Deluxe Edition, Watchmen

Well I bought it so I could find out what the movie would be about. I haven't finished it yet because it is so long. The story seems pretty good so far and the pictures are very expertly drawn. Can't wait for the movie to come out.

I bought this for my husband's birthday. He had been commenting on the movie commercials so I thought he would love this book. He read it in 3 days! He said it is a good book but he didn't like the ending. I didn't read it so I'm not much help so I guess you have to read it yourself!

If you don't already know, the other reviews will fill you in on the Watchmen's story and it's significance to the comic medium. I'm here to tell you about this edition of the book, which is basically an oversized version of the long out of print Graphitti Designs hardcover version complete with all of that edition's exclusive extras (which is fantastic since that out of print volume goes for major bucks on Ebay when it does rarely surface). Until now, that Graphitti Designs edition was the one to own...This tops it due to it's oversized pages and superior quality printing.

Want to see how this story was originally about about Captain Atom, Blue Beetle, and the Question (along with other Charlton characters) and how it changed to what it is? There is a very indepth look at the original proposal included here.

Want to see early Gibbon's art? it's here. How about rarely seen teaser strips published long before the first issue? Again included. Alan Moore's script samples? You got it.

Bottom line, I can't think of anything that could possibly be done or included that would make a superior edition to this.

I used to collect comics all through the 80's and halfway through the 90's. My friends had raved about this comic, but I never bought the title. After hearing that the movie was going to be released soon, I got the graphic novel and was ready to get blown away.

Well, I was underwhelmed. The art was good, but it seemed like I had seen it before even though the name didn't jump out at me. I took a look at his other titles but hadn't read any of the other comics. The story seemed to drag on for me and it took quite a while for me to finish because I felt bored.

I couldn't associate with any of the characters and I wasn't rooting for anybody (hero or villain). It would be like meeting a group of people and knowing right away that you wouldn't get along with them. So you cut your losses and never see them again. But I had to unfortunately keep going so I could see how it ends. But not in the suspense type of feeling, but because I thought maybe their was a glimmer of hope. Nope, I got there and thought those are many hours I won't get back.

I'll wait for the movie on DVD, hopefully Hollywood can at least make this movie palatable. They do have a knack to sensationalize things and this is one story that NEEDS it.

This is one of the graphic novels that people point to when validating comics. It lives up to the hype, and it's absolutely worth your time. This hard cover edition is a gorgeous collection, and it's something I'm proud to display on my shelf. If you love Watchmen or you want to find out what all the talk is about, you can't go wrong with this purchase.

What if masked heroes and super-human super-heroes were real, and from the US? It is a disturbing look. But it is fundamentally flawed: it assumes super-heroes appear only in the US, and that a cornered Soviet Union then launches WWIII. But they could just as easily appear elsewhere, and a clear Western advantage in the Cold War (including the end of dependence on Arab oil, due to ubiquitous electrical cars because the one real super-hero here can easily make Lithium batteries) would probably have driven the URSS into bankruptcy much earlier than the late 1980s – early 90s oil glut did.

I sprung for the "Absolute" edition because of all the great reviews I've read/heard over the years. But sadly, I was disappointed by Watchmen. Maybe in its day it was revolutionary and unique, but it hasn't stood the test of time for me. I'll stick with V For Vendetta- a true classic.

Watchmen is one of the most hyped graphic novels of all time and I went in with expectation of being amazed. Sadly I was left underwhelmed. Though the character development is very unique for a superheros I felt that much of the plot was brushed over and I didn't really know what was happening till the final quarter of the novel. Maybe I'm not knowledgeable of the limits of the medium but I felt pretty mediocre about the entire story.

I'm really amazed that Time magazine named this book "one of the best 100 novels since 1923." Although it's understandable why Watchmen was influential and important in the comic book world of the 1980's, the book is by no means "one of the best novels since 1923." That claim is really quite absurd. Although I'm not arguing that the book is unreadable, it has nothing on even your average prose novelist. While it is entertaining, the dialogue, plot, and characterization are much too juvenile for this book to really be taken seriously (by anyone over the age of, say, 16).

If you're looking for a dark comic that influenced subsequent dark comics, then you'll be satisfied with Watchmen. However, if you're looking for a literary graphic novel, this isn't it. For truly literary graphic novels that can compete with prose novelists, you'll have to look elsewhere. I'd recommend the work of Daniel Clowes.

Also, parents should be forewarned against buying this for young children since this book contains some nudity, disturbing sexual situations, and very graphic violence.

Wow, Time Magazine 100 top novels. Basis for Major Movies. The work that changed a genre. I had to read this book. Well, after finishing I realize I really didn't have to read it. I figure this book is like Fried Chicken. If you have a passion for Fried Chicken you will attempt to elevate it to the level of fine dining. But sorry its just fried chicken full of grease and salt and thats what makes it good. you should be happy for whatever merit there is in that. This is a competent comic book for a mature audience. It has mediocre artwork, the characterizations are thin and often poorly reasoned. But gosh its got some gory violence, space monsters and even a competent love scene.

First off this is a review of the "Kindle Only" version, not the comic itself which amazingly perfect. I highly recommend the comic to everyone.

However DO NOT purchase this flawed Kindle version. As an owner of an iPad 2 I do not wish to purchase a Kindle, and I probably never will purchase one. The Kindle app does everything the Kindle fire does as far as reading books, so WHY in the store's infinite brilliance decide to make this and a number of other comics Kindle Fire only?

I was SO excited to see this was now available for the Kindle only to have my excitement stomped on by a stupid and idiotic mistake on the store's part.

Hey the store,my iPad 2 looks, works, and is better than your "Fire" allow me to read comics on MY device not your crippled and hobbled android clone.

***UPDATE 6/20/12***

I have updated the review to give 5-stars after the store realized their error (or wanted more money, lol) and have begun selling graphic novels inside the iPad Kindle app.

After working with the store tech support I was able to download and reread the book again. It looks amazing in digital, and now I can read this amazing novel where ever I go!!

Thank you for offering this the store!!

This is genuinely one of the worst graphic novels I've ever read. I know this is an iconic piece of work by Alan Moore, but I just could not get into this book. I was halfway through and still thinking, "So, when's the story going to get going?"

A decade or so ago, around the time of the Watchmen movie release, I read the source Alan Moore/Dave Gibbons graphic novel and was underwhelmed. I had a distinct sense that this was much ado about not all that much, particularly in the light of Frank Miller’s antecedent accomplishment in The Dark Knight Returns, which I had read as each installment came out in 1985. Indicative of the weak impression Watchmen made on me was that, after a decade, I remembered little of the long graphic novel apart from a few splash panels, mostly involving Nite Owl’s Owlship, and a vague image – probably recalled from the film rather than the comic – of Dr. Manhattan cutting a swath of death and destruction through the ranks of a Cold War foe. And Rorschach, of course. Everyone seems to remember Rorschach. But, for my part, I wasn’t certain if I were remembering Jackie Earle Haley in the movie, or the Moore/Gibbons original – cinematic images crossed over into comic panels.

That’s all a long way of saying, when I reread Watchmen last week, it was as though I’d never read it at all. It was filled with surprises. And superb storytelling. And brilliant, plausibly motivated characters.

And upon concluding it in a few long gulps, followed by a bit of reflection, I must say I was significantly whelmed – not over-, but fairly substantially.

What most impresses me is that, in the middle of a decade that turned out to be momentous – what with the crumbling of the Berlin Wall that augured the demise of the Soviet state two years later – a “comics revolution” was, as it were, in the air, waiting for a form and a voice, and that both Frank Miller and the Moore-Gibbons team had seized the hour and delivered the trumpet flourishes announcing new modes and orders. Moreover, it struck me as an understandable coincidence that both series are set in dystopic visions of capitalist America (in the second term of the Reagan Administration, which Moore reimagines as the fifth – yes, fifth! – term of a Nixon administration that, in the mid-1970s, first succeeded in sweeping Watergate under the carpet, then won in Vietnam via the devastating intervention of the nuclear mutant Dr. Manhattans – “There IS a Superman, and he’s American!” – and, as a result of all that winning, won the repeal of the 22nd amendment. (I hadn’t remembered that from my first reading…)

But as a national security professional and lifelong analyst of foreign countries and their politics, I found the international political narrative of Watchmen hopelessly naïve, what with its surprise threats, reckless, mad, world-enveloping challenges, and the like—implausible even in 2018, with a dangerously proud, infantile ox in the Oval Office—albeit useful in advancing the main narrative toward its today-less-than-surprising punchline. (I’m allergic to big reveals in reviews and won’t indulge, even as I’m confident 1. no one who reads this would be surprised by any “reveal,” as they’ve either read the comic, seen the movie, or heard all about them, and 2. no one will read this anyway: I’m not a “verified purchaser,” and most of my “unverified” reviews find their ways to the dustbin of history.) I rolled back and forth on Tales of the Black Freighter, at first finding it pointlessly, irritatingly disruptive and, later, accepting it as a comment on the main text. I’m still of two minds on it and believe I would prefer to have read it in a single linear story, rather than as presented, with jump cuts and overlays into the main narrative.

In the end, however, it’s not the main narrative line that’s Watchmen’s primary significance, is it? It’s at its most compelling when its focus lingers on Moore’s complicated characters and their interactions with alternative-history context in which he places them. This seems to me the reason Watchmen will be read and reread along with Cormac McCarthy, Margaret Atwood, Philip Roth, A.S. Byatt, and other late 20th century literary masters. In particular, of course, it’s Rorschach, the “People’s Choice” as Watchmen’s favorite character and arguably its greatest, if not most iconic, super-(anti)hero, that remains in memory—the character with the greatest moral integrity, albeit with a somewhat bent sense of right and wrong.

And so I’m happy to join the legions of Watchmen admirers and will happily enter it into my personal comics Hall of Fame, along with the pioneering work of Will Eisner, Miller’s Dark Knight, Clowes’ Ghost World, Moore’s V for Vendetta, and Gaiman’s Sandman saga. Next up will be the Hernandez’s Love and Rockets, another 1980s creation that I’ve long been curious about but only recently found at my local library.

What's all the fuss about? This may be a landmark among comic books, but as far as stories go it's pretty unremarkable--not to mention its 1980's cold war story is quite dated. Since most of the book is taken up by cartoonish drawings there's little room for things like character development or depth. If you like comic books, by all means pick this one up. But if you like reading novels don't bother.

I haven't read many graphic novels or comic books, but this one definitely overturned all my preconceptions about the genre. Alan Moore demonstrates his ability to write great prose, especially in the purported excerpts from other fictional sources tacked on to the end of each chapter, and he displays a deep understanding of human psychology with his layered superhero characters. He also takes every advantage of the genre, regularly skipping back and forth between two different scenes while using a single thread of dialogue that unites the two sets of images. It's a technique that proves extremely effective in this graphic novel, but one which would be impossible in straight prose and too jarring in film. And the fine details Dave Gibbons's artwork help tie together an intricate and well-crafted plot. My only complaint is that the novel starts out by turning the superhero genre on its head, only to settle back into some common superhero tropes in the latter half of the book. But even with this concession to convention, Watchmen offers a thorough overview of American history and moral values in the last half of the twentieth century and has enough surprises to keep the story fresh and intriguing until the end.

When we first started dating, one of the first questions Andrew asked me was whether or not I’d read Watchmen, which I hadn’t. He was so appalled, we went to a used bookstore the next day and bought the book. It took a while for Andrew’s recommendations to make a regular appearance on my currently-reading cycle, so one year later, here I am, having finally read this amazing novel.

I had mixed feelings about having already seen the movie when going into this. Generally, I refuse to watch any movie based on a book before reading the book, just because I don’t want my experience to be tainted by the director’s or cinematographer’s idea of how things should look. In this case, it was a little better, because the images are supplied through drawings and not just my brain, so there is still someone giving me a guide for how the characters and places are supposed to look. I also appreciated that I was given the benefits of a second read-through without first having read it — I was able to pick up on some foreshadowing that I wouldn’t have caught onto had I not experienced the story before, so I enjoyed that a lot.

What is there to say about this novel? It’s amazing. It’s one of the few five-star books I’ve read this year, and it’s because Alan Moore just doesn’t hold back. Watchmen gives a stark look at life and human nature. Yes, it’s set in a fantasy world, but this book tells a lot of truths about how the world works and how people work. I love how there are no true “super” heroes, just people trying to get through life however they feel like they can. Some want glory or fame or really just want to do good, but they’re all incredibly realistic people with a lot of emotional baggage that they bring into their work and their lives.

There are so many literary things to appreciate as well. Parallelism between stories-within-stories (which was probably my favorite thing that the graphic/comic aspect did so much better than words ever could, a wonderful stream-of-consciousness chapter with Dr. Manhattan (again, beautifully drawn), and just so much more. It’s hard to describe the complexity and magnificence of this book, but it’s definitely a must-read for any graphic novel, science fiction, super hero, or literature lovers. The drawings are beautiful, the writing is wonderful, and the story is simply smart. Easily one of my favorite works of fiction.

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(This review is for the Watchmen, International Edition – this is a nicely bound soft cover version the title)

If anything, Watchman is an examination of the history of the genre and purpose of the superhero: how readers connect to it, and what it means rationally. Moore stretches from fond parody to outright sedition, wrapping the once-simple genre in layers of meaning. This is a tale where he also constantly pushes its boundaries. Watchmen is unrepentant and unwavering in it delivery.

There are no real heroes here - for most Superhero narratives, up until the publication of this title, these Superhero comics were all usually built around wholly compassionate, venerable characters. They represent what people wish they were, and they do the things normal people wish they could do. It doesn't deliver on every level, it isn't perfect, but it contains so much that succeeds, and comes so close to fulfilling its promises that it would be almost crass to mention any failings.

Alan Moore is a great writer. He is not a great writer for comics; he is a great writer period, who happens to have made the graphic novel his medium. Watchmen is at times legendary, funny, scholarly, sad, exciting and intriguing. It is written for intelligent readers. The plot, at times, does sprawl - it is convoluted, and it spans generations with a large ensemble cast. What kept it together are the deeply personal narratives on various scales. This is a fun read. It is exciting. The artwork is truly sumptuous and coveys so much of the unwritten tale.

Read it. If someone sneers at you for reading, a comic book just ignore them.

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Whatever one's feelings about writer Alan Moore----and I'll spare you mine-----he is a master at writing the multi-layered graphic novel. With WATCHMEN, he and illustrator Dave Gibbons have done nothing less than a full-throttle examination of the psychology (some could call it 'psychosis') of fictional men and women who don costumed garb and engage in fighting crime, saving the world, etc.." It could've been the biggest misfire ever created, and mostly it's not. Moore's recent and oft-stated contempt for the superhero genre is offset in WATCHMEN by the way he gets the reader to care about most of his dysfunctional 'heroes,' affirming the humanness if not necessarily the humanity of each of them. For his part, Gibbons gives the WATCHMEN world a lurid, almost seamy quality in the color palette he uses, the graceful and the graceless renderings standing side by side in the panels.

I've talked about the terrific way that Moore and Gibbons draw you into the characters and their world. The one thing that doesn't work very well about WATCHMEN is the actual plot of the novel. It's as convoluted as are the most densely drawn "conventional" superhero comics (including those in other graphic novels by Frank Miller, Todd McFarlane, et al) and when it's resolved it feels like a cop-out, a major letdown. What saves the disappointment is that consistency of character and environment throughout the world Moore and Gibbons have created. I can only speak for myself that I pick this up again and again not caring how it all comes out but because I find the subplots, the intricate studies of these people and where they exist, worth returning to. They are what make WATCHMEN worthwhile reading.

In spite of the plot, there's artistry at work here.

When I first cracked this one open, I was skeptical...but within the first few pages, I realized that for this one the "hype" was more than earned. I am yet to see the movie, even to this day. I may get around to that one, who knows...but I am getting off track.

The story is, in my opinion, simple but deep. There are so many layers to the characters, lots of grey and very little black/white. Even the most "horrible" of acts is somehow justified, made logical, etc. It reflects well how little is simple, right and wrong, all that. The moral of the story, it seems, is that if you want to make an omelette you have to break a few eggs.

Speaking of eggs and omelettes, the amount of foreshadowing in this one is so thick, a heavy fog seems to be thin plastic in comparison. You'd need a diamond-tipped chainsaw to cut through the all the clues littering the pages, in the art and dialogue.

Out of all the characters in the story, to me, I relate closest to Dr. Manhattan. I say he is the most human of everyone, but that's my bias kicking in...because, well, for one to say "most human" about a character is usually because he/she/it is "most like" the reader, at least psychologically.

Would I recommend this to anyone? Not really. The people who are going to read it, are going to read it. However, I read it (obviously) and am glad I did. It has rekindled my love of comics.

Watchmen changed the comic book industry. There is no better or worse way to put it. Many people like the darker, more realistic tone that Watchmen gave. It showed superheroes in a completely different light and people latched on to it. I am not one of those people. My favorite error happened in the years preceding it. I loved what’s now commonly referred to as the Bronze Age with more optimism and hope than Moore’s Watchmen allowed. Nonetheless, Watchmen is a wonderful tale of heroes and villains and the definition of both.

The entire story is brilliant told. Moore flashes back to the earlier age and captures the idealism of the era through certain characters, while also creating the gritty world in which the other characters live. You see the Minutemen heading out and stopping criminals, while also seeing the near rape of the Silk Spectre by the Comedian. You read Mason’s giving approval of a new Night Owl, while seeing the second Night Owl watch the Comedian mow down civilians.

The worst part about this story is the fact a former hero stands as the anti-villain. You cannot truly call Adrian Veidt a hero or a villain. He manipulates every one of the heroes to put them in place to save the world. He kills millions to save billions. Even in the end, Adrian himself questions whether or not what he did was right, and he leaves the reader to wonder the answer themselves.

Moore’s excellent characterization of even the secondary characters leaves the reader with compelling characters. There’s a reason DC comics continues to try and bring the characters back in one form or another. The writers want to be able to write them and bring those compelling characters into new stories and new directions.

The art and the style create a unique look for the book. The layout was different and allowed for a certain ordered feel throughout. The characters have unique looks and the facial expressions compel sympathy, fear, or whatever other emotion with the characters directly.

I remember each time I picked through Watchmen that the Legends of the Black Freighter backup confused me. I never actually read it before, and merely skimmed through it. It was not really a back-up, but instead reinforced the way of man that Moore perpetuated outside the young boy who read the story. It was an important necessity. The writer of the story also played an unknowing part in the final disaster which I did not know or expect.

Even though I did not like the tone Watchmen created for comics, I could appreciate the gravitas of the piece of literature. A person can not call it anything else. It’s a literary piece that continues to age well. The worst part is how poignant it currently is with North Korea taking the place of Russia, and the Middle East still being such a hot button issue. It’s a great story by a great writer. And that sums it up exceptionally well.

I didn't like it. Too hard to follow, and the female characters were overly emotional, needy and stupid. The attempts to be deep and speculate on the date of humanity annoyed me. By the end I just didn't care. Too much work for too little payoff.

I picked this up since there has always been a lot of hype about it in the gaming, comics and online world. It barely held my interest. It is a dark and gloomy story that is more melodrama than anything.

The graphic novel, Watchmen, by Alan Moore and Dave Gibbons, perfectly illustrates the world we live in. This book does an excellent job highlighting important aspects we don’t always consider and personally, it left me thinking more and more about society. It explores the idea of how superhuman abilities can be found in any ordinary individual, how government controls many aspects of life that we don’t even realize, and the idea that our country thrives off war to unite us when it actually just diverges us further apart.
The group of “superheroes” in the book, known as the minutemen, are anything but superheros. None of them other than Dr. Manhattan have special abilities or powers and the only reason why he does is due to the science experiment gone wrong. Instead they are all ordinary individuals who dress up in costumes and give themselves hidden identities to “fight crime” in the streets of New York, when fighting isn't the way to end war. Their idea of uniting the world and creating a Utopian society will never be reached considering the fact that they separate themselves from everyone else, which is very contradicting. In addition the government chose to involve themselves and pass the Keene Act, retiring superheroes except specific ones OF THEIR CHOICE. They abuse the condition of Dr. Manhattan and exploit him to the world using him as a weapon for their own good and to threaten other countries. The worst part is at the end of the book, it’s revealed that war is the only thing that will cause us fear and unite us to work together to make the world a better place, which is a sickening thought. This comic book should be a must read for everyone, the story and illustrations keep it interesting and shed light on the world we live in. Due to the graphic aspect of it, anyone can interpret things their own way.

I'd read part of the Watchmen story many years ago. I think I started somewhat in the middle of the story and was a little confused as to what was going on and who each character was and what the motives were. Reading it all the way through, I can see the potential for confusion just jumping in. There were a few times where the various threads were a little confusing, but generally everything is presented in a very interesting and accessible way.

The artwork and the story line are wonderful. I really enjoyed the organizational style of the book. At times it felt a little soap-opera-esque in that there were three or four fairly core story threads all happening simultaneously and the narrative bounced around quickly between them.

Through the presentation and organization, I was able to determine the mystery antagonist early on. And yet, even knowing who was responsible, I couldn't put my finger on the motive or exactly how everything was going to play out. The story has sooo many elements working together and playing with one another. When everything came together, I was definitely shocked and surprised by the motives and the way the finality was organized. I also felt that most of my questions were answered but that there were still a few loose threads I'm not quite sure about.

Still, in one of the stranger and more allegorical threads, it ended with a line something like "I have to keep re-reading everything because I don't understand what happened." To me, I found that particular plot thread to be a metafictional commentary on the plot of the book as a whole. By ending it in that way, I think the authors are telling me that they expect me to come away confused on the first reading, but to get more insight with subsequent reads. And looking back in my mind at the material I read, I can see where that could be true.

I definitely enjoyed this story. I've really enjoyed most everything I've read from Moore. His stories are creative and thought provoking. Sometimes a little more extreme than I might ordinarily seek out, but I still come away from his books with new thoughts in my head. I'm still bummed that the movie got an "R" rating. I can see where the director would have liked to have pushed for the "R", but at the same time, I can see where some conscious choices could have kept it at a solid "PG-13" (I personally feel that the novel itself is closer to PG-13 than R, but that could be the desensitized Okie talking).

Anyway, this is one of those graphic novels that deserves the accolades it's received. I can't necessarily recommend it to everyone because I know there are those who will be put off either by its theme or by the media (...those who say "it's just a comic book"). But to those who are willing to stretch their reading opinions and their sensitivities, I definitely recommend this book.

****
4 stars (out of 5)

Let's open by saying that if you're into comics at all, this is the first classic of the graphic novel genre, and you really need to read this book for the insights it gives into what might drive people to put on tights and fight crime, and where that choice might lead them. At the same time, this book is not for children - besides the (relatively) graphic violence and complex moral issues, there are sexual situations (no nudity, of course) that fall well beyond anything normally seen in comics. If you're a sci-fi/fantasy fan who's not really about comics, but willing to give it a chance, this review's for you.

Set in an alternate America of the 1980's, Moore paints a bleak picture of a world on the brink of nuclear holocaust, where the growing power of evil infects even the costumed vigilantes who have dedicated their lives to fighting it. The story takes a long hard look at what makes these "heroes" tick, and shows that the kind of people who take this path are certain to have their own demons - demons that cause them to at least occasionally, act demonically. The story opens with the brutal murder of a hero who calls himself "the Comedian". Brief, fragmented glimpses into his past show him taking down criminals, winning for Uncle Sam in Viet Nam, but also heartlessly shooting the Asian girl who claims she's pregnant with his child. The Comedian's murder is investigated by a hero called Rorschach, who has himself crossed the line by brutally disposing of the murderer of a six-year-old girl. Rorschach believes he has uncovered a plot to kill and discredit costumed heroes, but its true purpose remains a mystery. Ultimately, Moore asks us to decide who the real heroes and villains are, and suggests that perhaps even the best of us may feel the need to kill sometimes, for the greater good. But do the ends ever really justify the means?

Even aside from the content, this book is notable for some unusual techniques seldom seen in comics. Each of the twelve chapters ends with a page or three of text, supposedly excerpts from various documents that shed further light on the characters and situations described in the body of the story. Another unusual (although not as effective) technique is the interpolation of a "meta-comic" - an old-style pirate comic that one young character reads at the newsstand. Moore uses this comic as well as flashbacks in another interesting technique - that of showing us one scene while describing another, bleeding back and forth to help inform us of the characters' emotional states.

To be sure, the plot has some serious holes, and the ending isn't as satisfying as it might be (although it's certainly unexpected) but the intense dramatic situations and powerfully drawn (yet quite humanly flawed) characters more than make up for it. No, this isn't Dostoyevsky, but this is not your father's comic book, either.

After reading Watchmen written by Alan Moore and illustrated by Dave Gibbons, I would give it a 10 out of 10. It is by far the best graphic novel I've ever read, and I have read a lot of Graphic novels. It is also definitely in my top two favorite books I have ever read.

I think one of the reasons this book is so good is its more realist take on what a world with superheroes would be like. I really liked this realism and just sold me on the book even further. There are some parts in the book where that realism gets really dark for some readers though. For example at one part of the book Rorschach is tracked down a man who kidnapped and killed a little girl. He ends up handcuffing him to a metal bar in his house and gives him a saw then he says “shouldn't bother trying to saw through handcuffs, never make it on time.” then he sets the house on fire and leaves him in there to die or cut his own hand off. I just wish more books took a more realistic approach to righting like this one.

Now for the bad. Honestly it was really hard trying to find a part that I didn't like, but the thing I came up with was The conversations between the boy and the newspaper salesman. I thought that it drug on a little to drug on at times. I didn't really think it was that necessary to the story. I glad it was there but I wish there wasn't as much in the book as there is. But that is just a minor downfall of the book.

Now I have to talk about the ending. By the way there are spoilers coming up, so skip this paragraph if you don't want them. But anyway the ending was brilliant. I don't think it could possibly be more amazing. I had a hard time though when Dr.Manhattan ended up having to kill Rorschach. I also didn't exactly feel like there was closure. But just the whole concept of cloning the this giant psychic squid like monster killing millions in New York so that Russia and the U.S would unite and not be at war, that was brilliant writing. Also in the ending Dr. Manhattan aka Jon and Veidt aka Adrian have this conversation “ But you’d regained interest in human life...
Yes, I have. I think perhaps I’ll create some. Goodbye, Adrian.
Jon, wait before you leave... I did the right thing didn't I? It all worked out in the end.
“In the end”? Nothing ends, Adrian. Nothing ever ends.
Jon? Wait! What do you mean by...’’ And then Dr.Manhattan teleports off, leaving Veidt without answers and the best ending for a book ever.

Finally I’m going to say this again, this is one the best book ever written. Go out and buy your own copy right now. You won't regret it.

I've got a confession to make, and I'll say it right here so there's no doubt about it: Before "Watchmen," I had never read a graphic novel. I remember, as a boy, my mother purchasing me a comic book (or two, if I was exceptionally good, which I really tried to be) from the local grocery store. I think I collected a grand total of ten. They never really moved me. They never interested me, until later, after I gained a bit more literary experience. Now in my early 20's, I noticed a lot of my friends enjoy comics and graphic novels; I decided that I should give them a try as well. All this being said: I shall not judge "Watchmen" as a graphic novel, for I am not qualified to do so. But being an avid reader of novels, short stories, essays, nonfiction, poetry, and song lyrics, I shall judge "Watchmen" as a work of literature. And the verdict? A masterpiece.

1985 in some alternate universe, where Nixon is still president (dear God), we won the Vietnam War (not as great as you might think), and superheroes were once part of American culture. Spurred by comic books, ordinary men and women took up costumes and monickers, patrolling the streets of their cities. Some of them even united together. But, in 1985, the only operative superheroes are those sponsored by the government: like Doc Manhattan, once a man, now possessed of indescribable capabilites; and the Comedian, a rough and tumble anti-hero (I hesitate to include "hero" at all) who has just been murdered.

Rorschach, a masked vigilante who was once a hero and is now wanted for murder, investigates. He sees a disturbing pattner. A "mask killer"--someone out to kill superheroes. Teaming up (if somewhat reluctantly, on their behalf) with retired heroes the Nite Owl (II) and the Silk Spectre (II), he sets out to investigate what happened, uncovering a conspiracy to rival all conspiracies, one that may just lead to World War III...

Ah, okay. Obligatory plot summary out of the way. It doesn't begin to cover it; "Watchmen" is so layered with subtext and imagery, a mere summary of the novel's surface plot is almost an indulgent excess. Let me just say this: Alan Moore is a paranoid but fantastic writer, and Dave Gibbons is a gifted (and slightly disturbed, all for the better) illustrator. I could not put "Watchmen" down; I had the fortune to read it while I was sick (and thus equipped with a dandy of an excuse to skip class). I'm not sure it made me feel any healthier...in fact, much to the contrary...but it inspired me to delve deeper into this literary medium. I'm not sure if anything I read from now on will stand up to "Watchmen;" I can only say that I thoroughly enjoyed my forray into this twisted and cruel (and utterly realistic) world, and that I am a wiser and more cautious person for it.

Still on the fence about reading "Watchmen"? Then let me just add this to the mix: it isn't boring. You were thinking that, weren't you? "Lauded, acclaimed, one of Time Magazine's 100 best modern novels, etc. etc., sooooo... must be boring," I can hear you saying. Because we all secretly think that kind of thing about any creative work that hints of being lofty, important, something beyond mere diversion, etc., don't we? So, don't worry, I'm telling you: "Watchmen" is engaging, often exciting, genuinely thought provoking, and, well, just a really good read.

It's cynical as all get out, though, don't get me wrong. The heroes are either ineffectual (Nite Owl), deranged (The Comedian and Rorschach), above it all (Dr. Manhattan), or rife with neuroses (Silk Spectre, mom and daughter versions both). And they all live in a world so depressing and dangerous that quite possibly the best thing for it would be for the "heroes" to fail and the villain to succeed. And I'm talking about a villain with a plot similar to the ones in those older James Bond movies, where the world has to be destroyed in order to save it.

Anyway, just read it. Yes, there are a lot of panels per page and lots of dialogue and description, but honestly, the story pulls you right in. Just read a chapter per day (it'll take you about forty-five minutes if you don't rush) and you'll enjoy twelve days of the comics medium at its best.

Like I said, just my two cents added to the several hundred opinions already recorded here. Oh, in case you're wondering, I also liked the recent movie version of "Watchmen" a lot, and I bet you will, too, if you have any kind of affinity for this type of material. But let the movie introduce you to the graphic novel, not replace it. Or better yet, read the graphic novel first. But that's up to you. Just read the thing at some point.

I'm not a comic book person. In fact, this was the first comic book (or is the term 'graphic novel' now?). I had some trouble getting into it, but it was all worth it. The text is scribbly and very difficult to read, random words were bolded for no apparent reason, and the page numbers made no sense. The story itself was hard to get into because I was concentrating on these things, but once it got started, it really got started. I think I got hooked right around the part where Dr. Manhattan's character gets more to do (basically, when it started being slightly more character-centric). The majority of the book is action-centered, but there are some fantastic moments of character development (whole story arcs for several of the characters, giving them psychologically deep stories behind the actions that become crucial to the plot). The two most intriguing characters to me were by far Rorschach and Dr. Manhattan. One with too much to feel, the other with nothing. The minor details the characters were given, such as distinct speech patterns, made all the difference. The end fell apart. Once all the character development was done, it was all action, action, action, and the big reveal at the end made no sense to me. Fantastic set-up with really well-rounded characters, and it all falls flat on its face near the end. The ending could have been handled much better, but it was still an amazing experience, and well-worth the time to get to know all these interesting characters.

Rating: 4.5/5

That is the simple question that Watchmen poses and is one of the many clever conceits that Alan Moore and Dave Gibbons employ throughout the 12-issue mini-series that is collected in this fine trade paperback.
Moore and Gibbons present a world not unlike ours. An alternate reality where the United States won Vietnam (thanks to Dr. Manhattan--the book's only Superman) and as a result Nixon stayed President. Dirgibles instead of airplanes can be seen in the sky, there are electric powered cars and a popular fast food chain of Indian restaurants known as Gunga Diner are everywhere.
In this world, superheroes have been outlawed because the police felt that their jobs were threatened and so only Government sanctioned costumed heroes can legally operate. That doesn't stop Rorschach, a masked vigilante from plying his trade.
Why am I going into all this detail? Because Watchmen is all about the details. Moore and Gibbons vividly draw us into this world through the most minute details, often populating the backgrounds of panels so that they only become obvious upon multiple readings.
What is so astounding about Watchmen is that it works on so many levels. Superficially, it's a murder mystery. However, it also asks many big questions like, who makes the world? Who is responible? Is everything planned out or is it all up to chance?
Watchmen is also a marvel of technique. Moore and Gibbons employ all sorts of film techniques (zoom ins, close-ups, revolving "the camera" around somebody, lighting effects, etc) and also several techniques of rhythm. For example, look closely at the panel layout for Chapter 5: Feaful Symmetry. The panel layout on the first page is exactly the same as the last page and so on until the center pages which mirror each other perfectly. Or all of the smiley face images that pop up throughout the various chapters. This is only a taste of what is going on in this book. It really is an astounding work.
There is a reason why Watchmen is so highly regarded. It is an amazing accomplishment and one that takes the costumed superhero genre seriously. If you haven't ever read this book before then I strongly recommend checking it out. If you aren't a huge fan of comic books, this one will change your mind. It proves that comics aren't just for kids. Not any more.

By any standard, not merely by the standard of comics, WATCHMEN is a masterpiece. Although for decades many individuals had been taking comics seriously, Alan Moore managed in a single blow to explode every assumption anyone had made about the potential of the genre. In the world of the novel, it would have been as if the most ambitious novel ever written had been TREASURE ISLAND and the next thing to appear had been WAR AND PEACE. Moore created a tale whose ambition outstripped anything that had ever before appeared in the world of the comic, and he executed it, with the brilliant assistance of illustrator Dave Gibbons and colorist John Higgins, with a brilliance and virtuosity hitherto unknown. With WATCHMEN, the graphic novel had come of age, and many believe that even to this day it remains unsurpassed.

They say the devil is in the details, and what makes WATCHMENT brilliant is as much the details as the main elements. There are sections of the novel where Moore will be juggling several strands of the story at once, some crucial to the tale as a whole, others symbolic embellishment, and yet there is nary a moment when everything is less than perfect. Even if one has read a host of other graphic novels, there are numerous points in this book where one has to just halt and say to oneself, "Comics just aren't supposed to be this good."

Essentially, WATCHMEN is about a plot to socially reengineer a better society. That this is the story is only gradually revealed. In fact, the book is nearly complete when the plot fully emerges. Along the way we are introduced to a completely new and exceedingly compelling group of super heroes. There is Rorschach, a singularly dedicated crime fighter whose mask hides an almost comically ugly visage. There is Nite Owl, the second person to sport that identity, and the super intelligent Ozymandias. Then there is The Comedian, who is less a funny guy as someone who realizes that the whole shebang is one big joke. Above all, there is the blue-bodied Dr. Manhattan, the only one of the bunch with genuine super powers, but powers so excessive to make Superman seem a wimp, since he has the capacity by sheer willpower alter the physical reality around him (in a fight between the Man of Steel and Manhattan, the latter need only will everything to change to kryptonite), someone in fact more godlike than anything.

The novel is also extraordinary for the entire world Moore imagines. Because with Dr. Manhattan's help he was able to bring about victory in Vietnam, Richard Nixon repealed the amendment preventing anyone serving as present for more than two terms, and has continued to serve as president well into the 1980s. With Dr. Manhattan tilting the balance of power sharply towards the United States, for whom he serves, the Soviets have had to acquiesce in all foreign policy matters. But when he disappears, the Russians begin driving through Afghanistan and into Pakistan (an area of the world still very much in the news). Nuclear war threatens. No description I can make of the novel can do justice to its richness and complexity. But this at least, I hope, gives some hint of the way that WATCHMEN strives for a narrative richness previously not seen in the comic genre.

My one complaint with the book is in the ending. I find it as unsatisfying as the ending of one of the greatest Sci-fi novels ever written, THE HUMANOIDS. But while one might quibble with the desirability of the end, one can't argue that this isn't a brilliantly conceived and executed work of art. It truly and legitimately stands as one of the great artistic achievements of recent decades.

There have been over the years frequent attempts to bring WATCHMEN to the silver screen. I personally think this would be a dreadful mistake. There is simply too much content in the novel for a 120-minute or even 180-minute film to do justice to it. Director and erstwhile cartoonist for Monty Python Terry Gilliam once indicated that he would love to do it as a twelve-part mini-series, and I think that would be absolutely perfect. One of the things that makes WATCHMEN so brilliant is the rich detail contained within it--such as the brilliant pirate comic contained with the novel as a whole--and I think that cutting all that detail out, which a feature film would necessitate, would be a tragic mistake. A twelve-part mini-series on, say, HBO, would result in around 660 minutes in contrast with the at-most 180 minutes of a film.

The degree to which WATCHMEN has come to be perceived as one of the pinnacles of the graphic novel can be seen in an episode from the first season of THE O.C. Seth, the comic/alt music geek on the show (whose taste in both areas are, by the way, tres cool, cognizant of Frank Miller, Alan Moore, The Shins, and Modest Mouse) tries to educate his later-to-be-girlfriend Summer on the modern comic, and suggests that she start with WATCHMEN, THE DARK KNIGHT RETURNS, and the Sandman series. And when he creates a Starter-Set for contemporary culture, he includes WATCHMEN along with an album by the Shins and Michael Chabon's THE AMAZING ADVENTURES OF KAVALIER AND CLAY. You know, I think he gets it right.

There's not much more I can add to any of the numerous other reviews which summarize the story itself. Is this 'the greatest graphic novel" of all time? That can only be determined by each indivudual or through a voting process. For me, it certainly ranks in the top three. The artwork for the time stood out from the rest of the comic industry and the characters are recognizable as some form of DC Comics regular characters. Comparing the artwork to current comics, yes it has fallen behind but there's something deeply nostalgic about it still. I think the writing is overrated but still several notches above most recent contributions to the industry.

The evolution of the masked adventurer / crimefighter presented here is interest enough to get you into the story. There are elements I could have lived without such as the sub-story double talk of the Pirate Comic but without it would the book have truly been hurt? The interaction of the characters and the plot twist reveals push the story along. You'll obviously like some characters more than others and the ending... well, initially I didn't like it but I understand how it is probably better this way. After a few days of surmising and going back to re-examine the ending, I think some alternatives could have been implemented but fully 'get' why it needed to be this way.

Overall, well worth the read and re-read. Some will claim it's the best ever, others will claim it's crap. I claim it is a strong story, smooth flow, and stands up to the test of time.

