Reviews tagging 'Sexual content'

Watchmen by Alan Moore

28 reviews

scoobygirl93's review against another edition

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4.0


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chaoticbeing's review

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challenging dark emotional mysterious tense fast-paced
  • 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

Had to read this for class. I’m one of the only people who have actually read it. It’s one of my favorite franchises of all time now. 

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ad1t1s's review

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challenging dark slow-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? No
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0


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steveatwaywords's review

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adventurous challenging dark emotional reflective tense fast-paced
  • 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.

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josiah17's review against another edition

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3.5

This shows a different side to the superhero. It's gritty, and far more personal than I was expecting. The plot is complexly layered with tons of intrigue. Although it didn't blow me away, it's certainly worth reading.

Edit 11/11/23: Bumping down to 3.5

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graysondyed's review against another edition

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dark mysterious tense medium-paced
  • 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 the first graphic I’ve read, and it’s made me appreciate comics so much more. I didn’t understand why comics were loved by many, but Alan Moore showed that some stories are created best through them (the graphic novel is better than the movie).

Watchmen is unforgettable, and I hope to find another graphic novel that fills the hole Watchmen occupied when I was reading it.

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manjal's review

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dark emotional hopeful informative mysterious reflective fast-paced
  • 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

THE GREATEST GRAPHIC NOVEL(COMIC BOOK) EVER, A 12 CHAPTER MASTERPIECE THAT REVOLUTIONIZED COMIC BOOKS AND LEFT AN INDELIBLE MARK ON LITERATURE AND MEDIA. ITS INTRICATE PLOT AND MORALLY COMPLEX CHARACTERS EXPLORE THEMES OF HEROISM, IDENTITY, AND MORALITY. ALAN MOORE'S CREATION ELEVATED THE GENRE, INSPIRING A NEW WAVE OF STORYTELLING THAT EMBRACES MATURITY AND MORAL AMBIGUITY. IT'S ABOUT AN ALTERNATE 1980S AMERICA, WHERE RETIRED SUPERHEROES CONFRONT A GLOBAL CONSPIRACY, FUSES GRITTY REALISM WITH FANTASY, PUSHING CREATIVE BOUNDARIES AND INFLUENCING GENERATIONS OF CREATORS. NOT RECOMMENDED TO NEW COMIC BOOK READERS

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vlpfeiffer's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging dark emotional mysterious reflective sad tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.25


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thehobbitbarbie's review

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challenging dark reflective tense fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0


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nila's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging dark tense slow-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? No

2.75

I was really excited to read this, but I may have misjudged the tone of this story. It started off really strongly, but lost me for quite a while of the middle, and then ending strongly with the 12th volume. I'm considering rereading it later this year, just to see if I'm in a better headspace to follow along with all the seemingly random storylines, but for now it's just a disappointment. Amazing artwork though! 

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