Wednesday, August 13, 2008

Watchmen: The Anti-Superhero

I’m not a comic book fanatic; growing up I’d read the occasional comic, but, by and large, they were single issues, and certainly not called “Graphic Novels.”

When Entertainment Weekly ran a story on the comic book, soon to be movie, Watchmen and called it not only one of the greatest comics, but the greatest books ever written, I was intrigued.
It certainly was not the graphic novel I was expected; filled with twist, comics within comics, and detailed back story on each character, this is not the comic I remembered as a child.

I think it’s a stretch to call it one of the greatest novels ever wrote, because, while it does have a great plot, I found the dialog to be lacking. Sure it was better then other comics, and that in itself is commendable, but I thought it could have been better. I also found the comic within the comic a bit unnecessary.

The plot was completely unpredictable and against all traditions. I admire the comic for that. If I was into writing comics, then this would definitely be the one that changed things for me. It’s just a bit away from the perfection that I expected. I still recommend the read.

It was darkly written (the perfect angle Hollywood is looking for after the success of The Dark Night), and I can’t wait to see the adaptation next year.

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