When this epic first appeared in book form twenty years ago (and I first read it when it was new), it singlehandedly revolutionized the meaning of "comic book" and invented the "graphic novel" as we now know it. There are as many intertwined plotlines here as in a thousand-page blockbuster novel. At the opening of the story, the setting is the U.S. in 1985 -- sort of. Richard Nixon appears to be in his fifth term, thanks to a constitutional amendment, and the Vietnam War was won with the assistance of a handful of costumed adventurers, only one of whom has actual super-powers. In fact, much of the story is taken up with examining what happens to caped and masked crimefighters when they get too old to do their thing. (It's a well-worn theme now, but this book invented it.) And it's beginning to seem as if someone is arranging the disposal or de-fanging of the masked ones. The narrative is not only broad, though, it has considerable depth, including the backstories of all the major heroes and heroines, how they got into the business and why, what they have in common psychologically, and allowing them to be aware of just how oddball they are, compared to the rest of society. The artwork is realistic (which I prefer, frankly), with enormous subtlety in the flow and the continuity -- beginning with the cover illustration and ending with the last page of the last chapter. Neat little details peek out from the corners of many of the panels, bits of earlier dialogue come to mind later on, and Moore knows the value of modified repetition in telling a story effectively. This is a book you will want to reread every few years, and I guarantee you'll discover something new every time. A true masterpiece.

I won't reiterate the universally glowing reviews of Watchmen that are in other reviews, suffice to say that Watchmen, along with Frank Millers "The Dark Knight Returns," is the book that shoved graphical storytelling (oh, all right, comics) out of strictly children's fare into truly adult material that stands on its own as true literature. Many people look down their noses at graphical stories, but that is simply snobbery. This book is an example of what a truly gifted writer and artist can do with the comics medium.

That said, this edition is only for the superfan. It is incredibly reproduced with some interesting additional material; but, if you have not yet read it, get a cheaper version, because the Absolute Editions are quite pricy. The additional material will not add anything to your reading pleasure. You are not missing out. But for the superfan like me, this is a lot of fun to have and is a great addition to any library.

Written by Alan Moore, writer of The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen [Blu-ray], From Hell [Blu-ray] and V for Vendetta (Two-Disc Special Edition)

October 12, 1986, New York City. A man has just been murdered. Someone broke into his apartment while he was home and after a struggle the man was thrown through his window many floors above the street. The evidence points to a burglary gone wrong and even though the investigators aren't so sure they want to keep the case low profile so as not to draw the attention of any Masked Avengers (Vigilantes who used to patrol the city). Even though most of them have retired or been forced into retirement by the government, Rorschach is still active and has already taken note of the murder and become interested in the victim's identity.

Rorschach's discovery of the victim's identity leads him to making contact with his old teammates from the Minutemen as Rorschach fears that someone is gunning for masked adventurers. Both past and present adventure ensues.

This story was excellent and was probably one of the best written comic book/graphic novels I have read. This was originally released around 1986/87 as 12 separate comic books. I can't imagine having read this one chapter at a time then having to wait a month for the next installment. Luckily it has been collected in graphic novel form. The story revolves around the retired members of the old Minutemen group. Each member is visited by Rorschach as he attempts to warn them that someone may be gunning for them. In turn each character is reminded of their time in the group and begins to remember and reflect on the past and were are party to these reflections. The reward is characters with great depth coupled with an enjoyable and complex story (for a comic book) with a bonus. One of the fill in characters is reading a comic book in the story and we get to read along with this as well and the story in the story actually becomes pretty interesting as well.

The Good: Great writing overall. The characters are all well drawn as we see them first in the present and are then given depth by seeing what happened to them in the past. The story is well thought out and has numerous twists and turns both in the present and in the telling of the past.

The Bad: I was slightly disappointed with the ending but not so much as to sour the ride there on the way.

Overall: Whether or not you are a comic book fan I highly recommend that you pick this up and give it a try.

Comic books superheroes are basically fascist vigilantes, with Superman and his dedication to truth, justice and the American way being the exception that proves the rule. Both "Watchmen" and "The Dark Knight Returns," the two consensus best examples of graphic storytelling of our time, deal explicitly with the underlying fear the ordinary citizenry have of the demi-gods they worship. The one inherent advantage that "Les Gardiens" ("Watchmen") has over Frank Miller's classic tale is that it requires no knowledge of the existing mythos of its characters because Dr. Manhattan, Ozymandias, Rorschach, Nite Owl, Silk Spectre, the Comedian and the rest of the former members of the Crimebusters.
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." Those of us who first devoured it when it came out in comic book form are still enjoying taking it out and reading it at least once a year in this hardback version.

I mean, it's just ink on paper, just like a book, right?
Actually, it's much more than a book could ever be. A picture is worth a thousand words, to quote the old saw, but only the right picture. Watchmen is full of those right pictures. To me, the most powerful image is when Rorschach encounters his younger self and understands. The frame that shows his understanding is my favorite image. It's worthless without the context, but priceless with it.
I understand why people feel there is a stigma associated with the comic as a medium. People who might look down on the medium have obviously never read Watchmen. People who have read Watchmen and still look down on the medium as a whole are probably take themselves a little bit too seriously.
The book offers a compelling alternate history. Not only the large historical events, but the smaller ones mesh in. The world is displayed in the history that is created, with the details in place.
In addition, there is a wealth of reference to other works, which is explained sufficiently to not lose the reader, or not central to the story.
Lastly, there is a commentary on the comic as a medium, wrapped around a story within the story as a whole. The comic embedded in Watchmen is a powerful comic in and of it's own right, but pales next to the scope of Watchmen.
Many levels to read and enjoy, no matter what your interest.
Of course, as an Alan Moore story, it features amusing synchronicity between the background dialogue (TV, cutovers between scenes, etc.) and the main action, and a dark alternate future.
Reading in this day and age it is, of course, somewhat dated, as has been pointed out. The Russians aren't exactly a military threat any more, nulclear war isn't something expected soon. But human condition is human condition. If Adrian can learn from Alexander, certainly we can appreciate things from the perspective of 15 years ago.
Lastly, Watchmen offers some of the best one-liners and short quotes you can find anywhere.
And Rorschach. Insane, right-wing vigilante (lest you think it's a priori negative, he's the only one who escapes with his morals intact - although how you read it depends on how you view life - that is, are his morals worth keeping intact?), I find his journey from Kovacs to Rorschach to be fascinating, and the reasoning behind how he became Rorschach is an interesting insight into the human condition.
Actually, the book is so grey on so many things, it's really hard to characterize it as having a particular political agenda. None of the characters are all good, and all bad. Given the anti-war stance, it would probably be viewed as leftist. I think it goes beyond simple politics in its treatment of those things.
Rorschach tells us, "You don't understand. I'm not locked in here with you. You're locked in here with me." It's just as true of the reader as it is of his audience there in the book.
Another favorite of mine: "Those sure were good times. Whatever happened to them?" "You quit."
That's Rorschach.
As some of the final dialogue goes, "I won in the end, didn't I." "In the end? Nothing ever ends."
Yet Watchmen does indeed end. Which is good, because you won't be able to sleep until it does.

Pilgrimage (which my dictionary defines as a journey to a shrine or sacred place as an act of devotion, in order to acquire spiritual merit, or as part of a process of self-discovery) can take many forms.
The Egyptians, for instance, journeyed to Sekket's shrine at Bubastis or to Ammon's oracle at Thebes; the Greeks sought for counsel from Apollo at Delphi and for cures from Asclepius at Epidaurus; the Mexicans gathered at the huge temple of Quetzal; the Peruvians massed in sun-worship at Cuzco and the Bolivians in Titicaca. Huge gatherings of people intermittently all the year round venerate Kapilavastu where Gaukama Buddha began his life, Benares where he opened his sacred mission, Kasinagara where he died; and Mecca and Medina have become almost bywords in English as the goals of long aspirations, so famous are they for their connexion with the prophet of Islam.
Me? I just re-read Watchmen.
Okay, I don't have to walk as far as regular pilgrims do (the distance from my chair to my bookshelf), but the act is at least as holy, I am at least as devout. Watchmen is my shrine or sacred place. Reading Watchmen is my act of devotion. Through Watchmen I acquire spiritual merit (at least in my own eyes). Reading Watchmen is part of my process of self-discovery.
If you know Watchmen, you'll understand why I feel the way I do.
If you don't (if you've been worshipping the sun at Cuzco, for instance, or the Gaukama Buddha at Kapilavastu), it's probably best if we start at the beginning.
It is 1985, and we live in a world that has known superheroes for thirty years or more. Years ago, the public loved them, years ago when superheroes meant Minutemen. But that was a long time ago. Now there's legislation. Superheroes aren't something that the Government want to encourage. That's why the Watchmen had to disband. And yet it seems that disbanding isn't enough for some people because some people - who we don't know - want the Watchmen dead . . . Rorshach (who is sort of a skinny Philip Seymour Hoffman playing Judge Dredd as Ignatius T Reilly), who is probably the finest invention within a graphic novel ever (far outstripping Miller's Dark Knight and Morrison's Invisibles and Gaiman's Sandman and anybody else you'd care to mention), is on the case but whether he'll be able to find out who the perp is before the world ends . . . That's another matter altogether . . .
The use of TV, the various clocks that appear throughout (with the minute finger edging ever closer to the white nuclear midnight), the character of Rorshach (you keep coming back to that), the ketchup-streaked smiley face, the white frames, the colour, the pirate ship, the horror (the horror) . . . I could go on (and would at the least invitation). Watchmen is the first word in graphic novels, the first word. If there was a word that could somehow suggest something was MORE than essential, that would be the word I would say to you now (and the word would trigger a Manchurian Candidate-style response from you, such that you rise from your seat and don't stop until you hold in your hands a copy of Watchmen).
This is the Daddy.

In an alternate dimension in the year 1985, Richard Nixon is still president of the united states and superheros that have existed have been outlawed since the 70's. A former super soldier named The Comedian was brutally murdered mysteriously as he worked for a superhero group called CrimeBusters as his friends Roschach who is a mysterious avenger with a weird blank mask, Dr. Manhattan a glowing nude radioactive superhero of god-like powers, sexy Silk Spectre and the NightOwl who is wise smart and heroic all join together to solve the mystery of the Comedian's death. They must also find out what is behind an upcoming doomsday project that would lead to world war III or else it's too late.

This is the Godfather of all graphic novels! Created by Alan Moore and Dave Gibbons (who also did the artwork), this is one of the most original and provocative graphic novels of all time. Ever since 1985 when DC Comics disturbuted the comics they became an instant classic, comic fanboys have raved by this novel since it came out yet it still is a memorable masterpiece. The artwork by Dave Gibbons is superb and has a nice complex storyline that borders the story as Sci-fi/mystery/fantasy/action all combined. This definitely ain't kid stuff for it's basically for mature readers due to some violence, language and some sexuality but done in a tasteful kind of manner, Zack Sydner's movie was also awesome but doesn't have the brilliance of this graphic novel for it's a must have for any library.

I read and re-read these comics obsessively when they first came out way back in high school. There is so much going on in them that you are transfixed. I took an art history course, the prof of which said that there are certain vanishingly small moments in art history where everything balances perfectly. The composition, line and coloring in the art fit together so well that they can be compared to that moment when you're on a bicycle, you stop and the bike is in perfect equilibrium, before you have to put your feet on the ground. Michaelangelo and Raphael did lots of stuff like that. This book is that moment spread over something like 350 pages.
You can take this story in so many different ways. Take a look at the characters. It's got the suicidal god: Dr. Manhattan, who is all powerful, denies there's a god and gets along with no one. It's got a Nazi who happened to be the only person saying anything of moral worth. It's got bizarre fetishistic sex between two very human and imperfect people. It's got a narcissist who saves the earth in the short term, but may wind up killing it in the long term. And a love story between a rapist thug and his hystrionic victim.
Then there's the plot. The influences I can see are Robert Ludlum, William Burroughs, Michael Moorcock and possibly some great German Idealist systematizers. Ludlum because some of it looks an awful lot like the Matarese Circle, particularly when we find out what the threat the heroes face is in Chapter 11. William Burroughs because there tends to be a prevalance of degradation of humanist ideals, like in Naked Lunch. Michael Moorcock because Moore is a left-liberal type but doesn't believe in producing agit-prop. The moral model is closer to Bastable's misadventures than Ayn Rand. And the grand systematizers are there because everything falls into place. Like clockwork.
The art by David Gibbons is 100% stunning. I draw a bit and to this day I have no idea how Gibbons managed to pull off such minutely detailed miniscule amendments to drawings that came before. The one thing I found that detracted from the art was the coloring, which was garish in places. Though perhaps that was the intended effect.
There's a reason why this book is the only comic ever to win science fiction's Hugo award. It's perfect.

Alan Moore was the first to push the envelope of realism (well as real comicbook superheroes can get anyway) and gave his characters depth that no mainstream characters have ever received. For example, we have Rorschach, a hero gone mad after dealing with criminals for so many years that he himself uses criminal means to achieve his ends. We have the Comedian who strikes me as a more realistic Captain America as he is ultranationalistic and very, very Republican and gung-ho about America. There is Ozymandius, the world's smartest man (or so his p.r. people tell Americans), who has shaped his mind and body and greatly resembles Jay Gatsby from the Great Gatsby because like Jay, Ozymandius is a self-made man, but is also a dreamer who feels linked to two people in history he greatly admires because they sought to "unite" the world, Alexander the Great and Ramses II (or as he is known in Greek, Ozymandius). There's Dr. Manhattan, the only superpowered character in Watchmen and for that reason finds himself unable to relate to humanity over time and contemplates things that only gods could comprehend. Moore injects politics as we see flashbacks of the Comedian in World War II and Vietnam and Dr. Manhattan's origins are explored and we learn why he has an obsession with clocks.
The public is not forgotten either and Moore includes well thought out articles about heroes and contemporary events at the end of each issue (Watchmen was originally a 12 issue "maxiseries"). We get to see old and retired heroes reflect with a touch of sadness at the good old days when they were out saving the world. We see criminals trying to leave their past behind and deal with everyday worries. This graphic novel has twists and turns that will surprise you. Alan Moore, as always, attempts to touch upon every subject and Dave Gibbons is the perfect artist to be teamed with Moore (they also did an excellent Superman story in an annual in 1980s) as the detail in the backgrounds can be stared at for hours. It's a vivid and complete world and one that doesn't feel dated like so many comicbook tales do over time. This one's an immortal classic and worth owning in hardcover format.

Watchmen will probably take a couple reads for you to be able to grasp the entire essence of what it is. It is a political work of art riddled with original stories and characters. The thing that works for Watchmen, is that even though there is so much information passing through the pages, all of it is very valuable as it combines into a piece as a whole. The story reads like an actual screenplay and it definitely feels like it comes off the pages.

Our characters instantly make themselves favorites in the comic book world. Alan Moore couldn't have imagined better ideas. He kind of makes fun of the superhero idea and slams our brains with the reality of it. This realistic approach to superheroes totally gives comic readers a new perspective and that makes this novel extremely valuable.

I won't get too much into the politics because I wasn't alive at the time. I believe, however, that it gives the book a much bigger importance by tangling itself into the real world. This stuff is very interesting for most readers.

To conclude, I would say that this novel is a benchmark in graphic novels. It is a cornerstone to the comic world. I am very scared about the attempt to adapt this to film. Zack Snyder is an excellent director, but as he stated "The movie is unfilmable." I have high hopes, but with such an original novel I don't know if they will be able to hollywoodize it. Alan Moore is one of the greatest writers of his time. And this novel is his masterpiece.

When men first started drawing on caves, they might not have realized it, but they began the path that would eventually lead to Watchmen. Some may rave about how Watchmen is the greatest piece of "sequential art" on the market, but I prefer to think of it as the best damn "comic book" ever written.
Make no mistake, Watchmen is about Superheroes. Crazy guys in tights who, for many reasons, get off on beating the crap out of bad guys. Moore dissects them, puts them back together and breathes a new life into them that would make Frankenstein proud. Somewhere along the way, the story ceases to be about guys in tights, and starts to be a story about all of us. How there are little pieces of us in all of these weird, tragic and ultimately human characters. Some of them are truly twisted, but all of them possess something redeemable, something that makes them difficult to hate. It's this level of human complexity, boiling beneath that colorful surface that makes Watchmen great.
The plot is huge and epic. To me, there's nothing better than a story that starts small and ends somewhere so huge, so far away from the beginning that we have to look back and marvel at the beginning. Watchmen is that kind of story. Moore adds layer after layer, some of which seem strange and out of place at first, and weaves them all together into a seamless tapestry.
If this were only a novel, the plot and characterization would be enough to make Watchmen timeless, but the collaboration between Moore and Dave Gibbons is unparalleled. Gibbons uses the art to layer another story, sometimes several stories on top of the original. I've read this book hundreds of times and I can still find little pieces of the puzzle that I never noticed before. Gibbons style is what makes the Watchmen world so different from the ones we've seen before. A place out of synch with our own time, yet undeniably connected. Many artists have tried this and failed.
So yes, Watchmen is a story about superheroes, but in the same way that Citizen Kane is about a sled. It's only skimming the surface of what is ultimately a masterpiece of storytelling.

Composed during the climax of the Cold War, Moore posits what every soul fears epitomized in Rorschachs’ desperate cry: “One more body amongst foundations makes little different.” What is the value of one life against the many? Can detached and objective science help? What can comprehensive ethics do? How does formative principles play in? Nailing down morality is like getting a bull’s eye 100 yards away with a primitive rifle while on a vehement bull wearing a red suit: it’s not impossible; it’s just hardly possible.

[...]

I cannot possibly imagine, how was it like, back in the eighties, to read this comic. Sure, I can imagine impact, put it in comparison with other schools of comics, with other great authors and so on, yet I still find actual experience quite unimaginable. Digital age brought together with itself numerous scans of older American comics, stuff for which you would pay thousands to read, unless you had someone in your family that collected them back than, and one is free to browse trough this library as one sees fit. When you see first issues of Fantastic Four, Spider-man or Green Lantern (or any other hero for that matter), one cannot but feel touch of nostalgia for "good ol' days" and simplicity of it all. Shiny costumes, rigid moral code and bad guys who wanted to destroy the world or steal some money from some bank. Collosal galactic battles came after.

Moore used all of this. Being a passionate consumer of a genre, it was easy for him to draw references, to cite American and British comics (much like Tarantino does in filmmaking), and during that process, to deconstruct a genre, creating a myriad of followers, readers and authors, who continued on his path - creating bleak, depressed heroes, which battled issues of an "ordinary life". Suddenly, shiny costumed vigilantes leaped out from hands of the youngest and landed into the world of grown-ups, world where straight division line between good and bad couldn't be drawn. Watchmen screamed "look what can be done with a simple premise", and in that screaming it drawed attention to itself.

Yet, as someone has already written here, time went on, and age of the Watchmen started to show (rather quickly one should say). In twenty years from its appearance we witnessed many great comics that surpassed watchmen on many levels. But point is, these comics weren't of the superhero genre. Genre authors drawed from Moore, as Moore did from the earlier era, and we were able to observe making of new language in superhero stories. Yet, as advanced as it may be, Watchmen remained within the boundaries of the genre. When compared with other texts, especially with "European school" and American underground, texts that featured braver, radical or simple topics, Watchmen started to leak. It's language and it's problems showed itself as staged, overly constructed, and it's characters became somewhat cloaked manifestations of simple ideas. What Watchmen told in over two hundred pages, some of the books managed to tell in less than 48.

Today, there are far better stories, thematically more concise and far better drawn, yet Watchmen still remains actual. As far as Cold War was a fiction, so is Al Quaida today, which once again puts theme of Watchmen back into the spotlight. Still, as an art form, Watchmen are seriously outdated and, in all of it's complexity, relatively simple. They should be remembered as a starting point of a new language in superhero fiction, should be remembered as a proof that comics aren't kids stuff anymore. But that is as far as it goes. To some, it will be enough. To others it won't. Nevertheless, though there are better comics out there, it's a great read and one you shouldn't miss. Just don't stick around too long.

Watchmen by Alan Moore and Dave Gibbons is truly a work of art. And I mean that figuratively, but also quite literally since every panel is beautifully drawn and colored, fitting in perfectly with the story. In some places, the images tell the story when the words simply cannot do it justice—and the effect is breathtaking.
It is difficult to describe what Watchmen is all about. It’s not exactly a superhero story, because most of these characters are definitely not heroes. The best way to put it is probably a murder mystery. The story opens with someone being brutally murdered, and the rest of the story is centered on figuring out who killed this man along with several others along the way who were all part of the same “group.” But it is hard to explain without giving away any of the mysteries, because the way the book is written, you as the reader are supposed to figure it out for yourself, as if you are one of the characters. You know no more than any of them do, and because you are so limited is part of the reason that the story is so riveting. You, as the reader, will always want to keep reading to find out what happens next.
The way the story is crafted, there is a lot of jumping around. On one page, you’ll be reading about what’s happening to one character, on the next, another character, and sometimes it will cycle back but other times it will not. Sometimes, the jumps are even panel to panel, going back and forth with each one. The story also jumps around a lot time-wise. A lot of the story does not even take place in present day, and since one of the characters can time travel, he jumps around a lot. If you are someone who is easily confused by jumps in time, storyline, setting, etc., then this book is definitely not for you. At times, it can get very confusing and the entire story requires full attention in order to be understood. If you are not really paying attention and you just kind of skim a few pages, it is extremely easy to get lost, confused, or frustrated. However, this really should not be a problem since the story is so riveting and intense.
Speaking of riveting and intense—the characters. I don’t know if I’ve ever read a story with better characters than the ones in Watchmen. They are all so unique and I can guarantee that they are unlike anything you’ve ever seen before. Even the ways that some of them speak are unique to them, reflected in the changes in shape or color of the text bubbles. It’s always easy to tell who is speaking because each one is more different than the last. There are, however, a large number of characters. But you should definitely pay attention to all of them because even though someone may seem insignificant, they are going to come back and end up having some role in the overall story in one way or another.
I am amazed at how well each smaller story comes together inside the bigger story. There is even another graphic novel within this graphic novel, and the parallelism in some places and juxtaposition in others between what’s happening within that story and what’s happening in the “real world” is incredible. There are so many elements to this story that just make you think, and some parts may even change your perspective—it’s that good. After all, with lines like “Stood in firelight, sweltering. Bloodstain on chest like map of violent new continent. Felt cleansed. Felt dark planet turn under my feet and knew what cats know that makes them scream like babies in night” (Moore 204) and “Unaware that death was amongst them, they’d know its dark embrace without ever understanding why” (Moore 354), how can you not start to think?
That brings me to another point. If you didn’t get this from the quotes, this book is extremely morbid and violent. There are pages filled with blood, gore, violence, murders, dead bodies, etc. but there are no photographs anywhere. However, if you are disturbed by sexual content or extreme concepts of violence, this is not a book that you’ll want to read. It’s not for the faint of heart.
I highly recommend reading Watchmen. It’s such a highly intelligent story filled with so many parts that just make you think, and it’s clear that there was a ton of planning that went into this graphic novel so that the desired effect could be achieved. If you have an appreciation for tiny details that keep coming back, unique characters, interestingly interwoven psychological concepts, and a story like one you’ve never seen before, Watchmen needs to be next on your reading list.

I don't tend to read graphic novels or comic books, but I'm glad I listened to a friend's recommendation and made an exception for Watchmen, which - while it had some stark flaws - was still an absorbing and enjoyable read.

The strength of Watchmen lies foremost with its characters. I really enjoyed the concept of masked comic book type heroes who, with one exception, don't have actual super powers but are regular men and women - physically well-trained, intelligent, and also flawed and troubled, with different neuroses and compulsions. My favorite is probably Rorschach, a complex well-developed character enlivened with little quirks, often presented with a strong streak of dark humor, and also given an unforgiving childhood and background.

Watchmen never got bogged down in all its characters; their connections to one another were often presented in surprising and even startling ways, and there are moments when you realize that something was hinted at or foreshadowed in a seemingly casual bit of dialogue or minor illustrative detail. The humor, often dark and ironic and even tongue-in-cheek, works well (there's a good deal of irony in Watchmen, used effectively). I also enjoyed the story-within-a-story of the Black Freighter - the writing there was particularly strong and vivid, and I liked how it ultimately ties into the major conspiracy and plot at the heart of Watchmen.

Watchmen's not without its flaws though. When the central conspiracy/plot was revealed I found its execution and details too outlandish for suspension of disbelief, even though I did think the broader themes and idea behind it were compelling. Another weakness lies in the character of Dr. Manhattan. When you're confronted with a character like Dr. Manhattan, imbued with such super powers and capable of so many things, whether reconfiguring matter or teleporting to far off places, you find that the use of his powers becomes inconsistent and arbitrary; these powers are readily available to forward certain plot elements or contribute to certain details in the story's wider world, but then there are other plot elements or world-details that could also have been influenced or changed by those powers but never are, for no obvious reason except that the writer didn't want the story to go in those directions. I much preferred the characters to operate on a more limited, but also more interesting, human scale.

Still, I'd recommend Watchmen to other readers. It has interesting things to say about human nature, human intentions and limitations, and though I thought the large-scale politics and the geopolitical landscape were a little too simplistic, I enjoyed the development of each character's individual worldview.

I'd read part of the Watchmen story many years ago. I think I started somewhat in the middle of the story and was a little confused as to what was going on and who each character was and what the motives were. Reading it all the way through, I can see the potential for confusion just jumping in. There were a few times where the various threads were a little confusing, but generally everything is presented in a very interesting and accessible way.

The artwork and the story line are wonderful. I really enjoyed the organizational style of the book. At times it felt a little soap-opera-esque in that there were three or four fairly core story threads all happening simultaneously and the narrative bounced around quickly between them.

Through the presentation and organization, I was able to determine the mystery antagonist early on. And yet, even knowing who was responsible, I couldn't put my finger on the motive or exactly how everything was going to play out. The story has sooo many elements working together and playing with one another. When everything came together, I was definitely shocked and surprised by the motives and the way the finality was organized. I also felt that most of my questions were answered but that there were still a few loose threads I'm not quite sure about.

Still, in one of the stranger and more allegorical threads, it ended with a line something like "I have to keep re-reading everything because I don't understand what happened." To me, I found that particular plot thread to be a metafictional commentary on the plot of the book as a whole. By ending it in that way, I think the authors are telling me that they expect me to come away confused on the first reading, but to get more insight with subsequent reads. And looking back in my mind at the material I read, I can see where that could be true.

I definitely enjoyed this story. I've really enjoyed most everything I've read from Moore. His stories are creative and thought provoking. Sometimes a little more extreme than I might ordinarily seek out, but I still come away from his books with new thoughts in my head. I'm still bummed that the movie got an "R" rating. I can see where the director would have liked to have pushed for the "R", but at the same time, I can see where some conscious choices could have kept it at a solid "PG-13" (I personally feel that the novel itself is closer to PG-13 than R, but that could be the desensitized Okie talking).

Anyway, this is one of those graphic novels that deserves the accolades it's received. I can't necessarily recommend it to everyone because I know there are those who will be put off either by its theme or by the media (...those who say "it's just a comic book"). But to those who are willing to stretch their reading opinions and their sensitivities, I definitely recommend this book.

****
4 stars (out of 5)

Let's open by saying that if you're into comics at all, this is the first classic of the graphic novel genre, and you really need to read this book for the insights it gives into what might drive people to put on tights and fight crime, and where that choice might lead them. At the same time, this book is not for children - besides the (relatively) graphic violence and complex moral issues, there are sexual situations (no nudity, of course) that fall well beyond anything normally seen in comics. If you're a sci-fi/fantasy fan who's not really about comics, but willing to give it a chance, this review's for you.

Set in an alternate America of the 1980's, Moore paints a bleak picture of a world on the brink of nuclear holocaust, where the growing power of evil infects even the costumed vigilantes who have dedicated their lives to fighting it. The story takes a long hard look at what makes these "heroes" tick, and shows that the kind of people who take this path are certain to have their own demons - demons that cause them to at least occasionally, act demonically. The story opens with the brutal murder of a hero who calls himself "the Comedian". Brief, fragmented glimpses into his past show him taking down criminals, winning for Uncle Sam in Viet Nam, but also heartlessly shooting the Asian girl who claims she's pregnant with his child. The Comedian's murder is investigated by a hero called Rorschach, who has himself crossed the line by brutally disposing of the murderer of a six-year-old girl. Rorschach believes he has uncovered a plot to kill and discredit costumed heroes, but its true purpose remains a mystery. Ultimately, Moore asks us to decide who the real heroes and villains are, and suggests that perhaps even the best of us may feel the need to kill sometimes, for the greater good. But do the ends ever really justify the means?

Even aside from the content, this book is notable for some unusual techniques seldom seen in comics. Each of the twelve chapters ends with a page or three of text, supposedly excerpts from various documents that shed further light on the characters and situations described in the body of the story. Another unusual (although not as effective) technique is the interpolation of a "meta-comic" - an old-style pirate comic that one young character reads at the newsstand. Moore uses this comic as well as flashbacks in another interesting technique - that of showing us one scene while describing another, bleeding back and forth to help inform us of the characters' emotional states.

To be sure, the plot has some serious holes, and the ending isn't as satisfying as it might be (although it's certainly unexpected) but the intense dramatic situations and powerfully drawn (yet quite humanly flawed) characters more than make up for it. No, this isn't Dostoyevsky, but this is not your father's comic book, either.

After reading Watchmen written by Alan Moore and illustrated by Dave Gibbons, I would give it a 10 out of 10. It is by far the best graphic novel I've ever read, and I have read a lot of Graphic novels. It is also definitely in my top two favorite books I have ever read.

I think one of the reasons this book is so good is its more realist take on what a world with superheroes would be like. I really liked this realism and just sold me on the book even further. There are some parts in the book where that realism gets really dark for some readers though. For example at one part of the book Rorschach is tracked down a man who kidnapped and killed a little girl. He ends up handcuffing him to a metal bar in his house and gives him a saw then he says “shouldn't bother trying to saw through handcuffs, never make it on time.” then he sets the house on fire and leaves him in there to die or cut his own hand off. I just wish more books took a more realistic approach to righting like this one.

Now for the bad. Honestly it was really hard trying to find a part that I didn't like, but the thing I came up with was The conversations between the boy and the newspaper salesman. I thought that it drug on a little to drug on at times. I didn't really think it was that necessary to the story. I glad it was there but I wish there wasn't as much in the book as there is. But that is just a minor downfall of the book.

Now I have to talk about the ending. By the way there are spoilers coming up, so skip this paragraph if you don't want them. But anyway the ending was brilliant. I don't think it could possibly be more amazing. I had a hard time though when Dr.Manhattan ended up having to kill Rorschach. I also didn't exactly feel like there was closure. But just the whole concept of cloning the this giant psychic squid like monster killing millions in New York so that Russia and the U.S would unite and not be at war, that was brilliant writing. Also in the ending Dr. Manhattan aka Jon and Veidt aka Adrian have this conversation “ But you’d regained interest in human life...
Yes, I have. I think perhaps I’ll create some. Goodbye, Adrian.
Jon, wait before you leave... I did the right thing didn't I? It all worked out in the end.
“In the end”? Nothing ends, Adrian. Nothing ever ends.
Jon? Wait! What do you mean by...’’ And then Dr.Manhattan teleports off, leaving Veidt without answers and the best ending for a book ever.

Finally I’m going to say this again, this is one the best book ever written. Go out and buy your own copy right now. You won't regret it.

I've got a confession to make, and I'll say it right here so there's no doubt about it: Before "Watchmen," I had never read a graphic novel. I remember, as a boy, my mother purchasing me a comic book (or two, if I was exceptionally good, which I really tried to be) from the local grocery store. I think I collected a grand total of ten. They never really moved me. They never interested me, until later, after I gained a bit more literary experience. Now in my early 20's, I noticed a lot of my friends enjoy comics and graphic novels; I decided that I should give them a try as well. All this being said: I shall not judge "Watchmen" as a graphic novel, for I am not qualified to do so. But being an avid reader of novels, short stories, essays, nonfiction, poetry, and song lyrics, I shall judge "Watchmen" as a work of literature. And the verdict? A masterpiece.

1985 in some alternate universe, where Nixon is still president (dear God), we won the Vietnam War (not as great as you might think), and superheroes were once part of American culture. Spurred by comic books, ordinary men and women took up costumes and monickers, patrolling the streets of their cities. Some of them even united together. But, in 1985, the only operative superheroes are those sponsored by the government: like Doc Manhattan, once a man, now possessed of indescribable capabilites; and the Comedian, a rough and tumble anti-hero (I hesitate to include "hero" at all) who has just been murdered.

Rorschach, a masked vigilante who was once a hero and is now wanted for murder, investigates. He sees a disturbing pattner. A "mask killer"--someone out to kill superheroes. Teaming up (if somewhat reluctantly, on their behalf) with retired heroes the Nite Owl (II) and the Silk Spectre (II), he sets out to investigate what happened, uncovering a conspiracy to rival all conspiracies, one that may just lead to World War III...

Ah, okay. Obligatory plot summary out of the way. It doesn't begin to cover it; "Watchmen" is so layered with subtext and imagery, a mere summary of the novel's surface plot is almost an indulgent excess. Let me just say this: Alan Moore is a paranoid but fantastic writer, and Dave Gibbons is a gifted (and slightly disturbed, all for the better) illustrator. I could not put "Watchmen" down; I had the fortune to read it while I was sick (and thus equipped with a dandy of an excuse to skip class). I'm not sure it made me feel any healthier...in fact, much to the contrary...but it inspired me to delve deeper into this literary medium. I'm not sure if anything I read from now on will stand up to "Watchmen;" I can only say that I thoroughly enjoyed my forray into this twisted and cruel (and utterly realistic) world, and that I am a wiser and more cautious person for it.

Still on the fence about reading "Watchmen"? Then let me just add this to the mix: it isn't boring. You were thinking that, weren't you? "Lauded, acclaimed, one of Time Magazine's 100 best modern novels, etc. etc., sooooo... must be boring," I can hear you saying. Because we all secretly think that kind of thing about any creative work that hints of being lofty, important, something beyond mere diversion, etc., don't we? So, don't worry, I'm telling you: "Watchmen" is engaging, often exciting, genuinely thought provoking, and, well, just a really good read.

It's cynical as all get out, though, don't get me wrong. The heroes are either ineffectual (Nite Owl), deranged (The Comedian and Rorschach), above it all (Dr. Manhattan), or rife with neuroses (Silk Spectre, mom and daughter versions both). And they all live in a world so depressing and dangerous that quite possibly the best thing for it would be for the "heroes" to fail and the villain to succeed. And I'm talking about a villain with a plot similar to the ones in those older James Bond movies, where the world has to be destroyed in order to save it.

Anyway, just read it. Yes, there are a lot of panels per page and lots of dialogue and description, but honestly, the story pulls you right in. Just read a chapter per day (it'll take you about forty-five minutes if you don't rush) and you'll enjoy twelve days of the comics medium at its best.

Like I said, just my two cents added to the several hundred opinions already recorded here. Oh, in case you're wondering, I also liked the recent movie version of "Watchmen" a lot, and I bet you will, too, if you have any kind of affinity for this type of material. But let the movie introduce you to the graphic novel, not replace it. Or better yet, read the graphic novel first. But that's up to you. Just read the thing at some point.

I'm not a comic book person. In fact, this was the first comic book (or is the term 'graphic novel' now?). I had some trouble getting into it, but it was all worth it. The text is scribbly and very difficult to read, random words were bolded for no apparent reason, and the page numbers made no sense. The story itself was hard to get into because I was concentrating on these things, but once it got started, it really got started. I think I got hooked right around the part where Dr. Manhattan's character gets more to do (basically, when it started being slightly more character-centric). The majority of the book is action-centered, but there are some fantastic moments of character development (whole story arcs for several of the characters, giving them psychologically deep stories behind the actions that become crucial to the plot). The two most intriguing characters to me were by far Rorschach and Dr. Manhattan. One with too much to feel, the other with nothing. The minor details the characters were given, such as distinct speech patterns, made all the difference. The end fell apart. Once all the character development was done, it was all action, action, action, and the big reveal at the end made no sense to me. Fantastic set-up with really well-rounded characters, and it all falls flat on its face near the end. The ending could have been handled much better, but it was still an amazing experience, and well-worth the time to get to know all these interesting characters.

Rating: 4.5/5

That is the simple question that Watchmen poses and is one of the many clever conceits that Alan Moore and Dave Gibbons employ throughout the 12-issue mini-series that is collected in this fine trade paperback.
Moore and Gibbons present a world not unlike ours. An alternate reality where the United States won Vietnam (thanks to Dr. Manhattan--the book's only Superman) and as a result Nixon stayed President. Dirgibles instead of airplanes can be seen in the sky, there are electric powered cars and a popular fast food chain of Indian restaurants known as Gunga Diner are everywhere.
In this world, superheroes have been outlawed because the police felt that their jobs were threatened and so only Government sanctioned costumed heroes can legally operate. That doesn't stop Rorschach, a masked vigilante from plying his trade.
Why am I going into all this detail? Because Watchmen is all about the details. Moore and Gibbons vividly draw us into this world through the most minute details, often populating the backgrounds of panels so that they only become obvious upon multiple readings.
What is so astounding about Watchmen is that it works on so many levels. Superficially, it's a murder mystery. However, it also asks many big questions like, who makes the world? Who is responible? Is everything planned out or is it all up to chance?
Watchmen is also a marvel of technique. Moore and Gibbons employ all sorts of film techniques (zoom ins, close-ups, revolving "the camera" around somebody, lighting effects, etc) and also several techniques of rhythm. For example, look closely at the panel layout for Chapter 5: Feaful Symmetry. The panel layout on the first page is exactly the same as the last page and so on until the center pages which mirror each other perfectly. Or all of the smiley face images that pop up throughout the various chapters. This is only a taste of what is going on in this book. It really is an astounding work.
There is a reason why Watchmen is so highly regarded. It is an amazing accomplishment and one that takes the costumed superhero genre seriously. If you haven't ever read this book before then I strongly recommend checking it out. If you aren't a huge fan of comic books, this one will change your mind. It proves that comics aren't just for kids. Not any more.

By any standard, not merely by the standard of comics, WATCHMEN is a masterpiece. Although for decades many individuals had been taking comics seriously, Alan Moore managed in a single blow to explode every assumption anyone had made about the potential of the genre. In the world of the novel, it would have been as if the most ambitious novel ever written had been TREASURE ISLAND and the next thing to appear had been WAR AND PEACE. Moore created a tale whose ambition outstripped anything that had ever before appeared in the world of the comic, and he executed it, with the brilliant assistance of illustrator Dave Gibbons and colorist John Higgins, with a brilliance and virtuosity hitherto unknown. With WATCHMEN, the graphic novel had come of age, and many believe that even to this day it remains unsurpassed.

