Watchmen

You have likely noticed the trailers for the upcoming movie rendition of The Watchmen. Anticipating this movie, and having told myself I'd read it, I picked up a copy of the graphic novel.

Wow.

Read it. I haven't finished yet, but at less than halfway through, I can already see why this is considered the greatest piece of graphic literature ever, and one of the best 100 novels of the 20th century. It is a work of brilliance and turns the super hero milieu completely on its head.

The biggest joy and shivers for me come in paying attention to all the little details sprinkled around. All of the newspaper headlines and signs that are drawn are very significant and inform the context of the plot and character backgrounds and interactions.

Synopsis:

The story was written by Alan Moore, who is known for stories like V for Vendetta, Swamp Thing, and many of the best stories in the DC universe. The story is an alternate history. After the first super-hero comics came out, it inspired people to fashion themselves into masked vigilantes who fought crime. This changed history significantly. But the really twisted thing is the varied reasons each of them chooses to become a "super hero" for. But none of them has any super power... until Dr. Manhattan.

Pretty standard creation of a superhero: scientist walks into a chamber during an experiment, gets locked in, and is obliterated. He reforms himself, but is no longer really human. He is Dr. Manhattan who is essentially walking atomic energy and nearly omnipotent. He can manipulate matter and energy, walk through matter, enlarge himself, co-locate, teleport himself and others, alter molecules. But he is so changed that he really isn't human anymore. He is incapable of viewing things like a normal human. At one point he remarks on not being able to discern the difference between life and death particularly, since all of the molecules and chemicals are still there in their same configurations. From an atomic standpoint there is essentially no difference.

Dr. Manhattan really changed history. He allowed us to win the Vietnam War by being used like a walking nuclear bomb. Nixon remains president through 1985 because of this change in events. And the balance of the Cold War is completely thrown out of whack because Dr. Manhattan trumps any nuclear strike that Russia might take.

Yeah, the watchmen berkeleyin' rocks.

A fantastic character!

Osterkraut wrote: A fantastic character!

And a berkeleying LUNATIC!

Dr. Manhattan is my favorite right now. I can no longer look at superheroes with inhuman cosmic powers the same way again. The only thing creepier than the constant beatific look on his face, is when his expression changes for whatever reason.

Really, all of the characters are fantastic.

I think I would summarize what the story is about as: if you were suddenly given the insight to view how the world really works, and the power to have an effect on it, what would that do to you? shiver The original Night Owl is the only one who does even marginally okay with it.

Edit: my girlfriend who does not read graphic literature has picked it up and is reading it faster than I am.

I can't wait! I read it more than 10 years ago, just re-reading it now. If the movie's true to the series, it will be brilliant.

Yah, I love Jon Manhattan too

Very good series... I borrowed it to read it the first time, I need to pick up a copy of my own.

Very good in novel form, I'm enticed to pick up the original series in comic form, if it weren't so pricey.

My favorite character is actually the Comedian. Don't know why, he just makes the comic for me. I hope the movie can come close to the book's scope.

bastomatic wrote: Very good in novel form, I'm enticed to pick up the original series in comic form, if it weren't so pricey.

I've got two original sets in mylar bags with acid-free backing boards in my closet...

I just bought the novel and finished the first two chapters last night. So far, very good read. This is the first graphic novel I've ever read (never was much of a comic book fan), and I'm impressed.

Picked it up about a week ago and devoured it. A really, really good sci-fi novel even if it has pictures.

I hope the movie lives up to the novel. The trailer seems to make some big promises.

The part of the trailers that makes me wonder slightly, is the portrayal of Night Owl. Okay, actors all have to be pretty now, so they don't want him overweight. But he doesn't seem to have the kicked Labrador look that he does in the novel.

My reading the book has gotten slowed down. My girlfriend has gotten hooked, and can't put it down.

I saw the trailer before The Dark Knight. Looks pretty cool.

I read this book years ago. Before my memory loss. Now I have to read it again. Oh well, off to the bookstore I go.

Finished the book. Pretty good. Not the ending I expected. Rorschach is a badass. Comedian is a bigger badass. Manhattan is a dickwad, but then, he got turned into god, so I guess it's forgivable.

I just finished the section where Rorschach is getting psychoanalyzed.

Rorschach is off his rocker. The Comedian is scary because he's actually sane, but chooses to act like he's off his rocker. After these two characters all the other "anti-heroes" from comic books look like wusses.

I'm waiting to figure out what is up with the "Tales of the Black Freighter".

Or maybe not:

Who will watch The Watchmen? Nobody, if 20th Century Fox gets its way.

After a major court victory, the studio has announced a bid to block the release of Warner Bros.' anticipated adaptation of the seminal graphic novel by Alan Moore and Dave Gibbons.

Doomsday for The Watchmen?

Finished the book. Wow. Ending had me in shivers. All of the characters were brilliant. I felt really bad for all of them at the end.

I started to get what was going on with the Tales of the Black Freighter.

I'm going to need to give this at least one more read-through. Wow.

Oh, and that really is a dickwad thing for Fox to do. I'd expect them to claim some money from the proceeds, but that just sucks. I was looking forward to that movie.

It's not like they're telling Warner Bros. to stop production or delay the movie. Worse comes to worse, WB pays 20th Century Faux a cut of the profits.

Actually, the movie is essentially finished. At this point, the court proceedings are delaying release of the movie. Fox is not asking for a cut of the profits yet, they're stalling things out in court.

We'll see the movie released. It's all a question of money.