Watchmen

This book, written by Alan Moore and turned into the resplendent comic it is by Dave Gibbons, is quite rightly affirmed as numbering among the best graphic novels ever written. And it probably is. If you don't want to fall accidentally prey to the Spoiler Virus, much less the inchoate narrative fury of the anarchist wizard* who wrote this thing, look away now and read the novel before you read this post because I'm going to talk about its plot and characters at length. Content warning first because this shit is set in the 1980's.

   First up - the nature of vigilantism in general. The way Moore portrays the motivational and psychological weights that spur someone into this kind of lifestyle is second to none in my book, with Silk Specter and Nite Owl both agreeably displaying the innate childishness (from the fuller perspective) of such activities. I just think he paints the picture so well of what it would be like growing up as a "superhero" then dealing with the fallout of your own doings - police strikes, riots, etc. It sets the scene from the start as a perfectly subversive story about superheroes failing to be super heroic - even when they succeed.

   Why then would anyone choose such a lifestyle? Well, because of man's inhumanity to man - this building strut supports the strong psychological horror elements throughout, seen with especial vivacity through the eyes of Rorschach (who, in turn, sees it through his blotch-fluid mask/face). The scene where he is cross-examined by the prison shrink is absolute genius, and the sheer brutality of some of the crimes described, not to mention acts of violence committed by this paranoid quasi-detective in pursuit of justice and/or survival - is enough to blow anyone's sense for what is normal superhero par for the course. Which leads me nicely onto...

   The Comedian, who though he dies at the beginning of the story embodies the gritty, brutal reality that these characters inhabit better than any other. He was the man who saw the true face of the twentieth century and, as a "joke", decided to become a grotesque, borderline fascist caricature of it. He works for the American government, so that figures. I will say that I am still uncomfortable with how Moore handled his attempted rape of the previous Silk Specter (i.e. her mum) but this still serves an important thematic role for the plot, it's just an uncomfortable flashback all round. That said the Comedian's hyper-gritty aesthetic makes for a compelling read and really helps ground the story overall.

   The other superhero employed by the USA's top echelon is Dr. Manhattan, who is arguably the only "superhero" in the story but may as well be a god (the quote "God is real and he's an American" tells you all you need to know about the hype around this outrageously over-powered character in-world - although I would cite also here Manhattan's own views, "I don't think god exists, and if he does I'm nothing like him") for all the plot purposes. However - he is as fallible and imperfect as anyone who didn't have to reassemble themselves by hacking the fundamentals of atomic reality. He forgets Laurie needs to breathe when he teleports her to Mars, for Pete's sake. A fascinating character who blurs the line between hero and villain, antagonist or not - so well that the moral complexity of his arc throughout the story will leave you breathless. Not to mention imagining the scenes from Vietnam.

   And finally Ozymandias - and every other empire fell... I won't spoil the ending here, but I should just say the way Moore pulls it off is nothing short of a marvel, and his characterisation of the man behind this particular mask is as real-worldly as I can imagine superheroes being made as. Being super smart is proven to be the greatest power when combined with a bit of luck, sheer willpower and the ability to predict the actions of others. Still a whore in Rorscach's book, though I guess that's a fair critique of someone who literally sells action figures of himself and his ex-compatriots/enemies.

   That's the main characters - I've realised I've given away far fewer spoilers than I thought I would given this post's beginning, but I just wanted to give you a flavour of the characters and feel like the post can sit on its own by now. Strongly recommended reading for any fans of the superhero genre, even if you're generally similar to me in only liking the extreme end of this particular category of story. Even short of graphic novels it has to be one of the best novel-length stories out there, superheroes or no. Get reading it if you haven't - and do so before you watch the Zack Snyder film, however relatively good that may be. Thanks also to my housemate Josh, who lent me his copy of this book for my reading.

* I have nothing to corroborate this with, I just assume that if an author is a powerful enough wizard or whatever they auto-cast some kind of curse type doodah on people who disrespect their written works by feeding upon unnecessary spoilers. Oh shit, that puts me in a very precarious position for being here talking about it... Never mind