They say the devil is in the details, and what makes WATCHMENT brilliant is as much the details as the main elements. There are sections of the novel where Moore will be juggling several strands of the story at once, some crucial to the tale as a whole, others symbolic embellishment, and yet there is nary a moment when everything is less than perfect. Even if one has read a host of other graphic novels, there are numerous points in this book where one has to just halt and say to oneself, "Comics just aren't supposed to be this good."

Essentially, WATCHMEN is about a plot to socially reengineer a better society. That this is the story is only gradually revealed. In fact, the book is nearly complete when the plot fully emerges. Along the way we are introduced to a completely new and exceedingly compelling group of super heroes. There is Rorschach, a singularly dedicated crime fighter whose mask hides an almost comically ugly visage. There is Nite Owl, the second person to sport that identity, and the super intelligent Ozymandias. Then there is The Comedian, who is less a funny guy as someone who realizes that the whole shebang is one big joke. Above all, there is the blue-bodied Dr. Manhattan, the only one of the bunch with genuine super powers, but powers so excessive to make Superman seem a wimp, since he has the capacity by sheer willpower alter the physical reality around him (in a fight between the Man of Steel and Manhattan, the latter need only will everything to change to kryptonite), someone in fact more godlike than anything.

The novel is also extraordinary for the entire world Moore imagines. Because with Dr. Manhattan's help he was able to bring about victory in Vietnam, Richard Nixon repealed the amendment preventing anyone serving as present for more than two terms, and has continued to serve as president well into the 1980s. With Dr. Manhattan tilting the balance of power sharply towards the United States, for whom he serves, the Soviets have had to acquiesce in all foreign policy matters. But when he disappears, the Russians begin driving through Afghanistan and into Pakistan (an area of the world still very much in the news). Nuclear war threatens. No description I can make of the novel can do justice to its richness and complexity. But this at least, I hope, gives some hint of the way that WATCHMEN strives for a narrative richness previously not seen in the comic genre.

My one complaint with the book is in the ending. I find it as unsatisfying as the ending of one of the greatest Sci-fi novels ever written, THE HUMANOIDS. But while one might quibble with the desirability of the end, one can't argue that this isn't a brilliantly conceived and executed work of art. It truly and legitimately stands as one of the great artistic achievements of recent decades.

There have been over the years frequent attempts to bring WATCHMEN to the silver screen. I personally think this would be a dreadful mistake. There is simply too much content in the novel for a 120-minute or even 180-minute film to do justice to it. Director and erstwhile cartoonist for Monty Python Terry Gilliam once indicated that he would love to do it as a twelve-part mini-series, and I think that would be absolutely perfect. One of the things that makes WATCHMEN so brilliant is the rich detail contained within it--such as the brilliant pirate comic contained with the novel as a whole--and I think that cutting all that detail out, which a feature film would necessitate, would be a tragic mistake. A twelve-part mini-series on, say, HBO, would result in around 660 minutes in contrast with the at-most 180 minutes of a film.

The degree to which WATCHMEN has come to be perceived as one of the pinnacles of the graphic novel can be seen in an episode from the first season of THE O.C. Seth, the comic/alt music geek on the show (whose taste in both areas are, by the way, tres cool, cognizant of Frank Miller, Alan Moore, The Shins, and Modest Mouse) tries to educate his later-to-be-girlfriend Summer on the modern comic, and suggests that she start with WATCHMEN, THE DARK KNIGHT RETURNS, and the Sandman series. And when he creates a Starter-Set for contemporary culture, he includes WATCHMEN along with an album by the Shins and Michael Chabon's THE AMAZING ADVENTURES OF KAVALIER AND CLAY. You know, I think he gets it right.

There's not much more I can add to any of the numerous other reviews which summarize the story itself. Is this 'the greatest graphic novel" of all time? That can only be determined by each indivudual or through a voting process. For me, it certainly ranks in the top three. The artwork for the time stood out from the rest of the comic industry and the characters are recognizable as some form of DC Comics regular characters. Comparing the artwork to current comics, yes it has fallen behind but there's something deeply nostalgic about it still. I think the writing is overrated but still several notches above most recent contributions to the industry.

The evolution of the masked adventurer / crimefighter presented here is interest enough to get you into the story. There are elements I could have lived without such as the sub-story double talk of the Pirate Comic but without it would the book have truly been hurt? The interaction of the characters and the plot twist reveals push the story along. You'll obviously like some characters more than others and the ending... well, initially I didn't like it but I understand how it is probably better this way. After a few days of surmising and going back to re-examine the ending, I think some alternatives could have been implemented but fully 'get' why it needed to be this way.

Overall, well worth the read and re-read. Some will claim it's the best ever, others will claim it's crap. I claim it is a strong story, smooth flow, and stands up to the test of time.

When this epic first appeared in book form twenty years ago (and I first read it when it was new), it singlehandedly revolutionized the meaning of "comic book" and invented the "graphic novel" as we now know it. There are as many intertwined plotlines here as in a thousand-page blockbuster novel. At the opening of the story, the setting is the U.S. in 1985 -- sort of. Richard Nixon appears to be in his fifth term, thanks to a constitutional amendment, and the Vietnam War was won with the assistance of a handful of costumed adventurers, only one of whom has actual super-powers. In fact, much of the story is taken up with examining what happens to caped and masked crimefighters when they get too old to do their thing. (It's a well-worn theme now, but this book invented it.) And it's beginning to seem as if someone is arranging the disposal or de-fanging of the masked ones. The narrative is not only broad, though, it has considerable depth, including the backstories of all the major heroes and heroines, how they got into the business and why, what they have in common psychologically, and allowing them to be aware of just how oddball they are, compared to the rest of society. The artwork is realistic (which I prefer, frankly), with enormous subtlety in the flow and the continuity -- beginning with the cover illustration and ending with the last page of the last chapter. Neat little details peek out from the corners of many of the panels, bits of earlier dialogue come to mind later on, and Moore knows the value of modified repetition in telling a story effectively. This is a book you will want to reread every few years, and I guarantee you'll discover something new every time. A true masterpiece.

I won't reiterate the universally glowing reviews of Watchmen that are in other reviews, suffice to say that Watchmen, along with Frank Millers "The Dark Knight Returns," is the book that shoved graphical storytelling (oh, all right, comics) out of strictly children's fare into truly adult material that stands on its own as true literature. Many people look down their noses at graphical stories, but that is simply snobbery. This book is an example of what a truly gifted writer and artist can do with the comics medium.

That said, this edition is only for the superfan. It is incredibly reproduced with some interesting additional material; but, if you have not yet read it, get a cheaper version, because the Absolute Editions are quite pricy. The additional material will not add anything to your reading pleasure. You are not missing out. But for the superfan like me, this is a lot of fun to have and is a great addition to any library.

Written by Alan Moore, writer of The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen [Blu-ray], From Hell [Blu-ray] and V for Vendetta (Two-Disc Special Edition)

October 12, 1986, New York City. A man has just been murdered. Someone broke into his apartment while he was home and after a struggle the man was thrown through his window many floors above the street. The evidence points to a burglary gone wrong and even though the investigators aren't so sure they want to keep the case low profile so as not to draw the attention of any Masked Avengers (Vigilantes who used to patrol the city). Even though most of them have retired or been forced into retirement by the government, Rorschach is still active and has already taken note of the murder and become interested in the victim's identity.

Rorschach's discovery of the victim's identity leads him to making contact with his old teammates from the Minutemen as Rorschach fears that someone is gunning for masked adventurers. Both past and present adventure ensues.

This story was excellent and was probably one of the best written comic book/graphic novels I have read. This was originally released around 1986/87 as 12 separate comic books. I can't imagine having read this one chapter at a time then having to wait a month for the next installment. Luckily it has been collected in graphic novel form. The story revolves around the retired members of the old Minutemen group. Each member is visited by Rorschach as he attempts to warn them that someone may be gunning for them. In turn each character is reminded of their time in the group and begins to remember and reflect on the past and were are party to these reflections. The reward is characters with great depth coupled with an enjoyable and complex story (for a comic book) with a bonus. One of the fill in characters is reading a comic book in the story and we get to read along with this as well and the story in the story actually becomes pretty interesting as well.

The Good: Great writing overall. The characters are all well drawn as we see them first in the present and are then given depth by seeing what happened to them in the past. The story is well thought out and has numerous twists and turns both in the present and in the telling of the past.

The Bad: I was slightly disappointed with the ending but not so much as to sour the ride there on the way.

Overall: Whether or not you are a comic book fan I highly recommend that you pick this up and give it a try.

Comic books superheroes are basically fascist vigilantes, with Superman and his dedication to truth, justice and the American way being the exception that proves the rule. Both "Watchmen" and "The Dark Knight Returns," the two consensus best examples of graphic storytelling of our time, deal explicitly with the underlying fear the ordinary citizenry have of the demi-gods they worship. The one inherent advantage that "Les Gardiens" ("Watchmen") has over Frank Miller's classic tale is that it requires no knowledge of the existing mythos of its characters because Dr. Manhattan, Ozymandias, Rorschach, Nite Owl, Silk Spectre, the Comedian and the rest of the former members of the Crimebusters.
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." Those of us who first devoured it when it came out in comic book form are still enjoying taking it out and reading it at least once a year in this hardback version.

I mean, it's just ink on paper, just like a book, right?
Actually, it's much more than a book could ever be. A picture is worth a thousand words, to quote the old saw, but only the right picture. Watchmen is full of those right pictures. To me, the most powerful image is when Rorschach encounters his younger self and understands. The frame that shows his understanding is my favorite image. It's worthless without the context, but priceless with it.
I understand why people feel there is a stigma associated with the comic as a medium. People who might look down on the medium have obviously never read Watchmen. People who have read Watchmen and still look down on the medium as a whole are probably take themselves a little bit too seriously.
The book offers a compelling alternate history. Not only the large historical events, but the smaller ones mesh in. The world is displayed in the history that is created, with the details in place.
In addition, there is a wealth of reference to other works, which is explained sufficiently to not lose the reader, or not central to the story.
Lastly, there is a commentary on the comic as a medium, wrapped around a story within the story as a whole. The comic embedded in Watchmen is a powerful comic in and of it's own right, but pales next to the scope of Watchmen.
Many levels to read and enjoy, no matter what your interest.
Of course, as an Alan Moore story, it features amusing synchronicity between the background dialogue (TV, cutovers between scenes, etc.) and the main action, and a dark alternate future.
Reading in this day and age it is, of course, somewhat dated, as has been pointed out. The Russians aren't exactly a military threat any more, nulclear war isn't something expected soon. But human condition is human condition. If Adrian can learn from Alexander, certainly we can appreciate things from the perspective of 15 years ago.
Lastly, Watchmen offers some of the best one-liners and short quotes you can find anywhere.
And Rorschach. Insane, right-wing vigilante (lest you think it's a priori negative, he's the only one who escapes with his morals intact - although how you read it depends on how you view life - that is, are his morals worth keeping intact?), I find his journey from Kovacs to Rorschach to be fascinating, and the reasoning behind how he became Rorschach is an interesting insight into the human condition.
Actually, the book is so grey on so many things, it's really hard to characterize it as having a particular political agenda. None of the characters are all good, and all bad. Given the anti-war stance, it would probably be viewed as leftist. I think it goes beyond simple politics in its treatment of those things.
Rorschach tells us, "You don't understand. I'm not locked in here with you. You're locked in here with me." It's just as true of the reader as it is of his audience there in the book.
Another favorite of mine: "Those sure were good times. Whatever happened to them?" "You quit."
That's Rorschach.
As some of the final dialogue goes, "I won in the end, didn't I." "In the end? Nothing ever ends."
Yet Watchmen does indeed end. Which is good, because you won't be able to sleep until it does.

Pilgrimage (which my dictionary defines as a journey to a shrine or sacred place as an act of devotion, in order to acquire spiritual merit, or as part of a process of self-discovery) can take many forms.
The Egyptians, for instance, journeyed to Sekket's shrine at Bubastis or to Ammon's oracle at Thebes; the Greeks sought for counsel from Apollo at Delphi and for cures from Asclepius at Epidaurus; the Mexicans gathered at the huge temple of Quetzal; the Peruvians massed in sun-worship at Cuzco and the Bolivians in Titicaca. Huge gatherings of people intermittently all the year round venerate Kapilavastu where Gaukama Buddha began his life, Benares where he opened his sacred mission, Kasinagara where he died; and Mecca and Medina have become almost bywords in English as the goals of long aspirations, so famous are they for their connexion with the prophet of Islam.
Me? I just re-read Watchmen.
Okay, I don't have to walk as far as regular pilgrims do (the distance from my chair to my bookshelf), but the act is at least as holy, I am at least as devout. Watchmen is my shrine or sacred place. Reading Watchmen is my act of devotion. Through Watchmen I acquire spiritual merit (at least in my own eyes). Reading Watchmen is part of my process of self-discovery.
If you know Watchmen, you'll understand why I feel the way I do.
If you don't (if you've been worshipping the sun at Cuzco, for instance, or the Gaukama Buddha at Kapilavastu), it's probably best if we start at the beginning.
It is 1985, and we live in a world that has known superheroes for thirty years or more. Years ago, the public loved them, years ago when superheroes meant Minutemen. But that was a long time ago. Now there's legislation. Superheroes aren't something that the Government want to encourage. That's why the Watchmen had to disband. And yet it seems that disbanding isn't enough for some people because some people - who we don't know - want the Watchmen dead . . . Rorshach (who is sort of a skinny Philip Seymour Hoffman playing Judge Dredd as Ignatius T Reilly), who is probably the finest invention within a graphic novel ever (far outstripping Miller's Dark Knight and Morrison's Invisibles and Gaiman's Sandman and anybody else you'd care to mention), is on the case but whether he'll be able to find out who the perp is before the world ends . . . That's another matter altogether . . .
The use of TV, the various clocks that appear throughout (with the minute finger edging ever closer to the white nuclear midnight), the character of Rorshach (you keep coming back to that), the ketchup-streaked smiley face, the white frames, the colour, the pirate ship, the horror (the horror) . . . I could go on (and would at the least invitation). Watchmen is the first word in graphic novels, the first word. If there was a word that could somehow suggest something was MORE than essential, that would be the word I would say to you now (and the word would trigger a Manchurian Candidate-style response from you, such that you rise from your seat and don't stop until you hold in your hands a copy of Watchmen).
This is the Daddy.

In an alternate dimension in the year 1985, Richard Nixon is still president of the united states and superheros that have existed have been outlawed since the 70's. A former super soldier named The Comedian was brutally murdered mysteriously as he worked for a superhero group called CrimeBusters as his friends Roschach who is a mysterious avenger with a weird blank mask, Dr. Manhattan a glowing nude radioactive superhero of god-like powers, sexy Silk Spectre and the NightOwl who is wise smart and heroic all join together to solve the mystery of the Comedian's death. They must also find out what is behind an upcoming doomsday project that would lead to world war III or else it's too late.

This is the Godfather of all graphic novels! Created by Alan Moore and Dave Gibbons (who also did the artwork), this is one of the most original and provocative graphic novels of all time. Ever since 1985 when DC Comics disturbuted the comics they became an instant classic, comic fanboys have raved by this novel since it came out yet it still is a memorable masterpiece. The artwork by Dave Gibbons is superb and has a nice complex storyline that borders the story as Sci-fi/mystery/fantasy/action all combined. This definitely ain't kid stuff for it's basically for mature readers due to some violence, language and some sexuality but done in a tasteful kind of manner, Zack Sydner's movie was also awesome but doesn't have the brilliance of this graphic novel for it's a must have for any library.

I read and re-read these comics obsessively when they first came out way back in high school. There is so much going on in them that you are transfixed. I took an art history course, the prof of which said that there are certain vanishingly small moments in art history where everything balances perfectly. The composition, line and coloring in the art fit together so well that they can be compared to that moment when you're on a bicycle, you stop and the bike is in perfect equilibrium, before you have to put your feet on the ground. Michaelangelo and Raphael did lots of stuff like that. This book is that moment spread over something like 350 pages.
You can take this story in so many different ways. Take a look at the characters. It's got the suicidal god: Dr. Manhattan, who is all powerful, denies there's a god and gets along with no one. It's got a Nazi who happened to be the only person saying anything of moral worth. It's got bizarre fetishistic sex between two very human and imperfect people. It's got a narcissist who saves the earth in the short term, but may wind up killing it in the long term. And a love story between a rapist thug and his hystrionic victim.
Then there's the plot. The influences I can see are Robert Ludlum, William Burroughs, Michael Moorcock and possibly some great German Idealist systematizers. Ludlum because some of it looks an awful lot like the Matarese Circle, particularly when we find out what the threat the heroes face is in Chapter 11. William Burroughs because there tends to be a prevalance of degradation of humanist ideals, like in Naked Lunch. Michael Moorcock because Moore is a left-liberal type but doesn't believe in producing agit-prop. The moral model is closer to Bastable's misadventures than Ayn Rand. And the grand systematizers are there because everything falls into place. Like clockwork.
The art by David Gibbons is 100% stunning. I draw a bit and to this day I have no idea how Gibbons managed to pull off such minutely detailed miniscule amendments to drawings that came before. The one thing I found that detracted from the art was the coloring, which was garish in places. Though perhaps that was the intended effect.
There's a reason why this book is the only comic ever to win science fiction's Hugo award. It's perfect.

Alan Moore was the first to push the envelope of realism (well as real comicbook superheroes can get anyway) and gave his characters depth that no mainstream characters have ever received. For example, we have Rorschach, a hero gone mad after dealing with criminals for so many years that he himself uses criminal means to achieve his ends. We have the Comedian who strikes me as a more realistic Captain America as he is ultranationalistic and very, very Republican and gung-ho about America. There is Ozymandius, the world's smartest man (or so his p.r. people tell Americans), who has shaped his mind and body and greatly resembles Jay Gatsby from the Great Gatsby because like Jay, Ozymandius is a self-made man, but is also a dreamer who feels linked to two people in history he greatly admires because they sought to "unite" the world, Alexander the Great and Ramses II (or as he is known in Greek, Ozymandius). There's Dr. Manhattan, the only superpowered character in Watchmen and for that reason finds himself unable to relate to humanity over time and contemplates things that only gods could comprehend. Moore injects politics as we see flashbacks of the Comedian in World War II and Vietnam and Dr. Manhattan's origins are explored and we learn why he has an obsession with clocks.
The public is not forgotten either and Moore includes well thought out articles about heroes and contemporary events at the end of each issue (Watchmen was originally a 12 issue "maxiseries"). We get to see old and retired heroes reflect with a touch of sadness at the good old days when they were out saving the world. We see criminals trying to leave their past behind and deal with everyday worries. This graphic novel has twists and turns that will surprise you. Alan Moore, as always, attempts to touch upon every subject and Dave Gibbons is the perfect artist to be teamed with Moore (they also did an excellent Superman story in an annual in 1980s) as the detail in the backgrounds can be stared at for hours. It's a vivid and complete world and one that doesn't feel dated like so many comicbook tales do over time. This one's an immortal classic and worth owning in hardcover format.

Watchmen will probably take a couple reads for you to be able to grasp the entire essence of what it is. It is a political work of art riddled with original stories and characters. The thing that works for Watchmen, is that even though there is so much information passing through the pages, all of it is very valuable as it combines into a piece as a whole. The story reads like an actual screenplay and it definitely feels like it comes off the pages.

Our characters instantly make themselves favorites in the comic book world. Alan Moore couldn't have imagined better ideas. He kind of makes fun of the superhero idea and slams our brains with the reality of it. This realistic approach to superheroes totally gives comic readers a new perspective and that makes this novel extremely valuable.

I won't get too much into the politics because I wasn't alive at the time. I believe, however, that it gives the book a much bigger importance by tangling itself into the real world. This stuff is very interesting for most readers.

To conclude, I would say that this novel is a benchmark in graphic novels. It is a cornerstone to the comic world. I am very scared about the attempt to adapt this to film. Zack Snyder is an excellent director, but as he stated "The movie is unfilmable." I have high hopes, but with such an original novel I don't know if they will be able to hollywoodize it. Alan Moore is one of the greatest writers of his time. And this novel is his masterpiece.

When men first started drawing on caves, they might not have realized it, but they began the path that would eventually lead to Watchmen. Some may rave about how Watchmen is the greatest piece of "sequential art" on the market, but I prefer to think of it as the best damn "comic book" ever written.
Make no mistake, Watchmen is about Superheroes. Crazy guys in tights who, for many reasons, get off on beating the crap out of bad guys. Moore dissects them, puts them back together and breathes a new life into them that would make Frankenstein proud. Somewhere along the way, the story ceases to be about guys in tights, and starts to be a story about all of us. How there are little pieces of us in all of these weird, tragic and ultimately human characters. Some of them are truly twisted, but all of them possess something redeemable, something that makes them difficult to hate. It's this level of human complexity, boiling beneath that colorful surface that makes Watchmen great.
The plot is huge and epic. To me, there's nothing better than a story that starts small and ends somewhere so huge, so far away from the beginning that we have to look back and marvel at the beginning. Watchmen is that kind of story. Moore adds layer after layer, some of which seem strange and out of place at first, and weaves them all together into a seamless tapestry.
If this were only a novel, the plot and characterization would be enough to make Watchmen timeless, but the collaboration between Moore and Dave Gibbons is unparalleled. Gibbons uses the art to layer another story, sometimes several stories on top of the original. I've read this book hundreds of times and I can still find little pieces of the puzzle that I never noticed before. Gibbons style is what makes the Watchmen world so different from the ones we've seen before. A place out of synch with our own time, yet undeniably connected. Many artists have tried this and failed.
So yes, Watchmen is a story about superheroes, but in the same way that Citizen Kane is about a sled. It's only skimming the surface of what is ultimately a masterpiece of storytelling.

This book has intricate plotting, clever visual ironies and atypically mature themes of ageing and disillusion. More than this, it is also a deep and subtle telling of man's search for morality in a morally grey world.
Is there really a hero? The principal character, Rorschach, inspires revulsion rather than empathy. His motives are the best: evil brings suffering and must be punished. To his psychiatrist he sets out a pithy statement of his world view: in this brutal, unthinking world, the only evil comes from man, and the only order comes from what man himself can impose. This insight has made him self-appointed judge, jury and violent executioner, simultaneously outlaw and lawmaker, a sociopathic bringer of order and light ("prometheus") - and death.
Is there really a villain? For the apparent villain (nameless for this review) has, strangely, the same moral intent: he (or she...) also wants the best for his fellow man, wants order and peace. His vision is higher: it is not individuals, but the world he wishes to save, not merely the good but everyone. Less obviously sociopathic than Rorschach, his means to this end are more dangerous, and more potentially successful. The lesser heros - and the reader - are finally called on to make this moral judgement: if you could save the world by it, would you commit mass murder?
Is there a god? The catalyst for this altered history is a scientist, who dies and brings himself back from the dead. His control of matter is absolute; and so is his disdain for mankind. A supreme being who refrains from setting moral standards, from intervening in human affairs even as they plummet to disaster. But this god too has his duties, and is ultimately obliged to decide between between the hero and villain, to rule their actions either black or white.
The reason for the open questions is that this book deals with the real world, real people, real moral choices, where nothing is black or white but merely the best of the worst of choices. This book merits reading and re-reading. After the first and the second time, try a third asking this question: which character would I feel comfortable being? Or, least uncomfortable....

The Best Novel You’ll Read Is Graphic

The graphic novel Watchmen by Alan Moore and Dave Gibbons is a masterpiece. Easily one of my most favorite works of fiction ever. Do not let the label of “Graphic Novel” fool you, there is violence and adult themes and plays out just like a movie. Everything flows so nicely, characters backgrounds, and difference scenes are woven together perfectly. I truly believe that Watchmen is perfect. I do not think there is a possible negative argument towards it. The characters are amazingly complex and interesting and the conflicts are incredible. The story focuses around a vigilante group that is banned from the government. They are no longer allowed to operate because they are seen as having unlimited power. One of them is brutally murdered, and the other former “super heroes” need to band together once again not knowing who to trust. The humanity of all the characters is truly special and it makes them that more realistic and amazing. One of the vigilante members, “Rorsach” has a journal that acts as almost an overarching narration.
“Dog carcass in alley this morning. Tire tread on burst stomach. The city is afraid of me. I have seen it's true face. The streets are extended gutters and the gutters are full of blood and when the drains finally scab over all the vermin will drown. The accumulated filth of all their sex and murder will foam up about their waists and and all the whores and politicians will look up and shout "save us!”... And I will look down on them and whisper “no.” (Moore 1.)

Watchmen is an incredible book and if you ever find yourself with the opportunity to read it, it is a necessity.

During the previews for the "The Dark Knight" (one of the finest comic book adaptions I've ever seen), I was caught off guard by the teaser trailer for "Watchmen", the lastest graphic novel adaption being brought to the silver screen. It was one of the most stunning yet bizarre I've ever seen for a film, let alone a comic book movie. Intriguied and hearing the rave reviews by fans of the novel, I decided to buy the graphic novel on the store and give the book a read. Only a few chapters into a book, and I was already blown away by the thought-provoking writing, stunning artwork, and superb characterization of all the characters. "Watchmen" is set in an alternate 1985 where superheroes aka masked vigilantes exist, but have been outlawed by "the Keene Act". Richard Nixon is still President and the U.S. won Vietnam thanks to a god-like superhero named "Dr. Manhattan". When one of his fellow adventures is murdered, a masked vigilante named Rorschach investigates and warns other retired crime fighters about a possible conspiracy to kill and discredit all their kind. From there, "Watchmen" takes you one of the most complex stories you'll ever read as every action or dialogue spoken has a deeper meaning. Each characters is written with class and are each essential to the overall plot.

"Watchmen" works as both an epic tale about humanity and moral ambiuity yet at the same time is some what of a satire on the comic book genre. Dr. Manhattan is a Superman who doesn't care about humanity, Nite Owl II is a Batman who lacks confidence in himself, Silk Spectre II never wanted to a superhero in the first place, the Comedian sees the world as one big joke, Rorshach will do anything for justice, including cold-blooded murder and Ozymandias...well, let's just say his part in the novel is the most intriguing! These characters were all ground-breaking and beyond their time, as well as the subjects the novel tackles that were unheared of in the comic world during the mid-80s. Depression, isolation, murder, infedelity, morality, sacrifice, sexual frustration...not to mention homosexuality, racism, and politics can found within the novel. Legendary British writer, Alan Moore has crated a timeless classic which throws the superhero myth out the window and creates a new mythology all his own. Artist Dave Gibbons, is also a genuis as his art just brings Alan Moor's spectacular world to life.

The coming months are going to be filled with unstable paranoia and frequent skeptism from long time fans and critics of the novel who are questioning the quality of the upcoming feature film. After all, This is the best graphic novel ever written and anything less then great will be very disappointing. After reading the novel, I am also very skeptical of how the movie will pan out as the novel has so much to say and I'm not sure if a almost 3 hour film can tackle all the depth of the novel. But I am trying to have faith in director Zack Snyder who is fan of novel and ever interview he has had makes you believe he understands the novel inside and out. But with some questioning casting decisions, some costume inaccuracies and running time issues, it's hard to tell whether the film will do the novel justice. I will going to the theaters with very low expectations as this could be a disaster or a complete success! Either way, "Watchmen" is one of literature's finest achievements and I don't think they'll be anything like it as there hasn't been anything like it up to this point.

If any one book can destroy the inherent prejudice against comics storytelling, this is the one. A serious, beautifully written story that just happens to be a graphic novel - and one that takes advantage of the form to the utmost. Moore actually clothes his literary ambitions in the costume of the super-hero genre, and then like all important Modernists he rewrites that genre from the inside-out.
This is a serious, speculative look at what society would be like if there were costumed adventurers fighting crime and the countries enemies, including one who does have super-powers. The 'heroes' are people though, with faults that veer, dangerously, towards the narcissistic, the cynical, and the psychotic. The graphic nature allows the story to be told within the context of a finely detailed and solid alternate world, with a social and political situation that has been created by the presence of the 'heroes.' It also allows some tour-de-force storytelling, as a comic within the book parrallels the unfolding story, and is itself a masteful comic book narrative! Also, a city intersection where much of the storytelling takes place is exacly placed, so that the visual narrative through time and space can be sighted along its different axes. Brilliant craftsmanship.
The only flaw is that the conclusion lets some steam out of the tremendous suspense that has been built up, but it is apt within the world of the story. This is a great choice for anyone curious about how high, and successful, a reach graphic storytelling can have.

Here are some good examples of how Watchmen perfectly blends art with words. Art on the last panel of a page will be similar to the art on the first panel for the next page which starts off a new scene. The 5th issue(or chapter in the compilation) has a symmetrical layout. The panel layout in the middle of the chapter mirror each other as does each outer page. There are background elements such as posters and newspaper headlines on the ground that refer to or foreshadow events in the book. That is one great thing about comics-words can be put anywhere in the art. There is more to read than just the diolouge and captions. The same event is shown multiple times throughout the story, each from a different character's point of view. There is a ton of visual symbolism(mostly with the first and last panel of every issue and with the Comedian's bloody smiley face badge). Then there is the dual story in the form of a comic called Tales of the Black Freighter a kid at the newsstand reads throughout the story. Art from this comic is shown up close in some spots, but often, only captions from this comic are layed out in the art of the regular story, displaying how both stories run parallel.
Moore has made the world his main character. He has twisted the world for this story. For example, Nixon is still president in 1985 and the US won the Vietnam war. Each chapter has a prose supplement that further provides extra backstory for the whole Watchmen universe Alan Moore has created(such as the one for the Black Freighter comic; the writer of that comic is even an important character in the story). Every character, even seemingly minor ones, are written realisticly and the reader is made to care about their varied fates. Dave Gibbon's retro-60's visuals are clean, easy to follow, and highly detailed. John Higgins' coloring further complements the art style of this story.
The plot itself is a superhero story that amazingly removes not only the "super" but the "hero" as well. This is an in-depth examination of why someone would want to dress up in a face-concealing mask and play cops and robbers. The story is so captivating that the reader will barely notice there are very few actual fights in the whole book. But there's still plenty of conflict. Oridinary people don't react well to masked men taking the law into their own hands. Superhero's roles are used realistically in this story. A superhero wins Vietnam for the US. One goes into retirement and licenses his name for spin-off merchandise. Most superheros are forced by law into retirement, but Rorschach, who starts the story off, refuses to quit fighting criminals and is wanted by the police and the underworld alike. Rorschach begins by investigating the death of a fellow masked adventurer But before story's end, Rorschach learns his efforts are very trite compared to the actual problems with the world. And by story's end, the world's problems get solved once and for all, in a way that the reader will surely be shocked.

One can admire Watchmen greatly. The writing, characterization and plotting are all exemplary. The art, clean and imaginative.

But what a dark and cynical vision of humanity this is!

For here is a world with no heroes. The Watchmen are masked vigilantes without any real opponents. The one 'super-villain' is old and dying. The Watchmen swagger about, a law unto themselves. Among their number are violent psychopaths (i.e. most of them), several murderers (one Stalin-level) and at least one rapist. One could imagine that a Nixon banning such beings would be acting with great public support.

Now it could be argued that this is Moore's purpose. No doubt his message is: don't trust those who seek power for themselves. After all, the constant refrain here is 'who watches the watchmen?' Is Nixon right, then, to ban them? This would undermine Moore's apparent view that great power is inevitably corrupting since the government's action has probably saved the country from the Watchmen's even greater abuses. Perhaps Moore's point is: Government power is good, but individual power is bad?

Whatever the case, the rightness or wrongness of the Nixon government's banning of costumed 'superheroes' is not much pursued beyond merely being stated. But it does weaken the question 'who watches the watchmen?' since the answer to that is "why the government, of course!" and the government is never held up to scrutiny in the same way.

One is left with the impression that Moore wants us to think that the Watchmen are authoritarian for behaving the way they do but that bogey-man Nixon is also authoritarian for banning them. This is not entirely well thought out.

But a greater failing of this work, in my view, is a lack of a credible character who offers, even cursorily, a happier view of humanity. There are no good characters in Watchmen, merely differing levels of cynicism. This is a superhero version of King Lear, a world of darkness, cynicism and nihilism. Yet even Shakespeare's darkest play allows some hope and goodness in. In Watchmen, there is not one genuine hero, super or otherwise, period. Everyone in a costume is in it basically for themselves, either because of they are psychopaths, control freaks or thrill-seekers. This ultimately fails to convince me because it contains no one to challenge the over-arching cynicism of the narrative, No Fool or Cordelia or Gloucester to balance out the endless Edmunds, Gonereils and Regans.

Such a cynical world view was greeted ecstatically by critics and Watchmen, along with the contemporaneous Dark Knight Returns, ushered in the Dark Age of Comics where such world weariness and nihilism became the norm. One cannot blame Moore because his dark vision was taken up by hacks, but there is something ugly and untruthful even in this Ur-text.

The truth is that we see real acts of heroism every day, firemen who enter burning buildings at their own risk or people who volunteer their time to help others. This is the basic notion of the superhero, an altruistic being who will risk life and limb simply to save another. The superhero has no ulterior motive. He is not a psychopath or thrill-seeker but a person of the highest moral integrity. The subverting of this concept, which took place during this era, is not to my mind, a truthful vision but rather cynicism masquerading as sophistication.

Moore is suggesting that there is no goodness in the world, that heroism cannot exist except as a form of mental illness, that selfishness is the only real motivation. it is not a vision I can share for all the excellent qualities of this work.

Watchmen is a book I first picked up in the summer of 1987. I had seen earlier issues on the stands and passed them over, probably due to the utter lack of familiarity i had with the characters(Veidt, Rorshach, Comedian) and also to the odd covers which require a reading of the stories inside to understand. But issue 11's cover, a flower-filled teardrop, stood out to me somehow,stimulating my craving for something unique. I bought it, not knowing that this would begin an 11-year love affair I've had with the book. the story sucked me in like a vortex. I gobbled up the other issues, backtracking through the storyline, eventually buying the trade paper back version. There's nothing else remotely close to this book out there. I never get tired of reading it, the storyline is complex and intense, the characters are multi-dimensional, the art is extraordinarily customized to Moore's style of storytelling, and the various plotlines converge and diverge with an intricacy and a timing that inspires awe. This is one work that transcends its medium while qualifying as true art. The characters are unforgettable--Veidt is possibly the greatest superhero(or villain) comics has seen; Rorshach is the greatest sociopath ever seen in comics, with Comedian a close second. Dr. Manhattan's progressive detachment helps frame the major storyline but coalesces into many of the minor subplots and defines him as one of the most profoundly tragic figures ever put in print. This work represents a fully realized world with amazingly developed characters and a stunning story packaged into an utterly artistic vehicle in only twelve issues, standing as a seamless, timeless accomplishment. Contains awesome, thought-provoking writing laced with nuance after nuance, resulting in a multi-faceted, multi dimensional jewel of a comic book. I envy anyone who picks it up for the first time.

Watchman was my first exposure to the genius that is Alan Moore. I enjoyed comics as a kid but gave them up until someone recommended I read Watchman. Watchman takes characters you've never heard of and shows them in various stages of their lives and their careers. I was skeptical those characters could be brought to life in any way close to what I know about Superman, Wolverine, Captain America and others from Marvel and DC that I grew up with. Rest assured, these characters leap off the page and simply learning about where they come from and where they're going will keep you turning pages.
In Watchman, superheros are banned and each hero must find his own place in the world, either as a hero or as an "ordinary person". Each hero gets a chapter : Dr. Manhatten is the most powerful being on earth, Rosharch is a violent vigilante who refuses to stop his fight against crime (his chapter is worth the purchase of this book alone IMHO), the Nightowl is a middle aged pudgy rich guy who find that fighting crime is the real excitment in life, Osimandius is the smartest man in the world who believes he has the answers to all the world's problems and finally, there's the comedian who dies in the first chapter (no spoiler really) and the investigation into the death of this fascinating character is the backdrop for the entire story.
Watchman makes you think - I read it in the backdrop of the 9-11 tragedy and even years after its publication, it still feels timely for me (in Watchman, the Soviets are the unstoppable menace). Watchman makes you feel - I cared what happened to every character (some more than others- the Comedian is a fascinating study of the anti-hero) and at the end of the book, I was sorry the ride was over. If you like fiction of any kind, pick this book up ASAP- I doubt you'll find the combination of art and writing in any other medium.

I was a freshman away at college in 1986-87 and I still recall as anticipated events the monthly arrival of The Watchmen (which were originally released in twelve issues.) Now fourteen years later my appreciation has only grown; there are elements that impress me now at 32 that I missed as a teenager. This is not a graphic novel that you outgrow; it's one that you grow into.

Some of the social issues are outdated, and as a society we're now to an extent concerned with a new set of issues and concerns. However, there are many timeless elements which the series masterfully explores: an individual's responsibility to society, a superpower nation's responsibility for global order, aging, mental illness, and a host of more intimate reflections revealed in the web of personal histories of each of the characters.

And on top of all of this, it is a beautiful piece of work to look at. That notwithstanding, you sometimes fail to notice the artwork because it so sea!mlessly tells the story.

Note: '86-87was a watershed year in graphic novels in which two Frank Miller series were released as well: Elektra Assassin (with Bill Sienkiewicz's excellent artwork) and The Dark Knight Returns. Both of which I highly recommend as well. In the ensuing years I have not found graphic novels with this depth and originality and have therefore lost interest in the genre, but these three works are still a joy to read!

1986 is usually referred to as comic fans favorite year, due mainly to the introduction that year of two seminal works which seemed to instantly erase the boundaries of the hoary old comic art form: Frank Miller's "Batman: The Dark Knight Returns" and Alan Moore's "Watchmen."
Of the two, "Watchmen" holds up better today, for while "Dark Knight" reinvented the literary conventions of comic books, "Watchmen" redefined them utterly.
As with his earlier strip "V for Vendetta", Moore elects to dispense with thought balloons and adopt a more cinematic style of storytelling. This gives artist Dave Gibbons a great deal of flexibility in his depiction of the story and allows him to employ a variety of cinematic storytelling techniques to the project.
For his part, Moore turns in a tightly-plotted take on a world in which costumed crimefighters are quite real, dominated by the godlike Dr. Manhattan. The murder of one of their own brings these crimefighters out of government-enforced retirement to answer the question: "Who Watches the Watchmen?"
This is a phenomenal work which illustrates once and for all the potential of the comic book genre. Even if you are not a comics fan, you will find "Watchmen" to be exceptional.

