Watchmen

The story concerns a group called the Crimebusters and a plot to kill and discredit them. Moore's characterization is as sophisticated as any novel's. Importantly the costumes do not get in the way of the storytelling; rather they allow Moore to investigate issues of power and control--indeed it was Watchmen, and to a lesser extent Dark Knight, that propelled the comic genre forward, making "adult" comics a reality. The artwork of Gibbons (best known for 2000AD's Rogue Trooper and DC's Green Lantern) is very fine too, echoing Moore's paranoid mood perfectly throughout. Packed with symbolism, some of the overlying themes (arms control, nuclear threat, vigilantes) have dated but the intelligent social and political commentary, the structure of the story itself, its intertextuality (chapters appended with excerpts from other "works" and "studies" on Moore's characters, or with excerpts from another comic book being read by a child within the story), the finepace of the writing and its humanity mean that Watchmen more than stands up--it keeps its crown as the best the genre has yet produced. --Mark Thwaite

Product Description
This Hugo Award-winning graphic novel chronicles the fall from grace of a group of super-heroes plagued by all-too-human failings. Along the way, the concept of the super-hero is dissected as the heroes are stalked by an unknown assassin.

One of the most influential graphic novels of all time and a perennial bestseller, WATCHMEN has been studied on college campuses across the nation and is considered a gateway title, leading readers to other graphic novels such as V FOR VENDETTA, BATMAN: THE DARK KNIGHT RETURNS and THE SANDMAN series.

The brainchild of writer Alan Moore ("Swamp Thing," "V for Vendetta," "From Hell") and artist Dave Gibbons ("Rogue Trooper," "Doctor Who," "Green Lantern"), "Watchmen" was originally published by DC Comics in twelve issues in 1986-87. Moore and Gibbons won the Best Writer/Artist combination award at the 1987 Jack Kirby Comics Industry Awards ceremony. The central story in "Watchmen" is quite simple: apparently someone is killing off or discrediting the former Crimebusters. The remaining members end up coming together to discover the who and the why behind it all, and the payoff to the mystery is most satisfactory. But what makes "Watchmen" so special is the breadth and depth of both the characters and their respective subplots: Dr. Manhattan dealing with his responsibility to humanity given his god-like powers; Nite Owl having trouble leaving his secret identity behind; Rorschach being examined by a psychiatrist. Each chapter offers a specific focus on one of the characters, yet advances the overall narrative.

Beyond that the intricate narrative, Moore and Gibbons offer two additional levels to the story. First, each chapter is followed by a "non-comic" section that develops more of the backstories, such as numerous excerpts from Hollis Mason's autobiography "Under the Hood" or Professor Mitlon Glass' "Dr. Manhattan: Super-Powers and the Superpowers," an interview with Adrian Veidt, or reports from the police files of Walter Joseph Kovacs. Second, almost every issue has scenes from "Tales of the Black Freighter," a comic-book being read by a kid near a newsstand, which offers an allegorical perspective on the main plot line.

"Watchmen" certainly nudged the comics industry in the right direction towards greater sophistication and intelligence, although a full appreciation of its significance is always going to be lost on the bean counters. The Book Club Edition of "Watchmen" offers the teaser: "He's America's ultimate weapon . . . and he's about to desert to Mars." As a representation of the work as a whole that description is simply stupid, especially since it is followed by a glowing recommendation by Harlan Ellison that concludes "anyone who misses this milestone event in the genre of the fantastic is a myopic dope." If you ever spent time reading and enjoying any superhero comic book, you will appreciate what you find in "Watchmen."


A deserved classic   July 3, 2002
Allen W. Wright (Toronto, Ontario, Canada)
177 out of 208 found this review helpful

If you've ever read anything with the title "Comics aren't just for kids anymore", you've probably heard about Watchmen. So, is it really that good?

Oh god, yes.

It's hard to review the collection without resorting to cliches -- and I'll employ one now. It gets better everytime I read it. I see new layers and depth.

