Moore, Alan: The Watchmen
The Watchmen (Absolute Edition)
Writer: Alan Moore
Illustrator: Dave Gibbons
Genre: Comics/Graphic Novel
Issues: 12
Publisher: DC Comics
When Greg and I first started dating, he took it upon himself to educate me in the ways of the comic book industry. If anything, my education has consisted of nearly weekly trips to the comic book shop, movies, and the select titles Greg has made me read. Nowadays, I actually pick out some titles for myself.
The Watchmen was one of those books Greg's always wanted me to read. I probably should've read it ten years ago when I tackled Marvels, Uncle Sam, Superman For All Seasons, and The Long Halloween, but for whatever reason, I didn't.
What prompted my interest should be obvious. Like everyone who saw The Dark Knight in theatres, I was treated to the trailer for The Watchman. Visually, it looked well-done, but as far as story went, I couldn't make any sense of it. Greg was a complete fanboy over the whole thing: he's already excited, and he's re-read graphic novel over again. He exclamining, "Doesn't it look awesome?"
I just shrugged, shook my head and said, "I'm gonna have to read the book first."
Now that I have, I'm excited.
The premise: the murder of the super-hero known as the Comedian has the police not caring, but a former associate curious. Rorschach believes that someone is out to eliminate the super-heroes from the world, and the consequences could mean World War III. Set in an alternate 1985 universe in which Nixon is in his fifth term as president, the super-heroes of this story are all too human with all too human powers, save for one, who's basically a walking atomic bomb.
Spoilers ahead (duh).
It's still very, very hard for me to review comic books/graphic novels. While there's still story, character, plot, and all that jazz, it's still a very different medium. I see the setting rather than visualize it. My distance to the characters is rather fixed, and no matter how well drawn (literally and figuratively), I can't get completely inside their heads. My tools that I use to review and analyze a work of fiction aren't completely useless in this medium, I know, but sometimes, it feels like they are.
I had to take my time with this book. Mostly because Greg would've killed me otherwise, but while the art is very clear, this is the kind of book you read at your own pace. You take the time to really examine the panels, the art, and the action, and more often than not, I found myself flipping back to earlier pages just to look at the art. Rorschach's mask, for example. It took me a while to realize that the pattern kept changing, and once I did, I had a lot of fun flipping through the pages just to see the different patterns. In fact, as far as art goes, I think the only REAL confusion I had was with the Eddie Blake, aka Comedian, because he'd been a part of two groups, and therefore, had two costumes, and while I kept telling myself it was the same guy, some part of my brain refused to believe it.
One of the things I found really enjoyable about this title was the fact that everything I needed to know about these characters and this world was found between my hardcover pages. There was no series preceding this story, nor have there been any follow-ups or spin-offs. All self-contained, and that's a rare thing, when it comes to comics, particularly super-heroes. That alone has my admiration. As Greg promised, Moore had the liberty to do whatever the hell he wanted with these guys and gals, and did it he did.
Despite my complaint that I couldn't get INTO the characters' heads the way I'm used to doing with fiction, Moore and Gibbons do a great job of SHOWING the reader what's happening. Each character is an individual, and each character is clearly conflicted, save for the Comedian, at least up until the end. I really appreciated the complexity of Sally Jupiter, especially her feelings for Eddie Blake, who had almost raped her when they were both part of a super-hero crime force. Then Laurie, whose hate for the Comedian is so strong until she learns that not everything is black and white, and she's forced to see the man in a new light. The tender hesitation of Nite Owl, and the enigmatic glee of Rorschach, who I think was my absolute favorite. That he was the man carrying around "The End is Near" sign for the first part of the book was an awesome surprise.
The book's incredibly layered as well: culture, history, politics. So much is dealt with in a subtle fashion. Even the pirate side-story said so much: some parallels were obvious, but others were far more subtle. The way the book ties in together at the end is a touch of genius, and I like how despite everything, Rorschach has his chance to finally be heard.
Not to say there weren't parts that frustrated me. I'd hoped for a narrative really explaining the whole anti-super-hero sentiment and the act forbidding costumed crime-fighters. Maybe the explanation is obvious, but I still wished to see it in the context of THIS world. And the pirate story, for all its parallels, annoyed me. I knew the end result long before it happened, so there was no tension there, and like I said, most of the parallels were pretty darn obvious, and really didn't add TOO much to the story, though I think it depends on the reader. It'll mean more to some than others, and it'll mean more depending on how often you've re-read the book.
My Rating
Must Have: in fact, I'll go one step further. If you're interested in seeing this as a film, take the time to read the graphic novel first. Normally, I'm pretty ambivalent about this sort of thing, but this is a comic worth the time spent between the pages, and however the movie turns out, at least you'll have this masterpiece under your belt.
That reminds me, I want to re-watch the trailer now that I've read the book. *scampers off*
Next up:
Book: The Underneath by Kathi Appelt
Graphic Novel: The Punisher: Welcome Back, Frank by Garth Ennis