Watchmen

The story concerns a group called the Crimebusters and a plot to kill and discredit them. Moore's characterisation is as sophisticated as any novel's. Importantly the costumes do not get in the way of the storytelling, rather they allow Moore to investigate issues of power and control--indeed it was Watchmen, and to a lesser extent Dark Knight, that propelled the comic genre forward, making "adult" comics a reality. The artwork of Gibbons (best known for 2000AD's Rogue Trooper and DC's Green Lantern) is very fine too, echoing Moore's paranoid mood perfectly throughout. Packed with symbolism, some of the overlying themes (arms control, nuclear threat, vigilantes) have dated but the intelligent social and political commentary, the structure of the story itself, its intertextuality (chapters appended with excerpts from other "works" and "studies" on Moore's characters, or with excerpts from another comic book being read by a child within the story), the fine pace of the writing and its humanity mean that Watchmen more than stands up--it retains its crown as the best the genre has yet produced. --Mark Thwaite

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Has any comic been as acclaimed as Alan Moore and Dave Gibbons' Watchmen? Possibly only Frank Miller's The Dark Knight Returns, but Watchmen remains the critics' favorite. Why? Because Moore is a better writer, and Watchmen a more complex and dark and literate creation than Miller's fantastic, subversive take on the Batman myth. Moore, renowned for many other of the genre's finest creations (Saga of the Swamp Thing, V for Vendetta, and From Hell, with Eddie Campbell) first put out Watchmen in 12 issues for DC in 1986-87. It won a comic award at the time (the 1987 Jack Kirby Comics Industry Awards for Best Writer/Artist combination) and has continued to gather praise since.

The story concerns a group called the Crimebusters and a plot to kill and discredit them. Moore's characterization is as sophisticated as any novel's. Importantly the costumes do not get in the way of the storytelling; rather they allow Moore to investigate issues of power and control--indeed it was Watchmen, and to a lesser extent Dark Knight, that propelled the comic genre forward, making "adult" comics a reality. The artwork of Gibbons (best known for 2000AD's Rogue Trooper and DC's Green Lantern) is very fine too, echoing Moore's paranoid mood perfectly throughout. Packed with symbolism, some of the overlying themes (arms control, nuclear threat, vigilantes) have dated but the intelligent social and political commentary, the structure of the story itself, its intertextuality (chapters appended with excerpts from other "works" and "studies" on Moore's characters, or with excerpts from another comic book being read by a child within the story), the finepace of the writing and its humanity mean that Watchmen more than stands up--it keeps its crown as the best the genre has yet produced. --Mark Thwaite

The brainchild of writer Alan Moore ("Swamp Thing," "V for Vendetta," "From Hell") and artist Dave Gibbons ("Rogue Trooper," "Doctor Who," "Green Lantern"), "Watchmen" was originally published by DC Comics in twelve issues in 1986-87. Moore and Gibbons won the Best Writer/Artist combination award at the 1987 Jack Kirby Comics Industry Awards ceremony. The central story in "Watchmen" is quite simple: apparently someone is killing off or discrediting the former Crimebusters. The remaining members end up coming together to discover the who and the why behind it all, and the payoff to the mystery is most satisfactory. But what makes "Watchmen" so special is the breadth and depth of both the characters and their respective subplots: Dr. Manhattan dealing with his responsibility to humanity given his god-like powers; Nite Owl having trouble leaving his secret identity behind; Rorschach being examined by a psychiatrist. Each chapter offers a specific focus on one of the characters, yet advances the overall narrative.

Beyond that the intricate narrative, Moore and Gibbons offer two additional levels to the story. First, each chapter is followed by a "non-comic" section that develops more of the backstories, such as numerous excerpts from Hollis Mason's autobiography "Under the Hood" or Professor Mitlon Glass' "Dr. Manhattan: Super-Powers and the Superpowers," an interview with Adrian Veidt, or reports from the police files of Walter Joseph Kovacs. Second, almost every issue has scenes from "Tales of the Black Freighter," a comic-book being read by a kid near a newsstand, which offers an allegorical perspective on the main plot line.

