Watchmen
 | DC Comics, 1995, Paperback Customer Rating: 502 reviews Recommend |
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This Hugo Award-winning graphic novel chronicles the fall from grace of a group of super-heroes plagued by all-too-human failings. Along the way, the concept of the super-hero is dissected as the heroes are stalked by an unknown assassin.
One of the most influential graphic novels of all time and a perennial bestseller, WATCHMEN has been studied on college campuses across the nation and is considered a gateway title, leading readers to other graphic novels such as V FOR VENDETTA, BATMAN: THE DARK KNIGHT RETURNS and THE SANDMAN series.
Has any comic been as acclaimed as Alan Moore and Dave Gibbons' Watchmen? Possibly only Frank Miller's The Dark Knight Returns, but Watchmen remains the critics' favorite. Why? Because Moore is a better writer, and Watchmen a more complex and dark and literate creation than Miller's fantastic, subversive take on the Batman myth. Moore, renowned for many other of the genre's finest creations (Saga of the Swamp Thing, V for Vendetta, and From Hell, with Eddie Campbell) first put out Watchmen in 12 issues for DC in 1986-87. It won a comic award at the time (the 1987 Jack Kirby Comics Industry Awards for Best Writer/Artist combination) and has continued to gather praise since.
The story concerns a group called the Crimebusters and a plot to kill and discredit them. Moore's characterization is as sophisticated as any novel's. Importantly the costumes do not get in the way of the storytelling; rather they allow Moore to investigate issues of power and control — indeed it was Watchmen, and to a lesser extent Dark Knight, that propelled the comic genre forward, making "adult" comics a reality. The artwork of Gibbons (best known for 2000AD's Rogue Trooper and DC's Green Lantern) is very fine too, echoing Moore's paranoid mood perfectly throughout. Packed with symbolism, some of the overlying themes (arms control, nuclear threat, vigilantes) have dated but the intelligent social and political commentary, the structure of the story itself, its intertextuality (chapters appended with excerpts from other "works" and "studies" on Moore's characters, or with excerpts from another comic book being read by a child within the story), the finepace of the writing and its humanity mean that Watchmen more than stands up — it keeps its crown as the best the genre has yet produced. — Mark Thwaite
Title: Watchmen
Sales Rank: 10 in Books
Author: Alan Moore
Creator: Dave Gibbons
Publisher: DC Comics, 1995-04-01, Paperback, 416 pages, ISBN: 0930289234
Package Dimensions: 10.1 x 6.6 x 0.9 inches, 1.15 pounds
- The Hype Surpassed
- I, like many others, had no intention of seeking out or reading this book up until about 3 months ago. When the movie was announced and the trailer hit I was stoked. Picked up a copy of the Graphic Novel and drove right in.
This is really pretty heavy stuff; layered story telling, profound philosophical musings from some offbeat yet… More reviews
- Excellent read!
- The layers of storytelling make this book worth reading more than once. I really enjoyed this book in a way that I haven't enjoyed any others in a long time. … More reviews
- Read it through to the end before forming an opinion...
- I was excited about reading this novel because I'd heard such wonderful things about it. However, my enthusiasm waned as I began to feel it was needlessly graphic and gory without having a "point." I complained to a friend, who recommended I finish it despite my objections.
I'm so glad I did! Every bit of what I had complained about had a point in the overarching storyline, and… More reviews
- A Classic
- The Watchman has become a classic of the graphic novel genre, and rightfully so. Interesting setting, great plot, great story telling, great story. It's got it all. If you think you might like this book, then you will. More reviews
- Few comic books can claim to be Literature
- This is an excellent book, I encourage you to buy it today!
Most comic books are shallow, ridiculous stories with flat, uninteresting characters. The issues are painted in black and white and one side is explicitly presented as the side of absolute Good. The Watchmen is different. The story is multifaceted and the characters are much more complicated than they… More reviews