"God exists. And he's an American." Most superhero comics take place in a world almost the same as our own. But surely, people running around in tights, people with god-like powers would make an impact. In Watchmen, they do. America won Vietnam -- thanks to a god-like hero. Electric cars exist. Classic comic books got cancelled when the real superheroes came along. Oh, and Richard Nixon is still president into the 1980s. (Too bad about those dead reporters, isn't it?)
This is series a big ideas, human characters and personal moments. It looks at retired heroes (thanks to 1970s anti-superhero legislation) who investigate the death of one of their own. The book also features flashbacks, autobiography excerpts, comic book interludes and more.

Truly engrossing writing by Alan Moore and art by Dave Gibbons.
Oh, and comics aren't just for kids anymore. (g)


Wow, It Really is THAT Good...   February 15, 2003
Zagnorch (Terra, Sol System)
22 out of 23 found this review helpful

Although I've been a comic-shop hanger-onner for a number of years now, it was only recently that I finally decided to take a look at Watchmen . Part of the reason I put off checking it out was due to my disappointment in another comic series that is often hailed by many as the "hallmark" of the four-color format alongside Watchmen : Frank Miller's The Dark Knight Returns series. If I didn't consider Dark Knight all that impressive, my biased and jaded sensibilities told me, why should Watchmen be any better? Another off-putting factor was the pompous statements from more than a few pretentious comic geeks about how Watchmen "requires multiple readings for one to really understand all the nuances and hidden meanings in the story." Whenever I hear something like this, I usually blow it off as the ramblings of intellectual wannabes who try to make their favorite reading material seem more profound than it actually is. That, and they're likely suffering from attention-deficit disorder to boot. But finally the time came when I could relax and give this bad-boy a read, and see if it could rise above my less-than-stellar expectations...

My first run-through put to bed any comparisons I would've made between Watchmen and Mr. Miller's Batman tale, `cuz there really is no comparison-the former funnybook is far more enjoyable than the latter! It was one of the few TPBs longer than eight issues that I've ever read from cover to cover in one sitting! As for that whole "requires a second reading" deal: I'll be dipped if the people making such statements aren't right on the money! I went through Watchmen a second time, and picked up on all sorts'a stuff I hadn't paid attention to the first time `round! Of course, having already read it once, it's easier to follow the second time through, which in turn makes it easier to sift through the subtle foreshadowing events, flashbacks, backstory, and subplots. So maybe those "intellectual-wannabes" are on to something after all! Or maybe I'M the one with A.D.D., who knows. All I know is, every time I give Watchmen a read, I'm unbelievably obsessed with finding out every little snippet of `hidden meanings' and `subtle nuances'... it's become a sickness with me. I find myself trying to come to grips with the book's alternate-reality setting (Nixon serving his fifth term as prez in 1985; the U.S. won the Vietnam War; electric-powered cars are the standard mode of transportation; etc.). I become fixated on seeing the foreshadowing elements contained in the end-of-chapter articles "written by" or related to the book's characters. I try to get into the minds of the core characters and make efforts to understand what motivates them, especially Rorschach's cold, mentally-unbalanced and uncompromising approach to solving crime, and the nigh-godlike Dr. Manhattan's gradual severance from his human side. To make a long story short, I read and processed Watchmen in a way that I'd never done with any other four-color tale (or any other form of literature for that matter), and found it to be an unusual and enlightening experience. Yeah, enlightenment from a comic book... who'da thunk it?

All right, time for me to top this all off with my assessment of the recurring face-with-blood-covering-the-right-eye dealie. I'm aware that there's been some discussion regarding the symbolism of this image-- what it means, why it keeps popping up the way it does, and so forth. After processing all the info and other peoples' thoughts about it, I finally arrived at my own conclusion: there is no actual significance to the `stained face'- Moore & Gibbons intentionally placed this `sign' in various parts of the book to make people believe there's some deeper meaning behind it when there really isn't any at all. Simply put, they're goofing on the readers, testing them to see if they, like the late Comedian , "get" the gag. It's sortuva Andy Kaufman kinda thing, you know? Hey, wait a minute... dear lord, I'm startin' to sound like one of those stereotypical pompous academic types who deconstruct every piece of literature they read to show everybody how scary-intellectual they are, aren't I? Never thought I'd see the day when something like that would happen! But I suppose there's a first time for everything...

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