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Watchmen

(Watchmen #1-12)

Alan Moore (Goodreads Author),

Dave Gibbons (Illustrator/Letterer),

John Higgins (Colorist)

4.36 · Rating details · 488,737 ratings · 14,235 reviews

This Hugo Award-winning graphic novel chronicles the fall from grace of a group of super-heroes plagued by all-too-human failings. Along the way, the concept of the super-hero is dissected as the heroes are stalked by an unknown assassin.

One of the most influential graphic novels of all time and a perennial best-seller, Watchmen has been studied on college campuses across ...more

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Paperback, 416 pages

Published 2005 by DC Comics (first published September 8th 1987)

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Average rating 4.36 ·

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· 488,737 ratings · 14,235 reviews

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May 13, 2007 J.G. Keely rated it it was amazing

Shelves: comics, science-fiction, reviewed, capes

Since the movie came out, I've found myself having to explain why Watchmen is important and interesting. Despite being the most revered comic book of all time, it never really entered the mainstream until the film. Now, people are rushing to read it in droves, but approaching Watchmen without an understanding of its history and influences means missing most of what makes it truly special.

The entire work is an exploration of the history and purpose of the superhero genre: how readers connect to i ...more

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May 30, 2011 Mark Lawrence rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

I didn't read this until last year. I saw the film about six months later. I'm a new convert still radiant with that 'just converted' glow.

Along with the Sandman graphic novels this is my favourite work in the medium (Zenith and Preacher get honourable mentions). Watchmen wins over all of the other candidates in ambition. This is a work of vast ambition. It doesn't deliver on every level, it isn't perfect, but it contains so much that succeeds, and comes so close to fulfilling its promises that I didn't read this until last year. I saw the film about six months later. I'm a new convert still radiant with that 'just converted' glow.

Along with the Sandman graphic novels this is my favourite work in the medium (Zenith and Preacher get honourable mentions). Watchmen wins over all of the other candidates in ambition. This is a work of vast ambition. It doesn't deliver on every level, it isn't perfect, but it contains so much that succeeds, and comes so close to fulfilling its promises that it would be churlish to mention any failings.

Alan Moore is a great writer. He's not a great writer for comics, he's a great writer period, who happens to have made the graphic novel his medium. Watchmen is at times literary, funny, erudite, tragic, exciting, intriguing... it's written for intelligent grown-up readers. This is a deconstruction of the superhero, an examination of the overlap between man and Superman, a recognition that we're none of us capable of handling the responsibility that comes hand in hand with power, and that talent, or strength, whether human or superhuman do not somehow erase or overcome the moral and mental frailties that are a part of the human condition.

The plot sprawls, it's convoluted, it spans generations and a large cast. What keeps it together are the deeply personal stories on various scales. Its scope was what kept it from the big screen for so long, and in truth the movie (whilst good fun and well done, I thought) is just a 2D projection of this complex multi-dimensional work. That same complexity is stopping me from doing it justice in this short review. Rather than try I'm just going to back off the grandiose praise and return to the punchline:

This is a fun read. It's exciting. The artwork ROCKS. It's as deep as that hole Alice fell down, but you never notice you're falling. Pick it up. Read it with pride. If someone sneers at you for reading a comic-book... hit them with it. It's nice and fat!

Join my 3-emails-a-year newsletter #prizes

...... ...more

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Aug 01, 2013 Jayson rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: author-british, genre-alternate-history, genre-science-fiction, format-comic-book, era-cold-war, comic-book-limited-series, 400-499-pp, read-in-2009, genre-superhero, genre-team

(A) 88% | Extraordinary
Notes: Constantly captured by its brilliance, it's a comic book chef-d'œuvre, with meaty text and a complex, layered storyline.

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Oct 07, 2015 Sean Barrs rated it it was amazing

Shelves: 5-star-reads, comic-graphic-novel

Morality is a fickle bitch.

This is, simply put, iconic. When any one mentions comics/graphic novels the first thought that enters is an image of the Watchmen. I think there is a strong reason for it. It made me question morality on a scale rarely seen in fiction. Indeed, when considering the characters it is incredibly hard to consider any of them truly good or truly bad. They are simply people who are convinced that they are right.

Take Rorschach, he follows the law to the very letter, but nev ...more

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Jan 03, 2009 Anne rated it it was ok · review of another edition

Shelves: graphic-novels, read-in-2009, hoopla, coronavirus-read, classics, read-in-2020, i-feel-a-need-a-need-to-re-read, superheroes

2020 Coronavirus Review

I originally thought that Watchmen didn't initially impress me because it was the first graphic novel I'd read as an adult. Maybe I didn't have enough experience with all the actual garbage out there and couldn't yet appreciate Moore's genius.
Now, after slogging through his masterpiece with more than a few comics under my belt, I feel confident when I say that I don't like this all that much. The art is horrible and almost every panel is crammed with words. Most of them me ...more

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Mar 16, 2009 Will Byrnes rated it it was amazing

