Is The Watchmen as good as everyone says?

[DrNewGod]

Everyone has their own tastes. That said, I do believe it's a masterwork; Moore doesn't owe all his rep to it, but he owes a goodly chunk of it to Watchmen.

There is one thing you probably won't be able to experience that drives some of Watchmen's stature: it's novelty. Like the 1980s NTT and LoSH, there is no overstating what a bombshell Watchmen was when it hit the market. We simply hadn't seen anything like it. Superhero comics of the time were rather formulaic, and typically stayed between some comfortably safe lanes. Watchmen didn't just transcend the lanes, it blew them to bits.

[The Kid]

It is fantastic and the HBO show is a pseudo-sequel to it and also amazing.

[achilles]

IMO, a decent, but vastly overrated period comic. Very dated; it depends on a zeitgeist that isn't there anymore. So IMO, no, the comic isn't as good as its reputation, neither is the movie, (can't say about the series, don't get the service). YMMV as always. It probably plays a bit better with people who read it back in the day, in any version.

[babyblob]

I just read the first three issues. This story does not seem any more edgy then some of the stuff I read from comics today. But I think the point is it was done 30 years ago. I can see why it is ground breaking at the time. I can see why it has the place it does in comics history. I do enjoy it but I can see the other point people make that it is over rated. I am enjoying it!

[DrNewGod]

I just read the first three issues. This story does not seem any more edgy then some of the stuff I read from comics today. But I think the point is it was done 30 years ago. I can see why it is ground breaking at the time. I can see why it has the place it does in comics history. I do enjoy it but I can see the other point people make that it is over rated. I am enjoying it!

Your posts are always fun. It's cool to see somebody getting into this stuff for the first time.

[Menacer]

I saw the film first.
Then read the comic.

Was disappointed at the comic.

With the film everyone feels more heroic..


The book everyone came off pathetic and sad.


Since then I've reread the book and appreciate it for what it is.

Both are great.

They are very different in tone imo though.

[Robotman]

I think it’s still a brilliant read but with everything considered “classic” you need to look at it from a historical perspective. A comic or film that was revolutionary at the time of its release may seem mundane now. You have to read it and keep in mind that nothing like Watchmen, Dark Knight Return, or Maus had been produced before their release in 1986.

[babyblob]

I think it’s still a brilliant read but with everything considered “classic” you need to look at it from a historical perspective. A comic or film that was revolutionary at the time of its release may seem mundane now. You have to read it and keep in mind that nothing like Watchmen, Dark Knight Return, or Maus had been produced before their release in 1986.

Oh I understand that. like I said I can understand how this was thought to be ground breaking. Just reading it now it is now more edgy then the stuff now. So being written over 30 years ago I can understand how this was ahead of its time. Just from the hype I was expecting more. I still really enjoy it though.

[babyblob]

Your posts are always fun. It's cool to see somebody getting into this stuff for the first time.

Thank you. Coming into reading comics seriously the last couple of years I have really enjoyed reading these classics. I am still working my way through early Marvel. I am on 1968 right now. And I really love golden age DC. I love it so much I have read very little DC other then that.

[DrNewGod]

I saw the film first.
Then read the comic.

Was disappointed at the comic.

With the film everyone feels more heroic..


The book everyone came off pathetic and sad.


Since then I've reread the book and appreciate it for what it is.

Both are great.

They are very different in tone imo though.

I can see your POV. It helps to remember that Watchmen , Marvel Man and DKR were some of the first deconstructions of the superhero myth.

[Stanlos]

I am going to my comics shop today and the owner told me he had a Watchmen Graphic Novel. he told me this because I was talking about the movie last time I was there.

I really loved the movie. It is my second favorite Super Hero movie of all time. I know the ending in the comics is not the same as The movie. but for the most part is it kind of the same?

Are the comics as good as everyone says?

I just wanted to see if it is worth my time to pick up.

I recently revisited this as well as the original Kirby New Gods and both were for me not horrible but did not live up to the hype around them.

[Mike]

I remember picking up the first few issues and finding it....boring.
I never finished it.

[babyblob]

I am done with half of the book. I am really digging it. I am not going nuts about it but it is really enjoyable. I really loved the issues focused on Rorschach. I loved how his shrink was so effected by treating him. It doesnt show that in the movie. I am hoping to finish the series Saturday and then move on to Doomsday Cloak and the Before Watchmen titles.

[Menacer]

I am done with half of the book. I am really digging it. I am not going nuts about it but it is really enjoyable. I really loved the issues focused on Rorschach. I loved how his shrink was so effected by treating him. It doesnt show that in the movie. I am hoping to finish the series Saturday and then move on to Doomsday Cloak and the Before Watchmen titles.

Personally I prefer some of the Before Watchmen material, specifically the Comedian.

I also prefer Doomsday Clock over Watchmen.

Watchmen was great but tonally its not in anyway a traditional superhero book where good succeeds over evil and everyone wants to be the hero. Amazing read but no where in the realm of my all time favorite hero stories.

Before Watchmen The Comedian is pretty brilliant imo though with continuing the world building.

[j9ac9k]

Oh I understand that. like I said I can understand how this was thought to be ground breaking. Just reading it now it is now more edgy then the stuff now. So being written over 30 years ago I can understand how this was ahead of its time. Just from the hype I was expecting more. I still really enjoy it though.

I agree that there isn't anything more edgy now - "Watchmen" was edgy because it didn't pander to the audience and tell a "superhero" story. It told a story about what superheroes (and superhero comics) mean, and it wasn't a rosy, happy picture. Not of them, and not of us who support the fantasy of their righteousness. Moore never thought of Rorschach as heroic, but he underestimated American sensibilities because we all loved him and his bad-assery. (me included. Its not unlike how Judge Dredd as a satirical figure became heroic in American hands) I'm not sure what "more" you were expecting from it. Keep in mind, you already knew the story so there's a big part of the experience missing for you, especially since you could read it all at once instead of reading it over the course of an entire year.