This is one of those things that stick in your head. After you finish it, you just keep on thinking about what you've read. I wonder what people would have thought about this if it were in an established art. Unfortunately, (pretentious) people look down there noses at this. Their huge loss. There's some amazing stuff here done with the art form. Something to check out: in Chapter 5, go to the very middle of the issue. The two pages are symmetrical, flip both pages, and notice they mirror the opposite pages, and so on. This would be extremely difficult to do, and yet it works so smoothly that you don't even notice. But that's one of the great things about this. You notice new things every time you read it. New nuances to characters, more recurring images (liked the tainted smiley faces, erotic silhouettes, the Veidt logos, and symmetrical pictures). This has some of the best use of foreshadowing ever. You don't realize that this story fits together like a puzzle until the ending. The ending which will shock, haunt, and amaze you. Moore is something of a god to me. Watchmen is a big reason why. Comic fans (and even people familiar with comics) will enjoy this more than anyone; there are various bits that will intrigue and humor the comic fan, but will go unnoticed. What this story is about, Moore says, is how superheroes are simple answers to complex problems. Watchmen's superheroes are complex problems themselves. A masterpiece and a true piece of art, Watchmen just rocks.
Oh, and I digged the art. The coloring fit the story perfectly, and Dave Gibbon's pencils (which Moore always contributes to) are dynamic, offbeat.

Powerful story, fine art, an intriguing mix of stories within stories. Basically we have a set of back stories illuminating the lives of the heroes, mixed with intercut 'documents' and an overarching narrative concerning a putative plot to eliminate the heroes so that some grand, dark event can occur without their interference. To summarize would be to spoil. Suffice to say, that all of the narrative lines converge, an event occurs and the aftermath becomes the subject of controversial reflection. As the main narrative proceeds, a second narrative parallels it (from a comic book read by a young bystander within the principal narrative). The interplay between these two narratives is central to the final resolution, in my opinion, but I can't describe it without spoiling the principal narrative. The architectonics of the plots are very impressive and engaging, though the greatest amount of attention is likely to be focused upon the aftermath of the 'event' and the degree to which one 'agrees' with it. Highly recommended. This is the graphic novel as true art.

The visual aspect of the Watchmen graphic novel enhanced my personal experience with the text. The brief dialogues between characters as well as excerpts from “Tales of the Black Freighter” have moments of literary depth, but the true storyline is revealed through the illustrations and the reader’s ability to interpret these illustrations. The use of vibrant and subtle colors aided in establishing both the setting and mood of each individual scene. For example, the depiction of Dr. Manhattan’s time spent on Mars displays the pale pink terrain of the terrestrial planet against the endless night sky speckled with distant stars. This imagery allows the reader to understand the omniscient vigilante’s physical isolation from Earth as well as his emotional disconnect to its inhabitants. Linear text on a page is incapable of conveying this same feeling. Additionally, a major component contributing to the literary adventure that is the Watchmen graphic novel is Alan Moore’s and Dave Gibbons’ use of closure. Closure is a technique used to manifest a viewer’s creativity with illustrated clues in order to lead the reader to an inference regarding events that have occurred in the novel but have not been visually presented. When done tastefully this method allows the reader to play the role of investigator, further engaging the individual with what’s happening on each page.
The only challenge I faced while reading Watchmen was a fault of my own. I often glanced at the graphics without internalizing the entirety of the content. As soon as I made the conscious decision to put more effort into understanding the plot, the novel took on a life of its own.

Moore brilliantly deconstructs the medium's traditional interpretation of the superhero- fearless, mighty, zealous defender of the good- and reconstructs him/her by asking, quite rightly, what kind of person would ever want to dress up in tights, cape, and/or mask under the auspices of fighting crime? Before Watchmen, this question was completely ignored. Consequently, comics focussed more on the external battles between 'good' and evil' at the expense of studying the internal psychodynamic battles attending all superheroes.
The great part about reading any of Moore's stuff (V for Vendetta, From Hell, etc.), is that he's so obviously brilliant; unlike a lot of the other guys writing comics, his works contain a breadth of current societal/economic/political issues (although feminists could arguably point out that Watchmen reinforced gender inequality and traditional sex roles). In this way, the characters of Watchmen interact in a living, breathing, complex world: a 'realist' world. Moore also enjoys telling two stories at once through the use of intertextuality: in a vein similar to Shakespeare, a minor sub-plot informs the major storyline (note Moore's usage of the fictional 'Tales of the Black Freighter' as well as the clippings concluding each chapter) Watchmen's enduring contribution to the medium was his intersection of the comic world with the real world. So many complex themes and plots appearing in today's comics (the morally problematic hero, the sympathetic villain, drug addiction, rape, etc.) derive directly from this great and important work that dared to imagine how superheroes would really fare in the present time.
It should also be noted that Dave Gibbons' art had a lot to with the boldness and brilliance of Watchmen: his clever use of close-ups/fades, morphing, and cut-away techniques hearken to mind the approach of a film director rather than a traditional comics illustrator. Gibbons ably brought to life the multifaceted world envisioned by Moore and in the process greatly opened up the possibilities available to the comics illustrator.
Almost twenty years later, Watchmen continues to astound readers and stands heads and shoulders above anything preceding or succeeding it. I am yet to read a single graphic novel that astounded me in its scope and originality as this one did. I cannot say more other than this is the single best graphic novel I have ever read.

In 2004 Time magazine came out with the Top 100 novels of all time. In the top 25 was the only comic book/graphic novel in the bunch called The Watchmen. Up to that point I had only heard of the book. I had never had a desire to read it until I saw it was on this top 100 list.

My interest was perked and I purchased a copy and I was blown away by how powerful and perfect this book is. Not only is the art fantastic and perfect for the story being told, but the writing is the best there has ever been.

Alan Moore is a genius when it comes to his story telling. He's pretty insane personally but most genius' are in their own right. I don't want to give any of the story away but say this novel is for anyone. It's not just for comic book fans but for anyone wanting to read one of the greatest novels ever written.

Note to parents: This novel is not intended for younger readers. At the time it could have pulled an R-Rating and definitely an M-Rating still today. This book is packed with adult situations, adult language, as well as some nudity.

If you are an avid comic reader I would suggest you don't read this review as it is not directed toward you (Even though I'm sure you all read this novel already)
"Watchmen" was not what I was expecting. It wasn't page after page of explosions, fights, scantily-clad women and big-muscled villains kidnapping the damsel-in-distress. Sure, there is some of that, but on the whole "Watchmen" by Alan Moore (illustrations by Dave Gibbons) is a smart, deceptive novel that is filled with unexpected plot-twists.
"Watchmen" brings us the story of masked adventurers in a world when vigilanteism is banned and Richard Nixon is still president set in year 1985. When one of these masked adventurers is killed in very suspicious circumstances it leads one of our heros to begin investigating into what he thinks is a "mask killer" trying to get these adventurers out of the way for something even bigger.
The illustrations in this novel are wonderfull. As a non-comic reader, I really don't care how good the illustrations are if the story can't hold up. But boy does it ever in this one. This is a story for any reader out there. Please enjoy.

This seminal work of graphic literature is the "War and Peace" of superheroic fiction. While it would qualify for this distinction in length alone (338 pages of comic book story plus 46 pages of supplemental text material interspersed between its 12 chapters), the sweeping scope of this Wagnerian epic and the ironic interplay of words and pictures that fills every page, combined with its unflinching examination of human violence-both on a personal and political scale-make this a truly momentous literary achievement, graphic or otherwise.

This work was principally responsible for a fundamental change in the way superhero stories have been presented since the mid 1980s. Deconstructing the traditional "comic book" conventions of the "men in tights" genre, Moore treated the seemingly absurd notion of costumed crimefighting with a depth and seriousness that leant it a newfound credibility. Rather than populating his fictional world with the types of demigods that fill more traditional superhero universes, Moore created a brand new pantheon of all too human mystery men and women, almost all of whom were merely eccentric but well-meaning citizens trying to make their communities a little safer. These heroes include the scientific wizard and avian aficionado, Nite Owl; the daughter and namesake of the 1940s heroine, Silk Spectre; the paragon of human mental and physical perfection, Ozymandius; and the brutal trench coat-wearing psychopath, Rorshach, who conceals his identity behind a white cloth (pulled over his face like a stocking mask) that contains a constantly shifting pattern of black blotches.

And what was America's reaction to these quirky costumed do-gooders? In the 1970s Congress passed the Keane Act, a law banning costumed vigilantism and forcing most of them into retirement. The only official exceptions to this ban were the nearly omnipotent being, Dr. Manhattan (capable of anything but remembering what it was like to be human), and the gun-toting misanthrope paradoxically known as the Comedian, both of whom operated as US government agents. It is only when Rorshach--who has continued his crime fighting career in defiance of the Keane Act--discovers that the Comedian has been murdered that this cast of former heroes is reunited and forced to deal with the unresolved conflicts of their convoluted pasts.

Written during the Cold War (which, unbeknownst to Moore, or practically anyone else, was actually in its death throes at the time) the threat of nuclear Armageddon constantly looms over the characters in this story, lending an even greater urgency to their personal struggles and unfulfilled dreams. This saga is so complex and enthralling that I have made new discoveries each of the nearly half dozen times I have read it. Along with Moore's V for Vendetta, this is perhaps the most masterfully crafted work of graphic literature ever created.

More than any other graphic novel, I continued to get something new from this each time I read it. Granted, I'm probably tapped out now, though it's still enjoyable. There are just so many undercurrents going on. There's so much I kept missing...until I didn't.

I first read this as a compilation. I finished it and thought to myself, "Comics have got to change. This will help change them."

It did. It got out of hand in a lot of ways, but sometimes that's how things go. People focus on the package and not the contents. Many in comics apparently read it and just thought, "Dark characters are cool. All superheroes should be dark."

They missed the point. All superheroes are ALREADY dark. Put on a costume, risking life and limb, and go out and beat the crap out of muggers or demented geniuses or megalomaniacs? Who does that? People with some screws loose, some self-hatred, maybe guilt, and few other outlets for their violent tendencies. When you get down to it, how many mainstream heroes have guilt as one of their primary motivations? Batman and Spider-Man, obviously, but even someone like Green Lantern. He's given this cosmic ring with a responsibility for a whole sector of space, from a dying "policeman" no less, and the guilt trip that he alone was chosen out of everyone. That's a lot of responsibility. Maybe he would have rather just worked at Fed Ex. At least until the Guardians inform him that 8 billions sentient life forms just died while he was unloading boxes because he wasn't there to stop (fill-in-the-blank). Superheroes only seem cool because you don't really know them, but the idea of comics is to get us to know them. So, focusing on the "cool" as the outcome seems to sort of miss the point. I find it so much more interesting to be introduced to a character's flaws and then still love them (and perhaps still find them cool), flaws and all. Rorschach anyone?

When I had this in college, I just remember handing it out to everyone who would take it and give it a read, comic fan or not. I think most of the questions came from The Black Freighter and its point in the storyline (as well as pirate comics in general). Then when you tell them, the look is like, "I can't believe it just got even more genius."

This is genius.

Watchmen is often considered the comic book series which brought literary elements such as symbolism, heavy characterization and a basis drawn as much from the author's imagination as the last decade's issues of Time to what is thought as a kid's genre. I have not read comics since I was a kid and I loved the gritty series. Masked vigilantes have guarded high crime areas since the 1930s. Banned in 1977, they withered away or submitted to government supervision with the exception of the violent terror of the underworld, the outlawed Rorschach. It is 1985, the Comedian has been thrown from a building, nuclear superman Dr. Manhattan has been publicly disgraced inspiringm him to leave the planet, Ozzymandias has been shot at and only Rorschach sees an important pattern. But the main plot is just a vehicle to link the individual, flashback filled portrayals of masked heroes in the real world. They interact with actual occurrences as the notorious murder of Kitty Genovese inspired Rorschach to leave his menial job for vigilantism and the appearance of Dr. Manhattan put America in the lead of its nuclear arms race against Russia. They do not always do what is right as the madness of Vietnam inspired the Comedian to gun down a pregnant woman and anyone whose political believes include due process and anti-capital punishment sentiments despises the infamous Rorschach. They symbolize different things as the crime fighter, Ozzymandias turned philanthropist and renaissance man, Adrian Veidt spews Peale-style philosophy and the cold, withdrawn, omnipotent Dr. Manhattan considers if he is to help mankind of loom over it, symbolizing science in the nuclear age. I enjoyed the sharp differences between the characters' philosophies despite being compelled to do the same strange thing for the same goals. Rorschach beats a lowlife criminal timid, thinking "New York is dying of rabies. All I can do is wipe random flakes of foam from its lips." Veidt, in turn quit crime fighting because crime is "a symptom of the overall sickness of the human spirit. I don't believe you can cure a disease by suppressing its symptoms." Moore's sharp writing and ability to create atmosphere are at best as strong personalities filled with underlining clash. In one scene Veidt, the world's strongest Maslow-believer is turned against Dr. Manhattan, "the walking H-bomb." "I've walked across the sun. I've seen events so small they can barely se said to have occurred at all but you are a man and the world's smartest man means nothing more to me than the world's smartest termite," Manhattan sneers. It is confrontations like this that make this one of Moore's many masterpieces. The book features personalities and circumstance as colorful as the names and costumes of its characters.

I've been enjoying this trend that started a while back in which Super Heroes and Masked Avengers are portrayed in film and television as being flawed, human, selfish, emotional, paranoid, destructive, and all of those other attributes that usually bring out the worse in us.

I feel like Watchmen is the apex of that movement away from the likes of Superman (the American Way) to the single-handed retribution of the Punisher and Wolverine. There are real situations explored in the Watchmen that to this date may not be completely acceptable in how we see masked avengers and super heroes. Nevertheless, the real unraveling yarn here is the exploration of the different pasts shared by this fraternity of masked heroes; and how their lives have played together and apart for better or for worse. There is real character development here that should not disappoint.

Speaking of disappointments, my only complaint would be the rushed ending: the god in the mechanics that appear without real explanation as to how (expect they were indeed [note sarcasm] developed by the Smartest Man in the World) everything was executed so easily, with such devastating use of high technology... However, the outcome, the logical outcome of the weird deus ex machina was quite the unexpected twist.

I recently saw the remade film The Day the Earth Stood Still, and there is a matter of observation spoken within: something along the lines of man often does his best when on the brink. Since hearing that, I have noticed its sad truth and perception. The novel Watchmen does just that: throws a huge mass of individuals into the brink, and because of that, the impossible--for this alternate timeline--happens. The result is alien, extraordinary, and very much needed for the current situation... The realization is how sad that it really, truly had to come down to just that.

I was prepped for this by having my comic store guy call it 'the best book ever written', someone else commented, 'getting Watchmen? ...', maybe the mystery and hype surrounding this wasn't the best way to get into it. The characters are so realistic it is literally funny for awhile as every character has such a dark, gritty life. I think the way the comic book synced with the what was happening in 'real life' was smart, as was Dr.Manhattan's memory and prediction. I didn't find myself caring about simple-minded sub-plots like Comedian attempting to rape one young superheroine, that seemed needless to me, though the almost-rape-victim was nearly interesting for her realism towards the end it never comes full circle or feels necessary. It ends on the note that some things are too complicated for superheroes and that was really interesting. I didn't think NiteOwl's relationship was intriguing enough to warrant as many pages as it got, many parts are too long, like the paragraphs about the old man who collected odd novelty items. Rorshach was a great character, who does interesting things. It centers around the end of the world and it has a palpably eerie aspect to that. I liked the interviews/journals/newspapers that really serve to put you in this world even if they aren't altogether necessary or informational. Comedian seemed like an untapped character, though he served a purpose when he burnt a list of crimes. SPOILER: I liked the ending, but not being able to blame the villain didn't seem like it had a very realistic reason outside of the spectacular idea of not being able to blame the villain.

I'll get the cliche out of the way right off the bat. "Watchmen" was a complete deconstruction of the comic book superhero genre. I can't imagine what it was like to have read this work when it was first released. After walking out of the film having put this comic off for over a year to not ruin the most highly anticipated cinematic experience of 2009, I felt like I'd been hit by an atomic bomb. All of the praises and hype and glowing reviews over the most celebrated graphic novel of all time did not prepare me for a story that layered, epic, and DARK. I bought the comic the very next day. I paid double what the store was charging for it at my local mall to avoid an excruciating 3-5 day wait. I'd put off the legendary work of literary genius long enough.

Back to my original point, now. "Watchmen" was obviously conceived as an all-out assault on the costumed heroes we grew up idolizing. A human story with larger-than-life characters who at the end of the day were not only flawed like you and I, some of them bordered on downright pathetic and/or psychotic. Gluttony, Lust, Envy, Sloth, Wrath, Greed, Pride; all are well-represented among the "heroes" of the dystopian alternate 1986 where the story takes place. Hell, some might say they are the stars. But as jaw-droppingly bold as that premise alone was and is, that is barely the beginning. "Watchmen" is an absolute tour-de-force of creative artistry, brilliant structuring, and amazing writing. Alan Moore does not mess around. Whether blowing up Parliament in a future totalitarian Britain, dissecting hookers with Jack the Ripper, or crippling Batgirl with a bullet to the spine, this is one author who NEVER holds back and only needs one color to paint his desired picture of the world: black. And this is his hands-down masterpiece.

I won't bore you with details of the story that most everyone knows by now, but what I will do is regale you with but a few reasons why I love this book. Rorschach opens the story with a noirish monologue in the form of a journal entry that is to die for. Angry, spiteful, bile that makes Travis Bickle look look like the world's biggest optimist spills out from the blood-covered panels, letting you know without saying so that Superman don't live here and Batman is a big, mushy wuss. And in a way, Rorschach is the heart and soul of this book. "Even in the face of Armageddon. Never compromise" are the words he speaks, andthey sum up the attitude Moore must have had when he conceived this story. And there is no motto I respect more. At the end of the day, this comic is not just a deconstruction of costumed superheroes; it's a deconstruction of our entire race. An invitation to gaze into the abyss and know the darkness of the human heart, while still valuing it's worth.

While I love the abundant nudity, dazzling look, and violent action of the film, the comic shies away from focusing on cheap thrills and rather pulls you into it's world and makes you a citizen of it. There is absolutely sex, violence, nudity, and fantastic imagery in the pages, but it is often intentionally downplayed in favor of more intellectually immersive endeavors such as ending each of the 12 chapters with famous and darkly relevant verses of poetry and including reading materials from the worl of "Watchmen" both integrated into the story and as spacers between chapters/issues. "Tales of The Black Freighter" is a comic within the comic that one character can be seen reading while other characters talk about the state of the world in the background. One almost feels as though he is peaking over the child's shoulder and reading this bleak and twisted story while people discuss the world's imminent collapse around him. How you relate this tale of woe within the larger tale of woe to the primary narrative is up to you. It may be the single best reason to pick up the graphic novel even if you saw the movie and don't necessarily read comics. I suspect the latter will no longer be true once you finish "Watchmen". This is one of the shining examples of what the medium can accomplish.

Each of Moore's characters in "Watchmen" serves as a classic archetype. Archetypes he willfully destroys. Rorschach is the classic hard-boiled detective with a traumatic past, like Batman if he were to go off the deep end and become a savage avenger instead of the troubled hero. The line is a thin one and only a fictional character could tread it for so long. Silk Spectre II is the classic woman who resents her mother's firm guiding hand and her attempts to fulfill her own dreams through her. And then there're the daddy issues. Naturally, she seeks sanctuary in male "companionship". Obvious? Yes, a bit, but throw in a crime-fighting career and the cliche takes on an interesting new wrinkle.

Enter Doctor Manhattan, who will be playing the role of God in this work of fiction. No, not exactly, but the metaphor is absolutely there. With all of the limitless powers bestowed upon characters like Superman and Silver Surfer it's interesting that no one ever took this aspect to it's logical psychological extreme before this. Complete detatchment from humanity and eventual apathy towards humanity is the only destination for one who can see across the universe and backwards and forwards in time as we can see up and down our own street. The Big Picture, as it were. And what are we all in the big picture, folk? That's right! Less than microbes for the win. Manhattan's cold declarations that life is a meaningless phenomenon when compared to the chaotic artistry of the universe is an amazing thing to read. And frightening in that it is quite possibly true. But Moore does end up throwing us a bone and does it by celebrating the wonder of individuality from a scientific perspective. Now that's what I'M talking about! Rorschach may be the book's black heart and soul, but Dr. Manhattan is it's most brilliant device. Add a megalomaniacal corporate genius willing to pragmaticly weigh millions of lives against billions with no regard whatsoever for individual rights and you've got the best contrast in a whole book full of contrast. Lastly, I'll drop some love for The Comedian, who's laughter is the true face of the war heroes we so often celebrate as aculture. People whose job it is to commit the most vile of atrocities in the name of politics. I like to think of him as Moore's answer to Captain America. NOBODY makes a career out of death and comes out squeaky clean with perfect unwavering morals. Nobody.

Look guys: I got through this whole review without a single political rant! And with this book just begging for harsh political discourse too. I heartily accept your applause. "Watchmen" was quite literally written as the comic book to end all comic books. Thankfully, that apocalypse didn't happen, but the giant happyface crater is still there for all to see. And if you haven't seen it, then it's about time you did.

It is well accepted in the comic industry that Alan Moore's Watchmen, along with Frank Miller's The Dark Knight Returns, revitalized the comic industry in the early 1980s, turning it from a medium largely exploited for children into a more "adult" sort of way to tell a story. Although the Japanese have been producing mature stories for years using both comics and animation, Americans are just catching on, but it's great to return to books like Watchmen to see how the entire movement developed here. Moore has done quite a bit of work in the comic industry, but Watchmen seems to be the piece he's most well-known for.
What Moore presents is a story where super-heroes are nothing more than human beings. With the exception of nuclear accident Dr. Manhattan, every "super-hero" is only a masked vigilante, and society has long since turned their backs on these "uncivilized" crime fighters. Little more than a fad in the 1950s, super-heros have become a footnote, and now it seems as if someone's out to either kill them or put them in prison for good. Giving away much more of the story would be doing Mr. Moore's perfectly-paced writing a grave disservice, but the struggle to discover the "villian" takes place against a Reagan-esque background of the threat of nuclear war as the Soviets invade Afghanistan, lending a sense of both urgency and historical siginificance to the work in general.
What matters here isn't so much the story, although it's interesting to read on its own, but the character profiles. Watchmen, which refers to the old Latin saying "Quis custodiet ipsos custodes" - "Who watches the watchmen," is a study of what would possess a person to actually don a costume of, say, a giant owl, or a mini-skirt and scoop-top, and go out and fight "evil." What is evil? Is the "hero" who destroys a family and ruins a child's image of his mother any better than the mother herself? Can rape be excused if the rapist has saved thousands of other people's lives? At what point does vegeance and morality clash, or coincide? How sane are these people? And, most importantly, who is watching them - who's making sure they act in the best interests of the people they are supposed to protect?
These are never easy questions, and Moore doesn't resort to easy answers - except once, and that is the single flaw in an otherwise perfect stained-glass window. I won't give specifics, but let's just say that Dr. Manhattan's final answer to his Mars question is a real disappointment, especially considering the quality of the rest of the book. I wouldn't let it ruin my good time, though.
Watchmen is a great work of art. To call it a comic lessens its impact. To call it a book is a mistake. It's simply Watchmen, and it's worth owning. Moore is a master writer, and reading his work is as delicious as Nabokov or Sherman Alexie. It's not to be missed, even if it isn't perfect.

If you're the kind of person who thinks comic books are for kids, you're like most people who missed one of the most significant literary releases of the 1980's.

Alan Moore's Watchmen is a classic among graphic novels. Originally published in 12 issues from 1986 to 1987 by DC Comics, it's now available in its entirety as a trade paperback.

The story revolves around a group of superheroes who have (mostly) retired from heroics and find themselves dealing with life without the mask while the world crumbles around them. Watchmen takes place in the fall of 1985, although it is a 1985 with a partially different past. In the world that Alan Moore and Dave Gibbons have created, superheroes first show up after World War II. That's where things start to get a little different. In their world of superheroes the Vietnam War is won due to their influence, and technology takes a leap forward due to the advanced mind of one of these heroes.

The value of the story isn't invested solely in its artwork, unlike many comics out there, but rather the chapters are broken up by two or three pages of nothing but text. This is presented in the form of excerpts from different fictional non-fiction books--such as an autobiography of a character or 0police reports--many of which blatantly examine the work as a whole and reveal insightful details about the characters.

On the surface this is a story about superheroes. But it isn't deeds or super powers that are the hallmark of these characters, but rather it is who they are. Who are these people that dress up in costumes and fight crime? (It all sounds silly when you say it out loud.)

But the people behind the masks, what motivates them? Just because a person fights crime, is he good? The Comedian fights crime, but beneath that shallow façade is a blood-thirsty sociopath, just as likely to rape or murder as he is to crack a joke. Rorschach is another interesting case. He fights crime with a mask distinctly reminiscent to a psychologist's ink blot. A criminal might not need to be thrown down an elevator shaft to punish crime, but according to Rorschach it can't hurt.

The setting of the Watchmen sometimes feels a bit removed since it happens within the context of an America in the midst of a Cold War with the Soviet Union in the fall of 1985. Thanks in large part to the newly emergent superheroes, history has been rewritten: The Vietnam War was a successful operation.

The setting is gritty and real, aside from the alternative history aspects that is. The artist does an excellent job of creating the look of a traditional comic but infused with a dose of concrete reality. The city is used and dirty, bars are dank holes you can almost smell, and back alleys are dark and ominous.

In Alan Moore's vision of this world, tensions start to rise years before the thread of the story even begins. By 1977, in Moore's chronology, all "superheroes" are either forced into retirement or work for the government. Those who chose to continue to operate are categorized as fugitives and vigilantes. When former superheroes start getting murdered, those who are left must navigate a morally ambiguous path to a shocking (and surprisingly deep) philosophical conclusion about the price to be paid for saving the human race from itself.

After years of hearing this graphic novel lauded as one of the greatest comics of all time (and admittedly intrigued by the buzz surrounding the upcoming film adaptation), I finally sat down and read Alan Moore and Dave Gibbons' magnum opus.

And I was blown away.

Absolutely, completely enthralled and blown away by this "comic book" that transcends the boundaries and stigmas attached to its medium to become a truly compelling piece of literature, as stimulating and thought provoking as the works of Dickens or Faulkner.

I should point out that while I have always been a fan of superheroes, I am not an avid comic book reader; in fact, "Watchmen" is the first graphic novel I've ever purchased. I state this to illustrate that this is a work that can be enjoyed by anyone, not just comic book enthusiasts.

Everything about this book, even 20+ years after its original publication, is thrillingly fresh and compelling. Set in an alternate 1985 where Richard Nixon is serving his third term as president, one of the novel's many pleasures is seeing just how thoroughly thought out every aspect of this alternate history is. The story begins with the murder of a former masked hero (the book fittingly avoids the term "superhero," as only one of the characters has supernatural abilities), and what starts as a whodunit quickly escalates into a meditation on power, government, politics, technology, and the direction humanity is headed. Yes, the Cold War-era nuclear-holocaust material slightly dates the tale, but the theme of mankind's ever growing ability to destroy ourselves is still relevant today.

Yet for all its philosophizing, "Watchmen" remains firmly grounded in character study, and the costumed adventurers found withing are given incredibly complex psychologies. Everyone is a realistically flawed human being doing their best to figure out their place in the world. By the novel's end, you come to understand all the characters, even the ones who have done the most horrific things (including an attempted rape and some graphic murders). Moore and Gibbons do not pass judgment on their characters, leaving the reader to ultimately decide how he or she feels about each one.

The way the narrative is told is absolutely riveting, filled with flashbacks and concurrent scenes juxtaposed to maximum artistic effect. And in between each chapter is a wealth of supplemental materials to fill in the gaps of the novel's backstory, each done in the fashion of publications that exist in the Watchmen world (newspaper clippings, excerpts from fake novels, etc.). And artist Dave Gibbons expertly supports Moore's text with detailed artwork packed with symbolism and hidden meanings. You could easily spend hours pouring over the panels to find small symbolic details and hints of future plot twists. The final panel alone masterfully and succintly brings the work full-circle and is chilling in its implications.

In short, anyone who is a fan of literature (not just comic books) needs to read "The Watchmen." While I have high hopes for the film adaptation, it cannot hope to match the complexity, breadth, and depth of the source material. This is one of the most stimulating books I have read in a long time, and I cannot recommend it highly enough.

Alan Moore and Dave Gibbons created a parallel Earth where Richard Nixon never resigned, Robert Redford ran for President and Costumed Vigilantes were good and evil...and very, very real. "Watchmen" plays out like a genuine novel in that there is a terrific story being told amongst the stunning art work. So much so, that the dialog could easy function as a standing novel.

By now, must know of the plot. In short, the old crew of Vigilantes are being killed or driven into exile, the world is teetering on the brink of nuclear war, and the surviving old heroes must sort it all out. The cast of characters are brilliant, from Rorschach to Adrian Veidt as they deal with the all too modern topics of terrorism, treachery and governments who lie to force agendas. Despite the plot being set in the 70's, this could easily be New York City 2007. The twists are wildly imaginative, and the plots within the plot are all solid. I particularly liked the kid reading the comic book who spent his time alongside the Newspaper Vendor/Chorus character.

Just as brilliant are the narrative bridges, made up as excerpts from books, magazine articles or business transactions. These color the story in ways the artwork couldn't, and texture the characters. This was the series that redefined an art-form, and continues to influence. Even the TV show Heroes nodded towards this work when they made Skylar a watch repairman. Titles like Frank Miller's Sin City,300 and Alan Moore and David Lloyd's V for Vendetta were born of "Watchmen's" impact. You want to see when the modern graphic novel exploded? Alan Moore and Dave Gibbons' "Watchmen" is where to start.

There's little I can say that hasn't already been said about this brilliant piece of literature - yes, literature. The story is as deep as anything written by Tolstoy or Dostoevsky, as good as "War and Peace", or "Crime and Punishment".

I've read it three times and am nowhere near figuring out all the meanings, layers, and sub-layers within this story; although I'm fairly sure that some of the key themes include the important, eternal issues: "What is good and evil?", "What is the best way to do good in the world?", and "How do I know if I am doing good things or bad things in a world this complicated?".

I am not a huge graphic novel fan, I tend to read classic literature and non-fiction. However, this book is as compelling as any book considered to be great literature. Heck, it's even better than most of Shakespeare's plays. And I'll admit, the artwork is pretty great as well.

Alan Moore and David Gibbons tale of disfunctional superheroes is one of my personal favorite comic stories of all time. The book is awesome, from the cinematic art, to Moore's superb dialouge and story telling. The inter-chapters are very interesting and give some nice background information. The comic book inside the comic is a nice touch, but drags on in the middle. I have only a few complaints about this, one is the pacing. 12 issues was a bit long, I got bored with it about half way through the chapter about Dr. Manhanttan, but it did pick up with the Rorshach in jail part. Like Moore's other large trade paper back From Hell, it draged a bit. The art is very functional and works well. I would compare it to Steve Dillons stuff on Preacher, it doesn't blow you away, but it does serve it's purpose. Overall, this is one of those must have trades, along with Moore's American counterpart Frank Millers The Dark Knight Returns, and Millers earlier Daredevil work.

I first heard of this when Terry Gilliam (Monty Python's director of Holy Grail and their other films) said he found it stunning. Then I heard it was the only graphic novel on Time's 100 best novels of all time. And then when the movie was coming out I finally read it. I'm really impressed. For one thing, I found it hits on philosophy's three main kinds of questions:
1) What's reality or being? A central figure, Dr. Manhattan, has whole sections where he wonders explicitly things like "Who makes the world?" (Ch. IV, p. 27, in my hardcover 2008 ed.). And elsewhere, he philosophizes on the wonder that "in each human coupling, a thousand million sperm vie for a single egg," to "spring this precise son; that exact daughter" (Ch. IX, p. 26).
2) What can we know? (The very structure of the multiple narratives going on at the same time made me wonder at times "Is this really true right now?" and I was often unsure whether some particularly devastating events, like all the death and destruction, had happened in the story or now.) And then there was an explicit take on establishing knowlewdge, "This is not to say that we should cease to establish facts and to verify our information, but merely to suggest that unless those facts can be imbued with the flash of poetic insight, then they remain dull gems; semi-precious stones scarcely worth collecting. ... Until we transform our mere sightings into genuine visions... until then we may have a hobby, but we shall not have a passion. ... This gradual tarnishing had gone unnoticed, unchecked, finally calcifying into unthinking habit. ... my mind reduced to blankness by the various concerns of the day" (Ch. VII, p. 30).
3) How do we choose right from wrong, ethically? Wooh, this one's a doozy, as every character is flawed fundamentally, none is a hero really, save maybe one female "mask," as the watchmen are called. A central question after all is "Who watches the watchmen?" making you wonder, "And why do they need to be watched?" In a rare moment of emotive vulnerability too, one character laments, "Theyre dead. They can't disagree or eat Indian food, or love each other... Oh it's sweet. Being alive is so damn sweet" (Ch. XII, p. 22). Thus moving from ethics back to metaphysics and to a whole perspective on the very meaning of life.
But I was also surprised how saddened I was by some turns in the plot. I can't believe I cared as much as I did. Not just about the characters but about the fate of humanity, particularly with a little girl of my own now. To picture losing someone I love more than anything in the world. I can't imagine it actually.
Then there was the initial aesthetic appreciation of the sheer formal creativity. Such cool devices, like the visual zooming out from a closeup, with ever wider insight in the narration at the same time. Or the way lines people said would carry from scene to scene, repeat and in the juxtaposition create both a link and a jarring disjuncture.
And this is not to mention other specific sections I marked throughout the text. For example, "Real life is messy, inconsistent, and it's seldom when anything ever really gets resolved. It's taken me a long time to realize that" (Ch. III, p. 12). Likewise I can't sum up the book neatly either. Grade: A.

Alan Moore skillfully creates a dreary and dangerous world in this graphic novel. It is a grim and unpleasant place. When you pick up this story, you are immersed in this world as immediately as if you did a dumpster dive into the urban human mind. I sought in vain for someone in the story that was likeable. Most of the major characters (and there are many) are angry, violent, paranoid and unstable. Nevertheless, it is a well done dystopia. The story is interesting, the suspense builds steadily, and if you can follow it, you will be hooked. On the mood scale, this work felt more downbeat than The Dark Knight. That seems to be the latest Hollywood zeitgeist. This story is bound for Hollywood, in spite of Alan Moore's protests. Of course, Alan Moore protests just about everything. Maybe that is why his imaginary universes are so dysfunctional.
The graphics are uniformly excellent. The reader should examine them closely, because they contain a lot of the story content. This is not a novel for the visually impaired. At times, the amount of information is overwhelming. I began to feel like I do in the aisles of a big box store.
There are often two or three storylines going forward simultaneously. It takes some effort to make sense of them, especially if you put the book down for a while. Eventually the plots converge in an unholy meeting.
I often wondered where the author's true feelings were. Some of the characters expound on their view o f humanity, the universe, and the problems therein. Their views are not nuanced. Their solutions are problematic. But the author is not his characters, and they don't speak for him, they speak for themselves. I recognize Alan Moore's talent, and I recommend The Watchmen to all of his fans, in spite of Time Magazine's review.

This truly is one of the greatest graphic novel of all time. With that said, it can be heavy handed at times. Overall though, the characters, the world, and the message of the story is so well developed and well executed.

As a reader still new to the comic book scene, I believe that comic aficionados can't refer to themselves as such without first checking out the works of the genre's most influential creators. With this mindset, I read Alan Moore's "Watchmen"--featuring artwork by Dave Gibbons--the critically-acclaimed graphic novel set in 1980's New York. In a world where superheroes are real, the government has stepped in and forced costumed crimefighters to hang up their capes for good. Now a team of former heroes reunite when someone starts bumping them off. The stories of Rorschach, a masked vigilate similar to the Question; the Comedian, a military war hero; Dr. Manhattan, an omnipotent being; and others are told as they search for their "masked killer" while racing to avert World War III.

Moore's main story seems to not only visualize the superhero's lot in the real world, but also the world that we're becoming, all in a raw, uncompromising manner (since I admit that some instances in the story hit pretty close to home).Excerpts from fictional columns, journals, novels, and even comics take the reader deeper into the Watchmen's world. It just goes to show how much comics have grown in terms of social commentary and clashing ideals. So as not to overlook the novel's illustrations, Gibbons' work speaks of the old gritty comic art style that I grew up without. So in an effort not to regurgitate what is said in other reviews, you could say this comic is just what Dr. Manhattan ordered.

This comic is unrated: Graphic Violence, Nudity, Adult Language, Adult Situations.

Long before "Kingdom Come" meditated on a world without heroes, around the same time as Frank Miller's "Dark Knight" returned, and executed more forcefully than the "X-Men"'s story of Sentinels and Mutant Registration Acts, Alan Moore & company asked "Who watches the Watchmen?"
Set in a world where heroes and vigilante justice have run their course, and the last era of superheroes are living out their days quietly with their own ghosts, "Watchmen" is an amazing piece of literature and comic book artistry. The series itself, twelve issues now commonly packaged in one booklet, is sprung from the golden age of graphic novels - the 1980's, where graphic novels told stories and presented images where normal comics, movies, and televison shows feared to tread. Perhaps most importantly, the themes of the story ring as true today as they did then, and the emotionally-invested reader will perhaps see themselves in the everyday characters talking sports and entertainment as the newspaper headlines blare klaxons of war and pending doom. Society entrusts its safety to a greater body politic, but who watches the watchmen and what is the price paid for handing over the responsibilities of self-defense and indulging in a comfortable apathy?
These are the driving themes behind "Watchmen", a graphic novel so stunningly well-written and well-drawn that I do not hesitate to recommend it to even the most ardant skeptics who look upon comics with disdain, never thinking to read anything remotely associated with them. "Watchmen" represents the perfect synergy between the use of pictures, the potency of the written word, and the sublime power of symolism that drives artists wielding either brush or pen to record their art permanently on canvas or paper. A worthy investment that stands tall amongst the great literary works of the latter part of the 20th century.

Ever since I read Alan Moore's sensational work on BATMAN: THE KILLING JOKE, it has been my goal to find another work of his that had the same psychologically innovating tone to it. It wasn't easy though. Alan Moore is one of the most acclaimed writers in the comic's medium, and is known for dark and grim, yet innovating works such as V FOR VENDETTA, FROM HELL, PROMETHEA, SWAMP THING, and LOST GIRLS. I have my limits when it comes to dark content in media, which made it a challenge to find another compelling work of Moore's. I first made an attempt with Swamp Thing, which seemed promise a tragic monster tale, but its occult themes pushed my limits. But I was still determined to dig up another great Alan Moore book, and I uncovered it with his most popular book of all: WATCHMEN!!!

