Watchmen Book / Graphic novel Review 4

Hope you like the trailer for Watchmen! As the new movie is being made based on Watchmen, I decided to dust off my copy of the famous graphic novel and reread it.I know that technically it's not a book but it is a brilliant piece of work.Watchmen is a graphic novel written by Alan Moore and illustrated by Dave Gibbons.If you do not read graphic novels or have no interest in them then I suggest you start now by getting Watchmen to read! It's one of those books that you read that you cannot put down and you know is very special indeed.

It is a tale set in an alternate year of 1985 where Nixon is still the President of the United States and masked crusaders have been made illegal.There were loads of them but they were banned after the police went on strike as the vigilantes were putting them out of work! Years have passed since then and all of the masked heroes have retired or gone to ground.Then one of their original lineup is found dead having being pushed out of a top floor window.His old colleagues try to find out what happened to him and whether it is a simple murder or part of a conspiracy against the old heroes.

What follows is a very layered story as we find out what happened in each masked crusaders life and what path they took.Some people want the past forgotten while others want to return to masked crime fighting.In this alternate reality we find out the USA and the Soviet Union are locked in a power struggle and the person keeping the USA on top and war from happening is Dr. Manhattan! He is a man who was in an accident that now has godlike powers.He can multiply himself,teleport and grow bigger among other things! Very handy guy to have around! He helped the Americans win the Vietnam War so the USSR won't do anything aggressive while he is around.So when Rambo asks do we get to win this time? The answer is Yes!

Among the Watchmen are:

The Comedian is the hero found murdered and he was a brash,cigar smoking guy who liked nothing better than to shoot first and ask questions later!

Then there is Rorscach (on the right) who has a mask with black ink over his head and does not compromise on anything! Whatever he thinks is right is the only way to live!!

Nite Owl is a guy dressed up like an owl who took over the mantel from the previous Nite Owl.He has all the gadgets and flying ship but is now overweight and retired.

Silk Spectre is the female hero and Ozymandias who is supposedly the smartest guy in the world and has highly developed human abilities.

This graphic novel has a great story in it with a lot of layers that is really worth rereading if you have done so before.Especially with the movie coming out its always good to read the novel first and Watchmen really is a great read.The writing by Alan Moore (pictured on the left) is brilliant and the illustrations by Dave Gibbons (Pictured on the right) are top class with each panel having incredible amounts of detail.It's best to take your time with each of them as they are definitely to be savoured! Dave Gibbons is a great artist and combined with Alan Moore they make a great team.There is also a graphic novel called The Black Freighter within this graphic novel to get your head around so Watchmen truly is a classic! I would recommend you getting a copy and reading it now!!!!!!

Watchmen by Alan Moore and Dave Gibbons (10/10)