Product Description

Exceptional graphic artwork brings to life the story of the Watchmen as they race against time to find a killer, with the fate of the world hanging in the balance.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #83593 in Books
• Published on: 2004-11-01
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 416 pages

Amazon.co.uk Review
Has any comic been as lauded as Alan Moore and Dave Gibbons' Watchmen? Possibly only Frank Miller's The Dark Knight Returns but Watchmen remains the critics' favourite. 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 recently 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 garner praise since.

The story concerns a group called the Crimebusters and a plot to kill and discredit them. Moore's characterisation 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 fine pace of the writing and its humanity mean that Watchmen more than stands up--it retains its crown as the best the genre has yet produced. --Mark Thwaite

Review
"A work of ruthless psychological realism, it's a landmark in the graphic novel medium. It would be a masterpiece in any."
-TIME, TIME MAGAZINE's 100 best English-language novels from 1923 to the present

Customer Reviews

Go on - try it - you'll be rewarded!
Okay, I confess it... this is the first graphic novel that I have ever read, and one I picked up only on account of the hype surrounding the film. The regard with which the book so I thought I'd give it a go - and I have to confess that I loved it!

What is special about Watchmen is the range of themes included. The book begins with the murder of former masked vigilante The Comedian, and the writers quickly introduce us to a range of former masked vigilantes (they are specifically prohibited by the law following a police strike, unless expressly allowed by the government) including the second Nite Owl, Ozymandias, the second Silk Spectre, Rorsarch and the one person with genuine superpowers, Dr Manhattan. As the book and plot progresses the writers generously fill in their back-stories, as their motivation for becoming masked vigilantes and reactions to their forced retirement are revealed.

The masked vigilantes are required again to try and save the world and act outside of the law again. In doing this, the writers raise questions around the effects vigilantes can have on society, and is summed up by the slogan that is constantly inserted in panels as graffiti, "Who Watches The Watchmen?" The book explores many themes around contemporary society but hasn't dated since the end of the Cold War.

The well-drawn and entertaining comic strips are supported by exerts from written texts that further serve to flesh out the history of the characters and the situation in which they find themselves, and the comic within the comic works well in supporting the main thrust of the story.

This is not a book to be undervalued on the grounds that it is a graphic novel - it is a serious and enjoyable piece of work and if you have never read a graphic novel, you should definitely give it a go.

This is not a comic
Graphic novels have always had a bad press. "Kid's stuff" they said. Whilst 2000AD tried to change comics in the 80's, along came a new breed of, well, comics that were not for children. Amongst these was Watchmen, and it's one of the best things you will ever read.

Why? It has plot. My Lord, does it have plot. I can't even begin to describe it now, because it would just be babbling about superheroes. Superheroes? Yep, but not like you've seen them in the films. There are two groups, the old ones, who have gone to seed with spare tyres and bald patches, and the new guys, who are either ultra-rich or genuinely super. All the characters are beautifully fleshed out. The friendships and loyalties, the betrayals, the love affairs; you're never in any doubt that you are reading about people who could be your next door neighbours.

The art is superb, never imposing on the eye, always leaving things to the imagination - like the best cinematography. The storyline is so beautifully constructed you will be going back to this book years later and find things you never saw after 2, 3 or 10 reads. The climax still shocks me (and I'm saying nothing more in case I give something away).

In short, buy this, buy it for your friends and family, and for strangers on the street.

Trend Setter
At the time of it's release , Alan Moore ( author of 2000 AD stories such as Skizz , Halo Jones and D.R. & Quinch , not to mention DC stalwarts such as Swamp Thing ( he invented John Constantine in this series ) , and several short Superman stories ) had grown tired of the spandex brigade in mainstream comics , and decided to re-invent superheroes as if they had come to life in our own world . This tale is a classic tragedy about the trials and tribulations of a former group of vigilantes , who find themselves thrown together when one of their number dies .

This is no short 5 minute read , like those who are uninitiated with graphic novels may expect . Instead , this is a story that will take time to read ( and should be relished ) , with intermissions between chapters that help to flesh out the protaganists characters and give us insight into their world .

The story has been rightly decribed as one of the main influences on modern comic story-telling , and the superlatives have been deserved .

Without doubt , a story deserving of anyone's attention , whether a graphic novel enthusiast , or new to the genre .