This is a review of Watchmen, a graphic novel. It is written by Alan Moore and illustrated by Dave Gibbons. It is a superhero novel that was first published in 1985.

 

The plot of the novel is very original and compelling. It is about a group of superheroes in an alternative world where it’s 1985, Richard Nixon is still in office, the United States of America have won the Vietnam War but the world is on the brink of nuclear war. One of the old superheroes, The Comedian a.k.a. Eddie Blake, is murdered and his ex-colleagues are dragged out of retirement to investigate the murder and soon discover that something big is on the cards, something fatal. The group of heroes are Rorschach, Nite Owl, Silk Spectre, Ozymandias and Dr. Manhattan, who is the only one with proper superhero powers.

 

Personally, I absolutely love Watchmen. It’s a fascinating character study, a beautifully complex plot and a book that makes you think, really think! Now Alan Moore is a terrific writer and I think the decision to make this in the form of a graphic novel pays off. It’s great just to see what is going through all of the characters minds at crucial points.

 

As I said Watchmen is a superb character study and a unique one at that. In the middle section, each chapter explains the back-story of a character. My favourite chapter is when the story of Rorschach is told. Rorschach was my favourite character up until that point. After that chapter, he became one of my favourite characters from any novel I’ve read. Rorschach is intelligent, interesting and at times a bit crazy, in a good way. His story is so compelling. Other characters, like Nite Owl and Dr. Manhattan, are also likeable and engaging characters.

 

Each time the book began to slow down, it pulled me in again with either a great line of dialogue or a newly introduced plot. The ending was very good. There was a plot twist that was well pulled-off. The book’s content is violent at times but this doesn’t take anything away from its quality.

 

I would give Watchmen to fans of comic-books and students in secondary school. It’s the type of book that would satisfy that audience because of the plot and characters. Overall, Watchmen is an original, unique and groundbreaking novel. I loved it and would read this book again. If I was stranded on a desert island, this would be something I’d want to have with me.

 

Rating: 10 out of 10

By Liam Gadd