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scoobygirl93's review against another edition
4.0
Graphic: Alcoholism, Genocide, War, Confinement, Domestic abuse, Gore, Panic attacks/disorders, Abandonment, Addiction, Animal death, Cancer, Grief, Murder, Toxic friendship, Death, Gun violence, Police brutality, Rape, Toxic relationship, Vomit, Lesbophobia, Mental illness, Terminal illness, Alcohol, Animal cruelty, Body horror, Cursing, Child death, Homophobia, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Violence, Emotional abuse, Misogyny, Racial slurs, Xenophobia, Fire/Fire injury, Sexual violence, Blood, Classism, Adult/minor relationship, Child abuse, Infidelity, Injury/Injury detail, Kidnapping, and Physical abuse
moranguinhos's review
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
Graphic: Genocide, Murder, Gun violence, Injury/Injury detail, Gore, War, Death, Rape, Violence, and Police brutality
chaoticbeing's review
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Graphic: Addiction, Toxic friendship, Sexual assault, Grief, Adult/minor relationship, Blood, Violence, Toxic relationship, Cursing, Sexual content, Gore, Fire/Fire injury, Misogyny, Death, Police brutality, Injury/Injury detail, and Mental illness
Moderate: War, Sexual harassment, Colonisation, Ableism, Alcohol, Homophobia, Xenophobia, Animal death, and Cancer
Minor: Genocide, Domestic abuse, Bullying, Antisemitism, and Racism
steveatwaywords's review
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
This ambitious and nearly flawless work has already made history and there is little I want to add here to that: it's complex and tightly-woven with nuanced and genuine characters acting as best they are able. As clumsy and human as they are, their physical and emotional frailties are foremost at focus as they try to do nothing less than every superhero comic: save the world.
Moore's alternate history is (especially today) too too plausible, and the dozens of different readings his characters make of it could as easily be applied to today's news. He details only one of the key differences between universes, however, and that is the step a few individuals make from reading 1930s hero comics to themselves donning vigilante costumes. After that, the political and sociological changes seem relatively inevitable.
And that, as many have argued, offers us a deeper and unsettling look at our affinity for superheroes, the nature of justice and authority and legitimacy, of our collective psychological desperations created by and answered by marketing lifestyles. And, in the truths spoken by Dr. Manhattan, how utterly trivial and uninteresting it all is.
So why not a full 5 stars? The storytelling and artwork are fine enough, the complete work ambitious enough, its execution almost as much. And it's the almost. As immersive as Watchmen is, there are several moments when readers are thrown out of it, where the authorial crafting is too obviously authorial crafting. I'm thinking of a parallel pirate comic that is read at a newsstand, as a for instance, or chapters where each page is a different scenic moment which all (seemingly coincidentally but cosmically) align in word and concept. They are clever, and calculated . . . and so also first clever and calculated, second impactful as narrative. Moore is too excited to show us what he can do, and that excitement--especially for me--was loud enough to disturb the reading.
A quibble, perhaps, but Moore has gone on to do other works. A mesmerizing standard for graphic novels which follow, Watchmen's imitators in later years still pale.
Graphic: Violence, Toxic friendship, Blood, Emotional abuse, Murder, Mental illness, Body horror, Forced institutionalization, Injury/Injury detail, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Sexual content, Rape, War, Death, and Gore
samdalefox's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.25
Pros
- The artwork was impeccable. Not only in style (classic superhero), but in it's design; how it illustrated and foreshadowed the story. The 'blood' stained smiley face appeared in at least three different scenarios throughout the novels as a motif, and I liked the way the artwork would alternate between two different views/colour pallettes on a page so you get a holistic snapshot of what's going on, (for example a concersation between two cops and spliced between are panels enaacting the crime they're describing) it felt much more natural to read though it does mean you're bombarded with a lot of information at once. Once you reach the end of the series you notice that there are clues in the artwork to the political mood and
the pyramid company throughout on posters, plaques, advertisements and graffiti. - I enjoyed the inclusion of scrapbook and novel excerpts at the end of each comic to complement the main graphic novel panels.
- The subject matter itself is important and interesting e.g., dystopia/utopia, relative morality and phenomenological existence, authority and power.
