V1's Watchmen Comic Review! (Patreon)

Hey brahs and bras! Before we recorded the Watchmen review, Steve read the comics for comparison, and write up a review while it was still fresh. Thought you might like to see it! - Jay

Watchmen Graphic Novel Review by V1

Released:1986

Published by: DC Comics

Written by: Alan Moore

Artwork by: Dave Gibbons

Coloured by: John Higgins

Widely regarded as one of the greatest graphic novels ever released & the only one to grace Time's Top 100 Novels of all Time. I was very excited to read this before our Watchmen movie review. Let's find out if it lived up to the hype? Spoilers ahoy!

Story

Watchmen takes place in brilliantly realised alternate New York, 1985. USA won the Vietnam war, President Nixon is in his 3rd term & Russia invades Afghanistan, greatly increasing the threat of Nuclear War. Superheroes are less prevalent than ever since the passing of the Keene Act. When the Comedian is murdered, Rorschach’s investigation leads him to believe someone is killing off former heroes & that there's a deeper conspiracy at play. 

Watchmen is a masterfully written story, told over the course of 4 decades & from the perspectives of multiple characters. It's a great read from start to finish, although there are some slumps throughout, I'm talking about you Laurie! But what makes it truly great is the attention to detail in the world & it's characters that may be missed on the first read through, such as the dissection of the superhero genre in general or the cinematic quality in each panel.

Part of the reason I enjoyed Watchmen so much is because it shuns conventional comic book tropes. Its not about good v evil, black v white or heel v face. It's more about perspective & world view than simply being right or wrong. I can only imagine the impact this had on the comic book world in 1986 (& still has today)! I've never read a comic before that had so much meat on its bones & so many talking points to discuss. It's an incredible achievement in a medium that was thought to be aimed at children & geeks like myself.

One of my only complaints about the story is the ending itself. While I appreciate the swerve finish, I still felt like it was a bit clichéd. A swerve after a huge James Bond-esque exposition dump  doesn't excuse the huge corny exposition dump in the first place. But it's a minor niggle as the strength of the story & the resolution are still awesome.

Characters

But a story is only as good as it's characters, & Watchmen really knocks it out of the park in this regard. These are not 1 dimensional super heroes whose only job is to defeat the bad guy. They're fully fleshed put people with real issues & problems. They're not all likeable or easily hated & that’s what makes it so great. 

Characters like the former Night Owl, who seems weak & soft (zing!) since retiring his cowl. Silk Spectre who is bitter & resentful about living out her mothers dreams & being used to keep Dr. Manhattan as human as possible. Rorschach is unbalanced & dangerous but truly believes he's the only hero left trying to make New York a better & safer place. The comedian is as close to a true heel as there is, but he also put his life on the line for his country for decades. Dr. Manhattan, the only character with true super powers, is so omnipotent & powerful that he has completely separated himself from what it means to be human.

It’s the strength of Watchmen’s cast that elevates it to such a high level & gives it the depth to warrant multiple readings, & I would recommend doing so. The story is so dense that you'll pick up new things every time.

Artwork

While not up to the standard of more modern comics, Watchmen still manages to stand the test of time due to its cinematic quality & strong identity. Gibson's use of colour & shading gives this world a feeling of unease & a darkness to suit the story Moore created. Transitions used between scenes are so well done that they give this novel a cinematic flair rarely seen in this medium.

There are little touches that make the artwork so special. Characters speak when they're not centred in a panel, or off panel completely. It all helps make it feel less comic-booky & increase the immersion. Or having entire conversations take place in a reflection, something i wouldn't think should work in a comic but really does.

Film differences

While the movie is very faithful to the comic, I’d argue it's too faithful & needed to change some aspects, there are some notable differences.

The first is the expanded world building. The movie is very much the story of the comic but fails at really building the world we're in & the history of masked superheroes (done through book/journal excerpts at the end of each chapter). The movie intro is a lovely collection of historic photos but they're shown with no background info or lore. A nice Easter egg for fans of the comic but confusing for movie goers.

The cinematic release of the movie also misses the Tale of the Black Freighter, a comic book within Watchmen whose story parallels the experience of some of the main characters. It parallels Dr. Manhattan being marooned on Mars, Rorschach’s incarceration & eventual escape & of course Veidt's descent into madness as he executes his ultimate plan. I love these sections of the story as they give us a break from the main story, whilst also building up the characters personal stories.

One of the major differences between the novel & movie is the ending. Instead of creating an alien to convince the east & west to work together for the sake of mankind, Veidt uses Dr. Manhattan to achieve this goal. The desired outcome is the same but I have an issue with the kayfabe of this decision. Why get rid of the greatest nuclear deterrent the world has ever seen to create a nuclear deterrent? Doesn't make sense to me.

Overall

So yep, Watchmen absolutely lived up to the hype. It's easily the best comic book I've ever read & it can stand up to a lot of novels too. There's really not much higher praise I can give it. Whether you're a comic book fan or not I'd 100% recommend reading it, & if you've read it before... read it again. Like HHH , it's just that damn good!

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Hope u enjoyed it! You can watch it in action (lol) with our Watchmen Film Review or how about Watchmen Deleted Scenes! Latest update is hyah!See ya in the funny pages!

Jay