Watchmen by Alan Moore, Illustrated by Dave Gibbons

Watchmen by Alan Moore, Illustrated by Dave Gibbons

1986 DC Comics

This is the first time in a long time where I honestly can say that I do not know how I feel about a book. There was so much to like about the Watchmen that I almost forget about the things that I didn't like. Watchmen had the best illustrations. There was absolutely no ambiguity about the characters emotions and actions based on the artwork. That said, the story read like a soap opera and not the best. The story went around in circles and gathered characters like kids at a carnival.There were times I had to read and re-read the same pages to try to keep straight who was doing what and who was who.

WATCHMEN was really interesting to read. It is one of those books that is relevant to any time period but especially resonates with the political and social climate of right now. Who doesn't want to be a superhero and save people? It is an admirable profession. But who will monitor the superheros and who will keep them honest? The superheros in WATCHMEN, for the most part are real people who decided to be an aide to mankind. With the exception of Dr. Manhattan the Watchmen are ordinary humans who purposely develop into superheros. But they are still human with the same issues that ordinary human have to deal with, and some, in the case of Rorschach, with a few more issues than necessary. The question that WATCHMAN asks is what makes a person a superhero?

I think everyone wants to be a superhero as a child. We read about Superman and Spiderman and wish we had their powers. Would we still want to be a superhero if we had to spend hours in the gym, if we had to be a part of the humanity that we were charged with protecting? Based on the issues that rise in WATCHMEN I don't think that there would be so many children willing to put on a mask. How do you protect the world if you cannot even protect yourself? What do you do in the face of ever increasing violence?

WATCHMEN is not a feel good book. It does not leave you wanting "to be all you can be". If anything it left me a little wary. One person cannot save the world. A group of persons can try to make a change but in the end it does not really matter. Mankind is a violent race and superheros only seem to slow down our inevitable violent climax. But this book does make you think. It makes you contemplate the frailty of human life, the need for those that have peace as their goal and the power that power and responsibility have on our leaders.

SYNOPSIS:

It all begins with the paranoid delusions of a half-insane hero called Rorschach. But is Rorschach really insane or has he in fact uncovered a plot to murder super-heroes and, even worse, millions of innocent civilians? On the run from the law, Rorschach reunites with his former teammates in a desperate attempt to save the world and their lives, but what they uncover will shock them to their very core and change the face of the planet! Following two generations of masked superheroes from the close of World War II to the icy shadow of the Cold War comes this groundbreaking comic story -- the story of The Watchmen.

OTHER REVIEWS:
From Barnes & Noble
Alan Moore, the master storyteller behind V for Vendetta, and Dave Gibbons, a brilliant draftsman, have long been revered by comic book fans as the creators of Watchmen, a groundbreaking graphic novel that subverts the superhero genre as easily as a toddler upends a house of cards. Rather than focusing on superhuman abilities, Moore instead zeroes in on the humanity of his characters and leavens what is essentially a murder mystery with enough social commentary and political intrigue to fill a shelf of graphic novels several times over. Gibbons, too, in his detailed yet understated style, conveys a wealth of emotions that easily rival any Oscar-winning performance. Factoring in added treats like excerpts from Moore’s original working script (complete with highlighted notes), character studies, page thumbnails, and cover sketches taken directly from Gibbons’s sketchbook, this deluxe 20th anniversary edition is simply a must-have.
From the Publisher
It all begins with the paranoid delusions of a half-insane hero called Rorschach. But is Rorschach really insane or has he in fact uncovered a plot to murder super-heroes and, even worse, millions of innocent civilians? On the run from the law, Rorschach reunites with his former teammates in a desperate attempt to save the world and their lives, but what they uncover will shock them to their very core and change the face of the planet! Following two generations of masked superheroes from the close of World War II to the icy shadow of the Cold War comes this groundbreaking comic story -- the story of The Watchmen.