Cons
- Female characters a bit thin in the ground and not developed beyond their relationships (direct and indirect) to men and male violence.
- Personally, I didn't enjoy and question whether the black freighter 'story within a story' sub-plot was necessary. It was very obvious storytelling. I've seen other people say it was excellent, and maybe maybe necessary to complement the more subtle grey-area of the main storyline (e.g., part of you gets attached to these despicable people so maybe you'd miss the point). Either way it took me out of the story and I sighed when I saw those panels.
- Justice for Bubastis.
samgoodale's review:
"Our sense of awe [of super heroes] is no match for our selfishness and self-destructive tendencies. Especially when the watchmen are just as selfish and self-destructive as we are."
"Watchmen really explores the relativity of heroism. There isn’t a hero in this book. It’s both a love letter to the Golden Age of superheroes and a criticism of it. Nobody does the right thing, but most characters are sympathetic. Who you sympathize with most will probably say a lot about you, which is pretty cool.
To oversimplify the plot of Watchmen, it’s basically just the trolley problem: do you kill some people to save even more people and become mean, or just do nothing? It’s very interesting because heroism is usually predicated on actually doing something. But sometimes, doing nothing is the most heroic thing you can do.
It’s also very Camusian and Sartrean—the novel shows us how a bunch of characters deal with the lack of meaning within the world. Everything has already happened, but nothing is really real. Rorschach is nothing. Nite Owl is nothing. The word “nothing” is kinda crazy. It’s a compound word, really, but I’ve never thought about it that way. Regardless, everything the characters do is useless and futile, but they do it anyway. That’s pretty cool.
And in spite of this, we still try. We still try to do the right thing, even if it doesn’t make any difference at all. We still love other people despite our ending, or maybe because of it. So, I don’t think Watchmen is really about people doing anything. It’s about people trying. Trying to be good how they see it and trying to love other people. Maybe just trying to be a hero is the most heroic thing of all.,"
Moderate: Violence, War, Misogyny, Gun violence, Injury/Injury detail, Sexual assault, Blood, Mental illness, Murder, Physical abuse, Suicide, and Toxic friendship
graysondyed's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Watchmen is unforgettable, and I hope to find another graphic novel that fills the hole Watchmen occupied when I was reading it.
Graphic: Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Death, Murder, Violence, Blood, Mental illness, Injury/Injury detail, and Sexual violence
antares's review
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Graphic: War, Animal death, Animal cruelty, Injury/Injury detail, Rape, Violence, Xenophobia, Blood, Gun violence, and Fire/Fire injury
Moderate: Child abuse, Domestic abuse, Mental illness, Misogyny, Abandonment, Adult/minor relationship, Cancer, Sexism, Murder, Stalking, and Toxic relationship
Minor: Antisemitism, Racism, Alcoholism, and Abortion
manjal's review
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Graphic: Blood, Cursing, Deadnaming, Death, Self harm, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Torture, Violence, War, Bullying, Racism, Rape, Genocide, Injury/Injury detail, Mental illness, Murder, Physical abuse, Gore, Gun violence, Police brutality, Alcohol, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Death of parent, Emotional abuse, and Fire/Fire injury
Moderate: Abandonment, Addiction, Body horror, Body shaming, Bullying, Death of parent, Homophobia, Pregnancy, Grief, Domestic abuse, and Hate crime
Minor: Emotional abuse, Fatphobia, Police brutality, Sexism, Stalking, Drug use, Misogyny, Self harm, Fire/Fire injury, Suicide, and Toxic relationship
amelierawr's review
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
The heavy grief and trauma really gets to you.
For the love of god, before reading look at the damn content warnings!!
Graphic: Death, Gore, Domestic abuse, Alcoholism, Child abuse, Drug abuse, Emotional abuse, Injury/Injury detail, Murder, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Body horror, Fire/Fire injury, Grief, Mental illness, Rape, Hate crime, Misogyny, Genocide, and Violence
Moderate: Animal cruelty, Gaslighting, Racism, Animal death, and Gun violence
Minor: War, Homophobia, and Vomit
miayukino's review
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? N/A
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75
Graphic: Gun violence, Outing, Gaslighting, Injury/Injury detail, Sexual assault, Rape, Gore, and Genocide
Moderate: Homophobia