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Nate B

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Watchmen

by Alan Moore (Goodreads Author)

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Nate B said: " Never have I read a graphic novel. I have always heard of them, but I've always passed them off as comic books. It didn't help that this book was essentially about superheroes. After I started reading it I knew right away, that this was no ordinary c Never have I read a graphic novel. I have always heard of them, but I've always passed them off as comic books. It didn't help that this book was essentially about superheroes. After I started reading it I knew right away, that this was no ordinary comic book. This book made me pay attention to the plot, which was very complex and unique. Usually you read about superheroes in their prime, while they fight crime. This unique story is capturing the times of late superheroes that have been well retired and called back to duty, almost against their will. One of their own has been killed, and someone is responsible.

I found it almost strange to have to decipher pictures in order to determine what is going on in the book. Then I thought, shouldn't it be easier to read a graphic novel? I mean, when you read a regular book, you have to come up with your own vision of the book in your mind. With the graphic novel, the visions are already there on the page. It's strange that because we read more, it makes graphic novels a little more difficult to understand. Its almost equivalent to Read-Aloud stories and movies. I'm sure that everyone would find a movie much easier to follow than the read-aloud. The only reason that is, is because almost everyone can say they watch movies more than listen to read-alouds. They are used to it that way, just like they're used to books more than graphic novels.

Its complexity did confuse me at times though. I found it very hard to determine a main character. Usually in books you can tell who the main character is just by the tone of the book. The main character is usually a good person. In this book it bounced around to different characters that each had some major flaw. For example, Rorschach is in many of the frames, and at one point he followed this man home and almost beat him up for information. One thing Rorschach says is "I Heard joke once: Man goes to doctor. Says he's depressed, life is harsh and cruel. Says he feels all alone in a threatening world. Doctor says, "Treatment is simple. The great clown Pagliacci is in town. Go see him. That should pick you up." Man bursts into tears."But doctor" He says, "I am Pagliacci." Good joke. Everybody laugh. Roll on snare drum. Curtains." He seems to be almost random at times, even if it is relevant. He doesn't have the main character type of vibe. Obviously the main character wasn't the guy who tried raping Laurie's mom. It wasn't any of the other sub characters either. I have yet to find one main character, but maybe that is due to the uniqueness of the book.

Overall, I did like the book. It was a good, challenging read with a compelling story. It doesn't have the usual kind of superhero story. The superhero usually is the one who is looking for the victims murderer, but this time the superhero is the victim. The confusion was almost a great addition to the book. Even though I was confused at times, it really made me think about was I was seeing on the page. I'm glad I chose this graphic novel as my first one. I would definitely recommend it to anyone who is thinking about reading this. ...more "

Nov 02, 2012 10:49AM · see review