Shelves: all-time-favorites-fiction

I reread this in anticipation of seeing the film in 2009.

description

Rorschach

Watchmen is one of the all-time great graphic novels. Someone is killing the costumed adventurers and the very dark Rorschach, our guiding Virgil into this Inferno, is trying to get to the bottom of it. Watchmen deals in multiple time lines, from the early days of the 40’s 50’s and 60’s when the superheroes were welcomed and appreciated, to the 70’s when laws were passed to limit their legitimacy, to the current day, the 80’s he ...more

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Aug 11, 2008 Schmacko rated it it was ok

I can understand why this is considered a holy tome in the field of graphic novels. The plot is complex, it’s unique, and it’s well drawn. Also, it’s got the Holy Grail of every geeky comic book fan's wetdreams – lots of cool gadgets and stuff.

I ain’t knocking that. Imagination abounds, and I am thoroughly impressed. I love that comic books and graphic novels create their entire world – but – BUT then again every piece of art creates it’s own world. And ALL OF THOSE OTHER ARTS MAKE EMOTIONALLY E I can understand why this is considered a holy tome in the field of graphic novels. The plot is complex, it’s unique, and it’s well drawn. Also, it’s got the Holy Grail of every geeky comic book fan's wetdreams – lots of cool gadgets and stuff.

I ain’t knocking that. Imagination abounds, and I am thoroughly impressed. I love that comic books and graphic novels create their entire world – but – BUT then again every piece of art creates it’s own world. And ALL OF THOSE OTHER ARTS MAKE EMOTIONALLY ENGAGING STORIES!

I get frustrated because my graphic-novel friends keep foisting these things on me. They love me, they see me as very imaginative and very supportive of their creativity, but they cannot seem to get why I go cold at graphic novels.

This one was thrust upon me, because I was affected by the movie The Dark Knight. I got emotionally engaged. I felt hopeless with Batman. I got a knot in my stomach when that horrible, unspeakable thing happened two-thirds of the way through the film. I was troubled by Joker’s logic, and I was frustrated with the people in the ferries. In other words, I WAS EMOTIONALLY ENGAGED!

A lot of these graphic novels and stuff seem to think that if they simply tickle your creative brain, they’ve succeeded. I want more – I want to laugh and cry and cheer and feel despair. I want a core of true human story. Gadgets and colors and costumes and superpowers don't make me weep or shout or ponder or giggle or sigh. Well, they make me sigh - with frustrationa nd boredom.

I know I sound angry at these things. I get frustrated, because I don’t think this is so hard to understand that I need emotional stimulation. And yet, my graphic-novel friends still press these books in my hand, hoping to unlock my wonder and amazement.

I was full of wonder and amazement at The Adventures of Kavalier & Clay, a novel about a superhero and the super-human who spawned him. I am not above the magical, mystical, and fantastic (I love Harry Potter), but there has to be more than just gadgetry and explosions. There has to be honesty and the courage to plumb the human experience. I felt terribly at Kavalier’s struggles with violence and anti-Semitism in Eastern Europe. Sam Clay’s secrets were heart-breaking. Kavalier’s search for revenge and Sam’s search for respect were emotionally engaging. In Harry Potter, I rallied behind Mrs. Weasley's maternal drive. I loved Harry's indignance at cruelty. I thought Hermione's concern for elves was sweet, and complicated (who know they wanted to be slaves). Chabon succeeded at making me feel, and so did Rowling. Watchmen did not.

Watchmen is about two generations of heroes. One was human – using costumes, strength, and cunning. The next was led bys a superhuman, Dr. Manhattan – they were both human and somewhat superhuman. Then a law was passed making their work illegal, and they went underground. It’s only when someone starts bumping off the old retired heroes that a mystery starts, a mystery that asks the esoteric and totally intellectual (read: unemotional) question of why humans can be drawn to the edge of doom, and what they need to do to stop just at the edge.

Oh - for the people who know and love Watchmen - I felt bad for how Dr. Manhattan couldn’t have a human relationship. And I understood why Laurie got infuriated. The thrill of Laurie and Dan becoming superheroes again was honest and wonderful. But that was it – I didn’t feel the panic of the world ending (mostly because if it did happen, there’d be no story). I didn’t care for the casual use of rape as a plot point. None of the long-winded, theoretical discussion about whether humanity was worth saving had any emotional pull to me. I didn’t care. In all 413 pages, I had four honest emotional reactions. One of my reactions was anger at the tangential pirate story (don’t ask – it doesn’t have any emotional or thematic reason for being there – it was just added because someone thought it was cool).

Cool. There’s the problem. Cool things don’t make me feel. People can imagine and draw all the cool things in the world, and it won’t make me emotional engage. Cool things don’t make my heart race or break or pause. They leave me cold. Graphic novels are mostly cool.
...more

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Jul 23, 2008 Nicole Prestin rated it did not like it

Shelves: graphic-novels

I realize that what I'm about to say is as close as you can get to comic book blasphemy, but I think that 1) Alan Moore is the most overrated comic book writer ever and 2) this graphic novel is overblown, pretentious and most unforgivable of all, boring.

