WATCHMEN
Hey my first LJ review!
So I read the Watchmen graphic novel that a friend gave me. Excellent story... something completely different compared to the comics I was reading in the early 80s which was mostly DC comics. It synthesized the cold war fears of the 50s, 60s and 70s with superhero comics in a way that probably resonated with the readers of the 80s. But this being 2008... I also felt that the story was invalidated by the historic events since the story was first published. The Berlin Wall fell, Soviet Union fell, the nuclear countdown has been turned back. Some of the impetus behind certain character's motivations just didn't seem as palatable. The storytelling is great unto itself. As an alternate history it works really well, logical extrapolations of what could have been. The most intriguing part are the characters, the various masked adventurers. We only get a glimpse of their stories, of whats happened over the years in their careers.
So I read the Watchmen graphic novel that a friend gave me. Excellent story... something completely different compared to the comics I was reading in the early 80s which was mostly DC comics. It synthesized the cold war fears of the 50s, 60s and 70s with superhero comics in a way that probably resonated with the readers of the 80s. But this being 2008... I also felt that the story was invalidated by the historic events since the story was first published. The Berlin Wall fell, Soviet Union fell, the nuclear countdown has been turned back. Some of the impetus behind certain character's motivations just didn't seem as palatable. The storytelling is great unto itself. As an alternate history it works really well, logical extrapolations of what could have been. The most intriguing part are the characters, the various masked adventurers. We only get a glimpse of their stories, of whats happened over the years in their careers.