Watchmen

Rating:
Summary: Higly Overrated
Review: Okay, first of all, I'm not a huge fan of superhero comics. I do however like comics that have a certain depth to it, so when I read al the praizing i became interested. This one was supposed to be different. It supposed to be more than just a comic, more than just a bunch of superheroes.
It starts of okay, but pretty soon I had to admit i wasn't all that impressed. Actually, I found it all a bit tedious. The wrtinig became less and less impressive, the story less and less challanging and by the time I was at the middle of the book, I was totally bored.
There are people around who insist on comparing this stuff to great works of literature. I wonder if they ever read any.

Rating:
Summary: Massive and hard to forget
Review: This book's towering reputation is perhaps a bit overdone, and as a whole it is not Alan Moore's most satisfying work, but its richness can't be denied: multiple readings reveal details easily missed at first. At the same time, though, such further readings do emphasize a few limitations, namely a very even tone (despite the wide array of approaches used, both in the text itself and at the end of each chapter), a tendency to overstress some points (which dilutes the sheer power of certain events) and a somewhat unbalanced structure that hinders the last tier. Its novelty lies more in its massive stature than in its themes: a world has been created in Watchmen's pages, with elaborate codes that remain true from the beginning to the conclusion. There's a very high sense of cohesion, not only in the story but also between the writing and the art, to the point where it becomes difficult to isolate one from the other as the project's driving force - Watchmen is as much Gibbons' book as it is Moore's. In the end, both its weaknesses and numerous strenghts have a lot to do with the series' important lenght. More than read or watch this book, one experiences it. And whatever its shortcomings may be, that experience (and the characters depicted - especially Dr. Manhattan, whose 'solo issues', #3-4, are the most intriguing) can't be forgotten.

Rating:
Summary: Not Just Another "Comic"
Review: There has not been a book since "1984" that so firmly places its finger on the human condition, nuclear politics, and the disintegration of the American Dream. I say this not only including the "funny-books" with which this title shares its genre, but to the entire scope of "real" literature as well. It can not be stated more clearly: This is an important book. It represents at its most basic level the desire for us as humans to return to a state of irresponsibility, to let someone else handle all of our problems, and how we are willing to hand all of that over at the first opportunity.
The fact that America's nuclear weapons are not pointed at anyone in particular right now does not decrease this book's impact, nor does the fact that Russia seems willing to sell them to anyone in particular. This book does not so much capture a moment in time as it relates that moment to how we live each second of our day. In Miller's "Dark Night", Jim Gordon thinks at one point of how FDR may have had prior knowledge of the surprise attack on Pearl Harbor. How do you judge such a thing, he wonders to himself. Soon, he realizes, all you can do is throw your hands up and realize that it's all too big for you, that you'll just have to trust that decision to somebody else, and pray that you'll never have to make such a decision yourself. In a nutshell, that is what "Watchmen" is about.
I would also like to quickly respond to other comments regarding the "perfunctory" quality of the art. Dave Gibbons has crammed so much into those tiny nine panels on each page that the story could be read clearly with no dialogue whatsoever. Unlike film, which is meant to be seen without constant review, comics are a medium which invites multiple layered readings. This is percieved as a weakness of the form by many who are uninitiated, yet I believe the complexity of Joyce is present to all who truly understand how to read between the gutters(industry-speak for the area between panels).
Putting the fancy-talk aside, though, this book remains at its core a great read. The characters are fully formed, changing individuals. The dialogue is informed and intelligent, and the art never cheats, never gives us an irregular bicep, veins rippling across its skin. I cannot reccomend this book enough, but whether you accept this or not is your choice, which I guess is what "Watchmen" is all about.

Rating:
Summary: A very good read
Review: I saw pictures from the "Watchmen" graphic novel for years but I never bothered to read it. I thought the idea of the story (amoral super heroes) seemed stupid at the time so I avoided it (the novel). I was shocked to discover how good it actually was when I read through it at a Barnes and Noble recently. I think this is one of the best Graphic Novels that I have ever seen and I think it should be made into a movie someday.

The "heroes" in the story are more like we would be if we were super heroes. They are very human. They really make you consider what super heroes would be like if they were real.

This is worth your time and your money if you like dark gritty super hero tales.

Rating:
Summary: Comic Books are NOT Just for Kids
Review: This is perhaps the most important comic book mini series in the modern era. Sweeping and epic, the effect of watchmen on the industry was profound, if not too profound for Alan Moore's liking. The History Channel featured this among other "graphic novels" in the documentary "Comic Book Superheroes Unmasked." Read Watchmen because it's remarkable literature, because it deconstructs the idea of superheroes, and because it'll make you think.

Rating:
Summary: "I leave it entirely in your hands."
Review: This is one of the greatest books to come out of the last half of the century. For those who don't know, Watchmen is a fairly postmodern take on the idea of the super hero, incorporating him into Cold War politics and involving literal super powers in the arms race. Which is not to say that this is some kind of Tom Clancyish techno-thriller; far from it. The book is an intense, character-driven drama about the little people who put on the costumes and how they face the horrors that the world leaves at their doorsteps. It's great, sweeping, human epic stuff, one part political thriller, one part whodunit, three parts character study, and I'd recommend it to nearly anyone. The story starts with the murder of an old costume hero, and his former comrades, long since retired, who may be next on the murderer's list.