To be fair, I'm somewhat of a snob when it comes to my reading habits. First and foremost, I want to be entertained. If the story happens to be deep, thought provoking or groundbreaking as well, that's icing on the cake. And the bottom line is th ...more

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Jul 30, 2008 Fabian rated it really liked it

Recommends it for: People turned off by graphic novels but with an open mind

Recommended to Fabian by: M. M.

Not a fan of the graphic novel but this epic actually moved me. It tells of the human drama, the DNA that is passed down generations, the hopelessness of modernity, and which side we'll choose when the apocalypse is neigh. It is pessimistic, dark, & sometimes silly (as a staple of the genre... it wouldn't be a success if it wasn't SOMEHOW ridiculous).

"The Incredibles" (Best Pixar picture Ever) touched upon many of the themes presented here, mainly about the humanity of "Superheroes." Can a rapis ...more

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Feb 07, 2009 Felicia rated it it was amazing

Shelves: faves, graphic-novels

Hmm, what to say. I read this AFTER I saw the movie, which was sacrilege according to some fellow geeks on Twitter, but my definition of "Geek" is someone who doesn't do what people PRESSURE them to do :P They love what they love. So anyhoo I read this and I can summarize this way:

The Movie did a great summary of the plot while formulating a story that missed the subtext of the graphic novel entirely.

I enjoyed both, but after reading the graphic novel, it's almost sad how the impression you tak ...more

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Dec 17, 2017 Always Pouting rated it it was amazing

So I've been super busy trying to figure out my life now that I've graduated and it's terrible and I've literally read nothing in weeks but I actually ended up taking a day to read this because someone lent it to me. My boyfriend was saying that it was ridiculous that I hadn't read this yet and insisted I finish and even though now I'm like behind on this online class that I've been taking it was totally worth it. Usually I write like some kind of synopsis but not sure how to go about that here. So I've been super busy trying to figure out my life now that I've graduated and it's terrible and I've literally read nothing in weeks but I actually ended up taking a day to read this because someone lent it to me. My boyfriend was saying that it was ridiculous that I hadn't read this yet and insisted I finish and even though now I'm like behind on this online class that I've been taking it was totally worth it. Usually I write like some kind of synopsis but not sure how to go about that here. I would rather just say how I felt and babble about how good this ended up being so instead of like trying to summarize I'm just going to go through it which for anyone who tries to avoid spoilers means you should probably stop reading from here.

Anyway I really did like the artwork for this and I'm not an avid reader of graphic novels though so that might not really mean much as an opinion. What was really good was the writing though and the way things all came together through the story, like the research center featured near the news stand coming back to being important to the climax. The writing was really good and I just really loved the depressing gloomy tone of things. Especially that second comic in the comic with the pirates. Oh man when that dude goes home and thinks he's killing the pirates but it's his wife like damn, I saw it coming but it was still so heavy. Also the way everything in the comic book unfolded so that it was foreshadowing as well as highlighting the main plot line a well.

And aw man why is Rorschach's life so terrible, just seeing his childhood made me upset, and when he goes back to the apartment and is about to say something to the landlady and see's her kids oh jesus I was just like WHY. Him in general though, even though he's abrasive as a person he's such a great character, like in jail he tells the other prisoner, "i'm not locked in here with you, you're locked in here with me" that made me freak out. I was pretty upset that Dr.Manhattan fried him there at the end. Speaking of which the whole ending makes me so angry, because like why does one person get to decide unilaterally what to do. I get that things were spiraling out of control but I still don't believe that the answer was to kill millions of people and pin it on aliens, and I sure as hell don't see why the whole world shouldn't know what happen. It doesn't mean that things would go back to devolving, if anything hatred can be just as uniting and I'm sure everyone's anger could have come in between the impending war.

I know at the end his journal is there and they might find it but I just find it highly unsatisfactory that it hinges on something so uncertain. I don't think anyone should have all the say on how things progress, no matter how intelligent. And also for someone who is supposed to be the most intelligent man on earth his morality is pretty childish as well as his idolization of people like Alexander the great. Also last comment, the whole handling of the rape situation between Sally Jupiter and Eddie was really interesting I thought. Relationships do tend to be much less clear cut and dry in real life and it was nice seeing that unfold in the story. It kind of made me think of how people can have a hard time understanding rape in a consensual relationship like a marriage but how context can really change things and how things aren't always as clear cut as being wrong and right necessarily for the person who is raped.

Anyway definitely one of the best things I've read regardless of how angry I am about how things end. ...more

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Mar 24, 2014 Shelby *trains flying monkeys* rated it did not like it

Shelves: boring-as-hell, comix-graphix, dnf, liburry-book, read-2014

What's this? Unpopular opinion time?

Most of my friends and most of Goodreads love this book. I did not. I read for pleasure. I don't care if reading makes me smart. I don't care if reading makes me pretty. I just want that escape into other worlds.
If I went to this world-I would die from boredom.

