Watchmen (2019 Edition)

This graphic novel is out of this world! It tops every list of best comics I’ve ever seen, and rightly so. I’ll admit I watched the movie when it came out in 2009 and enjoyed it, but it didn’t come close to what I got out of the novel. It’s beautiful, dark, and thought-provoking. Set in an alternate 1985 where superheroes exist and have altered world history, the story begins when a former “hero” is murdered, triggering a chain of events that spirals into something much bigger. In many ways, Rorschach is the central figure, but every hero gets their moment, along with a memorable cast of compelling side characters. The artwork is stunning, and the storytelling is layered, weaving together multiple timelines and narratives. Each chapter ends with “real” media like articles, interviews, and clippings, which add depth and realism. This novel is heavy and rich with overlapping stories, metaphors, and messages. It deconstructs the superhero genre with morally ambiguous characters who illustrate how absolute power corrupts absolutely. It stands the test of time with unlimited re-readability, almost every frame and line of dialogue can be dissected and explored. Phenomenal!! My enjoyment 5+/5

I have to say, this is just the best comic I have ever read. The art was just to die for, the characters were well thought out, and a brilliant plot was implemented into the comic. I have read many comics where the story seems jump around to useless side stories for no typical reason other than to show that the writers want to make a long ass story, but this was different. Sure the story jumped around a lot in this but there was some point to it; it helped me understand when, why, and how the heroes became who they are. For example, Jon a.k.a. Dr. Manhattan, was not always an immortal bipedal h-Bomb, he was once human. He had a life once before where he was human. He grew up a the son of a watch maker so he was always around time. Things changed and he became a scientist in Nuclear- Atomic- Atoms- whatchamacallit. He met his first love and he offered one day to fix her watch because someone stepped on it. He left it in his lab coat one day, and his lab coat was left inside a room where objects were de-atomized. He went to fetch the lab coat and an accident occurred, causing him to be trapped inside the room and he was De-Atomized. Thought to be dead, everyone tried to think as if it never happened. Then Jon appeared, living and well but had changed. He was glowing bright blue, his skin was like a blueberry threw up on him, and he now had abilities unlike anyone. He had become God, which he denied to every extent. But he was also fixated on how time flowed. He always knew what would happen before it would happen, and it made him quite a pain in the ass to be around since he seemed to never be impressed or seemed to care. However he at times does wish to be normal, but he blames three people for his transformation, but never could he choose the main person to blame. He blamed the man who stepped on the watch, he blamed his girlfriend who he offered to fix her watch, and he blamed himself for ever leaving his coat in the De-atomization chamber in the first place. Another example of a well thought out character (which is one of my favorite heroes of all time) is Walter Kovacs a.k.a. Rorschach (pronounced: Roar•Shack). Rorschach is more or less the character that actually knows when stuff is going on, and he knows how to get the information he wants. He doesn't need fancy gadgets (although he does have a Grapple Hook launcher), he doesn't need superpowers, he doesn't need the force, and he sure as hell doesn't need money. He used something called breaking limbs. It works to the very least, and that's how he found out about WW3 (which was about to happen but events at the end of the book caused the world to stop all war). He did find out about a plot to stop the war by interrogating a retired villain who was dragged into the whole mess. But how did Rorschach become like this? How did Walter Kovacs become the cold, paranoid vigilante that he is? Walter grew up in a broken home, raised by his whore of a mother that treated him like garbage and he was bullied by the other kids because his mother was a whore. At some point he grew tired of all of the worlds evils. He, when he became an adult, started working at some package-fashion store place, and a package with a dress that was specially made came in. The dress was an ink blot dress which meant that the dress design 'moves' via body heat reacting with ink in between special fabric. They were holding it for a celebrity who died before she could ever pick it up. The way she died caused Walter to break. The Celebrity had been raped and murdered, and bystanders watched as it happened. The cold injustice that happened to the lady created Walter Kovacs's alias. But, through a confusing explanation on how Rorschach truly began, he tells a doctor the birth of Rorschach and the death of Walter. According to Walter, Rorschach began the night he promised to find a kidnapped girl. He found the kidnapper, but no girl. The girl was dead, chopped to pieces and fed to dogs like kibble. He changed drastically, and instead of arresting the kidnapper, he killed him. As Walter said: "whatever was left of Walter died that night with little girl." He now kills those who dare to cause injustice. He even hates the politicians (for going on with war as the only answer) and prostitutes (because of his childhood). But to truly understand the story, YOU. MUST. READ. IT. You'll be sorry if you don't. I will cherish my copy and pass it down for future generations to experience an era of comics from before my time. Thanks for reading! Famous Quote from Rorschach: "Dead dog found in alley way, tire tread on burst stomach. This city is afraid of me, I have seen its true face. The streets are extended gutters, and the gutters are filled with blood until the drains finally scab over and all of the vermin will drown. The accumulated filth of their sex and murder will rise up around their waists, and they will look up and scream: Save us! And I will look down and reply: No."

