Watchmen by Alan Moore and Dave Gibbons

​    Finally. Finally, Watchmen. A read years intended. Read well after watching the movie adaptation. After watching the tv show too. And boy was it worth the wait. Watchmen is widely considered to be not just one of the best graphic novels of all time, but one of the best novels. It’s that acclaimed. And it lives up to every single ounce of praise that’s ever been lavished upon it. And then some. It’s beyond good, it’s simply a masterwork. If read without any preconceptions or prior knowledge, without having watched the adaptations…minds would be blown. Actually, blown minds might not be optional here.
   From the mad genius brain of Alan Moore and insanely talented artistry of Dave Gibbons comes ansuperhero story unlike any other. I love unconventional superheroes like (nondairy) milk and cookies, so I’ve something of a field of comparison and this is a definite standout. The costumed men and women here have onions worth of layers in emotional complexity, they are profoundly flawed individuals, who basically all fight for the same or similar ideals (justice, peace, etc.), but their difference color these ideals, morph them into unrecognizable, even dangerous things. It’s such a fascinating concept and the character development and writing here is absolutely superb, from comic panels to narrative inserts following each chapter. There characters come to life and being larger than life by design threaten jump right off the pages.
      And threaten is just the word for it too, you wouldn’t want to meet some of them in the dark alley. Or a well lit alley for that matter. You wouldn’t want your life to depend on them.  They are kind of like the boys… and girls of The Boys, but so much more out there.
   The novel was written in the 80s and screams it thematically, red danger and all. And yet it doesn’t read dated somehow. Like it’s too good to age properly. Like a Sinatra song. Or Michelle Pfeifer. But it’s an alternate  version 1980s USA with Nixon still in power and Project Manhattan personified, among other things. The first generation of superheroes came and went, now mostly retired, they never had any superpowers anyway, just a bunch of brave individuals with tight costumes and good intentions. Those who took their places operate on a different plane altogether. And now someone’s killing the old timers. And Rorschach, the uncompromisingly brutal moralist of an antihero, is determined to find out what’s going on. Revisiting old friends and colleagues, he’ll uncover a conspiracy much grander and much more terrifying that anyone might have imagined. That’s it for the plot, there’s too much otherwise to delve into, it’s a fascinatingly elaborate puzzle of a novel and the aha moment is an absolute doozy. A plot twist to slay all plot twists.
    Anyway, how I loved Watchmen, lemme count the ways.

1. Wildly original plot.
2. Awesome characters.
3. Terrific writing.
4. Gorgeous art (a. combination of 70s and 80s technicolor vividness mixed in with Mignola esque blacks and the most spectacular election of yellows, which is of course the signature color here.
5. Completely immersive narrative experience.

I can go on, but there are other books to read and review and time’s awasting. Plus what more can I say outside of how awesome this book is. And it seems that everyone knows it already. So very glad to have finally read it. Everyone should. Recommended.