I actually like the darker books so I thought this one would sweep me up into the fandom of it. But, alas, it just made me sleep quite well last night.
I didn't even know there was a movie ma ...more

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Jan 14, 2018 Lyn rated it it was amazing

Brilliant.

A clever joke, wound up inside a parody, and all surrounded and blanketed by a cool story.

Three cheers for Alan Moore and Dave Gibbons for this deservedly popular and critically acclaimed, genre defining, wildly influential graphic novel. First published in 1987, this has come to be a benchmark of what kind of powerful fiction can be accomplished in this medium.

Describing an alternate history where Richard Nixon has been president for multiple terms, the United States won the Vietnam W Brilliant.

A clever joke, wound up inside a parody, and all surrounded and blanketed by a cool story.

Three cheers for Alan Moore and Dave Gibbons for this deservedly popular and critically acclaimed, genre defining, wildly influential graphic novel. First published in 1987, this has come to be a benchmark of what kind of powerful fiction can be accomplished in this medium.

Describing an alternate history where Richard Nixon has been president for multiple terms, the United States won the Vietnam War, and superheroes guard the streets and watch over us against the bad guys.

But who watches the watchmen?

The original heroes are all retired or dead and the second generation are banned, but then one of the originals is murdered and we are drawn into a world turned upside down and where the feelings and motivations of our heroes are explored and dissected.

Like Gore Vidal, and obliquely like Kurt Vonnegut, Moore also explores our need for superheroes. Vidal talked about how Hollywood creates for us a new mythology, wherein our psychological needs for heroics are formalized and produced. Here, by creating a new group of heroes in an alternate universe, Moore describes for us, and defines for us in the periphery, how we need heroes as myth. The various characters and personages are drawn and captured and put together from an amalgam of classic detectives and heroes. Just as in any pantheon of ethnic deities, here does Moore enact for us, in none too subtle form, how we have gods amongst us and they are of our creating. Like the gods of Egypt and of the Norse, Greek, etc etc we as a modern culture have drawn for ourselves heroes to incorporate and define what we want. There are super strong heroes, geniuses, fighters, those who take the battle to the bad guys and win.

Moore and Gibbons not only tell a cool story on the surface but also mix in enough pop culture and historical / literary references to make this a Find Waldo of hidden meanings and allusions. I’ll need to revisit this again and again (and see the film) to truly appreciate their great work.

Highly recommended.

description

...more

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Mar 04, 2009 karen rated it really liked it

Shelves: youre-a-graphic-novel, dysto-teque

wow, i thought i had written a proper review for this, but it seems that ten years ago i was as bad at writing reviews as i am now, on the other side of the peak, where i am washed-up and bedraggled and very far behind in my reviewing-stack. ):

ANYWAY, i just came on here to check my review, because i am finally getting around to watching the HBO series, and that show is making it REALLY DIFFICULT to maintain my longstanding rorschach-crush, sustained by both the book and the movie, but i am now ...more

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Jun 26, 2012 Sanjay Gautam rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Alan Moore is the greatest graphic novelist of all time. He has created a world where superheroes are not typical superheroes like super-man, spider-man et al. Each superhero has a unique philosophical perspective. And he has created superheroes who were either in deep complex psychological crisis or are going through one, and they are not perfect who always save the day in the end.

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Sep 02, 2020 Richard rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: graphic-novel

This acclaimed and groundbreaking graphic novel by Alan Moore (story) and Dave Gibbons (artwork) opens with a body plummeting out of a skyscraper window.
The year is 1985, the place is New York and we enter a universe similar to our own but altered. Richard Nixon is still president, (serving his fifth term, Vietnam being a big success!), the threat of nuclear war with is Russia looming ominously and super heros walk the streets.
Many years earlier a group of colourful masked avengers became popula This acclaimed and groundbreaking graphic novel by Alan Moore (story) and Dave Gibbons (artwork) opens with a body plummeting out of a skyscraper window.
The year is 1985, the place is New York and we enter a universe similar to our own but altered. Richard Nixon is still president, (serving his fifth term, Vietnam being a big success!), the threat of nuclear war with is Russia looming ominously and super heros walk the streets.
Many years earlier a group of colourful masked avengers became popular with the public as they fought back against the rising tide of crime that the police were failing to control.
A further group, the ‘Watchmen’ rose to notoriety in the 50’s and 60’s but were outlawed in 1977 (the Keene Act) as they were deemed out of control and had lost the faith of the general public.
This later group, now retired, is made up of The Comedian - a violent, right wing adventurer, Rorschach - a lonely, damaged vigilante, Doc Manhattan - a godlike superhero, whose body was reassembled following a nuclear accident, the Silk Spectre - aka Laurie Juspeczyk a principled and respected crime fighter, Ozymandias - a super intelligent and super rich hero and finally Nite Owl - a brilliant, costumed inventor.
The body splatted on the pavement was that of The Comedian.
Why was he murdered? Is someone targeting the Watchmen?
The disparate group of ageing heros investigate and begin to unearth a vast and incredible conspiracy.
Watchmen is a big book for this genre (413 pages) containing stories within stories, newspaper articles, sections of comic books, psychological studies, clips from biographies etc - the central narrative being told through Rorschach’s Journal.
I loved the scope and variety of this graphic novel - sometimes challenging, sometimes thought provoking, often funny and always imaginative. I read it very slowly over hundreds of coffee breaks, finding that although Watchmen had the depth of a novel, this was a good way to appreciate the artwork and themes - and a good way to read alongside standard novels.
This intelligent, comic book epic won’t be for everyone but I enjoyed it a lot. ...more

