Author: Alan Moore and Dave Gibbons
Copyright Date: 1995
My Rating: 4.5 out of 5 stars (Excellent)
Back Cover Description
The edition of Watchmen I read did not have a true back-cover description, so I am referencing the overview from Barnes and Noble (linked in the title section)
It all begins with the paranoid delusions of a half-insane hero called Rorschach. But is Rorschach really insane or has he in fact uncovered a plot to murder superheroes and, even worse, millions of innocent civilians? On the run from the law, Rorschach reunites with his former teammates in a desperate attempt to save the world and their lives, but what they uncover will shock them to their very core and change the face of the planet! Following two generations of masked superheroes from the close of World War II to the icy shadow of the Cold War comes this groundbreaking comic story -- the story of The Watchmen.
Who watches the Watchmen. Someone does. Someone who's trying to kill them all, one by one. Time's running out for the Watchmen... .
My Thoughts
This is the second graphic novel I've read and I have to say that the genre is really growing on me. I am just dipping my toes into comics for now but I'm quickly learning that everything is not all superheros and bad guys in the land of the colorful page.
While Watchmen is a traditional comic in that the main characters are masked vigilantes working for justice where the law cannot, it provides a couple of interesting twists.
First, there isn't an obvious super-villain. There is an ever escalating cold war between the US and the Soviet Union. The Watchmen, being simply normal people with good intentions, can't help to alleviate the tension in anyway; they are useless now. Their services just aren't needed or wanted anymore and the glory days are long gone. So when someone starts picking off Watchmen, it falls on deaf ears.
Second, the only true superhero, "Dr Manhattan", is completely agnostic to the human race. He ignores them for the most part so that he can focus his time and energy studying the secrets of the universe. This is in contrast to most superhero comics which use their powers to right all of the wrongs in the world to make it a better place. The government does say, "The superman exists, and he's American" , but they really don't have any control of him. Even if this ownership is in name only the Soviets don't know that and it is the only reason the cold war hasn't boiled over.
Watchmen was the only graphic novel on the Times Magazine top one hundred novels of the twentieth century and I can see why after reading it. The story line is layered and deep. It weaves the original Watchmen of the forties with the next generation of masked heroes brilliantly. The non-hero characters are deep and complex, each one bringing an added dimension to the tense world around them. The story really makes you think about what you've read and I found myself wondering what I would do in some of these situations.
I would definitely recommend Watchmen to anyone who wants a dark, action-filled, thought-provoking read with memorable characters and an unbelievable ending.
One last thing before I go, I watched the Watchmen movie after I read the graphic novel and I thought it was good. It was very true to the comic, but it obviously had to leave out several of the subplots. The ending was changed dramatically from novel, so if you've liked the movie, but haven't read the book yet, pick it up and give it a read. You won't be disappointed.
