Watchmen by Alan Moore and Dave Gibbons
Mar. 10th, 2009 10:59 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
quippeThe Blurb On The Back:
There is no descriptive Blurb on the Back, instead we get the following quotes:
“A work of ruthless psychological realism. It’s a landmark in the graphic novel medium.”
- One of TIME MAGAZINE’S 100 Best English-language Novels since 1923.
“Watchmen is peerless.”
- Rolling Stone
“Remarkable ... the would-be heroes of Watchmen have staggeringly complex psychological profiles.”
- New York Times Book Review
“A brilliant piece of fiction.”
- The Village Voice
“Groundbreaking ...”
- USA Today
“A masterwork representing the apex of artistry ...”
- Entertainment Weekly
“The greatest piece of popular fiction ever produced.”
- Lost co-creator Damon Lindelof
One of the most respected works in the graphic novel genre, WATCHMEN, is set in an alternative 1985 where ordinary men and women developed a taste for putting on costumes and turning vigilante, the USA won the war in Vietnam and Nixon is still President.
The Watchmen were a group of vigilantes who disbanded shortly after an Act was passed making them illegal. Most of the group retired – some, like Ozymandias, went public with their identities, others, like Nite Owl II, just quietly disappeared. The brutal Comedian went to work for the government, as did Dr Manhattan – the only member of the group with superhuman abilities after a nuclear experiment went wrong. Rorschach kept going despite the Act, his actions making him feared within the criminal underworld, and it is he who drives this novel forward when he begins investigating who killed the Comedian by pushing him out of a high-rise building – and why they did it. Rorschach’s investigation causes him to seek out his former colleagues as he becomes concerned that someone is deliberately hunting them down. Through him, each vigilante’s backstory is slowly revealed, their fractured psyches, flaws and fears all gradually unravelled for the reader.
Despite the murder mystery at the heart of the story, this is really a character piece as Moore investigates what drives people to put on costumes and try to fight crime. Some of the characters are more fascinating than others – Rorschach, the Comedian and Dr Manhattan were the real standouts for me. Each is psychologically bruised in their own way and each battling to either rediscover or push away their humanity. Particularly poignant is Dr Manhattan’s story, with Moore and Gibbons doing excellent work in showing how his intellectual strength has come at the expense of his ability to emotionally connect with Laurie Jupiter.
Perhaps surprisingly, there are a number of ‘pure text’ sections in the book, written in a variety of styles – from Hollis Mason’s recollections of being the original NIte Owl and member of the Minute Men, to interviews with Sally Jupiter (the original Silk Spectre) and Adrian Veidt (Ozymandias). I could have done without the Dan Dreiberg section, but the Hollis Mason sections are told with flair and emotional realism.
The story is really a product of its time and the twist ending felt a little too strained. However, Moore doesn’t pull his punches and the emotional resolution stays with you – particularly what happens to Rorschach and Dr Manhattan.
The Verdict:
It’s a really good read and a surprisingly complex character study that is on the whole satisfying. If parts of the plot strain too hard, then you can’t fault Moore and Gibbons’ ambition. Definitely work a look for anyone who has never read a graphic novel before.
There is no descriptive Blurb on the Back, instead we get the following quotes:
- One of TIME MAGAZINE’S 100 Best English-language Novels since 1923.
“Watchmen is peerless.”
- Rolling Stone
“Remarkable ... the would-be heroes of Watchmen have staggeringly complex psychological profiles.”
- New York Times Book Review
“A brilliant piece of fiction.”
- The Village Voice
“Groundbreaking ...”
- USA Today
“A masterwork representing the apex of artistry ...”
- Entertainment Weekly
“The greatest piece of popular fiction ever produced.”
- Lost co-creator Damon Lindelof
One of the most respected works in the graphic novel genre, WATCHMEN, is set in an alternative 1985 where ordinary men and women developed a taste for putting on costumes and turning vigilante, the USA won the war in Vietnam and Nixon is still President.
The Watchmen were a group of vigilantes who disbanded shortly after an Act was passed making them illegal. Most of the group retired – some, like Ozymandias, went public with their identities, others, like Nite Owl II, just quietly disappeared. The brutal Comedian went to work for the government, as did Dr Manhattan – the only member of the group with superhuman abilities after a nuclear experiment went wrong. Rorschach kept going despite the Act, his actions making him feared within the criminal underworld, and it is he who drives this novel forward when he begins investigating who killed the Comedian by pushing him out of a high-rise building – and why they did it. Rorschach’s investigation causes him to seek out his former colleagues as he becomes concerned that someone is deliberately hunting them down. Through him, each vigilante’s backstory is slowly revealed, their fractured psyches, flaws and fears all gradually unravelled for the reader.
Despite the murder mystery at the heart of the story, this is really a character piece as Moore investigates what drives people to put on costumes and try to fight crime. Some of the characters are more fascinating than others – Rorschach, the Comedian and Dr Manhattan were the real standouts for me. Each is psychologically bruised in their own way and each battling to either rediscover or push away their humanity. Particularly poignant is Dr Manhattan’s story, with Moore and Gibbons doing excellent work in showing how his intellectual strength has come at the expense of his ability to emotionally connect with Laurie Jupiter.
Perhaps surprisingly, there are a number of ‘pure text’ sections in the book, written in a variety of styles – from Hollis Mason’s recollections of being the original NIte Owl and member of the Minute Men, to interviews with Sally Jupiter (the original Silk Spectre) and Adrian Veidt (Ozymandias). I could have done without the Dan Dreiberg section, but the Hollis Mason sections are told with flair and emotional realism.
The story is really a product of its time and the twist ending felt a little too strained. However, Moore doesn’t pull his punches and the emotional resolution stays with you – particularly what happens to Rorschach and Dr Manhattan.
The Verdict:
It’s a really good read and a surprisingly complex character study that is on the whole satisfying. If parts of the plot strain too hard, then you can’t fault Moore and Gibbons’ ambition. Definitely work a look for anyone who has never read a graphic novel before.
