Watchmen

Is Alan Moore’s “Watchmen” the greatest comic book ever written? Quite possibly so. “Watchmen” is a self-contained story that follows two generations of costumed superheroes over several decades of their history (the story spans from the 1930s to the 1980s). Moore’s characters are truly unforgettable: the violent Comedian, the Batman-like Nite Owl, the disturbed Rorschach, the dazzling Ozymandias (known as “the world’s smartest man”), the sexy female crime fighter known as the Silk Spectre, the godlike Dr. Manhattan, and more. Much of these characters’ lives are lived in the shadow of the Cold War and possible nuclear Armageddon (a particularly resonant theme for those of us who remember that era).

Moore’s complex story moves back and forth in time, and shifts in perspective among the main characters. As he skillfully deconstructs the concept of the costumed superhero, Moore deals with a host of potentially explosive issues: sexual violence, politics, mental illness, etc. This is very much an adult story.

One of the book’s most intelligent devices is the alternation of the comic book format with excerpts of the story told in other media: a newspaper clipping, personal correspondence, a psychiatric report, chapters from one character’s autobiography, etc. This gives the book as a whole a richer texture and a powerful satiric thrust. Along the way Moore also riffs on classic superhero story elements: the origin story, the superhero teamup story, etc.

The visuals in “Watchmen” are amazing: some scenes are graphically violent and horrific; some magical and hauntingly beautiful. This world is populated with rich, fully developed characters who have complex emotional and moral lives. To sum up, “Watchmen” is a truly epic story that is told with consummate skill and power. It’s a book that should, I believe, be read by both comic book fans and by those who don’t normally read that medium.

Review by Michael J. Mazza

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