| A group of super heroes plagued by all too human failings fall from grace while the concept of the super hero is dissected and inverted as strangely realistic characters are stalked by an unknown assassin.
Annotation:
In an alternate 1985, superheroes have existed for more than 30 years and have endured the gamut of public opinion--from acceptance to polite disdain to outright hostility. Now someone is killing the second generation of superheroes, and, as the threat of nuclear holocaust looms over a dystopic world, the killer must be found before it's too late. Originally published in 12 separate comic books, which are collected here along with some additional material, this book is perhaps the seminal graphic novel. (This text refers to paperback edition).
Praise Time
"A work of ruthless psychological realism, it's a landmark in the graphic novel medium. It would be a masterpiece in any." - Lev Grossman10/24/2005
New York Times Book Review
"It's tempting, and entirely possible, to appreciate WATCHMEN solely at a microscopic level, to lose oneself in Moore and Gibbons's multilayered narrative techniques or to unpack their allusions to everything from 'The Threepenny Opera' to the Book of Job to Bob Dylan's 'Desolation Row." But the story of WATCHMEN, carefully plotted and decidedly finite, deserves equally close attention, as its acuteness has not dulled with age." - Dave Itzkoff 11/20/2005
Author Bio: Alan Moore
The wild-haired and temperamental British comic-book writer Alan Moore is something of a god in the comic-book world. Moore's stories teem with literary references, complex symbolic imagery, and complicated characters. His Watchmen series from 1986 became an instant classic of the genre; the series tackled issues of nuclear war and the Soviet Union, explored the psychological underpinnings of people's desire to dress up as superheroes, and brought a new level of sophistication to the typically adolescent art of the superhero story. Numerous movie adaptations have been made of Moore's complex graphic novels, including V FOR VENDETTA, THE LEAGUE OF EXTRAORDINARY GENTLEMEN, and FROM HELL, though he has subsequently denounced all the films as inadequate and refuses to allow his work to be filmed again. ||After being expelled from school in the 1960s for dealing acid, Moore turned to underground comics as an outlet for his multitudinous interests in the supernatural, society, and sex. In 1983 DC Comics gave Moore the reins to SWAMP THING, an extremely minor title in the DC Universe about a monstrous living force of nature. Moore infused the title with his lyric voice, and used the story to philosophize on issues of environmentalism, man and nature, and the complex gothic horror of the Florida wilderness. After SWAMP THING, Moore would go on to bring his unique vision to other comic titles, revitalizing both BATMAN and SUPERMAN. After WATCHMEN, Moore broke with the comic-book establishment, and published most of his work with independent publishers, who were eager to attract his rabid fan-base. Moore consistently revolutionizes the comic genre, taking on such diverse topics as Jack the Ripper and a world where everyone has superpowers. His latest work is a pornographic comic that he has been collaborating with his romantic partner Melinda Gebbie; it follows the sexual exploits of Alice Liddell, Dorothy Gale, and Wendy Darling from the famous children's books ALICE IN WONDERLAND, THE WIZARD OF OZ, and PETER PAN
Annotation:
In an alternate 1985, superheroes have existed for more than 30 years and have endured the gamut of public opinion--from acceptance to polite disdain to outright hostility. Now someone is killing the second generation of superheroes, and, as the threat of nuclear holocaust looms over a dystopic world, the killer must be found before it's too late. Originally published in 12 separate comic books, which are collected here along with some additional material, this book is perhaps the seminal graphic novel.
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