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Mar 25, 2008 Brad rated it it was amazing

Shelves: dystopian, graphic-novel, political, the-best, to-read-again, sci-fi

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here. I've been in many discussions over the years -- some in classes I was teaching, some over pints in the bar, and still others late at night with people I love -- about what Alan Moore was trying to say with Watchmen, discussions about the meaning of his graphic novel, and I am convinced that the meaning is not what most people think.

Most people I have talked to look at Veidt's mini-Armageddon to bring peace as inherently evil -- and the most monstrous act in a book of monstrous acts. Veidt's act ...more

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Jul 22, 2019 Swaroop Kanti rated it it was amazing

Shelves: favourites

It would be a stronger world, a stronger loving world, to die in.
~ John Cale

Extraordinarily powerful; Truly special; Visually engrossing

Indeed, qualifies to be one of the all time greatest novels!
12 amazing chapters of groundbreaking poetic and artistic verses!!

In a world filled with many mindless and senseless graphic novels and comics, Watchmen is an intelligent and thought-provoking creation, much much more than just entertainment.

A masterpiece, which does not really require a review.

"We ...more

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Dec 09, 2007 Trish rated it it was ok · review of another edition

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here. Aaron's been telling me for a long time that I should read a select few of his favorite comic books. And I haven't been avoiding them. But when I'm looking around the house for something to read, I forget to wander over to the comics section. So finally he just made a stack of books for me, and I started with Watchmen.

And within the first few pages I was testing his patience with questions/comments including:

"Why is Rorshach the hero when he's clearly insane?"
"None of these people are very pl ...more

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Oct 02, 2016 Michael Finocchiaro rated it it was amazing

Shelves: graphic-novels, favorites, superhero, english-20th-c

One of the greatest standalone comics which led to one of the greatest screen adaptations of a superhero story, Watchmen is an extraordinarily fun ride. I love the 30s atmosphere and the compelling characters. The heroes are all over their prime (kind of like Batman and Superman in retirement in The Dark Knight Rises). The artwork is great and the story is orignal - one of the great comic classics!
Need to re-read this one regularly as Alan Moore really created a graphic novel of lasting genius.

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Feb 11, 2008 Dan Schwent rated it it was amazing

Shelves: 2018-comics, 2018, comics

With the world on the brink of nuclear annihilation, the Comedian is found dead and the super heroes that knew him go looking for the killer. They might not like what secrets they unearth...

I first read this when I was around 20 and was blown away. Now, untold decades later, I decided to finally give it a reread. It held up.

On the surface, Watchmen is a murder mystery and it works fine on that level. Rorschach, the view point character, enlists Nite Owl, his old partner, and they shake the tree With the world on the brink of nuclear annihilation, the Comedian is found dead and the super heroes that knew him go looking for the killer. They might not like what secrets they unearth...

I first read this when I was around 20 and was blown away. Now, untold decades later, I decided to finally give it a reread. It held up.

On the surface, Watchmen is a murder mystery and it works fine on that level. Rorschach, the view point character, enlists Nite Owl, his old partner, and they shake the tree and see what falls out, which happens to be something much more than a murder. Beneath the surface, it's an examination of super heroes: what makes them put on costumes and fight crime, why would they waste their time on petty crimes when they could do something greater, and would a godlike being really care about humanity's day to day affairs. On that level, I think it goes above and beyond.

Dave Gibbons' art is somewhat understated and the subdued color palette makes it more so but I think both lend to the story's mood. The super heroes in this world have gone to seed and the sun rarely shines anymore. Everyone is pretty much running out the clock until nuclear armageddon. All that being said, the man knows his way around a nine panel grid. His use of perspective is excellent and he knows what to focus on. The pacing in Watchmen is masterful. Twelve issues was the perfect length for the tale, no padding, no rushing.

The characters departed quite a bit from their Charlton roots. It was a blessing in disguise that Alan Moore couldn't use the Charlton characters and had to go with analogues. He was able to take them much farther. The story was believable and the dark tone served the story. It wasn't dark just to be dark like a lot of books that came later. Even though this wasn't my first trip through the meat grinder, I felt the suspense building as I went. The last three installments flew by and part of me hoped it would end differently this time. Once in a while, it's good to be reminded that before Alan Moore hated everything about comics, he was actually pretty good at writing them.