Watchmen was designed to break the boundaries of what a superhero comic could achieve, but it went far beyond that. It became a psychological breakthrough, and transformed the minds of comic book fans worldwide. Watchmen takes place in an alternate America during 1985, where despair and corruption has plagued society. The U.S. is now on the verge of nuclear war with the Soviet Union, and superheroes that were once a major symbol of American society have been outlawed since 77'. The members of the Watchmen (Rorschach, Nite Owl, Dr. Manhattan, Comedian, Ozymandias, & Silk Spectre) have since disbanded, but ominous events soon change everything. The story begins with the death of the Comedian, who was mysteriously murdered and thrown out his apartment window by an unknown assailant. With the rest of the world focused on the approaching apocalypse, the only one to investigate the Comedian's murder is the rogue vigilante Rorschach. Rorschach believes that someone is killing off former costumed heroes, and that the conspiracy is linked with a plot to ignite a World War III. The rest of the Watchmen ignore Rorschach's "mask killer" claims, but after Dr. Manhattan exiles himself to Mars, and Ozymandias is attacked by a hit man, one can only wonder if Rorschach's theory is true. With the doomsday clock slowly ticking towards midnight, and vigilantes suffering attacks from an unknown mastermind, one question remains: "Who watches the Watchmen?"

Watchmen surpassed all of my expectations! The story is extremely well-written, and the plot drives on the force of the moral standards of characters in a world without hope. The characters themselves have complex psychological profiles that allow us to identify, and feel for them, despite their obvious moral flaws as people. Rorschach is the best of the batch! In him we see a man tormented by the sin and corruption in the world, that has changed him into a cold redeemer of justice, with a black and white perspective of reality (his mask reflects his personality with its ever changing inkblots)! He is one of the greatest superheroes I have seen since Spider-Man and Batman. Dr. Manhattan is the only hero with actual superpowers, separating him from the rest of society, and making him gradually less human with each passing moment. He is frequently naked throughout the book, but I don't mind this at all as he is blue-skinned, and it further symbolizes his detachment to humanity as his power is nearly equivalent to that of a god. Despite the fact that Comedian dies at the beginning, he is the force that drives the all of the characters and events in the book, as his death sets the mystery and plot into motion. Comedian is the most flawed of all the watchmen, as he has committed unforgivable acts in his life, but the method of his portrayal allows him to be likable to readers. Ozymandais comes off as a bit of a flat character through the story until the explosive climax, which gives him depth and development that nearly rivals the previous characters, which I dare not spoil! (I think Moore did this on purpose to serve the story he tells, which is an exceptional feat to pull-off!) Nite Owl is the weakest in my opinion, as he feels too similar to Batman (even though his approach is technological, and not direct), but even he provides moments that make him more than just a character on the printed page. (Besides, his airship is just cool!)

The book is indeed Graphic (I'd strongly advise caution towards readers under 17), but even the suggestive content has strong meaning to it, as it places superheroes in the real world, and shows how fear and corruption dominate a society swiftly approaching nuclear war. I've finally found an Alan Moore work that has not only lived up to my experience with THE KILLING JOKE, but has surpassed it completely! Alan Moore not only successfully displayed what superheroes would be like in the real world, but gave us a psychological roller coaster ride of a comic book that has been tough to surpass. It makes me want to take a look at the BEFORE WATCHMEN prequels, even though Alan Moore has no involvement in them. It is a book that is essential for all comic book fans to read! It's an experience that no other comic can offer you.

"[They] will look up and shout 'save us!' And I'll look down and whisper 'no.'"
-Rorschach's Journal. October 12th, 1985

**SPOILER ALERT** The superhero genre was created when Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster imagined a bullet-proof crime fighter from another planet. The genre took another step when Stan Lee wondered how a teenager with the proportionate strength of a spider would deal with the challenges of adolescence. With "The Watchmen," Alan Moore pushes the genre even further. What happens when superheroes wrestle with a morally ambiguous world? Deal with mental illness and depression? Grow old? How does the world react to a hero who is seemingly omnipotent? What are the social, political and cultural ramifications of heroes in tights?

Following these issues to their ultimate end is what makes "The Watchmen" classic. The multiple plots and the endless allusions make for dense reading, but they are done well. The authors understand the conventions of the medium, and they stretch them. They create a world that is rich and textured.

That being said, the graphic novel is very dated. I can understand why the movie didn't do well at the box office. The market in 2009 for movies about an alternative 1985 in which Richard Nixon is still president must be pretty small. In the book, the Cold War and the threat of nuclear war dominate ever page. The ever present threat of death and destruction pushes society to the point of neurosis. "The Watchmen" outlines the transition from the moral clarity of the early superheroes to nihilistic confusion.

This descent is probably what bothers me most. The underlying assumption of the book is that there is no purpose or meaning in life. All of the major characters accept this worldview without question. No one in the novel stands for an objective reality. As the Comedian demonstrates, fighting for truth, justice and the American way is laughable. God is dead, yet the novel does not celebrate. There is something sorrowful and regrettable that moral clarity has no foundation or basis. In one of the last scenes of the book, a group of New Yorkers try to do the right thing by intervening when an argument gets out of control. All are slaughtered in a monstrous act of random violence. We lament their deaths and their pointless desire to help their neighbor.

I am almost embarrassed that it has taken me this long to get around to this classic comic series. I had of course heard about it for years, but it took the amazing trailer for the upcoming movie adaptation to prompt me to pick it up. For those of you unfamiliar with it, the Watchmen is a self contained superhero comic series that came out in 1986. Along with Maus and the Dark Knight Returns, it revolutionized the comic book industry of the 1980's and paved the way for the darker, more adult graphic novels we have today.
Watchmen takes place in an alternate 1985. The superheroes are very down to earth, in fact only one can claim what we would consider `real' superpowers. The rest are the second generation of masked vigilantes. When we join the story, few are still actively fighting crime largely due to an anti-vigilante law passed in 1977. The plot moves effortlessly between the past and present. Minor details in the panels hint at the differences between our world and theirs such as America winning in Vietnam and Nixon running for three terms. Moore is examining what effect superheroes would have had on things like the cold war. Technology is more advanced than in our world largely due to the one real superhero, Dr. Manhattan who can manipulate matter and energy on an atomic scale.
This is a much grittier world than what we normally find in superhero comics and the frank sexuality and violence is not for the squeamish. Think more Miller's Sin City than Iron Man. Check this out as a groundbreaking adult comic with a labyrinthine plot and amazing artwork packed full of hidden gems and detail. For example in chapter 5, Fearful Symmetry, each page mirrors one later in the chapter in both layout and content, when you reach the middle the mirror images intersect. Mirrored image motifs are hidden in many of the panels, for example the half visible Aoxomoxoa Grateful Dead poster in two different panels. Each chapter has a similar motif that can be found in many of the panels and each tie into the larger story and mystery.
The movie comes out in March 2008.

Writer Alan Moore created "Watchmen" in 1986 because he wanted to push the comic book beyond adolescence into what he called "a superhero Moby Dick." The 12 edition comic book series - and later the compilation graphic novel - went on to win the Hugo Award and to be named one of TIME magazine's 100 Best Novels since 1923.

There is little doubt that "Watchmen" blazed a new path for comics - especially superhero comics. But did it really have the impact of Art Spiegelman's "Maus," which was first published in 1973 or even Gil Kane and Archie Goodwin's "Blackmark" (1971), arguably the first "graphic novel" published in the U.S.?

And did Moore succeed in creating a comic book "Moby Dick?"

First let's explore the narrative. "Watchmen" is a dark story. It captures the pre-apocalyptic fears of modern American and Western Europe in the mid-to-late 1980s as the Cold War rhetoric between the Soviet Union and United States was at its highest since the Bay of Pigs. The novel is in its essence a questioning of authority - especially of government and traditional institutions. That's why the question: "Who watches the Watchmen?" appears throughout the novel.

The story centers on a group of masked adventurers in an alternative universe to our own 1980s (one in which Nixon remains president). The "superheroes" are, in fact, regular human beings with no real powers - other than extraordinary physical conditioning and mental acumen. Doctor Manhattan is only character with superhuman skills as a result of a scientific experiment gone wrong.

The novel opens with the murder of the Comedian (Edward Blake), one of the costumed avengers affiliated with the CIA and other secret government agencies. Rorschach, a second costumed hero, who refused to give up his vigilante lifestyle even after the U.S. government outlawed costumed heroes in 1977, investigates the murder.

Through the investigation, the novel enters the lives of the various costumed heroes: Nite Owl (a first and a second version), Ozymandias, Captain Metropolis, Silk Spectre (first a mother, then her daughter), Doctor Manhattan, the Comedian, and Rorschach. The characters are all flawed - some of them grossly so. The Comedian, for example, is a misogynist and rapist and Rorschach is a sociopath.

Rorschach thinks he has uncovered a plot to murder all of the costumed adventurers and enlists the help of his former partner, Nite Owl, to help him. Meanwhile, the super powerful Doctor Manhattan, who has the ability to restructure reality and to manipulate time and space, continues to struggle with relating to regular human beings. After rumors that being near him causes cancer, he banishes himself to Mars.

The murders end up being the work of the genius Ozymandias, who has concocted an elaborate scheme to bring the world's nations together: a fake alien invasion that kills thousands of people. His costumed friend figure out his plot, but are unable to stop it. And, in the end, it turns out Ozymandias is right.

The weakest part of "Watchmen" is the plot, especially the comic book ending. There are so many holes in the logic and execution of Ozymandias' scheme that it's difficult to follow or understand. But the plot isn't really the driver in "Watchmen" - it's the characters and Moore's success with deconstructing superhero mythos.

Moore has taken stock superhero stereotypes and added depth and complexity. Rorschach, Doctor Manhattan, and the Comedian shine as the stand-outs - loners with a lot of psychological problems trying to cope in a world teeming with misery. Moore has less success with Ozymandias, Nite Owl, and Silk Spectre who don't have the depth or the conviction of the stand-out characters.

The novel is heavy on symbolism (lots of watches and clocks, for example) and mood - but differs from comic books from the time period by providing a straight forward and objective point of view. It's up to the readers - not Moore as the author - to figure out how to react to the action on the page.

Another interesting device is Moore's use of a "story within a story" by having a young boy read a comic book about pirates called "Tales of the Black Freighter." The pirate story - about a man escaping from a pirate ship filled with dead, doomed souls - echoes the action of "Watchmen" and acts as juxtaposition to the main story.

The artwork in "Watchmen" feels like a throwback to the Golden Age of comics in the 1950s and 1960s (in fact, primary artist Dave Gibbons credits Norman Rockwell as an inspiration for "Watchmen"). There's a cinematic feel to the artwork - especially of noir films with the shadows and darkness. But there's surprising little movement to the graphics and sometimes the panels feel a bit inert.

So how influential was "Watchmen"? It is generally credited with taking superhero comics from low-brow kid's entertainment and catapulting into high-brow art. That's no minor achievement. "Watchmen" also ushered in an era of dark and bleak story lines around comic book superheroes (can we blame "Watchmen" for the death of Superman and Captain America?).

But Moore certainly didn't attain his goal of creating the "Moby-Dick" of comic books. "Maus," for example, is clearly a greater literary achievement than "Watchmen."

Influential?

Yes.

But a hallmark of great literature?

No.

Read more "Literate Blather" at the Dark Party Review ([...]

I have, admittedly, never been much into graphic novels. They sort of intrigued me when I first learned of their existence years ago, but I just didn't grow up in a place that made them available, and I never had enough money to develop a taste. But then, about a month ago, I happened upon Time's list of top hundred great novels from the last century, and I noticed Alan Moore's Watchmen on the list. It intrigued me that a graphic novel was on the list. So, I read it, and now, I think I'm hooked.

I was really astounded by the high literary value of the work. Watchmen doesn't require that you come to the story with any particular familiarity of specific superheroes (which is perhaps another reason I'd never jumped into the genre). Only a concept of the superhero was needed, and that's, of course, something that I couldn't escape growing up with. That said, it does require that you read intelligently. Allusions to literary figures and philosophical ideas abound. Images reoccur and are developed throughout the book, both in the prose and in the pictures. The story is gripping; the characters are compelling. And I'm definitely going to have to launch myself into more of Alan Moore's work and further into the graphic novel genre.

Is Alan Moore's "Watchmen" the greatest comic book ever written? Quite possibly so. "Watchmen" is a self-contained story that follows two generations of costumed superheroes over several decades of their history (the story spans from the 1930s to the 1980s). Moore's characters are truly unforgettable: the violent Comedian, the Batman-like Nite Owl, the disturbed Rorschach, the dazzling Ozymandias (known as "the world's smartest man"), the sexy female crimefighter known as the Silk Spectre, the godlike Dr. Manhattan, and more. Much of these characters' lives are lived in the shadow of the Cold War and possible nuclear armageddon (a particularly resonant theme for those of us who remember that era).
Moore's complex story moves back and forth in time, and shifts in perspective among the main characters. As he skillfully deconstructs the concept of the costumed superhero, Moore deals with a host of potentially explosive issues: sexual violence, politics, mental illness, etc. This is very much an adult story.
One of the book's most intelligent devices is the alternation of the comic book format with excerpts of the story told in other media: a newspaper clipping, personal correspondence, a psychiatric report, chapters from one character's autobiography, etc. This gives the book as a whole a richer texture and a powerful satiric thrust. Along the way Moore also riffs on classic superhero story elements: the origin story, the superhero teamup story, etc.
The visuals in "Watchmen" are amazing: some scenes are graphically violent and horrific; some magical and hauntingly beautiful. This world is populated with rich, fully developed characters who have complex emotional and moral lives. To sum up, "Watchmen" is a truly epic story that is told with consummate skill and power. It's a book that should, I believe, be read by both comic book fans and by those who don't normally read that medium.

Alan Moore and Dave Gibbons offer up true groundbreaking work that elevates the the graphic novel into its most realized, and most outstanding form.

"Watchmen" operates on a different level of complexity. The plot winds and twists its way through harrowing roads, shoring up a full-load of suspense that, at the end, (you wont find the end here, you gotta read it yourself!) leaves you satisfied, relieved and amazed.

The characters are inspired and well thought-out. They are lovingly portrayed, staying within the bounds of believable motives and true human depth and intelligence.

The illustration is beautifully rendered. It is eloquent, brief, with no stray frames that slow down the story. Hand these guys an award for keeping with the mood and vision of the book throughout.

Cry, laugh, read this over and over,. "Watchmen" is landmark art and inspired "craftsmanship" destined to be an illustrated classic.

The Watchmen were a group of costumed vigilantes. After Congress outlawed them, the group disbanded and most of them retired from adventuring. Shortly afterwards, Russian aggression spread fear of nuclear war. And, the former Watchmen were being systematically murdered by an unknown killer. Impending nuclear apocalypse and the resolution of the mystery of who is killing the superheroes are the two main plots. The story skips back and forth in time, comprises several interconnected threads, and takes place in locations as various as New York City, Antarctica, and Mars. The drawings are eclectic, vivid, and often fascinating.

Although the story is clearly fantasy and numerous things happen that could not possibly occur in reality, the superheroes are conscious of their whimsical identities. This self-awareness sometimes causes them embarrassment and adds a touch of realism and maturity to the somewhat juvenile narrative. However, the characters are otherwise largely unnatural. Rather, they are embodiments of qualities and forces the interaction of which composes the story. For example, Rorschach is apparently impervious to all pain, cares nothing for comfort, and sees with absolute clarity the decadence of society, which he describes in his journal in the Manichean terms of a closed and rigid mind. He lives on canned beans and sugar cubes and never changes his clothes. His minimalistic nature is reflected in his refusal to use pronouns and articles when talking, resulting in stilted computer-like speech. Rorschach is not really a man, but a vessel for the quality of uncompromising faith in clearly defined right and wrong. And, there is Doc Manhattan, who suffered a catastrophic accident in a nuclear testing laboratory resulting in apparently limitless powers to do anything and be anywhere at any time. His perception of reality is so powerful that he can see subatomic particles, but it prevents him from appreciating the value of human life, which he views as irrational and silly. Although Manhattan has a man’s form, he’s actually the manifestation of limitless perspective with no ties to the earthly cares of humanity.

Because this is a comic book, perhaps the reader ought not expect development of the subtleties of character or emotional nuance. One glaring flaw, though, is an inattention to detail with regard to an essential aspect of the plot—averting nuclear war between the United States and Russia. The details of this matter are glossed over with little effort at explanation, and the conspicuous lack of thought given to the issue detracts from the ending.

SPOILERS

An immensely dark work which I'm still trying to absorb. Moore paints a bleak alternate reality in which so-called superheros seem to have done more harm than good, driving a world which was already teetering on the edge of chaos closer to apocalypse. These vigilantes range from being slightly naive and altruistic, like the two Night Owls, to psychologically disturbed and vengeful, like the Comedian and Rorschach. One individual -- Jon -- has become so removed from his humanity via the machinations of science as to have little emotion left at all.

These "superheroes" aren't really heroes, but that seems to be part of the point. While many start out with good intentions, they come to realize that their heroics aren't fixing the major problems which are bringing the world closer to apocalypse: while they catch purse-robbers, the arms race chugs on. But does this make their actions meaningless? And what is the moral price of solving these bigger problems, and is it worth paying?

Moore addresses all these questions through his characters, some of whom have given up on the world, and others of whom still see its potential for good. The search for any kind of meaning in life is something which all the characters, even the background characters who fill the streets of New York, are trying to find. By the brutal and morally dubious climax of the story, I wasn't sure if Moore was trying to say that such a search is ultimately meaningless in-and-of-itself and that means are ultimately justified by their ends, or that, as the Earth is always heading toward apocalypse, committing despicable actions in service of preventing such an event iis never justified.

Regardless, the last scene presents a blank slate: the Watchmen cannot be expected to be humanity's saviors, because they are as flawed as those they are protecting. The human race must make the collective decision to save itself -- its all in our hands. This is certainly an unsettling ending, but it fits the unsettling tone of the rest of the story. While I may disagree with some of Moore's conclusions, this is a well-written, thought provoking work that deserves to be read and discussed by many.

Watchmen is not only an amazing comic, but an amazing novel as well. Originally a 12 part comic book series, the graphic novel "Watchmen" is a must read for comic book fans and fans of drama novels. If you think this is a common superhero novel, think again. The group of heroes this book tells about have no super-powers, except for one. This book deconstructs the basic superhero archetype and gives us human superheroes. Characters like the Nite Owl and Rorschach suffer from all kinds of problems that everyday human beings go through. "Watchmen" is a very human story. Now, the story is set in an alternate 1985 and it deals with the death of one of the heroes and the finding out of who did it while in the meantime, America is ever closer to a nuclear war with Russia. They are many flashbacks that tell the back story of the main characters and these flashbacks relate to the current story. In addition, there are many twists and moments that will have you on the edge of your seat. The book has a very cinematic quality to it and Dave Gibbons art is iconic while Alan Moore's story telling is legendary. Never before have I been so immersed in a comic book before. Once you pick this one up, you can't put it down. Reading it once does no justice, you have to (and you will) read again and again. I have read hundreds and hundreds of novels in my life and "Watchmen" is one of the best and most important novels I have ever read. You can relate to the characters and their situations so much; you forget that you're reading a comic. All in all, if you've never read a graphic novel, start here. "Watchmen" is a must read and a must buy for comic fans, or drama fans. Now that the movie is coming, this book will fly off the shelves. Buy it, read it, love it, read it again.

Back in 1986, A series of issues of one story entitled "Watchmen" was released in 12 issues. In 2002, all issues were released in one giant graphic novel entitled "Watchmen", and since then it has become the most celebrated comic book of all time. Back in December, I had bought myself a copy after seeing the trailer, but put off reading it. But back on a trip to Mexico, I picked it up and began reading it, and I couldn't put it down. I finished it in 3 days and I loved it so much I didn't want it to end.

One thing that came across as amazing to me was how this wasn't a superhero comic book. It was a comic book that dealt with many of the problems in the modern world. And these characters are so undeniably tragic yet you can't help but feel drawn to them. The best character to me is Dr. Manhattan, the De-atomized blue naked guy you see in the trailer. He is a superhuman, he can make himself taller than the CN towner, and do... well, anything. But is it worth it to him? He has detached himself from humanity, and he's just the character that,s impossible to not love.

I was really blown away by this graphic novel, and I loved it so much I read it a second time. Now we have the movie coming out, and that said, I can't wait for the movie. Opening night, this is gonna be a blast?

Even if you are not into comic books, do read this amazing work of art. It will blow you away. It is an epic page turner that will keep you on the edge of your seat, not wanting to put the book down. The only thing I didn't like was that it had to end! I wanted it to be longer, as it could go on for another 500 pages and I'd still read it. But case in point, do read this work of art, because it is essential to all literature lovers.

Watchman is not your average graphic novel. Just a quick flick would reveal that you are not looking through the pages of any DC or Marvel adventure. When you get into it the stories are more like reading a television soap that has just had a shot of high-octane masked heroism. Alan Moore's tale of burnt out superheroes, finds itself pitted against the backdrop of the 80s cold war crises, is deservingly recommended to all graphic novel lovers, yet it is genre defining, doing away with conventional good guys versus bad guys, for a `life is rough and everybody pays' kind of theme. Here the characters are fully fleshed out with some disturbing tales of sexual deviance, murder, revenge and capitalism. By developing and digging ever deeper into the characters psyche against a backdrop of a looming atomic war threat Moore's men are brimming with imagination. The size of the book means you will be chugging through for some time to come. I had it for weeks. The chapter breaks include many lengthy essays so this is probably the reason for it. Recommended with a cherry on top for graphic novel lovers, although unconventional here means that Watchmen is not really the best graphic novel to start with and is more for experienced tastes.

Moore used the story as a means to reflect contemporary anxieties and to deconstruct the superhero concept. Watchmen takes place in an alternate history United States where the country is edging closer to a nuclear war with the Soviet Union. After government-sponsored superhero The Comedian is found murdered, the vigilante Rorschach warns his former colleagues of what he believes is a conspiracy to kill costumed heroes. As the story progresses, the protagonists discover that one of the heroes has devised a plan to stave off war between the United States and the USSR by carrying out a plan that will kill millions of innocent people.

Creatively, the focus of Watchmen is on its structure. Gibbons used a nine-panel grid layout throughout the series and added recurring symbols such as a blood-stained smiley face. All but the last issue feature supplemental fictional documents that add to the series' backstory, and the narrative is intertwined with that of a another story, a fictional pirate comic titled Tales of the Black Freighter, which one of the characters is reading.

WATCHMEN, Mickey Mouse and THE TWILIGHT ZONE are the three biggst pop culture phenomenons of the 20th Century. James Bond comes close, but the franchise has yet to reach maximum potential. the store.com does offer THE TWILIGHT ZONE: UNLOCKING THE DOOR TO A TELEVISION CLASSIC by Martin Grams Jnr. which covers the entire series with 800 plus pages of behind-the-scenes trivia, exclusive interviews with cast and crew and a detail level will exceed anyone's expectation. the store also offers KISS KISS, BANG BANG by Alan Barnes and Marcus Hearn, which is a geek's shrine to all things James Bond. Buy both books and THE WATCHMEN and you will see the world through another vision.

There is so much to praise and review about this graphic novel that I hardly know where to begin. In the watchmen series there is an alternate reality of superheroes that have come and gone each bringing with them their brave strengths and cowardly weaknesses. Which is an entirely original cast of superheroes who range from the mundane (e.g., Nite Owl) to the fantastic (Dr. Manhattan) to the disturbingly sociopathic (Rorschach). The writing, the artwork--and the story all start, off with a bang and the level of suspense is riveting and does not let you down until the very end in which every piece of the rather, convoluted plot makes sense, and the story wraps up with a satisfying close to the finish for which the comic book saga itself was released 20years ago, and that no comic book since has been viewed and discussed as much as this one because of it,s fictional based storylines which is for adults and of course has opened the doors for deep provoktive thinking in it,s characters storyarcs in which The heroes/heroin,all have mind blowing complex psychological profiles to deal with in there everday mundane mild lives. Rorschach is not a playboy billionaire like bruce wayne but instead a troubled loner with a sociopathic streak that easily strikes at anyone who disturb his mild psycholgical maintained lifestyle. Nite Owl instead is a sexually impotent pushover.Dr.Manhattan, the lone character who really possesses supernatural powers gained from a quantum physics experiment gone wrong belongs neither here nor elsewhere on earth.Finally in the end it will go on forever in been an Icon of a book and a must have for any serious intelligent comic book reader or fan of the saga.

Since the beginning of comic books, their authors have destined superheroes to fight malevolence, almost without hesitation. Comic books and graphic novels, until The Watchmen, rarely ever stray from this eternal struggle between good and evil. Set in 1980s New York City, The Watchmen brings a new perspective into the psychology of the superhero. The novel tells the tale about a group of vigilantes, who are desperately needed, as they mature from average human beings into people with elevated senses of themselves. The novel grapples with good and evil unlike any prior graphic novel. The band of "superheroes" begins to hesitate as the world implodes around them. The fantastic book even intrudes into our own reality.

During the height of the Cold War and the brink of nuclear war, the now defunct band of vigilantes is faced with an imminent apocalyptic threat. Though, this group, which had rescued its corrupt world many times before, feels obliged to rescue it again, the members have matured. They begin to question the necessity of their help and doubt their abilities to achieve any fundamental change in society. We soon realize that the characters are merely human as they question their purpose and being. The story crescendo's with a debate between two of the Watchmen about whether humanity should consume itself or should the group intervene and possibly prevent this catastrophe.

This story provides a uniquely, insightful window about what human beings would do with unnatural power. It even questions humanity's dependence, or faith, on forces that are invisible and larger them themselves.

I read this series when it first came out in the 80's. I didn't get it then, likely because I was too young. I recently reread it, and enjoy it much more than I did when it first came out, but still am not completely on the Watchmen bandwagon. The art is pretty generic, and I think detracts from the story. A grittier, darker artist would have been better than Gibbons, IMHO. Not a big fan of the big octopus as well. Glad the movie took it out.
Maybe I'm just a superhero nerd. I recently also reread Crisis On Infinite Earths and really enjoyed it.
As an aside, I did really enjoy the Watchmen movie, which was panned by so many.

This book's towering reputation is perhaps a bit overdone, and as a whole it is not Alan Moore's most satisfying work, but its richness can't be denied: multiple readings reveal details easily missed at first. At the same time, though, such further readings do emphasize a few limitations, namely a very even tone (despite the wide array of approaches used, both in the text itself and at the end of each chapter), a tendency to overstress some points (which dilutes the sheer power of certain events) and a somewhat unbalanced structure that hinders the last tier. Its novelty lies more in its massive stature than in its themes: a world has been created in Watchmen's pages, with elaborate codes that remain true from the beginning to the conclusion. There's a very high sense of cohesion, not only in the story but also between the writing and the art, to the point where it becomes difficult to isolate one from the other as the project's driving force - Watchmen is as much Gibbons' book as it is Moore's. In the end, both its weaknesses and numerous strenghts have a lot to do with the series' important lenght. More than read or watch this book, one experiences it. And whatever its shortcomings may be, that experience (and the characters depicted - especially Dr. Manhattan, whose 'solo issues', #3-4, are the most intriguing) can't be forgotten.

Reviewing this 25 years after it came out, after the movie and after over 1,000 others here have opined, I realize there is little truly new I can add. I'm nearly 50. I've got kids in their 20s. I read comic books in the early to mid 1970s (3rd-6th grade) before moving onto Doc Savage pulp fiction, science fiction, and then novels. I'm someone who loves Graham Greene, George Orwell, Kingsley Amis, Anthony Burgess, and William S. Burroughs. But I also greatly appreciate Philip K. Dick, Neal Stephenson, Stephen King, and William Gibson. I've already seen the movie. I'd never read a graphic novel before. I saw this on sale recently and decided to read my first graphic novel. Was I impressed. All I can tell others who may be like me is to...read this! Read it once thru for fun. Then read it again slowly, savoring the drawings, the colors. Appreciate the stories within the story. The interludes.

While it is fully illustrated, making it "graphic" (and much of the subject matter is too, involving rape, murder, vigilantes, law & order, politics, communism/capitalism, decadence & decay, racism, and more), it truly is "a novel", in the fullest modern sense. There is an amazing story here with wonderful characters and ideas that make you think deeply. That is what any good novel should do. This work swallows you into its world, which is both highly developed and fully believable, and never lets you go. You suspend any sense of disbelief and...lose yourself in the characters and plot. And you begin a most fascinating journey of discovery.

This book is great. As in this book is huge. This is a book that cast a long, deep shadow. It is significant in every way that all the best works of film, music, art, etc. have been. But you know what else? This book is just really good. Yes the story is dark and unsettling, but in a way that is so well done, and so layered that it makes me feel giddy just thinking about it. I don't want to say anything about this book except that if you are into watching people who are really good at telling stories tell a really good story, you need this book in your life. There are single panels that stuck with me longer than entire series. The genius with which the story is told is the only reason of many that I recommend this book. Buy it. Five stars.

I personally did not care for Watchmen. It was really confusing at times, with multiple stories going on including the comic book within the novel, The Tales of the Black Freighter. I also think that the extra text at the end of each chapter was unnecessary because they never really add anything to the story or the chapter that you had just read, they were mostly just more information that you had to absorb. The only thing I thought was impressive was the graphics and the symbolism that carried throughout the entire book within the graphics. It allowed the deeper meaning of the story to carry throughout the story and it was easier to pick up on because it was visual. Watchmen had quite a few themes and throughout the novel there were many different symbols for those different themes, such as the clock at the end of every chapter that represented Doom’s Day and the end of the world. There was also the punk rockers that represented the system and how messed up it was. Those are only two examples, but symbols like those were in every chapter all the way up to the last page, when you are left with possibly the biggest symbol out of all of them. Although the book did not appeal to me, I can see why it would appeal to others with the history, action, and plot. It is a quick read because of the small amounts of text on each page, but it also takes a lot of extra thinking and effort to be able to understand the whole story.

And I am glad that I did, although I wouldn't call it one of the 100 top best novels of all time.

I have read comics and graphic novels before, the genre is not totally new to me, so the style didn't really affect my view of the book. I did find the novel confusing at points, with the main story being interupted by flashbacks and the "reading" of the Pirate comic. It did wrap itself up though nicely at the end and it all made sense.

I thought the setting was precise, having grown up in Cool War years that the novel presents. I also like the Rorschach character (looking forward now to see how that works out in the movie).

Maybe I had too much expectation for it, reading the critical reviews that are quoted on the back. It was a different read, I will give it that.

Better late than never on Watchmen; since this is going to be a blockbuster next summer (saw the previews on The Dark Knight), thought I'd better get around to reading this one, which was the first graphic novel I've ever read.

Time included Watchmen on their list of 100 best novels. While I thought that Watchmen was definitely a great, fun read, I don't know that's it's quite on the level with some of the other novels on their list. That's not to say Watchmen isn't good work: it's a compelling character study of a handful of heroes. The fundamental theme explored through the book is the question behind all superhero/vigilante stories: do the ends justify the means? Watchmen delves into the personality types that answer this question in the affirmitive.

That being said, I thought Watchmen had a weak ending, despite the outstanding buildup. The tone of the ending seemed far too ambivalent, especially after so much emotional investment in the plot, which borders on, but doesn't actually become preachy.

I'm curious to see what kind of a movie this will make, since the emphasis isn't on action, but on the inner lives of the characters. The trailer looked great; I just hope the writing lives up the visuals.

This truly is one of the greatest graphic novel of all time. With that said, it can be heavy handed at times. Overall though, the characters, the world, and the message of the story is so well developed and well executed.

As a reader still new to the comic book scene, I believe that comic aficionados can't refer to themselves as such without first checking out the works of the genre's most influential creators. With this mindset, I read Alan Moore's "Watchmen"--featuring artwork by Dave Gibbons--the critically-acclaimed graphic novel set in 1980's New York. In a world where superheroes are real, the government has stepped in and forced costumed crimefighters to hang up their capes for good. Now a team of former heroes reunite when someone starts bumping them off. The stories of Rorschach, a masked vigilate similar to the Question; the Comedian, a military war hero; Dr. Manhattan, an omnipotent being; and others are told as they search for their "masked killer" while racing to avert World War III.

Moore's main story seems to not only visualize the superhero's lot in the real world, but also the world that we're becoming, all in a raw, uncompromising manner (since I admit that some instances in the story hit pretty close to home).Excerpts from fictional columns, journals, novels, and even comics take the reader deeper into the Watchmen's world. It just goes to show how much comics have grown in terms of social commentary and clashing ideals. So as not to overlook the novel's illustrations, Gibbons' work speaks of the old gritty comic art style that I grew up without. So in an effort not to regurgitate what is said in other reviews, you could say this comic is just what Dr. Manhattan ordered.

This comic is unrated: Graphic Violence, Nudity, Adult Language, Adult Situations.

Long before "Kingdom Come" meditated on a world without heroes, around the same time as Frank Miller's "Dark Knight" returned, and executed more forcefully than the "X-Men"'s story of Sentinels and Mutant Registration Acts, Alan Moore & company asked "Who watches the Watchmen?"
Set in a world where heroes and vigilante justice have run their course, and the last era of superheroes are living out their days quietly with their own ghosts, "Watchmen" is an amazing piece of literature and comic book artistry. The series itself, twelve issues now commonly packaged in one booklet, is sprung from the golden age of graphic novels - the 1980's, where graphic novels told stories and presented images where normal comics, movies, and televison shows feared to tread. Perhaps most importantly, the themes of the story ring as true today as they did then, and the emotionally-invested reader will perhaps see themselves in the everyday characters talking sports and entertainment as the newspaper headlines blare klaxons of war and pending doom. Society entrusts its safety to a greater body politic, but who watches the watchmen and what is the price paid for handing over the responsibilities of self-defense and indulging in a comfortable apathy?
These are the driving themes behind "Watchmen", a graphic novel so stunningly well-written and well-drawn that I do not hesitate to recommend it to even the most ardant skeptics who look upon comics with disdain, never thinking to read anything remotely associated with them. "Watchmen" represents the perfect synergy between the use of pictures, the potency of the written word, and the sublime power of symolism that drives artists wielding either brush or pen to record their art permanently on canvas or paper. A worthy investment that stands tall amongst the great literary works of the latter part of the 20th century.

Ever since I read Alan Moore's sensational work on BATMAN: THE KILLING JOKE, it has been my goal to find another work of his that had the same psychologically innovating tone to it. It wasn't easy though. Alan Moore is one of the most acclaimed writers in the comic's medium, and is known for dark and grim, yet innovating works such as V FOR VENDETTA, FROM HELL, PROMETHEA, SWAMP THING, and LOST GIRLS. I have my limits when it comes to dark content in media, which made it a challenge to find another compelling work of Moore's. I first made an attempt with Swamp Thing, which seemed promise a tragic monster tale, but its occult themes pushed my limits. But I was still determined to dig up another great Alan Moore book, and I uncovered it with his most popular book of all: WATCHMEN!!!

Watchmen was designed to break the boundaries of what a superhero comic could achieve, but it went far beyond that. It became a psychological breakthrough, and transformed the minds of comic book fans worldwide. Watchmen takes place in an alternate America during 1985, where despair and corruption has plagued society. The U.S. is now on the verge of nuclear war with the Soviet Union, and superheroes that were once a major symbol of American society have been outlawed since 77'. The members of the Watchmen (Rorschach, Nite Owl, Dr. Manhattan, Comedian, Ozymandias, & Silk Spectre) have since disbanded, but ominous events soon change everything. The story begins with the death of the Comedian, who was mysteriously murdered and thrown out his apartment window by an unknown assailant. With the rest of the world focused on the approaching apocalypse, the only one to investigate the Comedian's murder is the rogue vigilante Rorschach. Rorschach believes that someone is killing off former costumed heroes, and that the conspiracy is linked with a plot to ignite a World War III. The rest of the Watchmen ignore Rorschach's "mask killer" claims, but after Dr. Manhattan exiles himself to Mars, and Ozymandias is attacked by a hit man, one can only wonder if Rorschach's theory is true. With the doomsday clock slowly ticking towards midnight, and vigilantes suffering attacks from an unknown mastermind, one question remains: "Who watches the Watchmen?"

Watchmen surpassed all of my expectations! The story is extremely well-written, and the plot drives on the force of the moral standards of characters in a world without hope. The characters themselves have complex psychological profiles that allow us to identify, and feel for them, despite their obvious moral flaws as people. Rorschach is the best of the batch! In him we see a man tormented by the sin and corruption in the world, that has changed him into a cold redeemer of justice, with a black and white perspective of reality (his mask reflects his personality with its ever changing inkblots)! He is one of the greatest superheroes I have seen since Spider-Man and Batman. Dr. Manhattan is the only hero with actual superpowers, separating him from the rest of society, and making him gradually less human with each passing moment. He is frequently naked throughout the book, but I don't mind this at all as he is blue-skinned, and it further symbolizes his detachment to humanity as his power is nearly equivalent to that of a god. Despite the fact that Comedian dies at the beginning, he is the force that drives the all of the characters and events in the book, as his death sets the mystery and plot into motion. Comedian is the most flawed of all the watchmen, as he has committed unforgivable acts in his life, but the method of his portrayal allows him to be likable to readers. Ozymandais comes off as a bit of a flat character through the story until the explosive climax, which gives him depth and development that nearly rivals the previous characters, which I dare not spoil! (I think Moore did this on purpose to serve the story he tells, which is an exceptional feat to pull-off!) Nite Owl is the weakest in my opinion, as he feels too similar to Batman (even though his approach is technological, and not direct), but even he provides moments that make him more than just a character on the printed page. (Besides, his airship is just cool!)

The book is indeed Graphic (I'd strongly advise caution towards readers under 17), but even the suggestive content has strong meaning to it, as it places superheroes in the real world, and shows how fear and corruption dominate a society swiftly approaching nuclear war. I've finally found an Alan Moore work that has not only lived up to my experience with THE KILLING JOKE, but has surpassed it completely! Alan Moore not only successfully displayed what superheroes would be like in the real world, but gave us a psychological roller coaster ride of a comic book that has been tough to surpass. It makes me want to take a look at the BEFORE WATCHMEN prequels, even though Alan Moore has no involvement in them. It is a book that is essential for all comic book fans to read! It's an experience that no other comic can offer you.

