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Watchmen
(Watchmen #1-12)
by
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
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 1987)
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Jared
More masks than hats.
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Start your review of Watchmen
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
The entire work is an exploration of the history and purpose of the superhero genre: how readers connect to i ...more
(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. ...more
Notes: Constantly captured by its brilliance, it's a comic book chef-d'œuvre, with meaty text and a complex, layered storyline. ...more
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 ...more
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 ...more
The Lord of the Rings, Avengers Universe, 1984, etc. just pick your favorite genre comparison, of dark, dirty graphic novels.
No one is completely evil or good
Everyone has reasons for being the monster, good person, or something in between, always haunted by past traumas. Much of the complex, brilliant plot is directly connected to the protagonists´ backstories, which makes it even more compelling, because the reader is expecting and getting what she/he is waiting for. Especially the evolution ...more
No one is completely evil or good
Everyone has reasons for being the monster, good person, or something in between, always haunted by past traumas. Much of the complex, brilliant plot is directly connected to the protagonists´ backstories, which makes it even more compelling, because the reader is expecting and getting what she/he is waiting for. Especially the evolution ...more
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
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
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
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
I reread this in anticipation of seeing the film in 2009.
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
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
(
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
~ 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
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
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
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 ...more
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 ...more
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
"The Incredibles" (Best Pixar picture Ever) touched upon many of the themes presented here, mainly about the humanity of "Superheroes." Can a rapis ...more
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
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
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.
...more
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 ...more
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 ...more
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
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
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
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.
Sep 02, 2020
Richard (on hiatus)
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 ...more
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 ...more
This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it,
click here.
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.
Need to re-read this one regularly as Alan Moore really created a graphic novel of lasting genius.
Sep 01, 2021
Ahmad Sharabiani
rated it
really liked it
Shelves:
arts,
sequential,
fiction,
comics,
20th-century,
dystopia,
literature,
science,
graphic,
classics
Watchmen (Watchmen #1-12), Alan Moore, Dave Gibbons (Illustrator/Letterer), John Higgins (Colorist)
In October 1985, New York City detectives are investigating the murder of Edward Blake.
With the police having no leads, costumed vigilante Rorschach decides to probe further.
Rorschach deduces Blake to have been the true identity of The Comedian, a costumed hero employed by the U.S. government, after finding his costume and signature smiley-face pin badge.
Rorschach believes he has discovered a pl ...more
In October 1985, New York City detectives are investigating the murder of Edward Blake.
With the police having no leads, costumed vigilante Rorschach decides to probe further.
Rorschach deduces Blake to have been the true identity of The Comedian, a costumed hero employed by the U.S. government, after finding his costume and signature smiley-face pin badge.
Rorschach believes he has discovered a pl ...more
This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it,
click here.
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 ...more
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 ...more
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. Kind of makes you wonder: why must great power and great responsibility go hand in hand - if we look over the course of history it has been the opposite: great power often bears very little responsibility - so why should the most powerful beings in existence feel they owe us their protection?
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
...more
Brilliant storytelling, casually touching on morality, the purpose of life, good and evil and much more. The medium is used to its max and the conclusion is like a punch in the gut
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
Very dark and very good. Loved revisiting this masterpiece which I read as a teenager.
The power of Watchmen is partly in the characters. Far from a straight forward superhero book, we are ...more
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
Very dark and very good. Loved revisiting this masterpiece which I read as a teenager.
The power of Watchmen is partly in the characters. Far from a straight forward superhero book, we are ...more
So it's now apparently sacrilege to criticize Moore and Gibbons' feted book but I don't care, iconoclasm is underrated.
My main problems with it are simply subjective. Moore can't write well, in my opinion, and nowhere is his dull and poor prose more apparent than in this book. I fell asleep reading this and cannot understand what people see in this. None of them besides the blue guy have superpowers so it's basically a group of guys who like a punch up and dress up in rubbish outfits. One blok ...more
My main problems with it are simply subjective. Moore can't write well, in my opinion, and nowhere is his dull and poor prose more apparent than in this book. I fell asleep reading this and cannot understand what people see in this. None of them besides the blue guy have superpowers so it's basically a group of guys who like a punch up and dress up in rubbish outfits. One blok ...more
Not much I could say that hasn't been said already.
...more
This was much more than a graphic novel. In my opinion this was very multilayered, deep, and psychological. It started out a mystery and soon developed into much more. The plot starts in 1985 America where superheroes have become unwelcome. This plot centered around a close knit group having gone their own ways over time. One of them is killed and the main characters all come back into each other's lives.
These characters were uniquely created by Alan Moore and drove the story. For instance Rorsc ...more
These characters were uniquely created by Alan Moore and drove the story. For instance Rorsc ...more
Dog carcass in alley this morning, tire tread on burst stomach. This city is afraid of me. I have seen its true face.I first read Watchmen about 15 years ago, when it was the on ...more
The streets are extended gutters and the gutters are full of blood and when the drains finally scab over, all the vermin will drown.
The accumulated filth of all their sex and murder will foam up about their waists and all the whores and politicians will look up and shout "Save us!"... and I'll look down and whisper "No.”
| topics | posts | views | last activity | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| I kinda want to watch the series | 12 | 32 | Apr 02, 2022 12:48PM | |
| Reading 1001: Watchmen | 4 | 20 | Jul 04, 2021 12:23PM | |
| Goodreads Librari...: Title | 2 | 109 | Feb 25, 2021 07:59AM | |
| Graphic Novel Rea...: 1st revamped Superhero Graphic Novel Discussion: Watchmen by Alan Moore (July 2020) | 7 | 40 | Aug 07, 2020 10:31AM | |
| SCPL Teens: Watchmen by Alan Moore | 1 | 7 | Jul 22, 2020 11:24AM | |
| Never too Late to...: 2020 March: Watchmen | 20 | 39 | Jun 25, 2020 07:11PM | |
| I Read Comic Books: Watchmen | 16 | 50 | May 24, 2020 01:22PM |
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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
As a comics writer, Moor ...more
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“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.”
—
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“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?”
—
946 likes
More quotes…
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?”
