With less than a year until Zack (300) Snyder’s film adaptation, if you haven’t yet read Alan Moore’s 1986-7 landmark graphic novel series then it’s time you drop everything and get on it. The first comic book to break the juvenile bonds of the genre, Watchmen consistently tops ‘best of’ lists both in and outside of the realm of geekdom – and was the only graphic novel to be selected for Time Magazine’s best English-language novel list in 2005. Without Watchmen, chances are we wouldn’t today be enjoying Heath Ledger licking his lips several thousand times in The Dark Knight.

 

Watchmen is delicate, multi-layered and profound. A cast of retired superheros drive the story, alternately reminiscing over the glory days and bitterly ruing what their lives have become. These are melancholic characters, presented as human beings who struggle with their embarrassing urges to slip into tights and go gut-punch some muggers. The puzzling murder of one of these ex-superheros kicks the narrative off, with the shadow of nuclear war looming over events – the doomsday clock quite literally ticking closer to midnight as the story progresses.

 

 

Accompanying Moore’s story is art by Dave Gibbons, whose understanding of the Watchmen universe is half the reason the novel works so well. Gibbons’ work is rich in subtle symbolism and was deliberately crafted to avoid the clichés of comic book convention – witness the refreshing lack of Ka-POW!s and full-page hero shots.

 

Moore’s work is a thick, involving read, and definitely not something to be just left by the toilet to pass the time. Ultimately it’s an exploration of morality, and just how unsuited the superhero mindset of diametric good and evil is in a complicated world. Read it now – if not for a great experience, then at least so you can slag off the movie next year with some credibility.