Comic books/Graphic novels/Manga Reading Challenges discussion

We have a tie for this month so will have two groups reads. Also check out the thread for Fables, Vol. 1: Legends in Exile.

Alan Moore's award winning series Watchmen (collected in a single volume) follows a group of mostly retired super heroes who face tough questions about their past, present and future when an unknown assassin targets them.

It's been a very long time since I've read Watchmen, but I remember it largely living up to its reputation. It's a very dense read, with tons of subtext beneath an excellent surface story in its own right. I'm hoping to revisit this sometime this month.

Some discussion questions to think about:
1) Do you think Watchmen's reputation as a classic is deserved?

2) Has it held up well over time? Do you think it is as relevant/impactful now as when it was written?

3) How closely did you read everything? Did the "pirate comic" subsections hold your interest?

4) How did you like the art? Does it suit the story being told?

5) Have you seen the movie? If so, which did you like better? Which did you see/read first?

Can't wait to start this!

I read watchmen three or so years ago. It is one of my favorite graphic novels. I also really enjoyed the movie. I felt it remained loyal to the artwork, and overall feel of the comic book. I also respected the casting.

Alan Moore, the snake worshipping weirdo that he is, is a comic genius. There is so much substance in each of his graphic novels or comics. Every time you read one of his works, you find something you hadn't seen/ read before. He deserves the praise the comic community has bestowed on him.

I agree completely. Moore is a seriously strange man, but can build a story like no one else and they always have multiple layers to them. My personal favorite of his work is Top Ten, a brilliant series about a police force in a world where pretty much everyone has super powers.

Of course this is certainly one of his true masterpieces. I was surprised at how closely the movie was able to get to the source material. It was probably as good an adaptation that could be done given it was a movie instead of a mini-series. Casting was excellent (with one unfortunately exception...).

my take on the discussion questions:
1) Definitely. There are minor criticisms that can be made, but overall Watchmen is a gripping read that lives up to the hype.

2) It's been a while but I remember being impressed when I read it at how relevant the themes were and how well it resonated even with some of the references being quite dated. We'll see if I feel the same the second time through (whenever that ends up happening...)

3) Well, this question occurred to me to ask specifically because the pirate comic sections didn't hold my attention. I could tell it was carefully done and that there were important parallels to the main story but I just wasn't interested enough. I skimmed all of that stuff. I read the "main" comic thoroughly though.

4) I remember it being ok. I was more impressed with the story than the art, but the art did match the mood and atmosphere Moore was trying to create.

5) Read the comic first. Movie was very good, but I thought the source material was better.

I agree about the pirate comics. There were many parallels to the main storyline, but the pirate comics were very wordy and did not match the action taking place in the rest of the comic. I understand moore's reason for adding them, but if they were suddenly gone I wouldn't have noticed that much.