Watchmen
Ratings782
Average rating4.4
My first graphic novel and much more involving than I would have thought. Ambitious effort but ultimately too dark to be enjoyable. Too many characters, too many plotlines, too much intercutting and time-shifting, but interesting.
Medium defining piece of art that really shows the power that a graphic novel can hold. Intricate characters and phenomenal design set this book apart from other comics. Also an amazing plot that really makes you question the “antagonist's” purpose and if it was justified. It's made to be read again and again to fully understand
“I engineered a monster, cloned its brain from a human psychic, sent it to New York, and killed half of the city.” Really.
I can appreciate the work here and what a big deal it was for comics 30 years ago, but now ... meh. And the whole falling in love with someone who TRIED TO RAPE YOU thing? I know it's not the first or last time that trope will be used, but it's disgusting every time. Could've done without the excerpts from the pirate horror comic as well. Again, this is well done and definitely a comic landmark but it just left me cold.
A fascinating and irreverent take on superheroes as people–flawed, aging and all-too-human. Quite modern in its outlook and influential on the way the superhero has been portrayed since.
Fantastic story, characters, and art. There are many layers to this book and I suspect this is not the first time I will read it.
Nite Owl's Ornithology article would never get published in an actual peer-reviewed journal of repute.
Fucking fantastic graphic novel, BTW!
Heel goede karakters en ik vond het einde fantastisch al had ik een paar dingen op voorhand al door
Engaging from the first page to the last.
No wonder this is on the list of top 100 graphic novels of all time.
With complex characters, Watchmen makes us question the morality of our actions and whether what we do is worth it.
It isn't for everyone though. It does not have straight forward heroes or villains. Every character has a black and white aspect to them, just like the storyline.
Since it was first published in 1986, the artwork isn't all too great, but the plot sure as hell makes up for it.
Loved reading this!
Isn't it a little bit funny how screwed up people can be, even when they're trying to do the best they can? I can't empathise with the Cold War mentality, and it's staggering how differently we think these days, but I do see something of myself in most of the Watchmen. Idealism, cynicism, hope, narrowmindedness, uncertainty, determination. This book will make you question a great deal about who you are and what you do. Read it.
Well I feel a fool for holding out on this one for so long. An intricate plot woven deftly and very much told in art as well as text. I was very impressed at the way meaning was layered and mirrored from the superheroes to the newsagent's corner to the comic book pirate story.
This wasn't my first time reading Watchmen, but it had been awhile since I'd last read it (since before 2001 for sure). It's funny how things go through phases of topicality; I know that last time I read it, I thought it was kind of dated, with its plot elements of war in Afghanistan and Russian military aggression. Sadly, the world has recently gotten caught up in such events again, making Watchmen seem all the more current on this reading.
Aside from that, there's not too much to say about Watchmen that hasn't been said a thousand times already - it's clearly the most important superhero comic since Showcase #4, if not Action #1, and has fundamentally altered the way that people think about and write about superheroes. As such, it's easy to lose track of how revolutionary it must have been when it came out - to someone who grew up reading the ‘grim and gritty' heroes of the late 80s and 90s, or has seen films like The Incredibles, the story contained in these pages would seem like just another comic story that's been told time and time again.
Luckily, however, there's more to the story than just the plot; Moore and Gibbons have created an immensely detailed world in this book, and you definitely feel like it's part of a larger world (even though it isn't), and one that has been uniquely affected by the presence of super-heroes in it to a degree that other super-populated worlds never seem to be. Add to that an ongoing debate about human nature and morality, held by shamanistic creatures that are both human and inhuman at the same time, and you're left with something that will stand the test of time as a work of literature, but is also quite firmly a work of comics literature rather than ‘regular' literature.
And, amazingly enough, the villian wins. In doing so, he saves the world, but at the same time, it's quite the accomplishment. :o)
I was expecting to love this book, I ended up being glad that I read it - but wasn't in love.
Watchmen still stands as the greatest dissection of the superhero psyche with a story and setting that are still as valid today as it was on its initial release.
I enjoyed found this to be quite different than I expected. Having made a point to not look to closely at reviews others had written, and read it solely on the merit of the recommendations of friends, and was not disappointed.
I was very taken with the themes of Government and those supposedly helping others. The theme of questioning information around you I found pertinent in this election year.
I'll be interested to see how the film, set to be released later this year, will deal with it.
This was my second time reading this. I last read it shortly before the movie came out and I felt like I didn't give this enough attention past the surface level story. I read this in tandem with a book club video series and thoroughly enjoyed the depth with which this whole story was constructed by both Alan Moore and Dave Gibbons.
This ain't your father's comics.
I read this awhile back (sometime before the movie). It's dark and more realistic than typical comics, in that no one really has any super powers. That doesn't stop people from tossing on a mask and trying to be a super hero. The characters are far more flawed than the normal comic heroes that preceded this book.
I think this book changed comics forever.
This book has been on my list for a while, but the upcoming TV show inspired me to finally pick it up. I'm not much of a comics reader, but it's easy to see why it remains such a popular story.
I haven't seen the 2009 movie, but I've heard it's not fantastic, which is surprising because I was absolutely blown away by how cinematic the book was. My favorite of the 12 sections was Dr. Manhattan's origin. Moore and Gibbons tell a story with lots of complex temporal and spatial elements, which could really only be done in a visual format.