Watchmen

This book is just all around amazing. It has so many real life issues that many people can relate to all tied to a plot taking place in 85 where Nixon is still president and the Russians are trying to invade its surrounding enemies. Not to mention the "Watchmen". Ordinary people dressing up in costumes to bash "evil". There is one super-hero in this book and it is by accident. If you love graphic novels or you are considering picking one up for the first time this one is a great start.
Not to mention they are making a movie based on the Watchmen that comes out 03/06/09. There are twists at every turn of the page and the writing is brilliant. The images are iconic for its time. Pick this up and delve right into Watchmen.

I have read folks ranging from Shusako Endo to Graham Greene, Tolstoy to Shakespeare, Dostoevsky to Palahniuk, Homer to Walker Percy. Alan Moore, I know, large grand sweeping claim coming, ranks up there with the best. Just because someone illustrates your words does not mean it is somehow beneath others. This is simply a classic piece of work that you need to read. Especially with the film coming out, and who knows how that will be, devour this book.

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. Amazon.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. Amazon 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.

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.

Reading Alan Moore's WATCHMEN has long been on my to-do list, but with the new movie coming out in a few months, I decided to finally get the book and educate myself on what is often called the greatest graphic novel ever.

The book takes place in an alternate reality in which masked crimefighters were a reality. The costumed heroes first appeared in the 1940s and a second generation showed up in the '60s. None of the heroes had "powers". That is, until Dr. Manhattan, a scientist transformed by radiation into a super-being, able to control atoms at will.

The story takes place in 1985. The Cold War is still casting its shadow over everyday life. With the aid of Dr. Manhattan the U.S. was able to win the conflict in Vietnam and Richard Nixon was able to extend his Presidency into the mid-1980s. Masked vigilantism has been outlawed by the government and the former crimefighters have adjusted to normal lives. But global events keep the people uneasy.

WATCHMEN is a mystery story. An ex-hero is murdered, but why? And by whom? As one crimefighter tries to find the answers, the plot thickens and a conspiracy unfolds. The story is presented in twelve chapters, each one bringing the world closer and closer to doomsday.

WATCHMEN is acclaimed for its complex character psychologies and its philosophical undertones. In fact, I first learned about this book from another book, SUPERHEROES AND PHILOSOPHY. In WATCHMEN, we see how the world might react to costumed vigilantes and we get to see how such heroes think. Why do they choose that life? What motivates them? How do they see the world and what would they do to save it? Do they have the right to do anything?

Dave Gibbons's art is very good, too. Many panels must be studied to find little details that add to the overall density of the story.

Great work though it is, WATCHMEN is not for kids. There's some subject matter that would not be suitable for children. Plus the complex story and philosophy of it all would likely go over their heads. This may be a comic book, but it's made for adults. Don't be fooled and get this for a kid. And don't be fooled and skip over this because you think it is for kids.