Posted by Pete Albano - January 4, 2011
Watchmen 1-12
Watchmen is part of the eighties big three graphic novels. The other two being The Dark Knight Returns (my favorite) and Maus (haven't read it yet). Watchmen is also one of the books that started the whole "grittiness" movement in comics that pervaded much of the nineties. And Watchmen is one heck of a gritty book. When I did my first reading I was shocked - and put off - by the rape incident. The circumstances somehow make this rape more brutal than the one in say, Identity Crisis.
During a my next reading I was struck by the despair of the story within a story the one where the guy made a raft out of dead bodies. That was just eerie.
Another aspect of Watchmen is the Cold War vibe. You know, the fear of a nuclear holocaust. Post-Cold War it comes across as quaint; but informative. It's curious to see just how scared people were of the bomb at the time. Well, maybe its just a minority. Heck, maybe its just Alan Moore being paranoid. I was simply too young, so I don't remember this; or maybe this phobia happened in the sixties and I wasn't born yet.
What I love about Watchmen is that scene when Rorschach hunts down the serial child killer and makes him pay. That was just beautifully done. Rorschach in general, I love. All his scenes. One way to look at Watchmen is a novel of hero stereotypes and tropes; of the many heroes here Rorschach typifies the one closest to traditional comics. Brave. Skilled. Righteous. And yes, slightly insane. I see Daredevil in him, and Spidey and most of all, the Bat. I love Rorschach.
Another thing. When I saw the movie, it just enhanced the comicbook experience. Beautiful movie. Check out the trailer below.
Did you like this post?
|
|
Amazon Prices
Watchmen movie trailer :