Watchmen in Around the World in 80 Books

May 21, 2009 Nadine in NY Jones rated it really liked it

Shelves: graphic-novels-and-comics, fantasy-and-sci-fi, 1001-books, hard-boiled, superheroes, 70s-80s-sff

I love comics, and I never read this one - I'm so sorry I missed it when it first came out! Still, it's interesting to read after having seen the movie - the movie was really very loyal to the book. ...more

3 likes · Like · see review

Jul 09, 2011 mstan rated it liked it

Shelves: graphic-novel, src-summer-2011

I was expecting to really get into this sprawling narrative, with its newspaper clippings and excerpts from a fictional memoir alongside its comic-hero art. The concept of the masked hero (Minuteman here) being vulnerable and even crazy is not a new one, but Watchmen seems different somehow, with its sheer range of hero-people and two generations at that.

The Comedian and Jon are especially memorable - both weapons of the United States government, the former completely amoral, and the latter an i ...more

Like · see review

Feb 16, 2008 Vicky rated it really liked it

Shelves: favorites, dark-willow-syllabus, own-pre-konmari, required, comics

I totally want an Ozymandias/Adrian Veidt action figure now, even if that is..."bad".

My general hesitation for reading this book a few years ago was that it felt all masculine or something, and there was a review for this book on Goodreads that noted how "oh it was good/groundbreaking for its time but blah blah our time is different and the works that were inspired by Watchmen is even better than Watchmen itself". That, plus the summary of this book as "depicting heroes with flaws, the end" is m I totally want an Ozymandias/Adrian Veidt action figure now, even if that is..."bad".

My general hesitation for reading this book a few years ago was that it felt all masculine or something, and there was a review for this book on Goodreads that noted how "oh it was good/groundbreaking for its time but blah blah our time is different and the works that were inspired by Watchmen is even better than Watchmen itself". That, plus the summary of this book as "depicting heroes with flaws, the end" is misleading! Mis-sing-the-point!

What is the point: that this story is timeless, the pointless violence out of human detachment, anxieties, escalating until we just destroy each other and the world, and it takes someone with intelligence, super reasoning to step into this and help solve it by a master-mind plan. Veidt is an extraordinary person, "the smartest man in the world", and I like the end-of-chapter part featuring a profile on him in which he makes a comment about wanting to see the concept of "ordinary person" buried, because we all have it in ourselves to not just give in to the easy "ordinary", courageous-less actions motivated by our fears. If I had been alone instead of on a bus, I would have cried at the part where the old man who runs the newsstand finally makes an attempt to find out the name of the young black boy and he hugs/shields the boy just as they get blown up :(

I like the links I see between Watchmen and Promethea, and I like how in Promethea, this Bring About the End of the World is narrated more fully, like this exploration and this bliss and rebirth, whereas in Watchmen, it's this whole not-being-ready-for-it and even, if I recall the movie (ugh my poor choice to watch it before reading the book but at least I don't remember much of it) must have made Adrian Veidt this villain, because I recall rooting for Dr. Manhattan to smash him up. But no! I'm glad he lives, I'm glad for how the arc reached its conclusion.

Anyway, not as visually stunning to me as Promethea, or as "relatable/likeable" in the sense that there were like two main female characters, so maybe my man-party impression was right, but still, I really enjoyed this. Glad I got over my whatever that prevented me from reading this. ...more

Like · see review

Oct 04, 2008 Katie rated it liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: male-author, graphic-novels

When I first opened the book, I had a hard time getting used to the graphics. They were too "comic booky" for me and just not visually appealing, compared to the other graphic novels that I have read. But I quickly realized that no other type of graphics would have suited the story.

For a lot of the first part of the book I was confused and wished that I understood comic book culture a little better, because I think I would have gotten more out of it. A lot of the book was just depressing. There ...more

Like · see review

Dec 29, 2019 Ann rated it it was amazing

Shelves: 2019-atw-80

I couldn't read this in one sitting and it wasn't meant to be. I was amazed at how it showed how a graphic novel can tell a story uniquely unlike other forms of literature and media, especially with that chapter of mirrors and parallels. Like that lad reading about the freighter, I'll need to reread it. ...more

Like · see review

Apr 10, 2008 Jen rated it really liked it

Shelves: murders-mysteries-thrills, twisted, new-york, zz2008-read, fiction, other-realms, graphic-novels-comics, price-of-fame, misfits

Grim, but I loved it. I can't wait for the movie to come out--see the trailer at: http://watchmenmovie.warnerbros.com/

Is there something wrong with me if my favorite character was Rorshach? ...more

Like · see review