The writing: Moore's writing transcends the limitations on the medium and pushes it into a strange, beautiful, multi-faceted territory where the complexity of the characters' motivations put the reader in the same kind of "moral checkmate" that plagues the protagonists at the end of the book. The parallel structure of the book's multiple overlapping plotlines is remeniscent of Thomas Pynchon or J.G. Ballard, and the sureness and consistency of his style keep the story flowing. Since the plot is so complex, Moore reveals it in pieces by setting up individual chapters as studies for the individual characters, with key events seen from their unique perspectives. As their different experiences of the same events yield more clues to the book's initial mystery, Moore uncovers something larger about the characters themselves, and maybe even people in general.

The artwork: Dave Gibbons's stated philosophy is that the art should get in the way of story as little as possible, and it's a philosophy which is clearly visible here. Gibbons avoids obviously flashy layouts and silly-looking splash panels and merely tells the story. There are no full-page panels until the final chapter of the book, which is extremely appropriate and helps the story and art blend into a single, unique creature. His renderings are clean and balanced, and his anatomy is perfect. The art is barely noticable the first time through, but it grows on you like fungus.

Overall: If there were ten stars on this list, this book would get them all. It's a fantastic reading experience and a great introduction to a form that most people don't think twice about. Try it out, and if you like it, try From Hell and A Small Killing.

Rating:
Summary: An Intelligent and Fun Comic
Review: Many people have tried to convince me that the best the comics world has to offer is as good as the best that literature has to offer. I haven't seen it yet. I checked out some of this comic literature, fascinated with the form as I am, to see if this was true. Watchmen (along with the dark knight returns) is the best that the super-hero comic ever gets (so the critics say) and if this is it, then no, it's not equal to literature. The complexity seen in a Joyce novel, or Dostoyevsky, deals with more than Alan Moore has ever done in a single work (and yes I'm including From Hell and A Small Killing, even combined if you like!).

Most of what this comic has to say depends upon your experience with comics in general. If you know the formula behind super-hero comics, understand some comic history (the types of heroes found in older comics of the twentieth century), and what had become of comics by 1985 (when moore was working out this graphic epic), then you will probably enjoy this a great deal. It is a good read, for a super-hero comic.

The art, however, is weak, even considering the time period. It is functional though and does not take away from the story, the inks do that! Comics of this time period (Dark Knight Returns and before that Ronin), had access to painted panels and were not limited to the old "four colour" format, which is how this is coloured. So the comic looks only mediocre, I guess it's the story that everyone is so keen on.

The story, on it's own, is pretty good, if a little far reaching.
What we have here is the world is doomed and only our cynicism can save us. This may be true. We also have a pirate comic in this comic, that very cleverly, tells almost the same story as the central comic. The pirate story imitates arcs that have happened, and that will happen while the story is carrying on outside of this realm. Reasonably clever, for a comic writer. Best of all we have a tough to figure out "whodunnit", in classic pulp form. All these elements tie in together and the final volume of the story closes up all the stories quite nicely, yet I still have problems....why is that?

If someone had told me that this was the best comic ever, I might have given it five stars, however, what I have been told is that this is equal to literature of the highest order. On that level I give this only three stars. It is not great literature. I finished reading it in one afternoon and had completely digested it, and read it a second time by the evening. It wasn't hard to tie it all together. I still can't figure out what happened in The Grand Inquisitor (one chapter in The Brothers Karamazov by Dostoyevsky), on anything other that a basic level. That basic level is more profound and potent than anything in Watchmen, which although good, doesn't even come close to living up to the hype as literature with super-heroes.

What this comic talks about more than anything is that man needs to be saved from himself, more than anything else. Heroes aren't there to save us from monsters, they're there to save us from our fellow man. The Comedian even mentions this quite explicitly. Watchmen is a good time if you know what you are getting into. It's a fun and intelligent comic that is worth reading if you like comics already.

Lastly, it is worth mentioning that I do believe in an objective principle in art. I believe that there is some objective force that decides once and for all that Shakespeare is better than Septembers Cosmopolitan magazine. There has to be an objective force in art or it means nothing at all (except to you alone, which is the same thing as meaning nothing at all!). And from the comparisons I have Alan Moore is no Dostoyevsky and Dave Gibbons is no Rembrandt. That said, it is still a fun read.

Rating:
Summary: Very good. Buy now, regaurdless of anything.
Review: Seriously, any doubt you have about buying this book should be cast aside. I expected a simple comic book when I picked up Watchmen, but it is actually one of the best books I have ever read. It has everything you never knew you wanted and needed in a novel.

Rating:
Summary: The best thing ever
Review: I loved it. It gripped me and i just couldn't stop reading it. I was always suprised and the ending blew me away. Top!

Rating:
Summary: Good, But Not Great
Review: This graphic novel has it all. The art is good (not great though), the story is tight with details that reveal themselves with further readings. There is imagery, foreshadowing and other literary devices absent in so many graphic novels. With so many great things going for this I could only give it 3 stars because the ending was disappointing, it was a little too gritty for my taste and somehow, despite the parts, the whole was less than their sum.