Watchman by Alan Moore

Watchmen was a American comic book series which was written by Alan Moore and Dave Gibbons. Once the series was concluded, it was gathered into a graphic novel by DC comics in 1986. Unlike other superhero comic books at the time, Watchmen features heroes that are more bad than good. They are much older in their careers than other superheroes, and struggle with things in their personal lives, as well as things in their superhero lives. It deals with subjects that other stories of this kind don’t normally go into, such as the purpose of heroes and what it really means to be one. My favorite aspects of the book are the characters. They are all very well written and feel very unique, but also familiar. For example, there is a character called Owl Man, who very obviously is based on DC’s own Batman, but Owl man has different views on the world than Batman does. As well as the characters, the story itself is very interesting, and has many twists and turns that are unexpected. The story takes place in an alternate reality where the US won the Vietnam war. Due to foriegn relations being strained from the war, the US and Russia are close to starting a third World War. While in most superhero stories the heros are independent, in Watchmen they either work for the government, or were forced to retire. With the world on the brink of another global conflict, the Heros have to try and find a way to stop the upcoming tragedy. I give this book a 10/10, and even though it is old, I think that the story and themes that it presents are timeless and a great introduction to comics.