gtc-one reviewed Watchmen by Alan Moore
Review of 'Watchmen' on 'Goodreads'
5 stars
Mind blowing
Hardcover, 464 pages
English language
Published Oct. 5, 2005 by DC Comics.
Watchmen (Absolute Edition)
by Alan Moore
[Comment from Lauren Beukes][1]:
It took me years to read Watchmen. Every time I'd get to the men in tights and the giant naked blue guy, I'd think, "Ack! Superhero comic!" and put it down again. It wasn't that I was against comics. I'd read 2000AD Monthly religiously since 1989 and Alan Moore's The Ballad of Halo Jones, about a girl from an interplanetary ghetto who wanted to get "out", was my favourite series of all. But I liked the dark, twisty stuff that had something to say about the world and superhero comics seemed tediously codified with no room for moral ambiguity. I should have known better. What Moore does best, even at his silliest or most obtusely philosophical, is subvert. He uses story to crack open the dark places of the human soul like a crab shell, revealing the pasty meat within, and then pokes it …
[Comment from Lauren Beukes][1]:
It took me years to read Watchmen. Every time I'd get to the men in tights and the giant naked blue guy, I'd think, "Ack! Superhero comic!" and put it down again. It wasn't that I was against comics. I'd read 2000AD Monthly religiously since 1989 and Alan Moore's The Ballad of Halo Jones, about a girl from an interplanetary ghetto who wanted to get "out", was my favourite series of all. But I liked the dark, twisty stuff that had something to say about the world and superhero comics seemed tediously codified with no room for moral ambiguity. I should have known better. What Moore does best, even at his silliest or most obtusely philosophical, is subvert. He uses story to crack open the dark places of the human soul like a crab shell, revealing the pasty meat within, and then pokes it with a cattleprod to see it writhe.
He's the kind of writer who makes you feel very smart (Kitty Genovese and the moral bankruptcy of crowds in Watchmen, for example) and very stupid (a dozen obscure Victorian literature references interwoven into every page of League of Extraordinary Gentlemen) at the same time. He pushes the medium. Every panel, every background detail, every interlude, whether a vaudeville song or a beat-style short story or seemingly wholly unrelated pirate horror comic, counts. He stretches the boundaries of storytelling in ways other writers wouldn't attempt, let alone pull off – and does it with a ferocious social conscience that challenges everything we are.
And when he has a mind to, when he's not off on some grand mal meditation on the nature of magic or sexual desire or what stories mean, Moore tells the perfect story. Inventive. Surprising. Original. Utterly devastating. From being the comic I couldn't read, Watchmen became the narrative I hold up as what fiction can be.
[1]: www.guardian.co.uk/books/2011/may/14/science-fiction-authors-choice
unicorndeburgh reviewed Watchmen by Alan Moore
Review of 'Watchmen' on 'Goodreads'
3 stars
When I read 'Watchmen' in 2006, it was the first graphic novel I'd ever read. I thought it was fabulous. The release of the movie has prompted me to read it again. Since then I've read Bechdel's 'Fun Home' and Lemire's 'Essex County' books, and 'Watchmen' now seems rather adolescent. The art is gorgeous, and the dialogue is good, but the two-dimensional characters � especially the women! Of course, I understand that Moore created 'Watchmen' more than 20 years ago. He was using the elements of superhero comics and taking them further than they'd ever gone before, laying the foundation for the kind of work that's being done today.
When I read 'Watchmen' in 2006, it was the first graphic novel I'd ever read. I thought it was fabulous. The release of the movie has prompted me to read it again. Since then I've read Bechdel's 'Fun Home' and Lemire's 'Essex County' books, and 'Watchmen' now seems rather adolescent. The art is gorgeous, and the dialogue is good, but the two-dimensional characters � especially the women! Of course, I understand that Moore created 'Watchmen' more than 20 years ago. He was using the elements of superhero comics and taking them further than they'd ever gone before, laying the foundation for the kind of work that's being done today.
Michael @ Knowledge Lost reviewed Watchmen by Alan Moore
Review of 'Watchmen' on 'Goodreads'
2 stars
The only graphic novel to make the 1001 books to read before you die list, the Watchmen is a reprinted of all the series and put into a collected graphic novel. Moore used the story as a means to reflect contemporary anxieties and to critique the superhero concept and he did this extremely well. Watchmen is a superhero story like no other. Watchmen takes place on an alternate history Earth where superheroes emerged in the 1940s and 1960s, helping the United States to win the Vietnam War. The country is edging closer to a nuclear war with the Soviet Union, freelance costumed vigilantes have been outlawed and most costumed superheroes are in retirement or working for the government. The story focuses on the personal development and struggles of the protagonists as an investigation into the murder of a government sponsored superhero pulls them out of retirement.
Bean reviewed Watchmen by Alan Moore
Review of 'Watchmen' on 'Goodreads'
Didn't get through it before it was due back at the library, so I'll have to give it a shot again sometime.
Didn't get through it before it was due back at the library, so I'll have to give it a shot again sometime.
Sir Diesalot reviewed Watchmen by Alan Moore
Review of 'Watchmen' on 'Goodreads'
5 stars
I figured I should read this before the movie comes out, since everyone says it's so good.
I figured I should read this before the movie comes out, since everyone says it's so good.
A. Rivera reviewed Watchmen by Alan Moore
Review of 'Watchmen' on 'Goodreads'
5 stars
This was simply "wow." This is one of the most complex works of literature I have read, and a great graphic novel to boot. When the ending is revealed, it is just amazing. Talk about having to make a choice. I won't reveal it for those who have not read it, but it does make a reader wonder what would they choose if they were in the situation. That may be part of why this book has remained popular over time: because it presents heroes as complex, often tormented, individuals who are faced with conflicts and choices. It's not all about the adventure. Thus they are people we can identify with. Of course, the novel is still a very good story as well. This is absolutely one of the best, if not the best, works I have read this year. Definitely one that invites reading again. And the work definitely …
This was simply "wow." This is one of the most complex works of literature I have read, and a great graphic novel to boot. When the ending is revealed, it is just amazing. Talk about having to make a choice. I won't reveal it for those who have not read it, but it does make a reader wonder what would they choose if they were in the situation. That may be part of why this book has remained popular over time: because it presents heroes as complex, often tormented, individuals who are faced with conflicts and choices. It's not all about the adventure. Thus they are people we can identify with. Of course, the novel is still a very good story as well. This is absolutely one of the best, if not the best, works I have read this year. Definitely one that invites reading again. And the work definitely confirms Alan Moore's place as a great author.
By the way, for those readers who like a little history, seeing the alternate world that Moore creates for the U.S. is interesting as well. Who becomes president of the U.S., the Cold War, so on. While this element is not the main thrust of the book, it certainly adds to the ambiance and makes it even more interesting.
Subjects
- Graphic Novels
- Comics & Graphic Novels
- Fantasy
- Graphic Novels - General
- Fiction / General
- Fiction - General
- Graphic Novels - Superheroes
- Comic books, strips, etc