Now I'm not going to pretend I didn't have any problems with this. I actually think the threat in the end of the movie made more logical sense that how it went down here. I'm also not sure how necessary some of the metafictional extras were, though I did like the Black Freighter sequences more this time around.

Gene Wolfe once said “My definition of good literature is that which can be read by an educated reader, and reread with increased pleasure.” That definitely applies to Watchmen. While it gets a lot of grief for the dark turn comics took in the late 1980s and early 1990s, Watchmen stands the test of time and remains one of the best. Five out of five stars.
...more

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May 16, 2017 Tom Ewing rated it did not like it

Modern comics events seem to demand endless lead-ins and spin-offs, and sadly Doomsday Clock, from the blockbuster team of Geoff Johns and Gary Frank, is no exception to this trend. Watchmen, the extended prequel to Doomsday Clock, feels wholly unneccessary to 2017's much-anticipated DC Rebirth (TM) event. For a start, it's not even by Geoff Johns - how big a clue do you need that DC see 'Watchmen' as simply a cash-in? The storyline has been farmed out to a British writer-artist team who are giv Modern comics events seem to demand endless lead-ins and spin-offs, and sadly Doomsday Clock, from the blockbuster team of Geoff Johns and Gary Frank, is no exception to this trend. Watchmen, the extended prequel to Doomsday Clock, feels wholly unneccessary to 2017's much-anticipated DC Rebirth (TM) event. For a start, it's not even by Geoff Johns - how big a clue do you need that DC see 'Watchmen' as simply a cash-in? The storyline has been farmed out to a British writer-artist team who are given the task of introducing us to the universe which will "collide" with the DCU in this winter's mega-event.

It's an important job and one which might have been suited to a special issue or even an annual-length story, but no - DC had to drag things out to 12 long issues - for comparison purposes, the Death Of Hawkman (in which Hawkman dies) was only alotted 6 issues. Watchmen includes several issues focusing on characters who don't even survive to take part in Doomsday Clock! And don't get me started on the sequences set on yet ANOTHER part of the DC multiverse, where pirates still rule the waves - yes, it's a cool concept for an alternate Earth, but an editor should definitely have stepped in and asked for a bit of clarity.

In general the editorial reins are rather lightly held on Watchmen - for all the criticism Mr DiDio has received for interference, it's a certainty he wouldn't have made the basic mistakes here. While Dr Manhattan is clearly Superman and Nite Owl is Batman, it's very unclear who each of the various Justice Society analogues (the 'Minutemen') are meant to be. If this DCU veteran couldn't follow it, what hope does a new reader have? Also at no point is the membership of the Watchmen clearly delineated, and the team never really come together to solve the threat - an attempt at a clever bait and switch which goes sadly wrong in the hands of this inexperienced creative team.

The threat itself is handled marginally better, though aside from a couple of cool spreads the stiff artwork can hardly stand comparison to previous DC events like Blackest Night and Forever Evil which set the highest standards for realism in superhero action. A little more variation in page layout wouldn't have hurt!

The story is along the lines of Identity Crisis (a comic those curious about Watchmen should investigate for a REAL universe-shaking interrogation of the superhero form - it's strictly for adults, though). A hero lies dead and his fellow crime-fighters have to investigate - but might one of their own be responsible? Quicken the pace and introduce some more action and you might have a tense storyline here, but instead the writer is too busy showing off all the backstory he's worked out for this universe, and there's a LOT of backstory. I only hope some of this stuff pays off in Doomsday Clock because otherwise it's yet another rookie error by creator and editor - SHOW DON'T TELL GUYS. If I wanted pages of prose I would read a novelisation. All this background simply obscures the story beats: the creators could learn a lot from modern storytelling in my opinion. Apparently the writer has already vowed never to work with DC again, and frankly it feels like they've dodged a bullet. I can't imagine they were queueing up to work with him after this.

So overall Watchmen is a dud, with no recognisable DCU heroes appearing, and fans of Doomsday Clock should probably save their money for some of the awesome variant covers I expect to be announced. Only a couple of things save Watchmen from being a complete turkey - HERE BE SPOILERS I guess! The squid monster at the end is very cool, though once again a pretentious storytelling decision to cut to AFTER the fight against it lets the comic down. And there is one character who stands out from the rest - a badass hero called Rorschach who is absolutely driven to hunt down evil with zero, and I mean zero, compromise. He gets some extremely cool scenes and if he shows up in Doomsday Clock - which looks unlikely but keep your fingers crossed - expect Johns and Frank to crush it. In the right hands this guy could be a serious breakout star.

But on the whole this is a rip-off and yet another slap in the face to fans. It's so different in style and substance from what we expect from an epic DCU story in 2017 that it's almost impossible to see how it's going to connect to Doomsday Clock. In Johns We Trust - but this is his toughest job yet. ...more

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Nov 06, 2018 Alejandro rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: science-fiction, comic-book, dystopia, politics, super-heroes, historical-fiction, detective

Re-discovering a known masterpiece

This book is an giant-size hardcover annotated edition of “Watchmen” graphic novel. Presenting the entire original work, in black & white, along with reference notes per page. Also includes a timeline of the events in the story.

