I just finished the Watchmen by Alan Moore, which I bought as a present to myself during the cleanse. It's a hard task to write a review of a book (or in this case graphic novel) that has received the praise of so many before me. What can I say that has not been said? How do I say something from a place of honesty without looking like I'm just joining the masses? I don't know.
One of the things that I most liked about this story was how well it was layered. The main story has a secondary character who is mostly seen sitting at a newspaper stand reading another comic book. Throughout the main story we see this character, but he has almost no character development. The only purpose this character serves is to read the comic book, which we occasionally see panels from. The brilliance of the writers is shown through the 'comic within a comic', because as action takes place in the main story panels in the 'comic within a comic' echo words that relate. It is so difficult to explain, but as I came to realize it it very quickly became one of my favorite parts of the story.
I also enjoyed the characters themselves. It was wonderful to see flawed 'superheroes'. I have seen the dark side of Superman in Superman III and I have also seen the dark side of Spiderman or even Batman, but this is different. In those movies we see a very stark contrast between the good side and the bad side of the superhero. However, here the writer paints a more human portrait where they have more human emotions and feelings so that their dark side isn't as dark. It makes the characters more easy to relate to.
There is a lot to be said for what seems to be a dated story, which so easily fits into the reality of today (20 years after it's original release). At the time the world was at the end of the Cold War and the characters in the story echo feelings of fear, anxiety, and wonder at what the next day might bring. Though the atmosphere has changed and there might be new 'enemies' I think that the feelings of the general population haven't changed significantly.
One of the things that I most liked about this story was how well it was layered. The main story has a secondary character who is mostly seen sitting at a newspaper stand reading another comic book. Throughout the main story we see this character, but he has almost no character development. The only purpose this character serves is to read the comic book, which we occasionally see panels from. The brilliance of the writers is shown through the 'comic within a comic', because as action takes place in the main story panels in the 'comic within a comic' echo words that relate. It is so difficult to explain, but as I came to realize it it very quickly became one of my favorite parts of the story.
I also enjoyed the characters themselves. It was wonderful to see flawed 'superheroes'. I have seen the dark side of Superman in Superman III and I have also seen the dark side of Spiderman or even Batman, but this is different. In those movies we see a very stark contrast between the good side and the bad side of the superhero. However, here the writer paints a more human portrait where they have more human emotions and feelings so that their dark side isn't as dark. It makes the characters more easy to relate to.
There is a lot to be said for what seems to be a dated story, which so easily fits into the reality of today (20 years after it's original release). At the time the world was at the end of the Cold War and the characters in the story echo feelings of fear, anxiety, and wonder at what the next day might bring. Though the atmosphere has changed and there might be new 'enemies' I think that the feelings of the general population haven't changed significantly.
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