Watchmen

Rating:
Summary: A sublime thriller of rare depth and vision.
Review: WATCHMEN first began appearing about the time I finally quit buying new comic books, and for everyone who's left the immaturity and psychoticness and derivativeness behind, as I did, WATCHMEN still remains as a stellar example of what the medium can achieve in the hands of gifted storytellers. It's less a comic than an illustrated morality tale, rich in subplots and allegory and symbolism and evocative illustrations and beautiful twists of language and amazingly delicate characterizations. This multi-faceted gem of a tale, speculating about a world gone mad and of the "little men in masks, trying to hold it together" resonates on so many levels of meaning and significance that it still captivates after many years and many readings. Placing it under the juvenile "comic book" or overly-pretentious "graphic novel" header does it a grave disservice. WATCHMEN is unique. Enjoy it merely as a superbly woven thriller, or marvel at the hidden mysteries that are revealed to those with the vision to behold them.

Rating:
Summary: Finally, a halfway scientific comic book
Review: The Watchmen is one of the first comic books I've read in over ten years. I didn't read it when it first came out, and even though through a twist of fate I've owned the trade paperback for the last six years, I never read anything more than the first lines of Rorshachs diary on page one. Good God, I had no idea what I was missing. Aside from the extremely well orchestrated story and the mind blowing art, the Moore/Gibbons team managed to include something that really set this graphic tale apart from all the others: Real Science. Although some of the science presented in the comic is still fictional, the rest comes right out of my college textbooks, especially in Dr. Manhattans soliquies. This is something that always irked me about comics in general, the lack of actual science in the obviously science-fiction based stories. But in Watchmen, Alan Moore uses actual ideas from theoretical physics. This makes Watchmen the greatest "comic" ever written in my own personal opinion. Read it and find your own personal favorite thing to rave about; this novella is certainaly full of them.

Rating:
Summary: Powerful
Review: This is a story like few I have come across in the past. It not a comicbook like it may seem at first glance, but an extreamly detailed story that dives into your mind and makes you step back from the world in which you live. This is truly a novel, but with drawings, so it is a grafic novel. The only other book that may come even close to this would be the Akira series from Japan. The characters are very well developed to almost the point that they seem to leap off the page. My words alone could never truely express the true glory that this book is. So, the only way for you to understand is to pick up a copy and be CARRIED AWAY!

Rating:
Summary: The Real World Affected By Superheroes
Review: Moore and Gibbons' Watchmen is perhaps the greatest of all comics creations. It displays the real world and its co-existence with costumed vigilantes, and how their lives have shaped the future of civilization. This is not kiddie-fare, but an intelligent, adult story with complex characters, and sometimes brutal and grotesque images. The Dark Knight Returns, Marvels, and Kingdom Come all fall short of the grandiose journey that is the Watchmen

Rating:
Summary: No More Men In tights
Review: I spent more than a decade trying to find a copy of Watchmen in this forgotten-by-God-and-the-devil-place I happen to live in. When I finally got my hands on it, I was sure my experience wouldn't be the same because some of the book's aspects could have become obsolete. "At midnight, all the agents" was the biggest "shut your $#%^ mouth" I had ever received. Once again, Moore faced a topic, stuck his hand into its mouth and turned it inside out. I get the feeling this was supposed to be the superhero tale to end all superhero tales, but, instead, I think it made new winds blow on the genre. Filmmakers, keep your hands off this one. Anything you do will pale by comparison, so spare yourselves the embarrassment.

Rating:
Summary: No More Men in Tights
Review: Moore can face any topic, stick his hand into its mouth, grab it by its feet and turn it inside out. He did it with horror on Swamp Thing, with Superman on Whatever happened to the man of tomorrow? and, of course, with superheroes on Watchmen. I get the feeling this was meant to be the superhero comic to end all superhero comics, but, instead, I think it made new winds blow on the genre. Moviemakers, keep your hands off this one. Anything you do will pale by comparison, so spare yourselves the embarrasment.

Rating:
Summary: Artistry and literary suspense combine without seams
Review: This work can not be considered just a large commic book - the plots and subplots, like ebbs and rivers, mix and undulate with such form and grace that you simply lose yourself in the pictures and storyline. Sometimes the pictures capture the essense of a feeling or moment while others maintain the same virtusoity with stunning dialog and prose. Hollywood is making movies about old T.V. shows - come on man, here it is. The only problem is that someone with half a brain needs that one chapter from this book could make four sitcoms with real dialog, not canned laughter.

Rating:
Summary: Beautiful and thoughtful
Review: One of the truly great works of comicdom. Watchmen shows us the effects of superheroes on a realistic world. The characters are well thoughtout and very real. My favorite chapters: "The Darkness of Mere Being" and "Watchmaker": the two Mars chapters, sublimely beautiful If you want a comic book that makes you think instead of shoving misproportioned psychopaths calling themselves ``heroes'' in your face, check out Watchmen

Rating:
Summary: thunder and lighting of the superheroe genere
Review: By far the best of the best in the superheroe market ever;Alan moore's brilliant time use is the most important aspect in the written deparment of the book...and as for pencils,the only thing that we can say about Dave gibbons art is...astonishingly amazing. Watchmen has a purpouse on earth...Give comics the higer standar possible.

Rating:
Summary: Do yourself a favour. Buy this book
Review: Quite simply, a landmark achievement in storytelling - a must read for any literate person, regardless of their preference for comics or prose