Creative Team:

Writer: Alan Moore

Illustrator: Dave Gibbons

Editor of Annotated comments: Leslie S. Klinger

WHO WATCHES THE WATCHMEN?

None of you understand. I'm not locked up in here with YOU. You're locked up in here with ME.

I re ...more

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Jul 02, 2008 Kemper rated it it was amazing

Shelves: superhero, 100, favorites, comics, 2019-reread, alt-history

Not much I could say that hasn't been said already.

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Jul 23, 2015 Gabrielle rated it it was amazing

Shelves: best-bad-guys, graphic-novels, mandatory-reading, favorites, movie-fodder, own-a-copy, reviewed

I really struggle to find a good way to review “Watchmen”. It doesn’t feel like enough to say “This is great, and even if it has flaws, everyone should definitely read it”, thought that would be the TL-DR version. Watching the new HBO series, which is a continuation of the dystopic alternate universe created by Moore in his masterpiece, made me think about the original work again, and I found I had things to say about it.

This is the graphic novel that got me interested in graphic novels, a mediu I really struggle to find a good way to review “Watchmen”. It doesn’t feel like enough to say “This is great, and even if it has flaws, everyone should definitely read it”, thought that would be the TL-DR version. Watching the new HBO series, which is a continuation of the dystopic alternate universe created by Moore in his masterpiece, made me think about the original work again, and I found I had things to say about it.

This is the graphic novel that got me interested in graphic novels, a medium I had snobbishly written off as shallow, juvenile and unintelligent. An ex-boyfriend put a copy in my hands about a decade ago, and I’m sure I protested, but I ended up reading it – and I changed my mind about graphic novels. Now I have a huge shelf full of them. I am picky about them, but I know they can be used to tell stories as complex, as challenging and as layered as prose novels.

Set in an alternate history, the universe of “Watchmen” is one in which masked vigilantes exist, but have outstayed their welcome: laws forbidding them from superhero-ing have been passed, and those who were active in the so-called golden age of vigilantes now live in retirement, more or less as simple civilians. The Cold War has brought a palpable tension in society, and the mutual annihilation of the United-States and the USSR seems inevitable. Through flashbacks, bits and pieces of character’s diary and another one’s memoirs, a murder investigation unearths a far-reaching and complicated plan to “save the world” from the seemingly unavoidable mushroom cloud.

The grittiness of the story appealed to me instantly when I first read it, because one of the main gripes I had with most graphic novels was the inane good vs. evil set up, where bad guys are all bad and good guys are all good and the lines between them are neat and clearly defined. I wondered who actually took that crap seriously when life was so obviously more complicated and nuanced than this. While the nuances in “Watchmen” are mostly dark and unsavory, they were definitely more interesting and realistic than the other nonsense I had been exposed to in graphic novel form. I liked that the characters were complicated, contrary, confused and ultimately struggling to do what they thought of as the right thing. Because that’s an important part of that graphic novel: even the most insane, twisted and fucked up ones among us are trying to do what they think is best.

The artwork is a little bland for my taste, the colors too faded, the comic book within a comic book thing gets tiresome, the long excerpts from the original Nite Owl’s memoirs can drag, and the ultimate ending is a little silly (though the TV show reused it brilliantly), but despite these flaws, the importance of that graphic novel cannot be underestimated. And it is a genuinely enjoyable and engrossing story – provided you like bleak stories filled with existential angst and have an appreciation for dark humor.

This should be a mandatory read, for people who love graphic novels and for people who hate them. If you’ve ever wondered what that medium was truly capable of, this might just show you how great story-telling is not limited by its format. Most of the graphic novels I love so much now could not have been written had it not ben for "Watchmen".

(Everyone likes to hate the 2009 movie, but I actually really loved it because it got rid of the stuff that had annoyed me in the book, and the photography and music were remarkable. The HBO series is also excellent, and brings the universe Moore created to a very topical place.) ...more

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Sep 11, 2015 Mia rated it it was amazing

Shelves: books-with-pictures, amorality-and-antiheroes, wtf-did-i-just-read, psychopaths-are-fun, made-me-think

MIA'S JOURNAL. JANUARY 31st, 2016:

Finished book today. Was good. Interesting. Review to come, much to say.

When people see this, they will demand to know. Down below, the readers will look up at me and beg, and they will ask: "Should we read this book?"

And I'll look down and whisper, "Yes."

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Sep 14, 2010 Anthony rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: sf-group-2018, sf, pictograms, hugo-winners

It almost goes without saying, but I will say it anyway: The Watchmen is a towering achievement in graphic storytelling. Rereading it decades after I first read it was a powerful experience; even though the anxiety and dread that animates its plot and haunts its characters is based on the mid-80’s threat of nuclear war, it still resonates with today’s myriad life-threatening issues.

