen: Minutemen #1 -- can get a little lonely for those of us who wait-for-the-trade, with all the hullabaloo passing us by and whatnot.

(This being a tongue-in-cheek post with plenty of internal linkage. You've been warned.)

While your friends run to and fro waiving their copies of Minutemen above their heads, going on about "Mothman this" and "Hooded Justice that," fret not as you sit before your neatly organized bookshelf, staring at the empty space saved with hope that maybe, one day, an Absolute Before Watchmen might fill it. Periodical fans ought not have all the fun -- here's things you, yes you, can do right now to take your mind off the hard fight of being a trade-waiter.

1) Re-read Watchmen. Sure, everyone else is out there reading Before Watchmen while we (and Alan Moore) are home clenching our fists. Use this opportunity to take a stand! It's not that you're waiting for the trade -- you're protesting on behalf of creators' rights and against corporate greed (at least until the Absolute edition comes out). Stage a sit-in in your own home by re-reading Watchmen in its entirety -- and when you finished, check out the Collected Editions review of Watchmen and our related materials.

2) Read DC's other collected releases for this week. Who needs Before Watchmen? We've got Batman: Detective Comics Vol. 1: Faces of Death, the first DC New 52 collection of the Batman series, um, not making as many headlines as its companion title and "Night of the Owls." Oh, but wait, there's Red Lanterns Vol. 1: Blood and Rage, the collection that, um, features a lovely cover of a woman, uh, bathing herself in blood. But wait, there's also the reprint of the previously-published hardcover of the pre-DC New 52 Green Lantern: Revolt of the Alpha Lanterns, which, ah, I didn't rate very highly. ... Superman in Action Comics Archives Vol. 6, anyone?

3) Finally read the classic Night Force series. You're really excited for the DC New 52 Night Force series. I mean, who needs Before Watchmen when you've got vampires? No vampires in Before Watchmen, that's for sure! So how great is it that you can read all fourteen issues of the original 1980s Marv Wolfman/Gene Colan Night Force series in paperback this week? I was pretty bummed when they cancelled the hardcover, but at least we have the paperback -- what's that? They cancelled the paperback too? It's not coming out at all? Oh, the trials of a trade-waiter! (Read more in our Cancelled Trade Cavalcade series.)

4) Vote how you want Before Watchmen collected. Our earlier post on Before Watchmen showed a resounding number of you want multiple Before Watchmen hardcovers, while I have already cleared space on my bookshelf I'm waiting for an Absolute edition. If you didn't chime in before (or even if you did), head over there and vote how you want Before Watchmen collected.

5) Leave a comment on Collected Editions. Got another way to pass the time on Before Watchmen Day? Just want to talk trades? Drop us a line below. You can also explore the Collected Editions Review Index, a list of all our reviews -- find a book you've read and make your opinion known! And don't forget, we also sometimes update parts of the site on the sly ...

New reviews coming tomorrow. Happy Before Watchmen Day!