Watchmen
I just read the Watchmen for the first time, since I didn't read it the first came out, I guess I just wasn't interested back then. I just finished reading it to see what all the hubbub was about and since my professor-friend from church was kind enough to loan it to me.
First thoughts: Dated. Paranoid. Leftist. Fantasy. (not necessarily in that order)
Second thoughts: *Excellent* characterizations. Excellent depth of back-story and a well-thought out plot, although dated--as I said, the plot of the story comes across as a paranoid fantasy, which is kind of fun. Interesting symbolism, the foreshadowing worked will. The whole idea of Mr. Manhattan and squid creatures I thought to be Moore’s nod to the marrow of comic books: supermen and weird aliens. It was executed well without being overdone. I also enjoyed the interweaving of the "historical" pulp comic within the storyline and the various epistolatory interludes--a great device to download large amounts of backstory with a minimum of storyline interruption or silly flashbacks. It really was a book that I had to think through as opposed to the story lines of other comics.
In all, I can understand why many consider this so great. On the other hand, I’m glad I read it now rather than twenty years ago—my tastes have changed and I enjoyed it much more today than I would have then.
First thoughts: Dated. Paranoid. Leftist. Fantasy. (not necessarily in that order)
Second thoughts: *Excellent* characterizations. Excellent depth of back-story and a well-thought out plot, although dated--as I said, the plot of the story comes across as a paranoid fantasy, which is kind of fun. Interesting symbolism, the foreshadowing worked will. The whole idea of Mr. Manhattan and squid creatures I thought to be Moore’s nod to the marrow of comic books: supermen and weird aliens. It was executed well without being overdone. I also enjoyed the interweaving of the "historical" pulp comic within the storyline and the various epistolatory interludes--a great device to download large amounts of backstory with a minimum of storyline interruption or silly flashbacks. It really was a book that I had to think through as opposed to the story lines of other comics.
In all, I can understand why many consider this so great. On the other hand, I’m glad I read it now rather than twenty years ago—my tastes have changed and I enjoyed it much more today than I would have then.
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