"[They] will look up and shout 'save us!' And I'll look down and whisper 'no.'"
-Rorschach's Journal. October 12th, 1985

**SPOILER ALERT** The superhero genre was created when Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster imagined a bullet-proof crime fighter from another planet. The genre took another step when Stan Lee wondered how a teenager with the proportionate strength of a spider would deal with the challenges of adolescence. With "The Watchmen," Alan Moore pushes the genre even further. What happens when superheroes wrestle with a morally ambiguous world? Deal with mental illness and depression? Grow old? How does the world react to a hero who is seemingly omnipotent? What are the social, political and cultural ramifications of heroes in tights?

Following these issues to their ultimate end is what makes "The Watchmen" classic. The multiple plots and the endless allusions make for dense reading, but they are done well. The authors understand the conventions of the medium, and they stretch them. They create a world that is rich and textured.

That being said, the graphic novel is very dated. I can understand why the movie didn't do well at the box office. The market in 2009 for movies about an alternative 1985 in which Richard Nixon is still president must be pretty small. In the book, the Cold War and the threat of nuclear war dominate ever page. The ever present threat of death and destruction pushes society to the point of neurosis. "The Watchmen" outlines the transition from the moral clarity of the early superheroes to nihilistic confusion.

This descent is probably what bothers me most. The underlying assumption of the book is that there is no purpose or meaning in life. All of the major characters accept this worldview without question. No one in the novel stands for an objective reality. As the Comedian demonstrates, fighting for truth, justice and the American way is laughable. God is dead, yet the novel does not celebrate. There is something sorrowful and regrettable that moral clarity has no foundation or basis. In one of the last scenes of the book, a group of New Yorkers try to do the right thing by intervening when an argument gets out of control. All are slaughtered in a monstrous act of random violence. We lament their deaths and their pointless desire to help their neighbor.

I am almost embarrassed that it has taken me this long to get around to this classic comic series. I had of course heard about it for years, but it took the amazing trailer for the upcoming movie adaptation to prompt me to pick it up. For those of you unfamiliar with it, the Watchmen is a self contained superhero comic series that came out in 1986. Along with Maus and the Dark Knight Returns, it revolutionized the comic book industry of the 1980's and paved the way for the darker, more adult graphic novels we have today.
Watchmen takes place in an alternate 1985. The superheroes are very down to earth, in fact only one can claim what we would consider `real' superpowers. The rest are the second generation of masked vigilantes. When we join the story, few are still actively fighting crime largely due to an anti-vigilante law passed in 1977. The plot moves effortlessly between the past and present. Minor details in the panels hint at the differences between our world and theirs such as America winning in Vietnam and Nixon running for three terms. Moore is examining what effect superheroes would have had on things like the cold war. Technology is more advanced than in our world largely due to the one real superhero, Dr. Manhattan who can manipulate matter and energy on an atomic scale.
This is a much grittier world than what we normally find in superhero comics and the frank sexuality and violence is not for the squeamish. Think more Miller's Sin City than Iron Man. Check this out as a groundbreaking adult comic with a labyrinthine plot and amazing artwork packed full of hidden gems and detail. For example in chapter 5, Fearful Symmetry, each page mirrors one later in the chapter in both layout and content, when you reach the middle the mirror images intersect. Mirrored image motifs are hidden in many of the panels, for example the half visible Aoxomoxoa Grateful Dead poster in two different panels. Each chapter has a similar motif that can be found in many of the panels and each tie into the larger story and mystery.
The movie comes out in March 2008.

Writer Alan Moore created "Watchmen" in 1986 because he wanted to push the comic book beyond adolescence into what he called "a superhero Moby Dick." The 12 edition comic book series - and later the compilation graphic novel - went on to win the Hugo Award and to be named one of TIME magazine's 100 Best Novels since 1923.

There is little doubt that "Watchmen" blazed a new path for comics - especially superhero comics. But did it really have the impact of Art Spiegelman's "Maus," which was first published in 1973 or even Gil Kane and Archie Goodwin's "Blackmark" (1971), arguably the first "graphic novel" published in the U.S.?

And did Moore succeed in creating a comic book "Moby Dick?"

First let's explore the narrative. "Watchmen" is a dark story. It captures the pre-apocalyptic fears of modern American and Western Europe in the mid-to-late 1980s as the Cold War rhetoric between the Soviet Union and United States was at its highest since the Bay of Pigs. The novel is in its essence a questioning of authority - especially of government and traditional institutions. That's why the question: "Who watches the Watchmen?" appears throughout the novel.

The story centers on a group of masked adventurers in an alternative universe to our own 1980s (one in which Nixon remains president). The "superheroes" are, in fact, regular human beings with no real powers - other than extraordinary physical conditioning and mental acumen. Doctor Manhattan is only character with superhuman skills as a result of a scientific experiment gone wrong.

The novel opens with the murder of the Comedian (Edward Blake), one of the costumed avengers affiliated with the CIA and other secret government agencies. Rorschach, a second costumed hero, who refused to give up his vigilante lifestyle even after the U.S. government outlawed costumed heroes in 1977, investigates the murder.

Through the investigation, the novel enters the lives of the various costumed heroes: Nite Owl (a first and a second version), Ozymandias, Captain Metropolis, Silk Spectre (first a mother, then her daughter), Doctor Manhattan, the Comedian, and Rorschach. The characters are all flawed - some of them grossly so. The Comedian, for example, is a misogynist and rapist and Rorschach is a sociopath.

Rorschach thinks he has uncovered a plot to murder all of the costumed adventurers and enlists the help of his former partner, Nite Owl, to help him. Meanwhile, the super powerful Doctor Manhattan, who has the ability to restructure reality and to manipulate time and space, continues to struggle with relating to regular human beings. After rumors that being near him causes cancer, he banishes himself to Mars.

The murders end up being the work of the genius Ozymandias, who has concocted an elaborate scheme to bring the world's nations together: a fake alien invasion that kills thousands of people. His costumed friend figure out his plot, but are unable to stop it. And, in the end, it turns out Ozymandias is right.

The weakest part of "Watchmen" is the plot, especially the comic book ending. There are so many holes in the logic and execution of Ozymandias' scheme that it's difficult to follow or understand. But the plot isn't really the driver in "Watchmen" - it's the characters and Moore's success with deconstructing superhero mythos.

Moore has taken stock superhero stereotypes and added depth and complexity. Rorschach, Doctor Manhattan, and the Comedian shine as the stand-outs - loners with a lot of psychological problems trying to cope in a world teeming with misery. Moore has less success with Ozymandias, Nite Owl, and Silk Spectre who don't have the depth or the conviction of the stand-out characters.

The novel is heavy on symbolism (lots of watches and clocks, for example) and mood - but differs from comic books from the time period by providing a straight forward and objective point of view. It's up to the readers - not Moore as the author - to figure out how to react to the action on the page.

Another interesting device is Moore's use of a "story within a story" by having a young boy read a comic book about pirates called "Tales of the Black Freighter." The pirate story - about a man escaping from a pirate ship filled with dead, doomed souls - echoes the action of "Watchmen" and acts as juxtaposition to the main story.

The artwork in "Watchmen" feels like a throwback to the Golden Age of comics in the 1950s and 1960s (in fact, primary artist Dave Gibbons credits Norman Rockwell as an inspiration for "Watchmen"). There's a cinematic feel to the artwork - especially of noir films with the shadows and darkness. But there's surprising little movement to the graphics and sometimes the panels feel a bit inert.

So how influential was "Watchmen"? It is generally credited with taking superhero comics from low-brow kid's entertainment and catapulting into high-brow art. That's no minor achievement. "Watchmen" also ushered in an era of dark and bleak story lines around comic book superheroes (can we blame "Watchmen" for the death of Superman and Captain America?).

But Moore certainly didn't attain his goal of creating the "Moby-Dick" of comic books. "Maus," for example, is clearly a greater literary achievement than "Watchmen."

Influential?

Yes.

But a hallmark of great literature?

No.

Read more "Literate Blather" at the Dark Party Review ([...]

I have, admittedly, never been much into graphic novels. They sort of intrigued me when I first learned of their existence years ago, but I just didn't grow up in a place that made them available, and I never had enough money to develop a taste. But then, about a month ago, I happened upon Time's list of top hundred great novels from the last century, and I noticed Alan Moore's Watchmen on the list. It intrigued me that a graphic novel was on the list. So, I read it, and now, I think I'm hooked.

I was really astounded by the high literary value of the work. Watchmen doesn't require that you come to the story with any particular familiarity of specific superheroes (which is perhaps another reason I'd never jumped into the genre). Only a concept of the superhero was needed, and that's, of course, something that I couldn't escape growing up with. That said, it does require that you read intelligently. Allusions to literary figures and philosophical ideas abound. Images reoccur and are developed throughout the book, both in the prose and in the pictures. The story is gripping; the characters are compelling. And I'm definitely going to have to launch myself into more of Alan Moore's work and further into the graphic novel genre.

Is Alan Moore's "Watchmen" the greatest comic book ever written? Quite possibly so. "Watchmen" is a self-contained story that follows two generations of costumed superheroes over several decades of their history (the story spans from the 1930s to the 1980s). Moore's characters are truly unforgettable: the violent Comedian, the Batman-like Nite Owl, the disturbed Rorschach, the dazzling Ozymandias (known as "the world's smartest man"), the sexy female crimefighter known as the Silk Spectre, the godlike Dr. Manhattan, and more. Much of these characters' lives are lived in the shadow of the Cold War and possible nuclear armageddon (a particularly resonant theme for those of us who remember that era).
Moore's complex story moves back and forth in time, and shifts in perspective among the main characters. As he skillfully deconstructs the concept of the costumed superhero, Moore deals with a host of potentially explosive issues: sexual violence, politics, mental illness, etc. This is very much an adult story.
One of the book's most intelligent devices is the alternation of the comic book format with excerpts of the story told in other media: a newspaper clipping, personal correspondence, a psychiatric report, chapters from one character's autobiography, etc. This gives the book as a whole a richer texture and a powerful satiric thrust. Along the way Moore also riffs on classic superhero story elements: the origin story, the superhero teamup story, etc.
The visuals in "Watchmen" are amazing: some scenes are graphically violent and horrific; some magical and hauntingly beautiful. This world is populated with rich, fully developed characters who have complex emotional and moral lives. To sum up, "Watchmen" is a truly epic story that is told with consummate skill and power. It's a book that should, I believe, be read by both comic book fans and by those who don't normally read that medium.

Alan Moore and Dave Gibbons offer up true groundbreaking work that elevates the the graphic novel into its most realized, and most outstanding form.

"Watchmen" operates on a different level of complexity. The plot winds and twists its way through harrowing roads, shoring up a full-load of suspense that, at the end, (you wont find the end here, you gotta read it yourself!) leaves you satisfied, relieved and amazed.

The characters are inspired and well thought-out. They are lovingly portrayed, staying within the bounds of believable motives and true human depth and intelligence.

The illustration is beautifully rendered. It is eloquent, brief, with no stray frames that slow down the story. Hand these guys an award for keeping with the mood and vision of the book throughout.

Cry, laugh, read this over and over,. "Watchmen" is landmark art and inspired "craftsmanship" destined to be an illustrated classic.

The Watchmen were a group of costumed vigilantes. After Congress outlawed them, the group disbanded and most of them retired from adventuring. Shortly afterwards, Russian aggression spread fear of nuclear war. And, the former Watchmen were being systematically murdered by an unknown killer. Impending nuclear apocalypse and the resolution of the mystery of who is killing the superheroes are the two main plots. The story skips back and forth in time, comprises several interconnected threads, and takes place in locations as various as New York City, Antarctica, and Mars. The drawings are eclectic, vivid, and often fascinating.

Although the story is clearly fantasy and numerous things happen that could not possibly occur in reality, the superheroes are conscious of their whimsical identities. This self-awareness sometimes causes them embarrassment and adds a touch of realism and maturity to the somewhat juvenile narrative. However, the characters are otherwise largely unnatural. Rather, they are embodiments of qualities and forces the interaction of which composes the story. For example, Rorschach is apparently impervious to all pain, cares nothing for comfort, and sees with absolute clarity the decadence of society, which he describes in his journal in the Manichean terms of a closed and rigid mind. He lives on canned beans and sugar cubes and never changes his clothes. His minimalistic nature is reflected in his refusal to use pronouns and articles when talking, resulting in stilted computer-like speech. Rorschach is not really a man, but a vessel for the quality of uncompromising faith in clearly defined right and wrong. And, there is Doc Manhattan, who suffered a catastrophic accident in a nuclear testing laboratory resulting in apparently limitless powers to do anything and be anywhere at any time. His perception of reality is so powerful that he can see subatomic particles, but it prevents him from appreciating the value of human life, which he views as irrational and silly. Although Manhattan has a man’s form, he’s actually the manifestation of limitless perspective with no ties to the earthly cares of humanity.

Because this is a comic book, perhaps the reader ought not expect development of the subtleties of character or emotional nuance. One glaring flaw, though, is an inattention to detail with regard to an essential aspect of the plot—averting nuclear war between the United States and Russia. The details of this matter are glossed over with little effort at explanation, and the conspicuous lack of thought given to the issue detracts from the ending.

SPOILERS

An immensely dark work which I'm still trying to absorb. Moore paints a bleak alternate reality in which so-called superheros seem to have done more harm than good, driving a world which was already teetering on the edge of chaos closer to apocalypse. These vigilantes range from being slightly naive and altruistic, like the two Night Owls, to psychologically disturbed and vengeful, like the Comedian and Rorschach. One individual -- Jon -- has become so removed from his humanity via the machinations of science as to have little emotion left at all.

These "superheroes" aren't really heroes, but that seems to be part of the point. While many start out with good intentions, they come to realize that their heroics aren't fixing the major problems which are bringing the world closer to apocalypse: while they catch purse-robbers, the arms race chugs on. But does this make their actions meaningless? And what is the moral price of solving these bigger problems, and is it worth paying?

Moore addresses all these questions through his characters, some of whom have given up on the world, and others of whom still see its potential for good. The search for any kind of meaning in life is something which all the characters, even the background characters who fill the streets of New York, are trying to find. By the brutal and morally dubious climax of the story, I wasn't sure if Moore was trying to say that such a search is ultimately meaningless in-and-of-itself and that means are ultimately justified by their ends, or that, as the Earth is always heading toward apocalypse, committing despicable actions in service of preventing such an event iis never justified.

Regardless, the last scene presents a blank slate: the Watchmen cannot be expected to be humanity's saviors, because they are as flawed as those they are protecting. The human race must make the collective decision to save itself -- its all in our hands. This is certainly an unsettling ending, but it fits the unsettling tone of the rest of the story. While I may disagree with some of Moore's conclusions, this is a well-written, thought provoking work that deserves to be read and discussed by many.

Watchmen is not only an amazing comic, but an amazing novel as well. Originally a 12 part comic book series, the graphic novel "Watchmen" is a must read for comic book fans and fans of drama novels. If you think this is a common superhero novel, think again. The group of heroes this book tells about have no super-powers, except for one. This book deconstructs the basic superhero archetype and gives us human superheroes. Characters like the Nite Owl and Rorschach suffer from all kinds of problems that everyday human beings go through. "Watchmen" is a very human story. Now, the story is set in an alternate 1985 and it deals with the death of one of the heroes and the finding out of who did it while in the meantime, America is ever closer to a nuclear war with Russia. They are many flashbacks that tell the back story of the main characters and these flashbacks relate to the current story. In addition, there are many twists and moments that will have you on the edge of your seat. The book has a very cinematic quality to it and Dave Gibbons art is iconic while Alan Moore's story telling is legendary. Never before have I been so immersed in a comic book before. Once you pick this one up, you can't put it down. Reading it once does no justice, you have to (and you will) read again and again. I have read hundreds and hundreds of novels in my life and "Watchmen" is one of the best and most important novels I have ever read. You can relate to the characters and their situations so much; you forget that you're reading a comic. All in all, if you've never read a graphic novel, start here. "Watchmen" is a must read and a must buy for comic fans, or drama fans. Now that the movie is coming, this book will fly off the shelves. Buy it, read it, love it, read it again.

Back in 1986, A series of issues of one story entitled "Watchmen" was released in 12 issues. In 2002, all issues were released in one giant graphic novel entitled "Watchmen", and since then it has become the most celebrated comic book of all time. Back in December, I had bought myself a copy after seeing the trailer, but put off reading it. But back on a trip to Mexico, I picked it up and began reading it, and I couldn't put it down. I finished it in 3 days and I loved it so much I didn't want it to end.

One thing that came across as amazing to me was how this wasn't a superhero comic book. It was a comic book that dealt with many of the problems in the modern world. And these characters are so undeniably tragic yet you can't help but feel drawn to them. The best character to me is Dr. Manhattan, the De-atomized blue naked guy you see in the trailer. He is a superhuman, he can make himself taller than the CN towner, and do... well, anything. But is it worth it to him? He has detached himself from humanity, and he's just the character that,s impossible to not love.

I was really blown away by this graphic novel, and I loved it so much I read it a second time. Now we have the movie coming out, and that said, I can't wait for the movie. Opening night, this is gonna be a blast?

Even if you are not into comic books, do read this amazing work of art. It will blow you away. It is an epic page turner that will keep you on the edge of your seat, not wanting to put the book down. The only thing I didn't like was that it had to end! I wanted it to be longer, as it could go on for another 500 pages and I'd still read it. But case in point, do read this work of art, because it is essential to all literature lovers.

Watchman is not your average graphic novel. Just a quick flick would reveal that you are not looking through the pages of any DC or Marvel adventure. When you get into it the stories are more like reading a television soap that has just had a shot of high-octane masked heroism. Alan Moore's tale of burnt out superheroes, finds itself pitted against the backdrop of the 80s cold war crises, is deservingly recommended to all graphic novel lovers, yet it is genre defining, doing away with conventional good guys versus bad guys, for a `life is rough and everybody pays' kind of theme. Here the characters are fully fleshed out with some disturbing tales of sexual deviance, murder, revenge and capitalism. By developing and digging ever deeper into the characters psyche against a backdrop of a looming atomic war threat Moore's men are brimming with imagination. The size of the book means you will be chugging through for some time to come. I had it for weeks. The chapter breaks include many lengthy essays so this is probably the reason for it. Recommended with a cherry on top for graphic novel lovers, although unconventional here means that Watchmen is not really the best graphic novel to start with and is more for experienced tastes.

Moore used the story as a means to reflect contemporary anxieties and to deconstruct the superhero concept. Watchmen takes place in an alternate history United States where the country is edging closer to a nuclear war with the Soviet Union. After government-sponsored superhero The Comedian is found murdered, the vigilante Rorschach warns his former colleagues of what he believes is a conspiracy to kill costumed heroes. As the story progresses, the protagonists discover that one of the heroes has devised a plan to stave off war between the United States and the USSR by carrying out a plan that will kill millions of innocent people.

Creatively, the focus of Watchmen is on its structure. Gibbons used a nine-panel grid layout throughout the series and added recurring symbols such as a blood-stained smiley face. All but the last issue feature supplemental fictional documents that add to the series' backstory, and the narrative is intertwined with that of a another story, a fictional pirate comic titled Tales of the Black Freighter, which one of the characters is reading.

WATCHMEN, Mickey Mouse and THE TWILIGHT ZONE are the three biggst pop culture phenomenons of the 20th Century. James Bond comes close, but the franchise has yet to reach maximum potential. the store.com does offer THE TWILIGHT ZONE: UNLOCKING THE DOOR TO A TELEVISION CLASSIC by Martin Grams Jnr. which covers the entire series with 800 plus pages of behind-the-scenes trivia, exclusive interviews with cast and crew and a detail level will exceed anyone's expectation. the store also offers KISS KISS, BANG BANG by Alan Barnes and Marcus Hearn, which is a geek's shrine to all things James Bond. Buy both books and THE WATCHMEN and you will see the world through another vision.

There is so much to praise and review about this graphic novel that I hardly know where to begin. In the watchmen series there is an alternate reality of superheroes that have come and gone each bringing with them their brave strengths and cowardly weaknesses. Which is an entirely original cast of superheroes who range from the mundane (e.g., Nite Owl) to the fantastic (Dr. Manhattan) to the disturbingly sociopathic (Rorschach). The writing, the artwork--and the story all start, off with a bang and the level of suspense is riveting and does not let you down until the very end in which every piece of the rather, convoluted plot makes sense, and the story wraps up with a satisfying close to the finish for which the comic book saga itself was released 20years ago, and that no comic book since has been viewed and discussed as much as this one because of it,s fictional based storylines which is for adults and of course has opened the doors for deep provoktive thinking in it,s characters storyarcs in which The heroes/heroin,all have mind blowing complex psychological profiles to deal with in there everday mundane mild lives. Rorschach is not a playboy billionaire like bruce wayne but instead a troubled loner with a sociopathic streak that easily strikes at anyone who disturb his mild psycholgical maintained lifestyle. Nite Owl instead is a sexually impotent pushover.Dr.Manhattan, the lone character who really possesses supernatural powers gained from a quantum physics experiment gone wrong belongs neither here nor elsewhere on earth.Finally in the end it will go on forever in been an Icon of a book and a must have for any serious intelligent comic book reader or fan of the saga.

Since the beginning of comic books, their authors have destined superheroes to fight malevolence, almost without hesitation. Comic books and graphic novels, until The Watchmen, rarely ever stray from this eternal struggle between good and evil. Set in 1980s New York City, The Watchmen brings a new perspective into the psychology of the superhero. The novel tells the tale about a group of vigilantes, who are desperately needed, as they mature from average human beings into people with elevated senses of themselves. The novel grapples with good and evil unlike any prior graphic novel. The band of "superheroes" begins to hesitate as the world implodes around them. The fantastic book even intrudes into our own reality.

During the height of the Cold War and the brink of nuclear war, the now defunct band of vigilantes is faced with an imminent apocalyptic threat. Though, this group, which had rescued its corrupt world many times before, feels obliged to rescue it again, the members have matured. They begin to question the necessity of their help and doubt their abilities to achieve any fundamental change in society. We soon realize that the characters are merely human as they question their purpose and being. The story crescendo's with a debate between two of the Watchmen about whether humanity should consume itself or should the group intervene and possibly prevent this catastrophe.

This story provides a uniquely, insightful window about what human beings would do with unnatural power. It even questions humanity's dependence, or faith, on forces that are invisible and larger them themselves.

I read this series when it first came out in the 80's. I didn't get it then, likely because I was too young. I recently reread it, and enjoy it much more than I did when it first came out, but still am not completely on the Watchmen bandwagon. The art is pretty generic, and I think detracts from the story. A grittier, darker artist would have been better than Gibbons, IMHO. Not a big fan of the big octopus as well. Glad the movie took it out.
Maybe I'm just a superhero nerd. I recently also reread Crisis On Infinite Earths and really enjoyed it.
As an aside, I did really enjoy the Watchmen movie, which was panned by so many.

This book's towering reputation is perhaps a bit overdone, and as a whole it is not Alan Moore's most satisfying work, but its richness can't be denied: multiple readings reveal details easily missed at first. At the same time, though, such further readings do emphasize a few limitations, namely a very even tone (despite the wide array of approaches used, both in the text itself and at the end of each chapter), a tendency to overstress some points (which dilutes the sheer power of certain events) and a somewhat unbalanced structure that hinders the last tier. Its novelty lies more in its massive stature than in its themes: a world has been created in Watchmen's pages, with elaborate codes that remain true from the beginning to the conclusion. There's a very high sense of cohesion, not only in the story but also between the writing and the art, to the point where it becomes difficult to isolate one from the other as the project's driving force - Watchmen is as much Gibbons' book as it is Moore's. In the end, both its weaknesses and numerous strenghts have a lot to do with the series' important lenght. More than read or watch this book, one experiences it. And whatever its shortcomings may be, that experience (and the characters depicted - especially Dr. Manhattan, whose 'solo issues', #3-4, are the most intriguing) can't be forgotten.

Reviewing this 25 years after it came out, after the movie and after over 1,000 others here have opined, I realize there is little truly new I can add. I'm nearly 50. I've got kids in their 20s. I read comic books in the early to mid 1970s (3rd-6th grade) before moving onto Doc Savage pulp fiction, science fiction, and then novels. I'm someone who loves Graham Greene, George Orwell, Kingsley Amis, Anthony Burgess, and William S. Burroughs. But I also greatly appreciate Philip K. Dick, Neal Stephenson, Stephen King, and William Gibson. I've already seen the movie. I'd never read a graphic novel before. I saw this on sale recently and decided to read my first graphic novel. Was I impressed. All I can tell others who may be like me is to...read this! Read it once thru for fun. Then read it again slowly, savoring the drawings, the colors. Appreciate the stories within the story. The interludes.

While it is fully illustrated, making it "graphic" (and much of the subject matter is too, involving rape, murder, vigilantes, law & order, politics, communism/capitalism, decadence & decay, racism, and more), it truly is "a novel", in the fullest modern sense. There is an amazing story here with wonderful characters and ideas that make you think deeply. That is what any good novel should do. This work swallows you into its world, which is both highly developed and fully believable, and never lets you go. You suspend any sense of disbelief and...lose yourself in the characters and plot. And you begin a most fascinating journey of discovery.

This book is great. As in this book is huge. This is a book that cast a long, deep shadow. It is significant in every way that all the best works of film, music, art, etc. have been. But you know what else? This book is just really good. Yes the story is dark and unsettling, but in a way that is so well done, and so layered that it makes me feel giddy just thinking about it. I don't want to say anything about this book except that if you are into watching people who are really good at telling stories tell a really good story, you need this book in your life. There are single panels that stuck with me longer than entire series. The genius with which the story is told is the only reason of many that I recommend this book. Buy it. Five stars.

I personally did not care for Watchmen. It was really confusing at times, with multiple stories going on including the comic book within the novel, The Tales of the Black Freighter. I also think that the extra text at the end of each chapter was unnecessary because they never really add anything to the story or the chapter that you had just read, they were mostly just more information that you had to absorb. The only thing I thought was impressive was the graphics and the symbolism that carried throughout the entire book within the graphics. It allowed the deeper meaning of the story to carry throughout the story and it was easier to pick up on because it was visual. Watchmen had quite a few themes and throughout the novel there were many different symbols for those different themes, such as the clock at the end of every chapter that represented Doom’s Day and the end of the world. There was also the punk rockers that represented the system and how messed up it was. Those are only two examples, but symbols like those were in every chapter all the way up to the last page, when you are left with possibly the biggest symbol out of all of them. Although the book did not appeal to me, I can see why it would appeal to others with the history, action, and plot. It is a quick read because of the small amounts of text on each page, but it also takes a lot of extra thinking and effort to be able to understand the whole story.

And I am glad that I did, although I wouldn't call it one of the 100 top best novels of all time.

I have read comics and graphic novels before, the genre is not totally new to me, so the style didn't really affect my view of the book. I did find the novel confusing at points, with the main story being interupted by flashbacks and the "reading" of the Pirate comic. It did wrap itself up though nicely at the end and it all made sense.

I thought the setting was precise, having grown up in Cool War years that the novel presents. I also like the Rorschach character (looking forward now to see how that works out in the movie).

Maybe I had too much expectation for it, reading the critical reviews that are quoted on the back. It was a different read, I will give it that.

Better late than never on Watchmen; since this is going to be a blockbuster next summer (saw the previews on The Dark Knight), thought I'd better get around to reading this one, which was the first graphic novel I've ever read.

Time included Watchmen on their list of 100 best novels. While I thought that Watchmen was definitely a great, fun read, I don't know that's it's quite on the level with some of the other novels on their list. That's not to say Watchmen isn't good work: it's a compelling character study of a handful of heroes. The fundamental theme explored through the book is the question behind all superhero/vigilante stories: do the ends justify the means? Watchmen delves into the personality types that answer this question in the affirmitive.

That being said, I thought Watchmen had a weak ending, despite the outstanding buildup. The tone of the ending seemed far too ambivalent, especially after so much emotional investment in the plot, which borders on, but doesn't actually become preachy.

I'm curious to see what kind of a movie this will make, since the emphasis isn't on action, but on the inner lives of the characters. The trailer looked great; I just hope the writing lives up the visuals.

This makes about the 10th time I've been through this series. It really was an amazing turning point for comics. I caught it a few years late, but the impact was no less effective. The shifts between current and flashback, the relationship of the side stories to events in the characters lives - and particularly the dark, adult subject matter explaining the motivations of the various flawed characters made it so real - a little too real at my first exposure.

Although it's not the most clever story in the whole, my favorite character to analyze has always been Dr. Manhattan. As kids we played superheroes and the inevitable escalation of powers always led to the taunt "well, Superguy (or whatever) can do anything". As an adult, Watchmen explored the idea of exactly what could happen to a person that can basically do anything - how it affects his mental shift, values and relationships. It remains the most intriguing mindplay from the series, at least for me.

I don't have to extol the values of the series; they're well documented. This series and the Dark Knight Returns series was what brought my attention back to comic books from my grade school days with Jack Kirby and Stan Lee.

I know that sounds like a bit much but this is truly an tale with a Shakespear like eye for story structure and poetic language (I'm not saying Alan Moore is the next Shakespear, just that he's a fantastic writer). All of the characters are extremely well done and none of them perfect. On an alternate Earth, the cold war is starting to cuase more panic and things get more serious. Meanwhile a mean spirited government agent the Comedian, is murdered under mysterious circumstances. Only the psychotic detective known as Rorshach. But will any of the retired heroes be able to help Rorshach? Do they want to? The ending to this one is a bonefide shocker.
All of the characters are engaging. The retired Nite Owl, who's let himself go since he gave up fighting crime, both physically and mentally. The God-like Dr. Manhattan, whose power is seemingly limitless except his inability to change foreseen events. The beautiful Silk Spectre, who learns something horrible about the Comedian which she must come to terms with. The Comedian, the a living joke satire on everything wrong with America. Rorshach, the mentally unstable detective. Adrian Veldt, a genius who used his vast intelligence to become very wealthy and leads a life of decedance.
The world of the Watchmen is well put together. Dr. Manhattan was used to win WWII. Nixon is still president. Vigiantism is outlawed and many heroes are now working for the government.
The book is beautifully and poetically drawn by Dave Gibbons and the book is extremely well done. I have nothing more to say about this book without giving away surprises so I'll just tell you it's very very good.

As review #1200, I wanted to add my brief acclaim. What is amazing is that about 2/3 of the way in, six or so story lines unfold in a manner that neither a novel nor a screen can yet reproduce well. That is, the tales, the captions, the images all hover and as they flit across the page into your mind's eye, you "see" resonances in your imagination from the layered stories, in a most engaging and intricately fashioned way of verbal and visual narrative. The sophistication itself deserves acclaim, let alone the fresh way that the middle-aged and elderly crises of superheroes make for a new take on a by-now familiar genre.

A second attempt rewarded. I had tried it years ago but found the pace slow as I was scanning each frame for context or clues. The density, as in an engrossing film or novel, rewards rereading or giving it yet another try.

While near the end some genre limits of the force of compression needed as the tales came together, and certain surprises seemed to be tucked deeply away in what had been previously shown, this sort of tension, explication, and sudden revelation is standard for the well-told adventure. The complexity of this, and the coordination of the caption and image with the multiplying narratives build this up into a memorable experience. As if you get to read a novel and see a movie simultaneously, and best of all you still with the words spinning out keep your own vision of the story somehow intact. Pay attention to the newsstand, as by then, the levels of story piling up make this rewarding for the patient reader.

I came to this in a different direction from perhaps most readers. I rarely read graphic novels but as I liked "V for Vendetta" on my then-teen son's recommendation, and even the film--which benefited by prior exposure to the printed story, I sought out Alan Moore's debut novel. I liked for a similar immersion into words spun out well the overlooked and ambitious "A Voice in the Fire." I recently reviewed (8/2013) it; it too was recommended after I finished David Mitchell's "Cloud Atlas"; that left me wondering about similarly expansive linguistic novels and themes.

So, I came to finish "Watchmen." It kept me up late more than one night. As with "V," and "A Voice," Moore's talent is evident, and while the pace and theme of "Watchmen" may be less local and more global than his novel set in his native English city of Northampton, it shares the love of conspiracy, hidden forces, anarchic ideals, occult energies, and compassion for humanity and creatures which infuses so much speculative fiction nowadays--and in the inspirations for Moore and Bennett. I will seek out more from both.

The ending is unforgettable and will always leave you thinking. You are left to wonder if that would really work and you are probably thinking yes, that would work. The characters are very likeable and the artwork is appropriate for the storyline. Alan Moore is like a God among comic fans everywhere and in this story he proves why. The book is well worth the hefty 27$ canadian price tag. The story is addictive and really evokes emotions from the readers. The basic storyline is the Comedian, a former superhero, getting killed. This leads to an investigation by Rorschash while the other heros just figure it was just a robbery. It is actually a plan made from the beginning by one of the most unsuspecting characters you could think of but at the end you realize it all makes sense. A masterpiece, Watchmen is THE comic book to get!!!

If you only read one graphic novel, make it The Watchmen. Great example of the New Wave of Comics - dark, psychological storyline, humanly flawed superhuman characters, and some great plot twists that take you on a great ride as the chapters tick down to the ending.
The artwork is stylishly done, not too experimental, but the real star here is the story of how several over-the-hill superheroes don their uniforms to discover the murderer of a fallen comrade. The subsequent discoveries about themselves and their former allies makes great drama, and the pacing is great.
If you're REALLY not interested in comics, you should try it anyway. If you hate superheroes, that's okay, it's not about that. And if you like graphic novels, superheroes, and a great story, then what are you waiting for? You've probably already read it. Read it again.

A five-star classic graphic novel - flawed super-heroes, complex characters, spikey social commentary and an excellent plot make for a great read that questions our moralities.

About: Set in the cold war era after the end of the Vietnam War, the golden age of masked crime-fighting heroes has passed in the US, and the remnants of the "Watchmen" are either working for the government or retired. That is, all except Rorschach, a totally uncompromising crime-fighter who continues to operate outside of the law (the superheroes' activities having now been deemed illegal). Since their heyday, several have met tragic ends and now the cynical public sentiment is very much against them - even though they helped the US win the Vietnam War and their most powerful member, Dr. Manhattan, has helped the US gain the upper hand strategically in the global stand-off with the Soviet Union.

When a final showdown with the Soviet Union seems to be imminent, one of the Watchmen, the Comedian, is brutally killed. Dr. Manhattan is then vilified in public and promptly disappears. Rorschach investigates and becomes convinced that someone is trying to murder or sideline all remaining superheroes. Is someone out for revenge? Is someone trying to tilt the balance of power back in favor of the Russians? The Night Owl comes out of retirement to help and the Silk Spectre (disenchanted partner of the missing Dr. Manhattan) also dons her crime-fighting costume, despite detesting Rorschach. They try to persuade the super-intelligent Ozymandias to help as well, but he casts doubts on their conspiracy theories and seems to be too wrapped up in running his business empire.

As nuclear Armageddon fast approaches, some of the Watchmen struggle to untangle what is going on and try to persuade the troubled and emotionally detached Dr. Manhattan to return to Earth to help. This in turn leads to some unpleasant discoveries for the Silk Spectre. Meanwhile a youth is reading a gruesome comic book about pirates, Tales of the Black Freighter, which seems to have some uncanny parallels with what is happening in the real world.

The ending is full of surprises and really challenges the reader to think about what is right, what is wrong, and what might just be acceptable in a world that is anything but black and white.

John's thoughts: Well, I never thought that my first five-star rating would be for a graphic novel, but here I am and this is most definitely worthy of five stars. If you have notions about the graphic novel art form being adolescent and unintelligent, banish them and read this book.

The characters are remarkably complex and interesting, especially Rorschach and Dr. Manhattan. The plot twists and turns all over the place and I had no idea how it would all end up. The ending is remarkably thought-provoking. And it's nice that Moore doesn't try to lay out what he thinks - in essence the various characters have extreme and differing views on what is morally right and what isn't, and the reader is left to decide what she/he thinks.

There is so much more to enjoy about the book. It's a wonderfully dark story; it lays bare the shallowness and venality of the world we live in; nothing is black or white; thanks in large part to the activities of the Watchmen, Richard Nixon is enjoying his fifth term as US president (truly scary); the graphics are excellent; and despite much of the bleakness, it's actually a fun read.

I'd unequivocally rate the book five stars. If you like dark superhero stories or any books that are deeply thought-provoking, this one is for you. If you've never ventured into the world of graphic novels, this is a great place to start.

P.S. When the movie version of Watchmen came out in 2009, many Watchmen purists panned it. I don't agree. A movie could never pick up all of the subtleties and intricacies of a novel like this, but the Watchmen movie was hugely entertaining, fun and, as with the book, very thought-provoking. I thoroughly enjoyed the movie. Whether you have read the book or not, I'd recommend giving the movie a go.

Watchmen is a character story. For that we find a brilliant work. But is it really as groundbreaking as the critics say? Maybe for the `80s...

The story opens with the killing of the ex-superhero the Comedian. This sets the tone of the graphic novel. It's dark, sad, and bloody. Alan Moore sets us up with a plethora of characters, each unique in his or her way, and throws them and us into a mysterious plot. It's difficult to recap a 400 page graphic novel. There are many twists and turns we find along the way, each revealing a new part to the story and the characters. I won't go into detail. Suffice to say, the plot is pretty intricate.

Since I was most surprised and pleased with the character aspect of the story, I will first address that. I really liked how the characters were introduced, and closed, and how that interacted with each other and reacted to the events that took place around them. Nite Owl, the passive, kind, easily relatable man; Dr. Manhattan, just the opposite, serving as the distant, out-of-touch-with-humanity, trying-to-please person who just wants to put everything right; the Comedian, the violent, sadistic, animalistic antihero; Silk Spectre, the sweet and attractive female; and finally Rorschach, the mysterious, dark, violent man who does what he has to do to get the right thing done.

There are more characters that I won't get into right now. Moving on. I really thought how the characters stayed to their proper characters was great. This is difficult to do with such a large cast. Moore nailed it. Everything fit together like a patchwork quilt. Moore really brought everyone to life. I cared about their decisions, I wanted the good guys to succeed, and I even understood the bad guys and semi-bad guys and felt sympathy for them. The characters weren't only interesting as they started in the beginning; they changed and developed as the story progressed, and the changes were well founded in what already happened earlier in their lives, which tied in nicely. Alan Moore really has created a masterpiece if you look at it from the character viewpoint. There was no disappointment here.

Now for the story. We are brought into a complex collage of flashbacks, subplots, and a riveting main storyline that contains much more than meets the eye. From the get-go we see something serious is going on. As the story progresses we are introduced to new depths through flashbacks that reveal the characters' pasts, and see how the world came to be as we see it now in the story. So much happens through the course of the book that it's almost difficult to keep track of. But the author manages to keep it flowing well enough.

