Watchmen

by Alan Moore

Dave Gibbons (Illustrator)

"Watchmen" redefined superhero conventions and re-introduced comics to an adult audience with a gripping, labyrinthine piece of comic art. Rorschach, a half-psychotic vigilante must convince his ex team-mates, now middle-aged and retired, that he has uncovered a plot to murder the remaining superheroes - along with millions of innocent civilians...Even reunited, will the remnants of the 'Watchmen' be enough to avert a global apocalypse? With a powerful storyline masterfully told by comics supremo Alan Moore and beautifully rendered artwork by the talented Dave Gibbons - this is the one that started the graphic novel revolution and is definitely not one to miss!

• ISBN10: 0606357424
• ISBN13: 9780606357425
• Publish Date: 13 May 2014 (first published 1 October 1987)
• Publish Status: Out of Print
• Out of Print: 14 April 2021
• Imprint: Turtleback Books
• Edition: Bound for Schools & Libraries ed.
• Format: Hardcover (Library Binding)
• Pages: 448
• Language: English

Reviews

[thepunktheory]

Full book vs. movie and TV show reviews on my blog!

The aesthetics are beautiful and the colors hypnotizing. Honestly, I could have spent hours flicking through the pages and enjoying the artworks. It's worth picking up the graphic novel for that alone.
Looks aside, the story is hands down amazing. It could scarcely put the thing down, I was so entranced and wanted to find out more. This alternate universe is fascinating and (dancing around spoilers here) the entire premise is a unique take.

[inlibrisveritas]

I get it's significance and whole 'point' of the story...I just had a hell of time trying to get through it.

[adastra]

The wealth of this book is incredible. Forget the film. Read it.

[leahrosereads]

"The horror of this: in the end, it is simply a picture of empty meaningless blackness. We are alone. There is nothing else."

The first graphic novel I ever read was Jhonen Vasquez’s JTHM: Director’s Cut in high school, and I fell in love with Johnny as an anti-hero, and anti-heros in general. There’s something about the imperfections of these types of characters that make me enjoy the story completely.

That’s why I believe I enjoyed reading Watchmen so thoroughly. The characters, all of them, were so well developed, their stories so interesting, that I couldn’t put this graphic novel down. My absolute favorite story was Dr. Manhattan's. It was written very well, and I was able to see the depth of his character throughout his history and later on in the novel, as he became less and less human.

Other than Dr. Manhattan, none of the other masked heroes have super powers, but they all did what they could to help during a time when they were needed. And they were all, so very, very broken. None of the masked characters in Watchmen could ever be seen as fulfilled human beings, especially while they’re fighting crimes and the depravity of society.

The artwork of Watchmen was phenomenal, and after reading pages, I would take the time to relook at all of the art in this book.

And the storytelling, my was it completely captivating! I really could NOT put this graphic novel down, and when I finished it, it definitely made me want to see the movie and see how it compares to this.

Definitely looking forward to reading more graphic novels and comics in the near future.

Wheoever ranked this in the top 100 books of all time is right on. One of the best books, not to mention graphic novels, I've ever read. Very powerful.

[ibeforem]

This book has been on my to-read list since the movie came out (though I still haven’t watched the movie). Overall I enjoyed it, with a caveat or two.

The art style is very traditional, which I appreciated. It did take some mental work for me to solidify myself in the correct time period, especially when so much is referenced back in the 60s. Actually, it was the back story that interested me the most – I enjoyed reading about how each superhero got to where he (or she) was. In fact, I liked those parts of the books much more than the overall plot. The main conflict in the book got a little too big for its britches, and ultimately didn’t hold together for me. By the time I got to the final resolution, I was just ready to be done.

Each graphic chapter of the novel is followed by something else – like a chapter from another book, a medical report, or a magazine article – that I guess is supposed to provide us with further back story. I liked these pieces at first, but after a while I realized that a good number of them didn’t do anything other than fill space. I outright skipped at least a couple.

When it comes down to it, I’m glad I read it, but more because of its place in history than anything else.

[wyvernfriend]

A very cynical look at superheroes and what it means to be a superhero. Rorschach is the lynchpin of the story, a pretty repellent man who insists on answers to his questions and hunts for answers in a world where superheroes exist and where this brings out subtle changes.

Yes, it's a bit dated with the mentions of cold war and Russian threats but overall it does ask the important question of who sets people up with power and who watches the watchers. Perhaps an incredibly important question in this day of increased surveliance.

It's not quite me, though, it just isn't really my kind of book.

[Michael @ Knowledge Lost]

The only graphic novel to make the 1001 books to read before you die list, the Watchmen is a reprinted of all the series and put into a collected graphic novel. Moore used the story as a means to reflect contemporary anxieties and to critique the superhero concept and he did this extremely well. Watchmen is a superhero story like no other. Watchmen takes place on an alternate history Earth where superheroes emerged in the 1940s and 1960s, helping the United States to win the Vietnam War. The country is edging closer to a nuclear war with the Soviet Union, freelance costumed vigilantes have been outlawed and most costumed superheroes are in retirement or working for the government. The story focuses on the personal development and struggles of the protagonists as an investigation into the murder of a government sponsored superhero pulls them out of retirement.