3 Review(s)

Who watches the Watchmen? Enter the realistic Superhero universe created by Alan Moore with the art of Dave Gibbons in the Deluxe Edition of their stunning graphic novel. Summary of the Book The Watchmen watch over us, they protect us, and they govern us. But who watches the Watchmen? How do we know that the Superheroes we trust in are even ordinary heroes? How do we know that the blind faith we bestow in them to guard us is warranted, deserved? We don’t. Decades ago, the presence of Superheroes changed America’s luck in the Vietnam War. Heroes like the Comedian were a strong part of the war, winning it for “the good side”. Other heroes, like the Night Owl, chose to stick to the silence of the rooftops, and some others chose the glamour of film stars. These heroes seemed like riffraff at first, but they were soon recognized as a power to reckon with. These are not the good superheroes one reads about and is awed by. These are real superheroes, what human beings would become if they were given even the slightest power. Dark, gritty, politically motivated, and perhaps even petty, these heroes have their own agendas, their own dark pasts which normal people could call a flavour of madness. Now, these Superheroes are being picked off, killed by someone with his own agenda. This unknown killer manages to kill the unruly Comedian. However, the society that the heroes put together years ago has fallen apart. Only a few of them remain active, and they might even appear mad. Rorschach, for one, is a paranoid man who believes no one. Like his moniker, his brain is a cesspool of chaos. He will do anything to discover who has broken the trust the others placed. Night Owl considers coming out of retirement, but he has grown fat with his easy lifestyle. The most dangerous adversary that the murderer has tickled, however, is Dr. Manhattan, a walking nuclear explosion waiting to go off. Collector’s Note Alan Moore’s legendary work of satire on the Superhero genre is noted for several artistic reasons not known by many readers. Among them is his usage of the story within a story mechanism to spin the Tales of the Black Freighter. Moore also meticulously outlined instructions for the panels, and went so far as to plan a chapter out of this book to be a panel-by-panel symmetric representation of itself. This hardcover edition is considered to be the definitive buy to satiate any fan’s thirst for more of the Watchmen. About the Authors Alan Moore is a comic book writer, best associated with his work on the above book and V for Vendetta. In the DC Comics universe, he has most notably worked on Batman: The Killing Joke and Superman: Whatever Happened to the Man of Tomorrow? Dave Gibbons is an American comic book artist and letterer. He has also collaborated with Moore on Superman: Whatever Happened to the Man of Tomorrow?