Watchmen
Quis custodiet ipsos custodies / Who watches the watchmen? – Juvenal, Satires, VI 347
A little while ago, Wasp Jerky asked me to post my comments on Alan Moore’s Watchmen once I’d finished reading the seminal graphic novel. So here goes…
Back in the mid 1980s, DC released 2 of the most revolutionary graphic novels of all time. Frank Miller’s The Dark Knight Returns and Alan Moore’s Watchmen proved that quality, mature comics could be made for adults, and, more importantly, that comics are an Art medium.
Both novels are must-reads, but while The Dark Knight Returns puts a pseudo-psychotic spin on a hero and his attempts at clearing up a horribly corrupt world, it is far more stylised entertainment than Watchmen. Watchmen is Art. Every panel is Art… not so much in terms of Dave Gibbons traditional pencil and ink work, but rather in terms of layout, parallels with other panels and the inclusion of the smallest details, which enhance the issues being discussed.
Because Watchmen tackles a lot in its 413 pages! There are complex discussions about the meaning of human existence, what it is to be alive in the 20th century, Post-modernism, the power of the mind, vigilante action, personal responsibility warped into a corrupt power trip, passion, Time, complicity in rape, and much more.
These debates come through in terms of each chapter’s devotion to a single ‘super’ hero, exploring their psychology as they are all drawn into a murder mystery where masked heroes – long since banned by the government, and hated by the public – are being targeted, and the world is slipping closer to nuclear war.
Freed from the burden of having to work with an existing hero’s mythology (all of the heroes in Watchmen are ‘new’, although characters like Nite Owl and Dr Manhattan are clearly more ‘real’ takes on Batman and Superman), Moore’s characters are startlingly complex creations. There are no one-dimensional, black and white heroes and villains here. And the result is an emotionally affecting story where you actually really care about the characters. The death of one particularly affected me.
What is particularly interesting to note is that Moore keeps things reality based. Dr Manhattan is the only real ‘superhero’ – a God figure who can literally do anything – who won the Vietnam War for the USA single handedly, kept Nixon in power and pushed technology into a nuclear age.
All the other heroes are ordinary people who have decided to put on tights and fight crime, and Watchmen spends a great deal of time exploring why people from 2 very different generations would choose to take a personal stand, and actually do something to change the world around them. These heroes are then positioned in contrast to ordinary people living in New York City in the midst of troubled times.
You’d think a novel from the 1980s would start to look dated, but there are a lot of weird moments of recognition for readers in 2006, both big and small. The threat of Nuclear conflict looms, with people existing in a state of fear. In doing right, so much wrong is done. And with real life superheroes roaming about, superhero comics are a dead fad, and instead Pirates are the in-thing.
Although the story peters out a bit towards the end, Watchmen is unquestionably a classic. Don’t be put off by the comic origins and appearance. There is a reason Time Magazine listed this as one of their top 100 novels of the 20th Century. It’s an absolutely stunning read, and clearly one of those texts you gain something new from every time you reread it.
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In totally unrelated news, although I haven’t confirmed this, friends of mine are apparently getting divorced after 3 years of marriage. A divorce under your belt by age 25 – Not exactly a great case for ‘young’ marriage…
A little while ago, Wasp Jerky asked me to post my comments on Alan Moore’s Watchmen once I’d finished reading the seminal graphic novel. So here goes…
Back in the mid 1980s, DC released 2 of the most revolutionary graphic novels of all time. Frank Miller’s The Dark Knight Returns and Alan Moore’s Watchmen proved that quality, mature comics could be made for adults, and, more importantly, that comics are an Art medium.
Both novels are must-reads, but while The Dark Knight Returns puts a pseudo-psychotic spin on a hero and his attempts at clearing up a horribly corrupt world, it is far more stylised entertainment than Watchmen. Watchmen is Art. Every panel is Art… not so much in terms of Dave Gibbons traditional pencil and ink work, but rather in terms of layout, parallels with other panels and the inclusion of the smallest details, which enhance the issues being discussed.
Because Watchmen tackles a lot in its 413 pages! There are complex discussions about the meaning of human existence, what it is to be alive in the 20th century, Post-modernism, the power of the mind, vigilante action, personal responsibility warped into a corrupt power trip, passion, Time, complicity in rape, and much more.
These debates come through in terms of each chapter’s devotion to a single ‘super’ hero, exploring their psychology as they are all drawn into a murder mystery where masked heroes – long since banned by the government, and hated by the public – are being targeted, and the world is slipping closer to nuclear war.
Freed from the burden of having to work with an existing hero’s mythology (all of the heroes in Watchmen are ‘new’, although characters like Nite Owl and Dr Manhattan are clearly more ‘real’ takes on Batman and Superman), Moore’s characters are startlingly complex creations. There are no one-dimensional, black and white heroes and villains here. And the result is an emotionally affecting story where you actually really care about the characters. The death of one particularly affected me.
What is particularly interesting to note is that Moore keeps things reality based. Dr Manhattan is the only real ‘superhero’ – a God figure who can literally do anything – who won the Vietnam War for the USA single handedly, kept Nixon in power and pushed technology into a nuclear age.
All the other heroes are ordinary people who have decided to put on tights and fight crime, and Watchmen spends a great deal of time exploring why people from 2 very different generations would choose to take a personal stand, and actually do something to change the world around them. These heroes are then positioned in contrast to ordinary people living in New York City in the midst of troubled times.
You’d think a novel from the 1980s would start to look dated, but there are a lot of weird moments of recognition for readers in 2006, both big and small. The threat of Nuclear conflict looms, with people existing in a state of fear. In doing right, so much wrong is done. And with real life superheroes roaming about, superhero comics are a dead fad, and instead Pirates are the in-thing.
Although the story peters out a bit towards the end, Watchmen is unquestionably a classic. Don’t be put off by the comic origins and appearance. There is a reason Time Magazine listed this as one of their top 100 novels of the 20th Century. It’s an absolutely stunning read, and clearly one of those texts you gain something new from every time you reread it.
---
In totally unrelated news, although I haven’t confirmed this, friends of mine are apparently getting divorced after 3 years of marriage. A divorce under your belt by age 25 – Not exactly a great case for ‘young’ marriage…
Comments
Have you read From Hell? It's worth your time.
I haven't read From Hell; just seen the film. But I'll definitely put it on my rapidly expanding must-read graphic novel list;)
I've always been fond of the Ripper mystery.