With the new Watchmen trailer appearing before The Dark Knight, Watchmen is a hot topic these days. Long-time fans of the comic are excited (or mortified) to see this classic, more than twenty years after its date of publication, finally being turned into a movie. For many moviegoers though, that trailer is the first they’ve heard of Alan Moore’s masterwork. This article attempts to shed some light on the controversial graphic novel.
Alan Moore
Watchmen cemented the career of the man most consistently called the best writer in comics. Also to Alan Moore’s credit are the first books of the startlingly progressive Swamp Thing, the dark & cerebral From Hell, the occult fable Promethea and a smattering of memorable single issues of classic comics: Batman’s “The Killing Joke”, Green Arrow’s “Olympic Games” and several annuals of Superman.
Moore’s work has been adapted to film before: often with popular success, but seldom to the liking of his fans. The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen departed seriously from the graphic novel and the silver screen transformed From Hell from in intense examination of the corruptive influence of power on the psyche to a detective story about psychics.
Though director Zach Snyder has expressed a desire to remain true to the comic, Moore’s refusal to append his name to any advertising speaks volumes.
Political Commentary
The comic was set in (then) present-day 1986. With the year came the political baggage of the Cold War- a topic which Moore did not shy away from. The comic is full of references to the political goings on of the day, and engages them seriously in the plot.
Watchmen is set in an elaborate what-if world, in which the “what” is the rise of a trend of masked vigilantes. The trend started in the early ‘30s, and was ended in ’49 by a infighting and government pressure.
Though the Cold War is no longer an issue, one of the themes of the book are still politically viable topics. The title is taken from the quote “who will watch the watchmen?” which still has relevance in today’s atmosphere of political discontent.
Plot
The third generation of heroes arose in the late ‘70s, after the appearance of Dr. Manhattan: a man with the power to restructure the universe on a subatomic level (giving him essentially infinite power.)
The new generation wasn’t able to work together though, and eventually disbanded. The story picks up several years after this generation has disintegrated. All of them are past their prime, and most of them have retired. The only still working heroes are the insane detective Rorschach and the all-powerful Dr. Manhattan.
There is one other character who kept working during the crackdown: The Comedian. It’s the death of this character that sets the events of the story into motion. Rorschach tries to figure out why this man was killed, and the answers he gets lead him on a grim and perilous adventure.
If you'd like to read more about Watchmen, check out my other articles on the characters, or on the difficulties of adapting it to the screen.
