Book Review: Watchmen

Watchmen
by Alan Moore (writer) and Dave Gibbons (artist)

Synopsis: It all begins with the paranoid delusions of a half-insane hero called Rorschach. But is Rorschach really insane or has he in fact uncovered a plot to murder super-heroes and, even worse, millions of innocent civilians? On the run from the law, he reunites with his former teammates in a desperate attempt to save the world and their lives, but what they uncover will shock them to their very core and change the face of the planet. Following two generations of masked superheroes from the close of World War II to the icy shadow of the Cold War comes this groundbreaking comic story.

There is so much praise floating around for this graphic novel, including Time magazine calling it one of the 100 best novels of all-time, that I thought there would be no way for it to live up to it in my mind. But as the movie inches closer I figured it was time for me to give it a read. Now I can safely say it lives up to the hype and am more anxious than ever for the film.

The first thing that struck me about the story is that none of the superheroes are really that super (except one) but are just hooded people playing crime fighters. They get introduced and then all sorts of twists and turns begin to take place as it tells the history of the characters with each one getting a pretty in-depth look into their psyche and their flaws. The way it does so is with literature much more than with a traditional comic book style. It's not a story of superheroes, but a story of humanity that happens to have masked crusaders as it's central figures.

It's not full of action and super villains fighting, but it is full of symbolism, morality and the impending doom of the cold war era. The story is a very credible one, which at times gets very complex and multi-layered, but all somehow works really well together. Which is no easy task with as many trails as it goes off onto. It's also a snapshot of America at that time which is probably more realist than most would care to admit.

I thought it would feel really dated, being written and released originally in the 80s, but it was surprisingly fresh, compelling and feels just as relevant.

What's not to like? Well, I wasn't really that blown away with the artwork. Not bad or distracting by any means I just didn't find it that memorable. The story more than makes up for it though.

So yes, Time magazine is right. This is a landmark book. If you've never read a graphic novel or thought they were just big comic books, this will change your mind. Here's the best thing I've read about it that really sums it up nicely: In 2008, Entertainment Weekly placed it at number 13 on its list of the best 50 novels printed in the last 25 years, describing it as "The greatest superhero story ever told and proof that comics are capable of smart, emotionally resonant narratives worthy of the label literature."

9/10