What to say about this excellent work that hasn't been said before? This book covers so many layers of humanity and issues- it is THE comic book to read. Still, after reading alot of the discussions on this site about the book, I gravitated towards the negative reviews to see why people would not appreciate the work, because in my opinion this is a piece of work. Rather than detract or defend the criticism, I feel like tossing my own two-cents into the mix over analysis and deconstruction, seeming as this is pretty much the point of Watchmen, and stating in my humble opinion why I feel that this book deserves the praise and adulations. First and foremost, the point-of-view of the book is Moores; and this seems to be the point of reference for contention that most people have by way of the novels nihilistic construction. Through Moores vision is the world constructed, and this in and of itself is why the novel is good from its start- good storytellers are able to infuse in their works with their views, and create an atmosphere that resonates completely within the scope of that outlook. In this, the entirety of the series does, whether you appreciate the atmosphere, bleak and seemingly apocalyptic, or not. Still, the point of this entire series is a question.The basic question presented by Moore is Why do we, and should we venerate the concept of Hero[ yet 'Hero' here is more broadly to be taken than simply superhero, indeed it is all 'authoritarian' or even, 'moral' personas]? It would have been boilerplate material if an author had chosen to present a single hero, or superhero, doing daring-do's and who in secret committed acts that questions the outcomes of his actions. What Moore did was to dissect the concept of hero into discrete, manageable constructs- that is, different characters, each possessing different driving forces as to their vocation of superheroing. The extremes of each of these characters are the glaring extremes of the traits and qualities of heroes- courageous, loyal, champion, etc. However, by way of these various characters, he was also able to seep into each the reasons behind these virtuous markers- the dual natures of and driving factors of these lauded traits. For example, the vigilante, who can and is romanticized as a rule-breaker to set things right, is himself a victim of wrongs, poisoning all his actions with the question of redemption. So too are the characters who possess great insight into logic and rationalization- to what extremes of logic and analysis should and do we choose to accept? Or even the more humble, thrill-seeking, adventurous, and amorous natures that drive a hero towards gadgetry and costume capering- these affairs of passion and chivalry are at their core poisoned by the very natures of what it means to be human and the need to break the mold of the ordinary and mundane. Yet, in each character, mundane and commonplace seems to be the eternal web from which they are all caught in, and as humans, they will inevitably remain. It is this, the breakdown of the motivations of characters, of the worship of supposed heroes', and veneration of traits seemingly extraordinary that Moore begs us to question. What's more, each character is infused with different aspects of macro-societal concepts as well. Whether it is the death of bravado and a steady decline of a nation, or the emergence of the worship of science, and its subsequent susceptibility to indifference, or its longing for simpler ways, or attempts to stare into the abyss, despite the chaos that may commence- all of it is harmonized and told against a critique of society with such concepts as state, science, and the individual. In this then, each character is fighting a battle both on a personal level, and a societal level. As for the artwork, it blends well with the story itself, gritty and straightforward. I don't necessarily agree with all that Moore posits about the nature of humanity and the brutal outlook of action, and pathos that he paints. The ending itself however, I believe is Moores attempt at recognizing this fact; that in the end, each decision and outlook, is driven not by factors which we are 100% in sync with, and have control over- that is life. Still, like any other work of fiction, the point is to raise questions about our understanding of our own motivations and perspectives. In this Moore achieves resounding success. As to the fact that this was not a standard spandex-daring-do "comic-book"- there is no question. To compare it to any such work is similar to comparing a coloring book to a photography book. Same design, completely different purpose. If you had expected that and were disappointed to find something much different, that is a shame, however, there are plenty of other such story's like that out there.

