Product Description

Has any comic been as acclaimed as Alan Moore and Dave Gibbons' Watchmen? Possibly only Frank Miller's The Dark Knight Returns, but Watchmen remains the critics' favorite. Why? Because Moore is a better writer, and Watchmen a more complex and dark and literate creation than Miller's fantastic, subversive take on the Batman myth. Moore, renowned for many other of the genre's finest creations (Saga of the Swamp Thing, V for Vendetta, and From Hell, with Eddie Campbell) first put out Watchmen in 12 issues for DC in 1986-87. It won a comic award at the time (the 1987 Jack Kirby Comics Industry Awards for Best Writer/Artist combination) and has continued to gather praise since.The story concerns a group called the Crimebusters and a plot to kill and discredit them. Moore's characterization is as sophisticated as any novel's. Importantly the costumes do not get in the way of the storytelling; rather they allow Moore to investigate issues of power and control--indeed it was Watchmen, and to a lesser extent Dark Knight, that propelled the comic genre forward, making "adult" comics a reality. The artwork of Gibbons (best known for 2000AD's Rogue Trooper and DC's Green Lantern) is very fine too, echoing Moore's paranoid mood perfectly throughout. Packed with symbolism, some of the overlying themes (arms control, nuclear threat, vigilantes) have dated but the intelligent social and political commentary, the structure of the story itself, its intertextuality (chapters appended with excerpts from other "works" and "studies" on Moore's characters, or with excerpts from another comic book being read by a child within the story), the finepace of the writing and its humanity mean that Watchmen more than stands up--it keeps its crown as the best the genre has yet produced. --MarkThwaite

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #3 in Books
• Published on: 1995-04-01
• Released on: 1995-04-01
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 416 pages

Amazon.com
Has any comic been as acclaimed as Alan Moore and Dave Gibbons' Watchmen? Possibly only Frank Miller's The Dark Knight Returns, but Watchmen remains the critics' favorite. Why? Because Moore is a better writer, and Watchmen a more complex and dark and literate creation than Miller's fantastic, subversive take on the Batman myth. Moore, renowned for many other of the genre's finest creations (Saga of the Swamp Thing, V for Vendetta, and From Hell, with Eddie Campbell) first put out Watchmen in 12 issues for DC in 1986-87. It won a comic award at the time (the 1987 Jack Kirby Comics Industry Awards for Best Writer/Artist combination) and has continued to gather praise since.

The story concerns a group called the Crimebusters and a plot to kill and discredit them. Moore's characterization is as sophisticated as any novel's. Importantly the costumes do not get in the way of the storytelling; rather they allow Moore to investigate issues of power and control--indeed it was Watchmen, and to a lesser extent Dark Knight, that propelled the comic genre forward, making "adult" comics a reality. The artwork of Gibbons (best known for 2000AD's Rogue Trooper and DC's Green Lantern) is very fine too, echoing Moore's paranoid mood perfectly throughout. Packed with symbolism, some of the overlying themes (arms control, nuclear threat, vigilantes) have dated but the intelligent social and political commentary, the structure of the story itself, its intertextuality (chapters appended with excerpts from other "works" and "studies" on Moore's characters, or with excerpts from another comic book being read by a child within the story), the finepace of the writing and its humanity mean that Watchmen more than stands up--it keeps its crown as the best the genre has yet produced. --Mark Thwaite

Customer Reviews

The Architects of Fear
I read this series in 86-87 when it was first released. We waited rather impatiently for each new issue to arrive and weren't disappointed.

Until the end.

Not for one minute do I believe that Alan Moore didn't know that the ending was a rip-off of the Outer Limits episode. We were all hoping for so much more.

Still, it doesn't totally diminish what may be the greatest work of this genre.

human life is so brief and mundane...
Alan Moore turned the comic medium on its head with this series. The characters are human and the story really makes you think about balance in the universe between right and wrong. There is alot of symbolism and iconic references to the end of times as our masked heroes try to find out who is behind the impending war that threatens mankind. Believe the hype, the ending alone is worth the $20 you spend on the book. Brilliant.

"We are all of us living in the shadow of Manhattan."
It is 1985, and the United States reigns supreme. God is an American, manifested from a late-1950s nuclear accident and given the ominous nomenclature of "Dr. Manhattan." As the ultimate government employee he subsequently reshaped the world in his image. Global warming and high gas prices are nowhere to be seen in a country where electric cars are alive and well. Nixon is still president, Vietnam has become the 51st state, and the ambitions of the repeatedly humiliated Soviet Union have been frustrated for decades. All of this is courtesy of an immanent god-being with a decidedly temporal appetite for the ladies.

Other, more human heroes once roamed the streets, using flashy costumes and noble deeds to compensate for their lusts and weaknesses. Some are retired, broken, or dead. The rest are either outlaws or comfortably employed as government operatives. One of the latter, a WWII-era extra-normal named "The Comedian," is brutally murdered, thrown from the window of his high-rise bachelor pad. Rorschach, a paranoid, anti-social younger mask hunted by the police for refusing to refrain from his illegal vigilante activities, is convinced that a conspiracy is afoot to eliminate his comrades. He begins to investigate, and thus events are triggered that may culminate with either 9/11 times a thousand or worldwide nuclear holocaust.

"Watchman" is touted as the greatest comic book maxi-series ever created. By now that claim has become a cliché, but the title fits due to its enduring impact on comic books as a whole. Alan Moore and Dave Gibbons flipped the bird to the Comics Code and dragged us into the era of dark and gritty comic book stories, elevating our expectations and souring us on cutesy Bat-Mites and boy-scout Supermen. There's so much detail and depth in this epic that even two decades later I find fresh nuances after each re-read. Threads of morality, philosophy, and theology are woven throughout "Watchmen." Does the end justify the means? Are we all there is in the universe? What would happen if God became man in the modern era and imposed his power on humanity? These and other dilemmas are acted out by the protagonists in this masterful example of the comic book genre's acme.

As Rorschach trolls the streets seeking the killer of heroes we see how profoundly sick society is underneath the pollution-free skies. And when the living god removes himself from the equation, the doomsday clock slouches toward midnight as a vengeful Soviet Union, emboldened by his absence, storms into Afghanistan. With time running out, we meet more heroes: the original Nite-Owl and his portly, middle-aged imitator; the mother and daughter Silk Spectres, both linked to the Comedian in disturbing ways; the brilliant and tormented Ozymandias; and Dr. Manhattan, whose increasing alienation from humanity may doom it to Armageddon. Eventually the killer stands exposed, and as the remaining heroes discover, it ain't no Republic serial villain.

The upcoming Watchmen movie has rekindled interest in this classic story, and like a number of fans I'm alternately jazzed and skeptical. The trailer evokes Dave Gibbons' excellent artwork, and the Smashing Pumpkins' "The Beginning is the End is the Beginning" is the perfect background song. But I dunno...the plethora of fast/slow motion shots reminiscent of the fantastical "300" make me nervous. I think I'd prefer a "Dark Knight" treatment more grounded in reality. Even so, I'm hoping for the best, because "Watchmen" deserves it. If you call yourself a comic fan, or are simply interested in the highest potential of the medium, then by all means read "Watchmen."