I decided to reread it after starting to watch the excellent HBO miniseries, and I’m very glad I did. Both works w ...more

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Aug 26, 2012 David Schaafsma rated it it was amazing

Shelves: gn-course-sp-15, gn-fall13-class, gn-superhero-scifi-fantasy

Made the Time magazine list of 100 greatest 20th century novels, the only graphic novel on the list... and deserves it. Great, endlessly complicated, but literature, without question, and not just a typical superhero yarn, of course. There's the depiction of women that is problematic as in so many of Moore's novels, no question, and this is troubling, but the work is incredibly ambitions, insightful, thought-provoking... gets at the heart of our interest in "superheroes" and stories... a sort of ...more

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Sep 04, 2016 Jon Nakapalau rated it it was amazing

Shelves: classics, us-history, comics, graphic-novels, pop-culture

Read before you see the move...or after you have seen the movie. Truly one of the most innovative interpretations of SH comics ever written.

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Sep 27, 2016 Heidi The Reader rated it really liked it

Shelves: fantasy-and-sci-fi, graphic-art-or-comic, the-numinous-book-club, fiction

I can't stop thinking about this graphic novel. It's not something I'd usually like- ultra-violent with a very dark vision of humanity- but there is something incredibly compelling about it.

It starts with a murder. Watchmen is the story of a group of super heroes who don't fight crime anymore because vigilantism was outlawed. Among the many costumed regular heroes (The Comedian, Rorschach, Nite Owl), there is an actual superhero, Dr. Manhattan, who suffered a freak radiation accident and was cha I can't stop thinking about this graphic novel. It's not something I'd usually like- ultra-violent with a very dark vision of humanity- but there is something incredibly compelling about it.

It starts with a murder. Watchmen is the story of a group of super heroes who don't fight crime anymore because vigilantism was outlawed. Among the many costumed regular heroes (The Comedian, Rorschach, Nite Owl), there is an actual superhero, Dr. Manhattan, who suffered a freak radiation accident and was changed, permanently. He perceives time as happening all at once and can manipulate matter in multiple dimensions. Each of the heroes has a story, some are very sad, and all of them are upset as one of their own has just been killed. Can they figure out who the murderer is before he/she strikes again?

My favorite character out of the bunch is Dr. Manhattan. "We gaze continually at the world and it grows dull in our perceptions. Yet seen from another's vantage point, as if new, it may still take the breath away." pg 27, Chapter XI. He's nearly godlike in his capabilities but that makes it practically impossible for anyone to understand him.

My husband's favorite is Rorschach, which I could understand, but he was far too violent for me to truly appreciate the character. I feel like there's an underlying importance to that character though, something that I couldn't quite grasp...I tried thinking about Rorschach as a rorschach blot for the Watchmen and it nearly broke my brain. (view spoiler)

And the comic within the comic? Fascinating. (view spoiler)

The Watchmen is more than a superhero story: it's an examination of power both physical and in the heart. It's a criticism of government, the media, and art used to manipulate others. It looks at gender roles, rape, and sexual preferences and predilections. It asks: why would a person dress up and create an alter ego in the first place? And, beyond all that, it is a mystery and a love story. There's a lot to enjoy in here if you can get past the blood, gore, and soul crushing darkness. Recommended for an adult audience only.

A similar comic, in my mind, is The Walking Dead, Compendium 1 by Robert Kirkman. But, really, Watchmen is in a class all of its own. ...more

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About Alan Moore

Alan Moore

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Alan Moore is an English writer most famous for his influential work in comics, including the acclaimed graphic novels Watchmen, V for Vendetta and From Hell. He has also written a novel, Voice of the Fire, and performs "workings" (one-off performance art/spoken word pieces) with The Moon and Serpent Grand Egyptian Theatre of Marvels, some of which have been released on CD.

As a comics writer, Moor ...more

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Quotes from Watchmen

“Heard joke once: Man goes to doctor. Says he's depressed. Says life seems harsh and cruel. Says he feels all alone in a threatening world where what lies ahead is vague and uncertain. Doctor says, "Treatment is simple. Great clown Pagliacci is in town tonight. Go and see him. That should pick you up." Man bursts into tears. Says, "But doctor...I am Pagliacci.” — 1462 likes

“Stood in firelight, sweltering. Bloodstain on chest like map of violent new continent. Felt cleansed. Felt dark planet turn under my feet and knew what cats know that makes them scream like babies in night.

Looked at sky through smoke heavy with human fat and God was not there. The cold, suffocating dark goes on forever and we are alone. Live our lives, lacking anything better to do. Devise reason later. Born from oblivion; bear children, hell-bound as ourselves, go into oblivion. There is nothing else.

Existence is random. Has no pattern save what we imagine after staring at it for too long. No meaning save what we choose to impose. This rudderless world is not shaped by vague metaphysical forces. It is not God who kills the children. Not fate that butchers them or destiny that feeds them to the dogs. It’s us. Only us. Streets stank of fire. The void breathed hard on my heart, turning its illusions to ice, shattering them. Was reborn then, free to scrawl own design on this morally blank world.

Was Rorschach.

Does that answer your Questions, Doctor?” — 936 likes

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