Since this is a graphic novel, I have to say something about the art. And I have nothing bad to say. The artwork isn't like the art nowadays, but it's still good. The colors are real `80s style, but it wasn't offensive. I also liked the layout and how the scenes moved along. These things really aren't the point of the s graphic novel. It's really what's going on, not so much how it is portrayed visually.

The last thing I'd like to say is that Alan Moore really knows how to develop the world in which the story takes place. It's realistic, gritty, and is perfect for what goes on. For a world that involves numerous superhuman beings and people that accept them, it is very believable.

On these aspects I have addressed, I'm very please with this book. But there are some aspects that I have not yet discussed.

First of all, the story is very in-depth and deep, which I thoroughly enjoy, but I think Alan Moore takes it a step to far. At times it can get tedious and overly detailed. I didn't understand why Moore inserted certain aspects that seemed to me small, insignificant, and unnecessary. I think he should have paced Watchmen a little better. I though the interluding subplot that involved the Black Freighter didn't need to be there either. I can see why Moore did it, to develop the story more, but it only served the purpose of dragging it down. There is enough story as it is without more added to it.

These things may be annoying to be only because I didn't read it when it came out as a twelve-issue miniseries. But even so, the book should be written with the same pacing as if it were one big story rather than a number of smaller segments. There were also a few bits and pieces that I felt were thrown in there to complicate matters on a lower level, rather than simply adding to the story on a grand scheme. For example, the bit with the short man in prison with Rorschach, (*Spoiler*) and the part where the woman was drawing the monster (*Spoiler*). It kind of bogged down the story.

Another thing. (*Spoiler*) I really didn't like how Ozymanias planed to kill a lot of people. The monster was rather ridiculous. There was no mention of it earlier (only with the woman drawing the monster, which made no sense. We'd never seen her before or anything, and we never saw her again.). Basically there was an epic buildup, with and ending that fell flat on it's face. An extreme letdown. I think there could be a much better way to utilize what had already been introduced into the story. Maybe something with nuclear war like Moore had seemed to be hinting at the entire time. (*Spoiler*) Also, at the end, Doctor Manhattan did something out of character as well, which was probably the biggest letdown of all. At least, if the plot didn't end well, the characters at least should. But no. Thankfully, Moore managed to keep everyone else in order.

Before I move on, I'll say one last thing. There was a high sexual content, which really wasn't necessary and detracts from the story immensely. And there was a lot of violence and language as well. All of this brought the whole graphic novel down a quite a few steps for me.

Now to the defining moments.

Critics have called Watchmen groundbreaking, genius, a landmark work, remarkable, a masterpiece, the best example of graphic storytelling ever, a classic. Well, is it? My answer to this is, yes... to an extent. And no... to an extent. Here's why.

Something like Watchmen had never been done before Alan Moore stepped up to the plate and brought his ideas to the table. A solid story, solid characters, and a world that is realistic, vivid, and striking. So, in this way, Watchmen is groundbreaking work. In the `80s, this was something that comic book readers had never experienced. It is deep; there are meaningful characters and events that we care about. It isn't corny, overplayed, and over-dramatic.

But what about now, 2011, almost thirty years after it was first published. Does it still apply to us now? Is it still as important? It is in the sense that the characters are still interesting, and we like the story. But it isn't quite as relevant. We are no longer threatened by nuclear war. Other graphic novels have been written and drawn that have equal depth of characters and story, that may be even more complex. The artwork now has become far better than the artwork in the past. Graphic novels can only get better.

The reason Watchmen will survive, and I think the reason it has survived, is because we like the characters. We can invest out emotions in them for the time we are between the front and back covers, and we will still think of the decisions they made even after we've put the book down.

To conclude, Watchmen was a groundbreaking work. It broke through the surface, and it has paved a path for other graphic novels, and, I think, better graphic novels.

Before you judge the inclusion of a graphic novel here, know that this is over 400 pages of powerful, unique storytelling that happens to be in the graphic novel format. When it came out in 1985, it was one of the first stories that took a different look at superheroes and comic books. Without Watchmen, there would be no Dark Knight.

The story takes place in an alternate 1985 America, where we won the Vietnam War and Richard Nixon is still president. There are no humans with super powers, only masked crime fighters--adventurers--who help clean up the streets. After the Keene Act, vigilantism is declared illegal, and the heroes retire or go to work with the government. One of these is Edward Blake (the Comedian), whose less-than-honorable ways have made him a successful soldier-for-hire. Another is Dr. Manhattan, the only person with real super powers. Dr. Manhattan works for the U.S. government, and keeps a check on the approaching Soviets by tipping the balance of power in America's favor.

The story opens with Rorschach, an illegal crime fighter with an heightened sense of justice, searching for answers in the murder of Edward Blake. He uncovers a plot to kill the former adventurers in an attempt to remove Dr. Manhattan, and perhaps to have world-conquering implications.

There are many layers to this excellent story: the comparison to this America to the actual 1985's America; the story-within-a-story about the Black Freighter; the question on what heroes do when they are done saving the world; and, the most interesting to me, Rorschach's moral justice versus the other characters. The character is perhaps one of the most compelling characters, both good and depraved in the same man. His mask is Rorschack inkblots, black and white with no place for gray.

If you are interested in the graphic novel format, I'd suggest giving this a go. It is a real page-turner.

There had been other comics that were designed for mature readers, but Watchmen changed the face of comics forever. Alan Moore originally wanted to use the Charlton heroes (The Question, Blue Beetle Captain Atom) for this series, but when DC saw what was going to be done with the characters they told Moore to make up his own. This dark look at superheroes in a relatively realistic setting creates images and ideas that were new to the medium. It seemed that Moore had decided that comics should grow up, so he used shock therapy to make it happen. The story line of heroes being murdered, which eventually builds to an end of the world scenario, was not totally new but the execution of it was. With Dave Gibbon's clear, concise art and panel placement and Moore's imaginative plotting, the book worked its way to the only ending that was true to its theme, but that ending was gut wrenching nonetheless.

This is no comic book, this is simply a highly illustrated novel. Do not be fooled by the superheros and illustrations! This is certainly the greatest piece of illustrated fiction written in the 20th century, but it will never get its due because of the stereotype as "just a comic book". Regardless of whether or not you read comics, if you give this book a try you will not be dissapointed.

The characters are as real as they get, very non-typical for comic book characters. They grow and change throughout the book and they are not "4-color". By that, I mean that very few of them are good or bad morally.... lots of shades of gray. By this, I don't mean that every character is a punisher ripoff who blurs moral lines, but that the characters have genuine struggles with their own stiff moral codes. This adds depth to the characters and it is one of the things that sets this apart from your typical comic. Not only is the art very good, but it achieves lots of foreshadowing and there are things in the art you miss the first time you read but you notice on a reread. This combination of foreshadowing in the story with foreshadowing through the art is something I have never seen duplicated before or since in comics. There are whole websites devoted to finding the art foreshadowing, just google for it. Great characters, character development, and use of this double foreshadowing make for a very emotional story which draws you in.

There isn't much I can say about the plot without giving it away, which would do you a disservice. Buy this book. The story and characters will make a lasting impression on you. The art and writing is unparalleled, and this is one of the great tales of the "superhero" genre (and i'm using that term broadly).

With all the hype surrounding the movie coming out (March 2009), I had to get the source material. After all, it's only the "most celebrated graphic novel of all time." I had to find out for myself why.

It only took a few pages. That's how long it takes before you forget that you're reading a comic book. You're enveloped in a murder mystery on a grand scale. You're in a world that bears a striking resemblance to our own, yet is just not quite the same. The characters are rich, complex, and jump off the page. Soon you feel as if you're a part of this new world. You feel a burning desire to look forward in the book, desperately wanting to find answers. But you stop yourself because you don't want to spoil the amazing story that is being laid out in front of you. You ache to find out...who killed The Comedian?

The principal characters are much like us. Ozymandias, Rorschach, Nite-Owl, Silk Spectre, and The Comedian are relatable, fallible, and possess no superhuman powers. They are not the "super" heroes you're used to. Dr. Manhattan is the only exception, having omnipotent powers that are without rival. Their story takes place in 1985. Costumed crime fighters have hung up their tights. The threat of nuclear annihilation is strong as the Cold War strains the relationship between the United States and Russia. In the midst of this global angst, there's a killer on the streets. And that killer is targeting mask-wearers.

Alan Moore (V for Vendetta,From Hell) demonstrates a prowess that I've never seen before in comic books. So much so, that calling Watchmen a comic book seems to be a disservice. This is literature. Moore aptly weaves both past and present together into tightly wound yarn filled with symbolism and metaphors. Textual excerpts from books, newspaper stories, and documents are mixed into graphic storytelling to create an infinitely compelling package.

Watchmen comes so close to perfection, it actually saddened me to watch the ending unravel to a point where I was once again reading just another comic book. It feels rushed and like Moore was in a race to tie up loose ends. In doing so, it devolves into a somewhat hokey mad scientist conclusion that was both unsatisfying and mildly irritating. Had I built such high expectations during the book that it's climax could not possibly live up to them? Possibly, but the fact remains. Without spoiling anything, it frustrates the reader because the Cold War actually ended without a shot being fired...severely nullifying the punch Moore was trying to pack. Had Moore waited a few more years before starting the book, would there be a different resolution? I'd be interested to know.

Despite its somewhat dated elements and subpar finale, Watchmen is an amazing piece of work. It definitely belongs on any must read list. The over-sized hardback is truly a great presentation and enhances the art of Dave Gibbons. Included are notes from Moore on the world and its characters, of which were originally going to be extensions of old Charlton characters, like Captain Atom and Blue Beetle. He explains the change in direction that had to be taken after learning that he could not use these old characters and how he molded them into new ones. There are also interesting bits of art, sketches, and script work to finish it off.

It is ironic that one of the greatest pieces of literature produced in the last 50 years is a comic book. What's tragic is that many people dismiss Watchmen because of that very fact.
Comic Books are for kids aren't they? Casper, Archie, Richie Rich...sure maybe Superman. But they're not to be taken seriously. Are they?
If you harbor these feelings do yourself a favor--put aside your prejudice and read this book. This is a complex commentary on modern society. From the opening statements in Rorshach's Journal to the final pages, this story is both disturbing and poignant.
Other reviewers have accurately said that it is the best work of its genre, that its art, story, and characterization are vivid and arresting, but that falls short of describing the story's true impact. If there were a list of ten great books being put into a time capsule to identify us as a people, Watchmen, by its own merits, should be included.

I've been told about Watchmen for years by various comic book fans in my life and I finally decided to take the plunge before the movie came out and ruined any chance I had of approaching this story fresh in its original form.
I'm glad I did but I really didn't need to be worried. There is simply no way the movie is going to be able to capture all the nuance of this work.
Far more than just a comic book, this story incorporates fictional texts from inside the story's universe that draw you into its world in a way that I'm not sure any other medium could. The story itself unfolds beautifully panel by panel as the notion of the superhero becomes twisted about and we follow along in the investigation of the murder of a masked crime-fighter named The Comedian (one of the few superheroes left still allowed to operate by the government). As things progress and unravel we begin to sink into the lives of various superheroes with all their tics and problems and phobias and disorders slowly coming out into the open, learning along the way that they're not always super and they're not always heroes.
And then the medium itself begins to twist and take on other forms. You'll read about a psyche evaluation that one of the heroes undergoes before finding an excerpt from that psyche evaluation "taped" to the end of one of the chapters. Or you'll come across sections of an expose tell-all book that one of the heroes wrote neatly slipped in between the panels of the comic book form. Police reports and transcripts and bits and pieces of this universe get piled onto the artwork and panels until it feels like you're lingering over a scrapbook from a real world instead of watching a fictional adventure unfold.
As a fan of bent heroes and dark drama I was very taken with this work and while the ending felt like it slipped out of my grasp a bit I still think this is one of the most original works of art I have ever encountered.

We knew from the start that the medium that birthed the genre would ultimatley be the one to bear it's judgement. I have always had a vested interest in comics, but this just altered everything. I am a convert and a believer now that the medium is capable of things that only this book has ever come close to.

Along with this, I pruchased DKR, and I find that to be a highly overrated book. While it felt rushed, Watchmen was well drawn out, giving you time to choose the characters you care about, while DKR relyed more on common knowledge to move the story of batman. A first-comer wouldn't understand by DKR's quick-moving story about his past with the Joker, with his parents murder or what truly drives him. But Watchmen starts the slate clean and lets you pick and choose with a story that is as relevant today as ever. Though dont get me wrong, DKR is a FANTASTIC book (there are still parts I have a hard time reading, like the ridley baby rescue and the woman in the subway), but DKR only encompassed a character, while Watchmen, an industry.

I've read alot of books in my life, but this has topped everything. I've never read it's equal. From the symbolism, to the plot twists. The way the smiley face keeps appreating, the way the Comedian almost becomes a true COMEDIAN for the world("I never said it was a GOOD joke", "professional jealousy"). Moore stands alone as a writer, and frank miller could take some hints from him. The irony and details discovered after several reads are truly rewarding, like the fact that even though it's based on the violent superheros comics of the past fifty+ years, it is arguably light on violence (minus the first pages of "A stronger loving world") and relies more on a detective-like story, and the only SUPERhero with powers is the introverted, alienated Jon Osterman.

The last question we are left with is also the last line in the book, and involves the ultimate plot of the story. It is left "entirley in our hands" to decide if the good of the many outweigh the good of the few (NO SPOILERS).

If made into a faithful movie, which I would only trust in the hands of Terry Gilliam, it stands to hold rank as one of the best films of all time.

Who watches the watchmen? Me for one.

Watchmen is a very complex story that on the surface is about some very human superheroes. These superheroes have retired thanks to the Keene Act that was passed by our government. When one of their own is found murdered, Rorschach, who has continued to fight crime despite the Keene Act, takes it upon himself to investigate the murder. He finds signs that lead him to believe this murder will not be an isolated incident and warns his retired comrades while he continues his investigation.

Watchmen is amazing. Not only is it amazing as far as graphic novels go, it's better and more intelligently written than a lot of lauded literature that I've read. Each section of the story is told from the point of view of a different character. Each character thinks differently, so you get the story from several different perspectives. In doing this, you begin to see that there is no clear right or wrong. What's right from one character's perspective is wrong from another character's perspective. You learn that not everything is black and white. There are shades of gray and lots of them. This is a book about government and politics; this is a book about philosophy; this is a book about science; but most of all, this is a book about humanity, its flaws, and its beauty. I've never read anything like this before and it will stay with me for a very long time.

What makes this story so great is that it makes superheroes very human. A member of the team tries to sexually rape the other. You got a hero who is murder while another fears that the radiation which gave him his power is giving others cancer. There is another who is basically a psycho, but a very deteremined detective. Every character in the story has some major flaws, either from their doing or others doing it to them.

Another thing that I liked about the story is that it doesn't ever take the easy way out. The "villain" was kind of predictable, but the person's motives for they did took me by surprise a little. There were some parts that I didn't care for, mainly the comic in the comic storyline. I ended up skipping past a lot of what was said because it destracted me from the real story. The story is also very adult, filled with exciting violence, sex and sophisticated words I didn't even understand sometimes.

Overall, I give the story a five out of five. It is compelling enough for me to read the entire thing in about a day. Even though this is a graphic novel, almost 500 pages is still a lot of reading!

Read this classic graphic novel with a knowledge of its time....fear and paranoia towards the threat of nuclear war, assassinations of presidents, a lack of trust of those in positions of power in the age of media and subterfuge, and vast modernity sprawling out and producing crime and disillusionment.......Alan Moore takes on all this pessimism and shakes it down with the Watchmen, using the conceit that costume heroes actually exist and are everyday people. The hallmark is that not much here is black and white. The result is a confronting, engrossing, extensive work, which re-invented and challenged the genre and promotes the necessity for individual opinion in readers, by leaving so much firmly in the grey.

In the end we are left to think about whether or not 'The end can justify the means'....and there is a strong echo of Hiroshima here. Obviously it can't..and must never. But here, a global solution to focus people's attentions away from war was to introduce something alien. The question of 'Who watches the watchmen?' underpins and concludes the whole book. It is one of power and responsibility, and the idea of the Watchmen being free from this, to act freely, and to have greater influence than those people who are restrained from acting properly by their systems and nations, is portrayed with unfortunately, similarly threatening results. It can only prompt individual thought and better collaboration through its lesson.

Although it can be a bit too indulgent, and the 'comic within a comic' is given too much space, other elements that should attract you are its realism, its character depth and the unique figure of the Comedian. The Comedian has limited hope for the world; he is the ruthless, Batmanesque, out-for-himself, vigilante. He has seen 'its true face'. He fascinates us as we read The Watchmen, because he goes to a deep place in the comic and in everyone's thoughts, where our attempt to rationalise the horrors and behaviours in ourselves fail...where he 'plays along with the gag', working as a unique force of truth, which is without morals, because there is no hypocracy where there are no morals......The uncompromising Rorschach observes and echoes this. It is where the beginning and the end of the book lie....It is a flawed world, not a good joke....but it is better to play along....?

"The Watchmen" is a tour de force of the graphic novel genre, showing Alan Moore at his best. Moore invents a graphic universe, with a unique cast of characters whose interesting histories and personalities add complexity and fascination to the entire book.

The central character of the work ("hero" is too happy a term) is "Rorschach," a psychopathic masked avenger who is tracking down whoever is killing off a cast of masked former crime fighters, who are now in middle age if now retirement. In the world of The Watchmen, "adventuring" by masked vigilantes has been made illegal. Most of the superheroes have gone along with the law, and have more-or-less happily hung up their masks, cowls and crime-fighting devices to attempt the uneasy adjustment to normal life. Moore creates a complete reality that spans generations, where now-elderly retired crime fighters have passed the baton to a younger (now middle-aged) generation. But the stirrings of adventure lie just below the surface, and it doesn't take much perturbation to bring them to the surface.

Moore's heroes seem familiar, but they're not. Night Owl, a paunchy and bespectacled nerd, wears around in a slightly-ludicrous owl costume, complete with wings and night-vision goggles. In a bit of (I think) intentional humor, his arctic outfit is actually shaped and colored to resemble a snowy owl. Ozymandias is a wealthy acrobat, obsessed with ancient Egypt, and now spins his former glory (via toys and merchandise) into gold. Silk Specter, a leggy beauty 15 years younger than the rest, is living with Doctor Manhattan, a scientist whose 1959 turn in a radiation chamber that rendered him, naked, blue, emotionally tone-deaf, and with the godlike ability to transfer between worlds and dimensions. Not to mention that he likes to go around without clothes.

The story starts with the gruesome death of The Comedian by persons unknown. After the cops leave, Rorschach arrives (through the broken high-rise from which the victim made his unintended exit) and the fun begins. The rest of the novel spins a story of dark personal secrets, an not-so-innocent world unaware of impending danger, and the desire to take up old passions -- all set against a world in which political powers are posturing and threatening each other with annihilation. The heroes spend a great deal of time dealing with their personal issues -- former loves, the loss of friends, parenthood and aging -- while wondering whether and how to engage in the growing turmoil around them.

Moore's heroes are not bound by the rules of "good guy" niceness that we might expect in comic books. They curse, intimidate, attack, manipulate, act psychopathic and work outside the rules, leaving behind a high body count. It's no wonder they were outlawed by more decent people. The strip deals with quite dark issues -- warfare, murder, rape, abandonment, even free will and determinism. It is extremely violent, sexy and rough -- way too much for even the PG-13 crowd. The story is told as an interlocking and overlapping narrative, with lots of meaningful repetition, flashbacks ad even a tragic comic-within-a-comic whose plot mirrors the novel's own. The plot is fascinating, and will keep your reading -- though much too quickly to grasp every detail. Like any good book, this one needs to be read and reread to catch the way it plays with history and characters.

I could go on and on. "The Watchmen" is an unexpected masterpiece, taking the comic book form far from its banal origins, to tell a tale that is repellent and fascinating and extremely well-executed. It's one of the books you must read before you die.

To be honest, this one was a challenge for me to get into. The characters seemed just a little too distant and unrelateable for much of the story.

I saw the live-action movie in theaters, and then after finishing the novel, I watched the extended movie version on DVD. I think the combination of book, movie and putting the story in the context of the mid-1980's (where Cold War fears were still high, and the threat of nuclear annihilation was much more a reality than now) is what helped me fully appreciate what Watchmen was trying to say.

The Watchmen is one of the greatest works of graphic literature in all history. Dave Gibbons' artwork perfectly brings to life writer Alan Moore's ("From Hell", "League of Extraordinary Gentlemen" and many other works) writings to life. Gibbons' style is highly realistic and the coloring is incredible.

Each frame of art is a mini-masterpiece and helps add a visual dimension to Alan Moore's dark scrawlings.

I bought Watchmen in its original monthly 12 issue format years ago. The super-heroes here are similar to 1930's Golden Age heroes, a bit campy and wooden. But Alan Moore heaps on the cynicism and darkness to update his heroes. One of the Watchmen is a rapist and war criminal. Another is a revenge obssessed predator, born to a prostitute and traumatized by a horrific murder of a child.

Moore expertly explores the moral corruption that accompanies total power. Who watches the Watchmen?

The movie version next year could be great.

I read many superlative reviews of this, and I see it pop up at the top of great comic books. I'm just not feeling it. I find it to be relatively disjointed; I don't think the plot or characters are particularly engaging. It's got a mood to it, I'll give it that.

When I hear people say that this subverted comic books into something more adult, and that it explored aspects of superhero comics deeply, I don't get it. At its best this reminds me of the better work that Steve Gerber did for Marvel in 1970's - The Defenders and Howard the Duck. I think that Gerber did this type of thing better - he could write real, strong characters (particularly the Duck) and could tell a story well. I think that Moore's pacing is not so good. I'm pretty sure that this has its reputation because it stood out in and of its time. I don't think that it stacks up so well compared to the great comic runs of all time.

For better or worse, the film follows this comic pretty closely; it exactly duplicates it in large chunks.

Alan Moore, at the the point that this book was written, had already started changing the face of comics with his writing on Swamp Thing and the Marvelman and V for Vendetta series in Warrior magazine in England. This book, along with Frank Miller's Dark Knight added a certain darkness to the genre that had't been seen since the advent of the Comic Code Authority during Fredric Werthams campaign against comic books and what he considered their adverse affect on the youth of the time.

The taste of horror that was brought to the fore in this exceptional book was the horror of just what a "good" man might be capable of doing in an effort to do what he considers a "greater good". At the end of the book, no one is left untouched, not the heroes, not the villains and most certainly not the reader.

An odd aside, and one which I may stating out of turn, but it is something I had heard a long while back; the heroes presented here, all created by Alan Moore, were meant to be the heroes from a comic book company that National Periodical Publications AKA DC Comics had obtained from Charlton Comics. DC decided to keep Captain Atom, Blue Beetle and the lot instead and Alan Moore went forward with the group we learn so much about in Watchmen.

The statement still rings true today...

Who watches the watchmen?

The title of my review is presumptuous and probably unwarrented, but I feel that every person on earth should read this book and then... then all the false, callow, poor authors who look down at illustrated writing can go hang themselves in shame.
The Watchmen is a Novel in 12 parts. It is a mystery, a story within a story and so many more things than I can say... From the murder of a murderer to the zen realization that their are no happy endings because nothing ends...
If you find the idea even mildly intriguing, buy this book... now... today... read and re-read it till the pages fall apart. Graciously give it to everyone you know... and the tell them to buy a copy and do the same.
That's what books are for afterall.

What can I say that hasn't been said already. This is the "Hamlet" of the comic book world. The "Godfather" of comics, if you will. The "Moving Pictures" of the comic book industry. What Moore and Gibbons have crafted here is a wonder unrivaled in the comics world. The sheer level of detail that they put into their work is astounding. Literally every single panel on every single page contains something important, some detail that if noticed, will make the reading experience that much more magical. I savored over this book for about two weeks before I finished it. It took me about two hours per chapter. This isn't the type of book that you can just breeze through, like many of today's comics. You will find yourself deeply drawn into this world and the lives of its characters. They will become like old friends to you. The mystery, the intrigue, the action...its all fantastic. You are in for a fantastic experience when you read The Watchmen.

I tell people that are interested in it that it is a novel. Period. It took me about 7 hours to read. There are important prose sections between each section. The story line is mostly dark, with heavy psychological overtones. Also, it's more than 20 years old. It completely turned the comic world on its head, but artwork has become a bigger focus and has been refined since this was published (although a lot of the artwork in the novel is great). And, some of the ideas have been copied by others, most notably the idea that superheroes were asked to stop being superheroes was used in The Incredibles (which seems to have taken the complete idea, time period, and everything, verbatim, from this book). Finally, it's a serious novel about angry and confused people trying to figure out why old friends and enemies are dying off around them. It's a mystery, and it was written to completely change the way that stories like this were told.

This and the dark knight returns are my very favourite graphic novels, but this one takes the cake! This comic masterpiece is written by the english master Alan Moore, and illustrated by the english artist Dave Gibbons. This graphic novel is set in an alternate future where nixon is still president, America won Vietnam and super heros are banned. One of the retired super heros is mysteriosly murdered, so Rorschach (an insane hero) sets out to investigate. He then suspects a mask murderer is set to kill the last remaining super heros. This book is the best thing on the comic shelf. You also get value for money with this title (it has 450 pages), this maxi series changed the comic medium and inspired lots of modern writers today.This title is in Time magazine's 100 best english written novels of all time. Don't hesitate with this title, you will NOT be dissapointed. I guarentee you.

A complex and thought-provoking read, Watchmen is the graphic novel by Alan Moore and Dave Gibbons, published in 1986 by DC Comics, that changed the way people viewed comic books. Originally published as a series of twelve issues, the compiled series was one of the first to be called a graphic novel, along with the famous Dark Knight series by Frank Miller. The simple change from comic book to graphic novel was coupled with a darker and more realistic look at traditional comic subject matter - superheroes - and has led to widespread recognition of the literary merits of the medium.

Watchmen is set in an alternative timeline late 1980s and revolves around the lives of a group of superheroes. While most of these crusaders are regular people who wear costumes to fight crime anonymously, there is one character with genuine superpowers - Dr. Manhattan - whose simple, impossible presence has led to a vastly different world. America firmly won the war in Vietnam, Richard Nixon is still president, and the Cold War rages more fiercely, if more unevenly. The plot centers around these heroes now living in and attempting to cope with a ravaged society that has rejected their help, even when they still feel compelled to give it. This intricate world and wide cast of characters are revealed slowly throughout the novel, so richly detailed that new discoveries continue to appear on multiple read-throughs.

Watchmen explores themes of violence, sin, justice, and the impulse to do right. This was one of the first comics to turn the superhero mythos on its head, questioning if heroes in any guise more help or harm societies. The art is detailed and incredibly expressive, with dark, moody colors, giving the story life and immediacy. In that it deals with superheroes dressed in silly costumes, has a male-dominated cast with a few attractive and scantily-clad females, and is bathed in violence, it holds to traditional comics, but it takes these aspects and turns them inside out, sharply critiquing each while offering a host of other issues, political and moral, to wrestle. While it has been the inspiration for a whole new genre of the gritty, tortured superhero trying to operate in a complicated, imperfect world, this original has substance and charisma to spare.

And it is scarry now. This comic has been called the greatest graphic novel ever written and with good reason. It is at once a retelling of history and warning for the future. A warning that came true september 11 2001. This is comic book writing at its best and scariest. Post 9-11 it is impossible not see parallels. It is cruel, disheartening, and truely stagering to think that this was produced in 1986. It is truely scarry that for all intents and purposes what happened in this comic really happened in real life. There was really an attack on new york, real people died. And the response in the comic book is really the same as what happened 9-12.

Perhaps no comic, no graphic novel, and no manga of the past 30 years has held critics and fans so entranced as Watchmen. Our fear of the future is as palpable as the fear of the dark. We all fear what we can't understand. The truth of this graphic novel then is not lost on those that chose to listen.

Back in the mid to late 1980's, I picked up the first issue in a twelve issue series called The Watchmen . I was a teenager who had graduated from the innocence of Superman, into the more troubled existence of Peter Parker, and then to the continuing crisis of the X-Men born in a world that refused to understand them. But I was ready for something else, something even edgier. The "Have a Nice Day" smiley-face that appeared to have blood running down its surface on the cover of Watchmen #1 beckoned. I bit and stuck around for twelve issues.

The author of this masterpiece, one Alan Moore, is a paranoid left-winger (See V for Vendetta, for example), but the man can write. Perhaps the character people remember the most from the Watchmen is Rorschach, a man in a hat and trenchcoat who covers his face with a mask of ever-changing ink impressions. Rorschach has no superpowers or even the genius and equipment of Batman. He is a man determined to set things right and is uninhibited in his willingness to do violence to wrongdoers. Rorschach was once a more conventional hero, but he has seen too much evil in the world and is no longer prepared to accept limits on his retribution. This vigilante, full of retrograde opinions and mourning for an America whose best days are behind her, is Archie Bunker without the laughs. Rorschach walks along a street in the red-light district and notes that he is offered French love, Swedish love, and other exotic pleasures. But American love, he regrets, "is like Coke in green glass bottles . . . they don't make it anymore." He is dangerous. And he is Moore's idea of a conservative. If it is intended as an insult, it is one most of us can live with.

While Rorschach stands out, the rest of the cast is also memorable. We have The Comedian, a former masked crusader with a dark past who now does dirty deeds for the government. Ozymandias is like a Bruce Wayne who has decided to go public and cash in on his former exploits. The Night Owl is a genius who turns technology and desire into heroism, more like the Bruce Wayne we know and love. The Silk Spectre is a heroine because her mother was. She's been taught how to fight, but it was as much for publicity and commercial possibilities as it was for fighting bad guys. Doc Manhattan is a demi-God after surviving a nuclear deconstruction of his cells. He is tempted to rise above the concerns of mere mortals.

All of them live in an America that has formally outlawed the independent activities of masked heroes as a response to public resentment and suspicion. What brings them together is a murder. Someone seems to want them dead or out of action. At the same time, the world is consumed in a larger drama of nuclear confrontation. The Cold War is running hot and tensions may boil over. Doc Manhattan is not sure whether he cares.

This is the backdrop for one of the most compelling dramas ever enacted in comic book form. The graphic novel (a compilation of the twelve issues of the comic) gained the honor of being named one of the 100 greatest novels of all time by Time Magazine. The Watchmen , in its original form, featured emotional depth, quality of story, and gripping engagement like no other comic I've ever read. If the film can live up to it's print counterpart, then it will be well worth the money and the time.

I spent more than a decade trying to find a copy of Watchmen in this forgotten-by-God-and-the-devil-place I happen to live in. When I finally got my hands on it, I was sure my experience wouldn't be the same because some of the book's aspects could have become obsolete. "At midnight, all the agents" was the biggest "shut your $#%^ mouth" I had ever received. Once again, Moore faced a topic, stuck his hand into its mouth and turned it inside out. I get the feeling this was supposed to be the superhero tale to end all superhero tales, but, instead, I think it made new winds blow on the genre. Filmmakers, keep your hands off this one. Anything you do will pale by comparison, so spare yourselves the embarrassment.

Let me start this review off by saying that this work isn't your typical superhero/supervillian comic, in fact it's just the opposite. Alan Moore, whom wrote this and wrote several other sucessful comics like Swamp Thing, is a brilliant writer. He's really created a world that is unlike anything you've ever read. What makes Alan Moore a very different comic writer is the fact that he does not like the idea of superheroes or supervillians. He created this story, in my opinion, with hopes of destroying and demoralizing the idea of superheroes.

This story is very complex. There are alot of backstories and flashbacks.

It doesn't really do me any good to try to explain the story to you, because it's very complicated. I will say that if you haven't read this comic than you're missing out on the greatest comic ever written. This comic tackles issues of morality, friendships, politics, sex, religion, and everything in between.

Like I said, if you do not have this graphic novel, then you need to get it.

It is 1985, and the United States reigns supreme. God is an American, manifested from a late-1950s nuclear accident and given the ominous nomenclature of "Dr. Manhattan." As the ultimate government employee he subsequently reshaped the world in his image. Global warming and high gas prices are nowhere to be seen in a country where electric cars are alive and well. Nixon is still president, Vietnam has become the 51st state, and the ambitions of the repeatedly humiliated Soviet Union have been frustrated for decades. All of this is courtesy of an immanent god-being with a decidedly temporal appetite for the ladies.

Other, more human heroes once roamed the streets, using flashy costumes and noble deeds to compensate for their lusts and weaknesses. Some are retired, broken, or dead. The rest are either outlaws or comfortably employed as government operatives. One of the latter, a WWII-era extra-normal named "The Comedian," is brutally murdered, thrown from the window of his high-rise bachelor pad. Rorschach, a paranoid, anti-social younger mask hunted by the police for refusing to refrain from his illegal vigilante activities, is convinced that a conspiracy is afoot to eliminate his comrades. He begins to investigate, and thus events are triggered that may culminate with either 9/11 times a thousand or worldwide nuclear holocaust.

"Watchman" is touted as the greatest comic book maxi-series ever created. By now that claim has become a cliché, but the title fits due to its enduring impact on comic books as a whole. Alan Moore and Dave Gibbons flipped the bird to the Comics Code and dragged us into the era of dark and gritty comic book stories, elevating our expectations and souring us on cutesy Bat-Mites and boy-scout Supermen. There's so much detail and depth in this epic that even two decades later I find fresh nuances after each re-read. Threads of morality, philosophy, and theology are woven throughout "Watchmen." Does the end justify the means? Are we all there is in the universe? What would happen if God became man in the modern era and imposed his power on humanity? These and other dilemmas are acted out by the protagonists in this masterful example of the comic book genre's acme.

As Rorschach trolls the streets seeking the killer of heroes we see how profoundly sick society is underneath the pollution-free skies. And when the living god removes himself from the equation, the doomsday clock slouches toward midnight as a vengeful Soviet Union, emboldened by his absence, storms into Afghanistan. With time running out, we meet more heroes: the original Nite-Owl and his portly, middle-aged imitator; the mother and daughter Silk Spectres, both linked to the Comedian in disturbing ways; the brilliant and tormented Ozymandias; and Dr. Manhattan, whose increasing alienation from humanity may doom it to Armageddon. Eventually the killer stands exposed, and as the remaining heroes discover, it ain't no Republic serial villain.

The upcoming Watchmen movie has rekindled interest in this classic story, and like a number of fans I'm alternately jazzed and skeptical. The trailer evokes Dave Gibbons' excellent artwork, and the Smashing Pumpkins' "The Beginning is the End is the Beginning" is the perfect background song. But I dunno...the plethora of fast/slow motion shots reminiscent of the fantastical "300" make me nervous. I think I'd prefer a "Dark Knight" treatment more grounded in reality. Even so, I'm hoping for the best, because "Watchmen" deserves it. If you call yourself a comic fan, or are simply interested in the highest potential of the medium, then by all means read "Watchmen."

There is much that has been and said about Alan Moore's Watchmen in both classic and the net press over the 17 years since its release. So much so that there is little that I can add to further its status as one of the best examples the comic medium has to offer. Nor would I be able to convincingly attack it as a over hyped spectacle.
I would have to resign my self to say that yes its a beautifully told story that captivates and engages the reader. Its lovingly crafted characters intertwine and weave a colorful past that drapes its present in rich and full bodied history. Its dystrophic vision of the present is sneering and full of sinicism and it certainly makes bold statements about right, wrong and all the shades of grey that separate these extremes. Not to mention the art work that is fitting and cinematic in its rendition.
Begrudgingly on the other other hand, it is certainly is not for everyone. Its content matter and violence should be kept from younger readers. Older readers may have an issue reconciling their preconceived notions of what a comic should be to what this tile actually is. The setup and ultimate conclusion is let down by an ambiguous anti-climax that most people brought up on Hollywood storytelling will be left shaking their heads, saying "the good guys aren't supposed to die".
However the title on a whole despite one or two moments of pure comic fun, is a fantastic read, riveting and honestly a real page turner. Word heavy enough that it
will certainly be to big for one sitting for most readers. When you finally read the final frame, you will be tempted to read though it again to fill in the story. As there a many plot points you will discard as trivial in the first read through.
Still the question as to weather this title really is as good as they say remains. I can honestly say, yes it is.

I come to this review as someone who is not a die-hard fan of graphic novels. I also come to this review in the post Dark Knight era, an era in which complex troubled superheros is not as new or intriguing as it probably was when Watchmen first arrived. I also come to this book a generation after the Cold War ended. In that context, Watchmen risks being an important historical landmark for what it did for the genre in the mid-80s, but of little relevance today.

So, what does a book of this nature have to offer? It's still an incredibly well crafted story. The first time through, though, I struggled. I was counting pages until the end. It seemed to labor on discordant aspects that didn't make sense until I knew the bigger picture. The second time through, knowing where things were going, I could appreciate the various parts a whole lot more. I still didn't like the fact that they took the easy way out and did the "villain monologue" at the end. I was waiting for The Incredibles line, "You caught me monologuing!" to come up. For such a long and complex story, there was plenty of opportunity to convey this sinister plot more effectively.

But what this book in its historical context does is shed light on a sliver of time and human nature in ways probably never intended by the authors. When this book first came out, the fears expressed by the characters about the Cold War going very hot were palpable. The world was at risk of imminent destruction. A lot of what people were feeling within was probably reflected in these pages. I found it all rather excessively alarmist and reminded me how often throughout history we've thought the world would end.

Yet, this very context provides an interesting insight into human nature. The actions taken in the end were horrific but justified by the major characters.

What is intriguing is juxtaposing this story's ending with how it played out in the real world. For all the doom-and-gloom about human nature in this book, the humans involved in the REAL Cold War that were targets of this rage proved ending it without a single shot fired. Who could have seen that coming in 1985? Such a graphic novel would have been seen as too idealistic at the time.

So, yes, this book is dated. Its impact today is far less than when it first came out both as a breakthrough in genre and a reflection of the national mood. But this novel's brilliance lies in the fact that, as the perpetrator of the final sequence asked for reassurance that he did the right thing, so too did I begin to wonder whether the atomic bombs on Japan were a "necessary evil". We did it, so we all assume it was necessary just as these characters did. Yet, seeing this violent fantasy ending juxtaposed with the real peaceful ending made me wonder.

If a graphic novel can compel such questions, then surely it is worthy of a read, even if its impact is not what it once probably was.

