Is The Watchmen as good as everyone says?

[Bored at 3:00AM]

I too loved Tom Strong. I sometimes wonder if that's closer to what Superman might have become had Fawcett not triggered a superpowers arms race with the popularity of their Captain Marvel.

It would be interesting to see what Seigel & Shuster's Superman would have become without editorial interference. We know Superman would have continued being a champion of the oppressed and Lois & Clark would have become a team by 1940. The character might very well have gone a direction more similar to Tom Strong with Superman and Lois having kids and starting a Super-Family decades earlier.

[Ilan Preskovsky]

Sure, sure, Tom Strong and Promethea but the real treasure in the ABC line was Top 10. It's a freakin' amazing book and it might just be the last thing he did that made a real impact on the comics landscape. Also, it's brilliant but it's quite possibly the most fun thing he ever did.

[Robanker]

Moore deodorized the character of Liefeld stank so thoroughly from issue one it's hilarious that Moore continued to get paid by Liefeld to publicly mock Liefeld's own stupid ideas.

If you love Superman, it's Moore's best work on the character by far. Only "For the Man Who Has Everything" comes close.

I trust your judgment on this one, dude. Is his run available on Comixology? I'm willing to give it a look on your reccomendation.

Sure, sure, Tom Strong and Promethea but the real treasure in the ABC line was Top 10. It's a freakin' amazing book and it might just be the last thing he did that made a real impact on the comics landscape. Also, it's brilliant but it's quite possibly the most fun thing he ever did.

I too loved Tom Strong. I sometimes wonder if that's closer to what Superman might have become had Fawcett not triggered a superpowers arms race with the popularity of their Captain Marvel.

Man I'm seeing more discussion on this thread alone for Moore's later-works than I've seen on this board in, what, a year? Tragic how overlooked it is. I really wish DC would collect some of it. Tom Strong absolutely needs a couple new deluxe editions or a compendium. Been rereading it on DC Universe before bed and it holds up.

[Bored at 3:00AM]

I trust your judgment on this one, dude. Is his run available on Comixology? I'm willing to give it a look on your reccomendation.

Man I'm seeing more discussion on this thread alone for Moore's later-works than I've seen on this board in, what, a year? Tragic how overlooked it is. I really wish DC would collect some of it. Tom Strong absolutely needs a couple new deluxe editions or a compendium. Been rereading it on DC Universe before bed and it holds up.

Perhaps to due to Leifeld’s boundless incompetence, Supreme isn’t available on Comixology from what I can see, but you could certainly pick up a cheap TPB somewhere, I’m sure

[Johnny Thunders!]

Another vote for Tom Strong, Top Ten, and yes even Watchmen. I think Watchmen is good as everyone says. Never mind all the innovations, and there are too many to mention, it's really well written. All the extra text, the science journals, the biographies, the newspaper articles, the journals, the medical reports, all these different supplements to the story are worth reading. I can't say I find that with many other writers and I think this is one big failing I see in the books that followed. Others would include artifacts from the world they were creating on the page, but Alan Moore's writing just seems better crafted.

[Ilan Preskovsky]

One thing about Supreme, am I right in believing that Moore never got to properly finish it and that it's ending is pretty abrupt. I've never read it but I recall hearing this somewhere.

[ed2962]

I have never been in the right mood to start tackling Promethea. It sounds like it can come off as incredibly pretentious if the reader is not ready to take that ride. One of these days I will climb Mount Promethea, but not today...

Tom Strong, though? I adore that book and Supreme, which I think is stronger than any of the Superman comics he wrote.

I'm a big fan of Promethea, but it's definitely not suited for everyone. Even Moore admits that about half way through it became a lecture on various strains of wicca and the occult. I'd say the most accessible portion of the title ( especially if you know comics history) are the first 6-12 issues.

[Johnny Thunders!]

I think the JH Williams art makes Promethea must read. It’s like no other comic. Supreme does end oddly it feels like a transition but if you get all the issues it’s a complete work. (Erik Larsen does a pretty fun continuation of the Moore story!) Rick Veitch is the secret weapon on Supreme and his Maximortal saga is one of the more bizarre and uncomfortable takes on the Superman story.

[Bored at 3:00AM]

One thing about Supreme, am I right in believing that Moore never got to properly finish it and that it's ending is pretty abrupt. I've never read it but I recall hearing this somewhere.

It ends pretty perfectly from what I remember by having Supreme meet God, who ends up being Jack Kirby. I can't imagine how Moore could have topped that.

[Ilan Preskovsky]

It ends pretty perfectly from what I remember by having Supreme meet God, who ends up being Jack Kirby. I can't imagine how Moore could have topped that.

That's good to know. Would be nice if they reprinted it or put it up on Comixology, though.

[superduperman]

It's been a while since I've read it all the way through. I read it when I was 20 and it changed my life. I don't know that that would be true if I was reading it for the first time today. Grant Morrison had, what I think, are some legitimate criticisms of it. I'm not a big Grant Morrison fan because I find most of his stuff too meta. But he has some good points. The prison psychologist, for instance wouldn't be traumatized by Rorschach's story. This is a guy who listens to murderers and rapists tell their stories on a regular basis. Unless it was his first day or something. Morrison said that Moore was afraid to let his characters be smarter than he is. That can be a mixed bag. Using an old TV plot to save the world might get uncovered quickly. Adrian is supposed to be this brilliant genius but the best idea he could come up with is from a rerun. But for the most part, the book is pretty good.

[Shadowcat]

It’s good, but I think his Captain Britain and MiracleMan was better.

[SecretWarrior]

It's got enduring appeal because it pushes what you can do with the format in terms of both writing and art. There's a lot of depth, subtle foreshadowing visually and through dialogue, strong orientation toward detail, and some thought-provoking questions you don't see in monthlies. Alan Moore also builds on his previous idea that since every panel in comics appears at the same real world time (imagine ripping the pages of the book out to look at several pages simultaneously), time is "flat," unlike film or music. Everything across time is happening simultaneously all at once. Non-traditional motives behind the character's actions are also interesting, as is the world-building through backup materials. Then there's the parallelism between the two generations of Crimebusters, as well as with the Black Freighter.

In terms of characters, I like how Moore gives them real personality-based limitations to counter their abilities. The only reason the book is 12 issues is because Moore made the deliberate decision to make Rorschach so far gone that he couldn't put the pieces together without Nite-Owl's input. Nite-Owl is the most capable protagonist, but he's repressed and trapped in normalcy bias. Silk Spectre II is always living in the shadow of someone else until she starts to see the world in shades of gray.