Watchmen

It’s amazing how a comic book written in the 1980s can feel so relevant today, in the context of the war in Iran and the general craziness of the world right now.

Reading it was oddly comforting – the feeling that history repeats itself. We have had various other wars and interventions before and we have come through them somewhat ok.

That said, this was a complex story, and I read it a couple of times back to back to get a full handle on it, and I would say that even though this is a graphic novel, it’s not easy. It’s like From Hell (which makes sense because both books are by Alan Moore), in the sense that it’s very dense, and demands focused reading.

My suggestion – find a good block of time to read it. A good day to soak it all in without doing nothing else. Chill back in your couch, turn off your phone, grab some snacks and get lost into another world. Or at least that’s the way I read it.

About Watchmen

It all begins with the paranoid delusions of a half-insane hero called Rorschach. But is Rorschach really insane or has he in fact uncovered a plot to murder super-heroes and, even worse, millions of innocent civilians?

On the run from the law, Rorschach reunites with his former teammates in a desperate attempt to save the world and their lives, but what they uncover will shock them to their very core and change the face of the planet!

Following two generations of masked superheroes from the close of World War II to the icy shadow of the Cold War comes this groundbreaking comic story — the story of the Watchmen.

My Review

I don’t know where to start with my review of this book. I loved pretty much all of it, but it’s so complex, so nuanced, that I had to reread multiple times and still I am not sure whether I have absorbed it all.

Let’s start with the color palette. I just loved the color grading of the entire book. Unlike other comic books, it has a pastel secondary color palette as opposed to primary. So mainly purples, greens, and oranges as opposed to blues, reds, and yellows.

Next, I loved the amazing comic book within a comic book aspect. The first time I read it, I skipped all the supplemental parts about the Tales of the Black Freighter. I then reread it with all of the supplements, and it was like reading it for the first time.

And lastly, I love how this book made superheroes realistic, gritty, anti-heroes. All of them have shades of grey, and none are particularly likeable. The first time I read this book, I was frustrated wanting to nail who was the hero of the book. Was it Rorschach who has the biggest presence in the story and very clear views of right and wrong, was it Dr.Manhattan who was so powerful but who sees man only as a tiny, nearly insignificant part of the vast complexity of the cosmos. Could it be Laurie and the Nite Owl? Surely not? Who could it be? In the end, I realized the point of the book. There are no heroes; in fact this book is a deconstruction of the idea of heroes and superheroes. And how, superheroes could end up being vigilantes and in fact, the biggest danger to society.

All in all, I loved this book – the social commentary is deep and biting, and really I love how adult this book was. I have never been particularly attached to superheroes (although I have watched all the Marvel movies because of my son), but this one worked for me because of how they were deconstructed, and the overall dark tones and shades of grey in them.

I think I love Alan Moore’s style and cynicism, and I know I need to read more books by him.