Ceux qui ont testé les comics, BD et autres mangas sur Kindle 4 (le premier prix de la série) savent combien il est quasi-impossible de lire quoi que ce soit dessus. La faute à la fonction zoom du Kindle, qui jusqu'alors mettait la page entière en un format proche du A5. Rendant les planches BD (A4) et Comics (A4-A5) proprement illisible. Il fallait donc se déplacer avec le curseur dans la page pour lire chaque bulle. Opération aussi rébarbative que destructrice pour l'immersion. Je dis jusqu'alors car depuis (peu), le Kindle 4 est capable de faire une lecture case par case. Ou plus exactement que les histoires graphiques correctement numerisées sont en lecture case par case. Kezako ? Simplement qu'une page classique est scindée en case, affichée chacune en plein écran. Dès lors, la lecture se fait de manière plus fluide et plus agréable. Détail intéressant pour les grandes cases, elles sont elles-mêmes scindées en plusieurs sous-cases, permettant ainsi un effet de mise en scène, révélant la scène globale comme un cinéaste le ferait avec sa caméra. Les gros walloftexts présents en fin de chapitre sont eux aussi parfaitement lisibles, puisque scindés en paragraphes courts pleine page. Toute cette explication pour dire que ce comics est très lisible sous Kindle 4 (et donc paperweight), ce qui en fait un achat obligatoire pour tous les fans d'art graphique. Particulièrement les anglophones. Un seul défaut néanmoins : chaque page est présentée dans sa taille totale, avant d'être présentée dans sa version "casée". Le résultat est que le lecteur est spoilé un bref instant (le temps de cliquer sur page suivante), ce qui gache un peu le flux narratif. Rien de bien méchant, mais un défaut assez agaçant pour qui veut profiter des surprises au fil de sa lecture. Pour le comics en lui-même, je lui préfère le film, notamment parce que le plan du big boss est nettement plus réaliste que celui du comics, encore trop dans son trip adolescent. Un bon point pour le comics reste la menace de plus en plus certaine d'une troisième guerre mondiale, quasi-absente du film. Et quelques personnages secondaires oubliés de l'adaptation filmique. On ne peut pas tout avoir.

the book was, of course, perfect and the comic was, of course, the best thing ever

"Watchmen" di Alan Moore e Dave Gibbons, pubblicato nel 1986-87, è un fumetto che ha rivoluzionato il genere dei supereroi, introducendo una narrazione complessa e una profonda riflessione sociopolitica. Ambientato in un'alternativa realtà degli anni '80, "Watchmen" segue un gruppo di vigilanti in pensione, mentre una misteriosa minaccia si profila all'orizzonte. La trama si snoda attorno all'omicidio di uno di loro, Edward Morgan Blake (il Comico), e alla scoperta di una cospirazione che potrebbe distruggere il mondo. Invece di eroi invincibili, i protagonisti sono esseri umani con debolezze e traumi, mostrando il lato oscuro della vigilanza e della giustizia. Il fumetto esplora temi complessi come la paura della guerra nucleare, il totalitarismo, e la moralità. La società è rappresentata come corrotta e inquieta, riflettendo una visione cinica del potere e della giustizia. Le illustrazioni di Dave Gibbons sono dettagliate e realistiche, utilizzando una griglia di nove pannelli per pagina che contribuisce a una narrazione densa e articolata. La storia è narrata attraverso flashback, racconti paralleli e documenti fittizi, creando una trama stratificata e ricca di dettagli. La narrazione si alterna tra i punti di vista dei vari personaggi, offrendo una visione sfumata delle loro motivazioni e conflitti. "Watchmen" è stato acclamato per la sua innovativa de-costruzione del mito del supereroe, la sua profondità tematica e la sua struttura narrativa complessa.

A great read, thought provoking content. It will be interesting to see how it was remade for Netflix in these times, 20 years after it was written.

The most phycological story Different interpretations of the story and memorable characters