Good, A Hard Look

Well I’m finally getting around to doing some reviews. I actually finished reading Watchmen by Alan Moore and Dave Gibbons several weeks ago. I originally bought it on an impulse at the book store. I tend to do that in book stores, which is why I have to avoid them many times. At the time I didn’t realize that there was a movie of it coming out. It was either luck or the subconscious that came through on that one.

So what can I say about one of the most acclaimed graphic novels ever produced? Well I feel ill equipped to take it on. Simply it’s remarkably good. It’s different from purely text novels you read, because your eyes are drawn to the imagery. You have to explore it in depth if you expect to understand what is going on. Sometimes you have to flip back and look over it again. You soon realize that even though there is far less text on these pages it takes you longer to get through each one than a normal novel.

The presentation is great. I enjoyed many of the small details, the humor, the comic within the comic, but mostly it’s the characterization. It’s a comic about a world similar to our own that happened to develop heroes, adventurers, vigilantes, or whatever you call them. You soon realize that these people, like we would expect of someone who started doing stuff like this today, are seriously disturbed and/or are nowhere near normal.

I recommend it to just about anyone. In fact a friend already borrowed it to read. I wonder how far he has gotten.