This book is for the nerds. It's a graphic novel. Which basically means it's a comic book. But in a meta-fictional way. So if you want to read a 250 + page comic book . . . this is the one for you. It's considered the classic of graphic novels. I picked it up because it is by the author who wrote V Is For Vendetta (which was also a graphic novel before it became a movie). And the producers of Sin City and 300 are making a movie out of it. The producers of LOST also said it was one of the most influential books of all time and that they borrowed heavily from it. Without giving away the plot, it's basically the LOST comic book. It's really good. The only reason I gave it an A- instead of something higher is that it ended rather abruptly and was left open-ended. Which I'm finding myself less and less a fan of. If you like LOST you should definitely read it. And if you like comic books . . . I'm sure you've already read it.

Watchmen is a graphic novel but don't let that frighten you. You say "oh no, it has pictures, that's kid stuff! I can't be caught reading that!" Just relax, we'll get through this. Yes Watchmen has pictures but that doesn't make it any less a novel. In fact, Alan Moore, the primary author or the book, claims that twenty two pages of Watchmen is equal to 135 pages of text, dialogue, and description that he handed in to his collaborator Dave Gibbons. That's about one graphic page for every 6 written pages. If Watchmen were a traditional novel with full descriptions the 419 page book may have been nearly 2000 pages long! Yes, Watchmen is a graphic novel, a comic book. And, yes, Watchmen is about superheroes. But the book explores the superhero genre in a way that questions it and it does so in a very interesting and entertaining way. It defied comic book conventions, depicting very violent people and gritty themes in a time when Batman still had shark repellent on his utility belt. Watchmen explores the basic superhero archetypes from the vigilante adventurer to the near omniscient super powered man. It looks at these characters' codes of justice and tactics and attempts to make sense of them relative to reality. Watchmen asks who among us would really be willing to put on a mask and pursue this brand of justice, and why would a man with god-like abilities bother to fight crime?
Watchmen depicts a set of very basic superhero archetypes; There is the enterprising adventurer, like Batman, or Doc Savage the rich, intellectual idealist who strives for change. The vigilante type like Zorro, the Lone Ranger, or the Punisher with their uncompromising, black and white view of right and wrong. There's the femme fatal, enticing criminals into submission. And the super powered man, the benevolent god among us, the superman sent to protect us all. Watchmen shows us these characters set against the backdrop of the cold war, a very real time in our history when the prospect of total destruction was very real. The characters become rounded as the authors shape them and reveals them as people with real issues in this terrifying world. The authors recognize the horror inherent in human nature and the idea that just because a person puts on a mask, they are not exempt from it. Some of the characters are repressed schmoes, others sexual deviants, others are narcissistic, some are just confused, and some are even sociopaths. Watchmen posits that perhaps those who would choose to pull on a mask and a pair of tights and adhere to a strict, black and white idea of justice may not be the best, brightest, most altruistic among us, but could very well be mentally and emotionally unstable. The story suggests that some may even be so obsessed with their code that they may be willing to do horrific things to achieve their idea of what is right. Even when an act of congress attempts to subvert the heroes' obsession with justice, some persist, even grow more determined. One character goes so far as to brutally murder his foes rather than hand them over to authorities and be forced to reveal his identity. Another allies himself with the US government, reveling in the opportunity to feed his hunger for violence and to be payed to do it. Still another uses his status as a former hero to gain wealth and influence and perhaps use it to reshape society into his image of what it should be, regardless of who or what stands in his way. The authors of Watchmen boldly propose that, yes, superhero crime fighters could exist, but we probably wouldn't want them around if they did.
And what of the super powered god/man? Watchmen's depiction of such a character aims to bring to light the fallacy of the assumption that such a being would naturally fight for "truth, justice, and the American way". So often, Americans want to believe that god is on our side but would he be? Should he be? Why would a god among us care about our ideas of justice or morality? Watchmen suggests that maybe he wouldn't, that maybe a man endowed with fantastic abilities would grow apathetic toward our ideals. Maybe he would grow out of touch with humanity as he begins to feel as though he is no longer a part of it or perhaps never was. In one famous line from the book, a TV program misquotes a prominent physicist as saying in response to this god-like character "Superman exists and he's American". Later this misquoted character authors an article that is one of several articles that Watchmen's authors have inserted in-between chapters to further develop the universe that the characters live in. In the character's article he points out the misquote saying "What I said was 'God exists and he's American'". With this idea firmly in place, Watchmen shows just how our country and its leaders may attempt to exploit such a being, even become dependent on him. With this character, the book is able to illustrate just how dangerous such a situation might be and if a man were given such immense power, a country or even the whole world may be at the mercy of this man and his loyalty or apathy toward humanity.
Watchmen explores the major characters in the world of superhero pulp fiction and attempts to give the reader an idea of the machinations of these archetypes in a real world setting. The book looks at these characters and how they have been grown and shaped out of our ideals. The authors attempt to take a step back and look at these ideals in contrast with human nature. The conclusion seems to be that ideals are nice, but you can't change human nature. And if you could give a man super abilities and change his nature, it would be futile because he would cease to be a man. It is a wonderful read and is every bit as exciting as it is thought provoking. I highly recommend this book for anybody, whether they are fans of the genre or not.

This incredibly layered maxi-series (originally released monthly) caught on the new wave of pop-culture in which cultural icons were only fit to be destroyed. For a generation of comics fans who couldn't stand to hear "truth, justice and the American way" one more time, "Watchmen" gave us the travails of two generations of costumed vigilantes long after they were broken by their experiences. Among these is the Comedian, a smiling sadist whose calling card (the smiley button) becomes the series' icon. Unlike most heroes forced into retirement by age, restrictive legislation and a society less tolerant of costumed white males, the Comedian goes to work for the police state. The story begins with the Comedian's mysterious murder (mysterious because his identity was supposedly secret), and examines its effects on the remaining heroes - most of whom are out of commission. The Comedian's death provides both a mystery and a useful device for the surviving heroes to examine where their lives and their world went wrong. (In the world of "Watchmen", advances in American technology allow for a world that can be safer and cleaner, but isn't; the advent of the superhero allows for a world that is safer and more respectful of the law, but doesn't; America's monopoly on superpower should make it more secure, instead, Nixon is still president when the novel begins, and the USSR and the US are set to go to war again). Among the heroes is "Ozymandias", a genius who patterns himself after Alexander the Great; "Night-Owl" who relies on his own gadgetry and his knowledge of birds to fight crime; "Dr. Manhattan", a scientist altered by a nuclear experiment into a super-powered god for whom walls of time (and clothing) mean nothing; and darkest of all, Rorschach, a vigilante of few words whose mask conceals a reservoir fueled by violence.
Moore and Gibbons' story patterns these heroes on movie stars. Promising in their youth, when crime is simple and most of the crooks went bad simply to get in on the heroes' action, the first generation quickly turns to seed, and then turns on each other with their memoirs. Life is hardly better for the arch-criminals, including an evil magician slowly dying of a cancer and loneliness.
"Watchmen" is a huge story - it was the story of the late 1980's (before the success of "Ninja Turtles" fueled a run on independent comics). There was talk of a movie, and fans debated who should be cast. In the end, it was for naught - the guys who scripted "Lord of the Rings" would have had their hands full trying to turn this complex story into a script. "Watchmen" cuts across timelines to revisit many of the same moments again and again, creating multiple subplots that skew these moments in different ways (one key moment is the meeting between the Comedian and Lori Jupiter, the daughter of a former fellow hero. We relive that instant both before and after learning of how the Comedian had raped Lori's mother). "Watchmen" though dark, has a hidden bright side. Because the past, present and future are all the same to Dr. Manhattan, he sees no point to trying to prevent an inevitable nuclear holocaust, yet even he is ultimately won over by the random miracles in which life is created and survived (there's got to be some reason why life manages to mature from a microscopic egg with everything going against it, and if we can't find out what that reason is, it's still worth protecting.)
Nowadays, it's fun to read because it's so obviously 1980's - its obsession with Vietnam (we didn't lose), Nixon, confrontation with the soviets and the end of western civilization make it less a story than a Time-Life infomercial. Also, while revolutionary at the time, the deconstruction of heroes and heroism is hardly reason to be shocked today. (The series debuted amid the "Iran-Contra" scandal, as well as after a surfeit of scandals among "televangelists", which eroded whatever popular trust in established figures Americans preserved after Watergate). Ours is the generation of anti-heroes, Keyzer Soze, Clinton, Bush, Columbus and political correctness, Clint Eastwood in "Unforgiven" - we're much to smart to root for a bunch of old white males in masks.
Still, "Watchmen" is intricate and compelling. You could probably read it in one sitting, though I prefer to space it out over a month - you're less likely to skim over its many intricacies.

Watchmen is arguably the most important graphic novel ever written. It established the medium of the graphic novel henceforth as one to be taken seriously and placed alongside film as the new pictorial artform in which complex stories with rich thematic material could be displayed upon a reticulated grid of visual images. And so a new cycle of American pop can be regarded as having begun with its appearance in 1986 (the graphic novel itself was, by then, only a decade or so old, beginning with Richard Corben's Bloodstar in the mid-seventies).

However, within the larger and already (by 1986) very long running cycle of the mythology of the comic book superhero, Watchmen belongs to the end of the particular development that began in the 1930s with comic strip heroes like Buck Rogers, Flash Gordon and Tarzan. For the main theme of Watchmen is that the universe of the comic book hero is coming to an end, and so Watchmen represents, as it were, a vision of its Kali Yuga or, in Wagnerian terms, its Twilight.

Watchmen, the first serious graphic novel (after Frank Miller's Dark Knight Returns, that is) opens up a window into the twilight of the superhero universe which had begun with its Golden Age in the 1930s, its Silver Age in the 1950s and its "Bronze Age" during the Marvel Renaissance of the 1970s. During the 1980s, with the appearance of The Dark Knight Returns, Watchmen and Neil Gaiman's Sandman, the universe of the superhero entered into its sunset years, for all three works are based upon a serious questioning of many of the basic premises of the comic book universe taken for granted by its creators.

One of those premises is that superheroes do not die. Another is that they do not grow old and retire. Another is that they are not psychotic, but sane and rational individuals whose ability to discern good from evil can be generally relied upong. And still another is that they always (eventually) win the battle against evil.

In Watchmen, Alan Moore discards all of these premises, for the story begins like a classic noir novel with a murder and then proceeds to spend the rest of its narrative investigating the causes of that murder. In this case, the murder in question is that of a superhero named Edward Blake, a.k.a. the Comedian, who has been found dead, while the superhero known only as Rorschach has decided to investigate. Rorschach does not have a face, only an ever changing rorschach blot, and his investigative methods immediately demonstrate to the reader that he is a psychopath and a sadist, for he tortures people in order to get information out of them, and takes pleasure in murdering those whom he believes to be criminals. Rorschach discovers that there is a plot to do away with superheroes, for his former acquaintance Dr. Manhattan soon exiles himself to Mars in shame as a result of learning from the media that his superpowers have given cancer to all his friends and former lovers. Adrian Veidt, formerly the superhero known as Ozymandias, who is the head of a huge transnational corporation known as Veidt Industries suffers an attempt upon his life; and Hollis Mason, the former and earlier incarnation of a Batman look - alike known as Nite Owl is murdered by an angry mob. Rorschach himself is arrested and put into prison.

In the universe of the superhero as envisioned by Alan Moore, we are introduced to a series of wash ups, sell outs and retirees. Dan Dreiberg, the recent incarnation of Nite Owl, is fortyish and has hung up his costume; the mysterious, Silver Surfer - like Dr. Manhattan works on physics projects for the United States Government (prior to his murder, the Comedian had also been employed by the U.S. Government, who sent him out on routine missions to topple Latin American dictatorships). An official bill known as the Keene Act, furthermore, has recently been passed, which outlaws all superhero vigilantism.

The call for the retirees to return to action comes when Laurie Jupiter walks out on her superhero husband Dr. Manhattan and goes to stay with Dan Dreiberg (the second, and most recent, incarnation of Nite Owl). The two fall in love and become nostalgic about their former status as superheroes and soon decide to break Rorschach out of jail and find out who has been killing off their friends. Eventually the trail leads them to the former superhero Ozymandias, a.k.a. Adrian Veidt, who is a sort of cross between Howard Hughes and L. Ron Hubbard, for Veidt is one of the richest - and also most intelligent - men alive, and from his fortress of solitude located at Antarctica runs a corporation that manufactures superhero action figures, toys, games and also a self-help cult called the "Veidt Method," a sort of Tony Robbins - style pep talk designed to make any man into an effective fashioner of his own destiny.

When Nite Owl and Rorschach travel to Antarctica in Nite Owl's Bat-mobile style air ship, they confront Adrian Veidt and discover that he had killed the Comedian because the Comedian had already figured out Veidt's master plan of ending the Cold War by launching an attack on New York City in an effort to bring the nations together. Veidt has designed a bizarre giant monster with tentacles and has learned the technology of teleportation, and decided to teleport this giant monster right into the middle of New York City, instantly killing off half its population. By the time Nite Owl and Rorschach have confronted him, they learn that this event has already taken place and that Veidt's plan has been successful, for Russia announces its intent to withdraw from Afghanistan immediately and call off hostilities towards America. Dr. Manhattan, hitherto at work on building his own fortress of solitude on Mars, materializes at the last moment for a showdown with Veidt, but once he has realized the success of Veidt's plan, he disappears into another dimension, vowing to leave humanity behind and work on creating his own worlds.

Veidt is successful and the Cold War ends. The superheroes retire for good. Dan Dreiberg and Laurie Jupiter marry (Rorschach has been killed in the battle by Dr. Manhattan) and all is well that ends well.

So what's Watchmen really about and why is it so great?

Watchmen is about the conflict between globalization and the local mythos of the New York - centric cult of the superhero. Superheroes were called into being during the Great Depression in order to defend the cosmopolis of New York from attack by mythical beings from the astral plane. It is a local and very particularly regional myth born, grown and shaped within and for the city of Manhattan.

But former superhero Adrian Veidt, the novel's villain, is the head of a transnational corporation - that is, a corporation that is not wed to any particular geography -- Veidt Industries, and intends to wipe out his former superhero friends so that they will not attempt to forestall his global plan of ending the Cold War. We note that not only is Veidt successful in ending the Cold War, but he is also successful at ending the entire world of the superhero, for by the story's conclusion they have all disappeared into retirement, death or alternate dimensions as the direct consequence of the success of his plan.

Also take note that Veidt attacks New York from his fortress of solitude which is located in a sealed off glass dome on the continent of Antarctica, so it is very much as though New York were being attacked by planetary energies.

Alan Moore, as a British artist sensitive to changes in the ether, is here dramatizing before our very eyes the coming death of the superhero mythos at the hands of transnational globalization, for the two are apparently completely at odds with one another. The myth of the comic book superhero is local to New York, for it was born in the 1930s prior to the globalization forces that World War II brought into being, since one of the end results of that war was the launching of the Russian satellite Sputnik into orbit in 1957, which effectively globalized the planet by placing it inside a dome of electric technology. (The superhero was designed to protect New York, not the entire planet). Just as Adrian Veidt places a simulated tropical environment inside a glass dome at his fortress on Antarctica, so we have placed the entire planet since Sputnik inside of a technological dome. That very act already announced the end of the superhero mythos, since it relativized New York's importance on the global stage to that of merely one city state amongst many others all now gathered together under the single umbrella of global capitalism.

Insofar as the superhero fails to adapt himself to the new global circumstances - James Bond, for instance, is a new adaptation, for he is the world's first truly global hero - his mythology and way of life are in trouble. The downloading of superhero comics into celluloid narratives, furthermore, is not the beginning, but rather the ending, of his popularity, for once the download is complete - in about one more decade - interest in superheroes will wane and eventually vanish, exactly as predicted by Moore's Watchmen.

Finally, let us not forget that Moore's novel has already made at least one prediction that has come to pass, i.e. the assault on New York City by a giant monster with tentacles in the form of Al Qaeda with its delocalized network of sleeper cells distributed over the planet.

The moment of the supreme popularity of a cultural form marks the advent of its disappearance, not the height of its development. This is known as a "sunset effect," - the most elaborate suits of armor, for instance, came in during the 16th century, just when armor was made irrelevant by the arrival of gunpowder - and Moore's Watchmen is a text that can be set aside as marking the senescence of the New York cult of the superhero.

Watchmen is a mighty, Wagnerian achievement and has so far not yet been surpassed in the history of the graphic novel as a medium.

--John David Ebert, author of "The New Media Invasion."

Reading the other reviews of "Watchmen" by Alan Moore, I wonder if there's any stone left unturned, whether any praises have yet to be extolled for this awesome collection. Still, I obsessively post this review because I feel almost required as a comic book fan to say how great Watchmen is.
"Watchmen" focuses on a world which is one step away from nuclear warfare between America and a vague Soviet threat. Takes place almost entirely in New York City which is functionally drawn by Dave Gibbons. The art is different from a comparable story like "The Dark Knight Returns" which has a similar setting and plot. While Dark Knight uses painted art, Watchmen has the four colors scheme which many people are familiar with, I think that the art never holds the story back, but it also never really elevates Moore's story to another level. Functional.
There are a lot of colorful characters; I like Rorschach most, whenever he wasn't on the page, I would wonder what he was doing. Rorschach is actually one of the last masked adventurers left, because the government has prohibited vigilante activity. At first, Rorschach is the sole protagonist of the story, but others are pretty rapidly revealed to the reader, from the blue bodied Dr. Manhattan to the Smartest Man in the World, Adrian Veidt.
I really liked to find out more and more about these people, and whenever Moore chooses to elaborate on a character's personality or origins, it's usually pertinent to the greater plot.
Plotwise, "Watchmen" is remarkable. Although it looks pretty long this is an extremely tight collection, it moves well towards the ending, which is mind blowing.
I would reccomend "Watchmen" to mature people in general, it's appeal reaches beyond the cognoscenti of the comic book world, I had only read "Preacher" and "Dark Knight Returns" before reading Watchmen at first, and I loved Watchmen. However, it's pretty bloody, although not even nearly as bloody as a comic like Preacher, and it's somewhat profane although also not on the level of Preacher. It's probably like a 4 on the violence meter and 2 on the profanity meter, if Preacher was a 10.
A good reason to buy this, as opposed to read this in the store, is that it's pretty long. I guess that someone could feasibly complete Watchmen in one sitting, but it took me a few hours to do, and I think it would have really detracted from my overall experience to rush it. Also this is a pretty serious graphic novel, it has lots of nice layers and it's the type of thing that I imagine most people will read a few times.

***4.5/5*** (Potential Spoilors)

Watchmen is a Graphic novel written by Alan Moore and Illustrated by Dave Gibbons. Watchmen is probably the best graphic novel I've ever read and that's saying a lot. I've read my fair share and ultimately they all come down to the same flaw is that it's drawn out for you. When I read I book I like too imagine the scene and the actions by the characters. With this one I almost never had this problem since all the frames i would imagine it the exact same way. The only real flaw that I have with the book is the (from what I feel) is the unnecessary "Tales of the Black Freighter" side plot. Every time I got to the part with the kid and the old man at the news stand I just wanted to read through it to get to the next part of the actual story. I can see why it's there so it can give a perspective on real people in the situation of the book, but it ends u feeling long drawn out and not really caring. Other than that I loved the characters. They weren't the Captain America or Superman goodie two-shoe type of characters. All of the hero characters in the book feel real as they all have flaws and most do terrible things. This is probably my favorite superhero related fiction as any other superhero there isn't any tension or danger. By the end of anything else you know good guys win bad guys die. But in watchmen by the end of it you don't really know who's the good guy or the bad guy. After Ozymandius kills millions of people, but he did it to save billions. Or when Dr. Manhattan could've just rendered all nukes on the planet useless. He was shunned and driven away why would help the human race. It isn't a surprise that I love Watchmen majority of people love it as well.

There's not much more one can say about this comic that hasn't already been said. Let me give a warning about this series, at least. It's not for everybody. Some people may think comics are just about mindless action and silly plot. This comic is very captivating. Alan Moore attempts to deconstruct the superhero, laying its soul bare for the reader. Alan himself said the comic was meant to be read very slowly, with the reader constantly referencing previous pages in order to fully understand how the plot will unfold. Readint this requires a lot of effort on the part of the reader.

But if you do put in the effort, you will experience the single greatest comic story ever. Ethics and morality within the superhero universe is put in a new light when the greatest single evil act in comic book history becomes, quite possibly, the greatest good act ever. Only someone with the genius of Alan Moore can do that.

It is easy to go on and on about this comic, but many others have already put it far better than I. Please, give this comic a chance. You will not regret it.

It's trite to say by now, but Alan Moore's Watchmen goes so far beyond any reasonable set of expectations for the graphic novel medium that there really isn't any way to describe it justly to an uninitiated reader.

Unlike the friend who persuaded me to give it a try, I'm no comic book nerd. Far from it. I'm pretty wary of the whole comic business. But any doubts about the potential legitimacy of the comic book as an art form were thoroughly expelled by the end of the first page.

The artwork, while not the best I've seen, is more than passable. The point of Watchmen, of course, is the narrative, and the impressive manner in which Moore evokes the little touches of this would-be alternate history.

The writing is superb. Not 'for a graphic novel', not 'better than I expected.' The writing is superb even measured against most actual pieces of non-graphic fiction. The prose is not as dense or as taken to exposition as that of the typical novel; this is, after all, a kind of a comic book. Nonetheless, it is great and broad in its language and feel for the characters. Most impressively, you are virtually guaranteed to reference Watchmen for the rest of your life after having read it. Not many Spiderman tomes can say that.

I've seen other trade paperbacks I liked, even some that I found to be profound. But Watchmen is the only one that has stayed with me.

I'd written in my review of Marvels that it was my favorite graphic novel of all time...I guess I hadn't read enough graphic novels. The Watchmen is easily as good as Marvels, The Dark Knight Returns, or what have you. This is a super-hero epic designed for adults who have a serious interest as comic books as an art form. The term "graphic novel" is sometimes misapplied to over-blown comic books...that is not the case here. Alan Moore is a great writer (arguably the best in the field) and, in The Watchmen, he has created a story of great depth, scope, and meaning. I have discovered internet sites dedicated to pointing out the hidden subtexts and motifs of this book...they are not reading too much into it. The task Moore sets for himself (as he often does) is to ask the question, "What would the world be like if super-heroes really existed?" That question is more far-reaching than the average comic book implies. The plot unfolds, not in a comic book way, but the way it might really happen. The ending is completely original and totally unexpected.
On a personal note, this book will forever be entwined in my mind with the events of September 11, 2001. Some of the issues in the book cut a little too close to home. But for me specifically, I'll remember staying up late the night before reading this book, and then being awakened by my roommates early the next morning to the scene of the World Trade Center in flames...and thinking that I'd read the comic for too long. Things this terrible don't happen in the real world, only in comic books...right?

The Greatest Graphic Novel of All Time, they say. Indeed, one of the greatest `novels' of the 20th Century according to Time magazine. Well, I think Time was being a bit generous, but THE WATCHMEN certainly is deeper than what one will normally find in the genre, and one can certainly spend time in less interesting pursuits than reading the twelve chapters that bring everything together.

Set in an alternative American history in which costumed adventurers have given the U.S. an edge in the Cold War, but are viewed with deep suspicion and ambivalence by the public, THE WATCHMEN explores the psychological horizon of such heroes against the backdrop of a familiar, if altered, history. When a few adventurers are killed or in some other way neutralized, Rorschach, a deeply disturbed renegade, starts pursuing what he believes to be an intended plot to kill former masked heroes. He enlists the help of Nite Owl, his old partner, who views his past adventures as the immature manifestation of a largely wasted life.

The truth is far more complicated, both personally and politically. Alan Moore, The Watchmen's creator, uses the genre to explore terrain that, although more meaningful during the height of the Cold War when the Soviet Union still existed, is not completely outdated today.

History, however, has not been exceptionally kind to the interpretation of this book. In fiction, the world's smartest man, despite years of reflection, cannot escape the conclusion that the two world powers, given their trajectories, will ultimately come to blows and destroy the world. As someone who came of age in the `80s, I remember this perspective as all too common back then. But events proved this view wrong. We just needed Ronald Reagan, who recognized the inherent weakness of communism and exploited it until it imploded. Reagan's mark on the world stage makes large chunks of THE WATCHMEN basically superfluous in retrospect.

Further, although Moore portrays one of two clearly right-wing characters as morally degenerate (The Comedian) and the other as, for lack of a specific diagnosis, borderline schizoid (Rorschach), it takes the left-wing, pyramid worshiping, vegetarian to wipe out millions out of his `concern' for mankind and in pursuit of his utopian vision. What a hoot!

Significantly over-rated by fans of graphic novels, no doubt to convince themselves that the genre is meatier than it really is, THE WATCHMEN is nonetheless an interesting read. Moore took the superhero story into unexplored territory and wrote an interesting story while out there. Just don't believe all the hype.

Having long heard Watchmen's praises, I resisted reading it because I dislike the late 80's and 90's ultraviolent comics, and I assumed Watchmen to be the quintessential comic of this type. I've finally read it, and I was wrong. It deserves its reputation. Violence serves theme and plot without being exploitative.
SPOILER: I'll discuss the story's ending. I'll also compare Watchmen to other works, such as Kingdom Come.
I think Watchmen is basically a condemnation of ubermensch theory (Nietzsche's idea that "supermen" are entitled to violate society's moral laws, imposing their will on those "inferior" to themselves. Hitler infamously used the theory to justify Nazism. I concede I am no expert on Nietzsche.), and an accusation that superhero stories endorse this philosophy by lionizing vigilantes. Watchmen also attacks the genre's simplistic good vs. evil morality.
Only one character has "superpowers" to justify claims of superiority, yet Dr. Manhattan takes too little interest in human affairs to want to control others. On the contrary, he lets himself be used as a tool, hoping to retain his humanity by pleasing people. Yet he's now too detached to morally judge his orders, becoming a living military weapon. Apparently, desire for power over others is for mortals living among mortals--like Ozymandias, the archetypal Aryan "superman": a blonde, blue-eyed, physically perfect, supremely brilliant, self-made billionaire.
Achieving peace through slaughter, Ozymandias, like his hero Alexander, embodies Nietzsche's belief that ends justify means. If paradise is attainable through atrocities, as Nazi and Soviet propaganda claimed, is it worth it? And, once the eggs are broken, should one reap the benefits of the sin? (I ask this sitting comfortably in California, stolen first from Native Americans, then from Mexico.)
Rorschach--Watchmen's brutal, uncompromising conscience--says no, and his journal seems to give him the last word. Yet Rorschach tortures for information, sometimes needlessly. Besides, his winning may mean Armageddon.
In keeping with a thought experiment in Nietzsche's worldview, Watchmen's universe is an apparently godless one, as stated by several characters. Crime and Punishment's Raskolnikov justifies murder through Neitzschean arguments, but then feels remorse and, through this reluctant acceptance of higher morality, comes to believe in God. C.S. Lewis's arguments in favor of God's existence hinge on morality's independence of human preference. Watchmen's ending is too ambiguous for any divinely transcendent morality or providence to be clear to the characters or reader. As a Christian, I acknowledge the realism of this ambiguity, for even assuming that God exists and His will constitutes absolute morality, His moral intent is rarely as discernable in real life as in melodramas (the classic example of divine inscrutibility being Job's sufferings in the Bible). As Hollis Mason says in chapter 3, "Real life is messy, inconsistent, and it's seldom when anything really gets resolved."
I like Watchmen--but fear I now better understand why the genre degenerated following its publication. It's a damning attack on superheroes, yet publishers couldn't stop printing their bread and butter, so self-indictment pervaded superhero books of the following years as they struggled with Moore's accusations. Also, as Neil Gaiman observes in his introduction to Busiek's "Astro City: Confessions," the easiest "riff" of both Watchmen and Miller's "Dark Knight Returns" for hacks to steal was darkness, not depth.
There are other reasons for the so-called "Iron Age's" violent nihilism besides Watchmen and DKR's influence. Such trends were already growing in early 80's comics. DC had ravaged almost its entire stock of characters in 1985's "Crisis on Infinite Earths." There was also the need to satisfy reader bloodlust once the maligned Comics Code, for better or for worse, became a rubber stamp. Universally recognized characters synonymous with virtue in the public imagination became brutal, wrathful, petty--and if heroes became jerks, villains became the most lurid sadists imaginable. This culminated in the near-plotless splatterpunk and exploitative sadism of the early Image Comics. "Good vs. evil" became "merely evil vs. nauseatingly evil." Moore expressed dismay that things took the direction they did in those years.
Watchmen's theme is: if Nietzsche were right, as superhero comics claim, that would be terrible. It took a decade for superhero writers to rebut this accusation. Their answer came in Waid and Ross's "Kingdom Come" and was: We never claimed Nietzsche was right--the essence of superheroes is that the stronger someone is, the LESS excuse he has to abuse the weak, and the greater his obligation to them. (As Stan Lee wrote years earlier: "With great power there must also come--great responsibility!" Or, as Moore himself has Superman say in Whatever Happened to the Man of Tomorrow?, "Nobody has the right to kill... not [even] Superman. Especially not Superman!") KC portrays a higher morality--indeed, a God-given one, delivered through the mortal Norman McCay. Perhaps it requires divine perspective to see that an ant who can shatter mountains is no better or worse than his fellow ants. Unlike Watchmen, but like most superhero comics, most of KC's characters have "powers"--flight, invulnerability, etc.--differentiating them from general humanity in a way that even bullet-catching Ozymandias is not. Yet they're not blessed/burdened with near godhood like Dr. Manhattan (staggeringly powerful even by superhero standards, Manhattan perceives all moments simultaneously, and creates and destroys life at will. He has no common reference with humans.). Powerful, yet mortal, they have no more free license to sin than anyone. Probably less. KC portrays a world which needs to relearn this, just as the comics industry needed to relearn it. (One shortcoming: unlike Watchmen, KC isn't self-contained. It assumes reader familiarity with Superman, Batman, etc. and with ultraviolent comics. )
KC and Watchmen bookend the Iron Age. Watchmen unintentionally (I say unintentionally because Moore apparently laments the fact) helped begin it, and KC helped end it.
Yet despite spawning these trends, Watchmen itself is breathtaking, complex literature which takes masterful advantage of comics' visual medium.
Warning: This is not an acceptable comic for children. An R-rated story with lots of sex and violence, Watchmen is a story for grown-ups.

...although I don't think it will ever happen. Watchmen came at a time when comics were stuck in a rut they had been in since the early sixties, and blew everybody away. It was a product of it's time and the effect it had could never be duplicated. Most comics out today are pretty much the grandchildren of Watchmen and The Dark Knight Returns. These two stories and a handfull of others changed the way we think about comic books. They introduced more mature and relevant themes that went way beyond the typical super-hero fare that dominated everything up till that point. Watchmen is a brilliantly written masterpiece of comic fiction illustrated by the very talented Dave Gibbons. Gibbons' style dosen't ever get him on to any "hot 10" list's because of his subdued, low key style, but perfectly brings to life Alan Moore's story with his excellent storytelling skills that no early Image artist like Rob Liefeld or Erik Larsen could accomplish because of the fact that there aren't buildings exploding every two panels and the characters have to look like real people. Watchmen slowly simmers to a boil then explodes into a very satisfing ending (regardless of what some people say).
This story represents what I wish we had much more of in comics, well concieved, well executed stories that advance the medium and brings it closer to an artform that will gain some respect. Thank god for guys like Alan Moore and Frank Miller who show that comic books can be just as powerfull and entertaing an industry as Movies, TV, or novels, and sometimes surpass them.

One of the greatest comic books ever written, Alan Moore is a genius. He has a huge knack for putting in the smallest details, carving intricate plots out of entire imaginitive worlds. This comic deals with some washed-up superheroes who were forced into retirement by a law. They live in an alternate past, in 1985, where technology has gone into a boom. New York is a grungy, criminal town filled with drugs and violence. When the Comedian, a super anti-hero of some sorts, is killed, the retired masks start to realize a pattern...

The ending left a deep, frightening impression on me. Well, the whole book, is unrelenting. It shows brutality, mostly through the eyes of the disturbed and disturbing vigilante Rorshach. I instantly recommend this classic to anyone, especially thos e who appreciate a pop-culture mesh of intrigue, assasination and the troubling minds of superheroes.

I just finished reading perhaps one of the best works of literature i've ever laid eyes upon. And it was a graphic novel.

Most people criticize comics as the stuff of adolescent boys, something that dreams and fantasies are made of. Watchmen is different. It was written way back in 1986, so its by far nothing new. Even so, Watchmen has a definite adult theme (when i say 'graphic' novel, i don't just mean pictures), and im sure most people would have little trouble getting into it. The themes of humanity and philosophy are better than most books that Ive read.

Watchmen takes place in 1985, mostly in New York. In 1977, an act was passed banning all 'vigilantes'...but you can call them superheros. So, years later, all of the retired superheros are busy carrying out a normal, every day life. That is, until October 12th, 1985, when a former comrade, Edward Blake "The Comedian", is brutally murdered. The only one still acting as a Vigilante, Rorschach (Roor-shark), suspects something and begins to investigate. Rorschach begins to piece together a mystery that he dubs the "Mask Killer" as more vigilantes are killed. The most powerful superhero, Jon "Dr. Manhattan", is exiled from planet earth (Jon is the only superhero in the book with the typical superhuman powers, everyone else is decidedly human) and then things take a serious turn south. World war three looms near as Russian troops invade Afghanistan and the threat of full scale nuclear war seems very real. Rorschach still believes his theory that the killings and war are connected, but has a tough time convincing his fellow vigilantes. The tension mounts very quickly as the chapters unfold.

Thats the basic story, but theres plenty more to it. There is TONS of depth to the characters, each one has his or her back story explained thoroughly. This book has everything from immense personal conflicts to political dilemmas. The storytelling is just flat out amazing, through the cunning use of flashbacks and alternate themes, its seems very much like an extremely well directed movie. There are plenty of details to watch for in many of the panels, and writers Alan Moore and Dave Gibbons make sure to bring past occurrences up again and again...there isn't a wasted scene in the book. I was blown away at just how everything was so thought out. The characters are memorable too, and are all very human, something most superhero stories lack. Rorschach is now my favorite superhero, and you'll see why after a few pages with this mysterious, bad ass, masked, monotone figure. Everything about this book is just awesome...no wonder it won the Hugo Award in 1988, the prestigious Science Fiction award that the likes of Orson Scott Card have won.

Sure there are better drawn comics out there, but few things can match Watchmen's storytelling, story, characters, and presentation. As the back of the book reads, "This is the book that changed an industry and challenged a medium. If you've never read a graphic novel, then Watchmen is the one to start with. And even if you have, it's time to read it again."

I don't know how to say just how good this really is, Watchmen is beyond a 10/10.

Highly Recommended.

OH, and it's now being made into a major motion picture! Directed by Paul Greengrass (Bourne Supremacy) and screenplay by our very own Solid Snake...David Hayter. Hayter's screenplay is said to be the best comic book-to-screen adaptation ever. I cant wait!

I've known about Watchmen since I was a kid when it first came out and all the comic store clerks wherever I went would rave about it. I only got around to reading it recently probably at a time when I could really appreciate it. The key to the success and popularity of this book is definitely Alan Moore's storytelling skill. This book takes quite a few chapters to get into but everything from the very beginning comes together in an almost artistic way for a spectacular if not disturbing ending. Moore describes in detail the characterizations of what would cause someone to become this unlikely thing known as a costumed hero as well as everyone else's likely reaction to it. This book easily emphasizes the critical effect story can have over comics with just fancy artwork and grandiose superhero poses. I am not easily impressed or swayed by others opinions but this story is well worth the ample praise people have lavished on it over the years.

What can I say that hasn't been said in the last 15+ years about this? As a bit of background, this book was originally going to feature the Charlton Comics Company heroes (Blue Beetle, The Question, Captain Atom) but when DC Comics bought the rights to these characters, they decided that they really didn't want Alan Moore to tinker with and kill them off. So if you are familiar with those characters, it's easy to connect the dots to "who's who" in middle age here.
In both the panels and the normal text interludes, Moore "re-imagines" how costumed vigilantes would have behaved and how the world would react to them. It's refreshing and startling that this really hadn't been done to a great degree before. Unlike most of the "grim and gritty" writing of the mid-to-late 80's this book stands up to (nearly requires) repeat readings over time. In risk of saying too much, if you don't already have it, PLEASE do yourself a favor and buy it if you love or used to love comics.

Comic books are just plain old fashioned fun fantasy reading. Blended with depression, they make literature. Or at least, this comic book strewn with depression is written more for the adults than the children, or adolescents or teens.

This mammoth-sized comic - about 330 pages of drawings alone - mixes the "Watchmen" with their pasts and logically explains how their efforts are Congressionally outlawed, leaving their good intentions to a dismal life of drink and depression. The good guys can no longer do what they do well - and enjoy what they do well as well.

Ultimately, we learn how one loses face, another likes owls, a girl has mixed emotions about her role, why a man is blue and without a third dimension, and more. We learn that they, even in their outlawed state, can still cook up some problems; and we learn what the writer warns us: who will watch the Watchmen?

The literature is derived from a few cleverly instilled stylistic concepts. Overlaying a superhero's history against a fictional account within the fictional comic made double entendre sometimes triple. Using a similar concept overlaying a newspaperman's opinionated discussion against historical accounts of some of the superheroes' statements or histories also resounded in a great satyrical account for the ironic.

This is not about bullet-proof, heavy-fisted, cape-wearing, soberingly-too-good-to-be-true boyish men charming a metropolis. No, these are physically domineering people with incredibly frail psyches - one of which has snapped years ago and many others falling in line. These are not role models, they are admired people with emotions and consciences which should be disdained, not honored. That is why this is different. That is why this is a fun read. And, that is why this may be more for the adults and less for the children.

What more to say about this masterpiece?

It's fabulous, one of the greatest literature works ever, whatever the medium. This transcends comic book art form.

Each page is an adventure, an agony, an anguish, a joy of reading, a play of words, action, remorese, redemption, tragedy, victory, and sadness.

Moore and Gibbons made history here, that's it.

Maybe I got caught up in the hype of this graphic novel. After all, the cover notes that Time considers it one of the best 100 novels of the last "x" years. Well, after getting through this graphic novel I have to say that I've read at least 100 novels that were far better than "The Watchmen" so I think TIME Magazine book critics need to start reading better stuff off the bookshelves.

It's not a bad read, but it's a bit confusing and twisted and I began to grow tired of the various characters and their constant angst and anger and jealousy. The "Super Heroes" all have their own neuroses and as the novel ended I just didn't really care for any of the characters except for Dr Manhattan.

Anyway, it may be a bit overhyped. Maybe I expected more and was let down.