"Watchmen" certainly nudged the comics industry in the right direction towards greater sophistication and intelligence, although a full appreciation of its significance is always going to be lost on the bean counters. The Book Club Edition of "Watchmen" offers the teaser: "He's America's ultimate weapon . . . and he's about to desert to Mars." As a representation of the work as a whole that description is simply stupid, especially since it is followed by a glowing recommendation by Harlan Ellison that concludes "anyone who misses this milestone event in the genre of the fantastic is a myopic dope." If you ever spent time reading and enjoying any superhero comic book, you will appreciate what you find in "Watchmen." Those of us who first devoured it when it came out in comic book form are still enjoying taking it out and reading it at least once a year in this hardback version.


Frappes chirurgicales et hommages collateraux   Février 27, 2004
stephanemot
2 sur 4 ont trouvé ce commentaire utile

Ne vous y trompez pas : independamment du registre employe (comic book), vous avez ici affaire a une oeuvre majeure qui marque un saut decisif dans l'ecriture de la BD ; l'acte de naissance de la "graphic novel".
Si Moore signe la son chef d'oeuvre a date (oui, From Hell demeure en retrait), il le doit en grande partie a Gibbons, dont la justesse du trait sert merveilleusement un decoupage minutieux. Chaque vignette a du sens, chaque transition est calibree. Ce n'est plus de la BD, ce n'est plus du roman. ce n'est plus du cinema, ce n'est plus de la presse ecrite / audiovisuelle. et pourtant Watchmen emprunte a chacun de ces media.
Dans cette tragedie a la fois tres classique et diablement moderne, l'univers des super-heros fait l'objet d'un hommage autrement plus subtil que dans "Supreme", chaque personnage creant une categorie indeite tout en assumant l'heritage des "anciens" (n'y aurait-il pas un peu d'Angel dans Veidt ?). Moore et Gibbons donnent ainsi naissance a une pleiade d'exception et projettent judicieusement Rorschach et Manhattan au-dela des normes de l'humain et du trop humain pour mieux exposer nos faiblesses.


Frappes chirurgicales et hommages collateraux   Février 27, 2004
stephanemot
10 sur 12 ont trouvé ce commentaire utile

Ne vous y trompez pas : independamment du registre employe (comic book), vous avez ici affaire a une oeuvre majeure, qui marque un saut decisif dans l'ecriture de la BD ; l'acte de naissance de la "graphic novel".
Si Moore signe la son chef d'oeuvre a date (oui, From Hell demeure en retrait), il le doit en grande partie a Gibbons, dont la justesse du trait sert merveilleusement un decoupage minutieux. Chaque vignette a du sens, chaque transition est calibree. Ce n'est plus de la BD, ce n'est plus du roman, ce n'est plus du cinema, ce n'est plus de la presse ecrite ou audiovisuelle, et pourtant Watchmen emprunte a chacun de ces media.
Dans cette tragedie a la fois tres classique et diablement moderne, l'univers des super-heros fait l'objet d'un hommage autrement plus subtil que dans "Supreme", chaque personnage creant une categorie inedite tout en assumant l'heritage des "anciens" (n'y aurait-il pas un peu d'Angel dans Veidt ?). Moore et Gibbons donnent ainsi naissance a une pleiade d'exception et projettent judicieusement Rorschach et Manhattan au-dela des normes de l'humain et du trop humain pour mieux exposer nos faiblesses.


La fable noire de Alan Moore   Peuvent 8, 2003
6 sur 7 ont trouvé ce commentaire utile

L'un des meilleurs comic-books de Alan Moore. 'Watchmen' decortique le mythe des super heros americains confronte au monde reel, et offre au lecteur une fable noire, complexe, ou les nombreuses references musicales ou litteraires (William Burroughs, John Cale, DEVO...) donnent envie de rentrer plus avant dans le monde de l'auteur anglais. 'Watchmen', comme 'From Hell' ou 'The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen' est surtout une oeuvre d'une force incroyable, proche de la forme romanesque, qui n'apporte jamais au lecteur ce qu'il pense devoir attendre.


passionnant et foisonnant   Février 6, 2003
em (nice)
3 sur 4 ont trouvé ce commentaire utile

Moore n'est pas que le simple inventeur de cette histoire geniale.
Il est aussi un veritable forcene des moindres details de la culture populaire. The watchmen est une serie saturee de references , et offre plusieurs niveaux de lecture.
La narration est extremement serree, detaillee. Elle foisonne d'inventivite.
Ce livre est une revolution dans la maniere d'aprehender ce genre de BD :intelligente et mure.