Watchmen by Alan Moore, Dave Gibbons

[katekintailbc]

Watchmen
by Alan Moore, Dave Gibbons
(Graphic novel)

"Who will watch the watchmen?"

Oh my gosh. Whoever said graphic novels aren't real literature clearly has never read this. It took me about 7 hours to get through this book- it's so heavily packed with details and themes. It's got subplots, flashbacks, metafiction (metacomics I guess that would be), and a wealth of supplemental materials from newspaper clippings to book excerpts.

I put this on hold at the library (and waited a few months for it). When I finally got it, a librarian wished me luck with it because it's thick and the art style is old and it's just a haul to get through. Nothing could be further from the truth in my experience. Sure, the style is typical of DC Comics in the 1980's. And sure it's damn long. And it did take me a LONG time to get through it (I've read plenty of novels more quickly). But I got sucked in completely, totally absorbed, captivated, in love and horrified. And after a chapter or so, the art felt so familiar to me it was almost like I was right there in the story and the rest of the world looked strange in contrast. The things I thought would throw me off about the GN definitely didn't. If anything, I was sad when I finally finished it. I wanted more. I wanted spinoffs and a movie. Now. So I watched the trailer a couple dozen times in one sitting. :-)

But the story... just plain intriguing. There are so many reasons vigilantes rise up and exist in society. It just so happens that these ones put on masks and become superheroes; deep down, they want to save the world any way they know how. Some form a group- the Minutemen. It sounds like a fantastic idea (ala Justice League) but with so many headstrong fighters fighting in different ways, with different ideas of how to stop the evils in the world, naturally some feel that they have more power. And when the common folk realize this, they have only two options: let the superheros do whatever they want (dangerous) or shut them down (which they end up doing, via the Keene Act).

The story begins when one of the superheros is murdered. Subsequent events make his friends"/fellow superheroes concerned that someone is killing "masks". The race is on to find out who is behind this, before they can all be taken down. We see them coming out of the darkness, out of hiding, out of denial, only to be struck down in different ways. Dozens of flashbacks tell us of each journey, but we get only the pieces the superheroes want us to see and are left to piece the rest together on our own. Most of the pieces DO come together at the end (though by then I was so sucked in and thinking so heavily about it, I figured a lot out on my own anyway).

The variety of characters is exquisite- each one incredibly heroic and incredibly damaged in his/her own way. They're screwed up- and who wouldn't be? They become vigilantes only to have the world ultimately reject them- because that's what the world does when they're scared of something- and then use their own presence against them. They're killed or put in prison, exiled or forced into hiding. Yet they feel a need to solve the mystery of what's happening, and that's something they can't do alone. Everything is connected, interwoven. Everything is important- even one little image hidden in someone's t-shirt :-) We watch as their arcs play out before us- their beginnings and futures all blending together into a present which could conceivably mean the end of the world. Who's there to stop people who have as much power as these people can have (if they allow themselves to seize it, for better or for worse)? Who's there to watch the watchmen? And WILL other watchmen take up that role?

It's a beautiful story- dark, depressing, but so startling realistic that it hit me right in the stomach a bunch of times. I can see why it's a Hugo Award winner. I can see why it's studied in colleges. I can see why it's so beloved and THE graphic novel everyone recommends. It's incredible. Amazing. I can't stop thinking about it.

PS- I just went looking at other BCers reviews and found a link to this useful, spoiler-filled site: http://www.arschkrebs.de/watchmen/annotations/

Comments

[melydia.livejournal.com]

So you did finish it! Congratulations!

Yep

[katekintailbc.livejournal.com]

Got to work and NO ONE was in the building. I only had about 20 pages left. So I took advantage of the quiet (and the fact that this is my first quiet day after working my arse off & working overtime at work Monday-Wednesday) and finished it off. Definitely worth it. I have an hour after work before my meeting... so I might re-read parts before returning it at the library. Or I might spend the time working on my BC articles.

Re: Yep

[melydia.livejournal.com]

Rock on! Look at you, being all productive. I took the day off specifically to be productive and I've done next to nothing so far. Heh.

Re: Yep

[katekintailbc.livejournal.com]

IMHO, doing nothing can sometimes be the most productive thing of all.

Except, of course, when you actually have extremely important things to get done and you're heading out of town in, like, a day.

But with all the working and running around, sometimes you're better off in the long run after a few hours of doing nothing :-)

Re: Yep

[melydia.livejournal.com]

Aww, you're like my very own enabler! :)