Quis custodiet ipsos custodes?

posted by tyrus

Tue Dec 02, 2008 at 11:05:15 AM EST

"Who watches the watchmen?"

I just finished reading the graphic novel, The Watchmen, by Alan Moore, the guy who created "V for Vendetta."

With a live-action adaptation on the horizon, I somehow stumbled upon this little gem. Frankly, I don't even know what it was. I saw the trailers and thought the movie looked stupid. But after reading the director, Zack Snyder (300, Dawn of the Dead) gush about his latest project, I went to Barnes and Nobles and picked up a copy.

In short, the story goes like this... in an alternate reality where costumed heroes exist, crime-fighting was outlawed by the Keene act in 1977. America won the Vietnam war with the aid of the world's only genuine superhero, Dr. Manhattan. Ever since then, the world's been in a nuclear stand-off with the U.S. and Russia. Most heroes hung up their costumes in fear of being arrested.

It opens up following Rorschach, a masked hero who's investigating the death of a former colleague. Rorschach was a member of the last great super-hero group, The Watchmen. Most of his compatriots quit when vigilante justice was outlawed. But Rorschach lumbered on, refusing to give up his pursuit of justice.

Eventually, he stumbles on what appears to be a large conspiracy, aimed at bringing down the former members of the Watchmen and catapulting the world into Nuclear War.

The BEST thing about this book is the characters. It meanders a bit here and there, and sometimes you wonder what the hell is going on. But in the end, it delivers. The heroes unite, but must makes very tough decisions in benefiting the greater good.

This graphic novel was awesome in that it really explores moral dilemmas and portrays a realistic world that isn't merely black in white. The heroes, like their world, operate in shades of grey.

It's awesome because the background of every character is explored. You really see their journey on how they got to where they are.

I could babble on for hours about this, but check it out. Definitely worth the read.

I know I can hype the hell out of shit, so if you do check it out, take it as it is.  If not, check out the movie in March. I'm sure it'll whet your appetite.

Trailer 1:
http://video.google.com/videosearch?...

Trailer 2:
http://movies.yahoo.com/feature/watc...


Tags: The Watchmen (all tags)

Comments Disabled | 8 comments

  •  The Watchmen has been on every comic fans'... (none / 0)

    wishlist to be adapted to the big screen.  Razor Hanzo and I were stoked at this year's Comic-Con to catch the info that was available.  In fact, one of our buddies, Bootleg Baker, won the special edition Watchmen-themed 360 console (1 of 25)!  Talk about lucky mojo!  

    Anyways, I've since re-read the graphic novel that Razor had laying around and I cannot wait for it to hit the theaters.  It's mired in litigation right now, but Zack Snyder's next masterpiece will eventually see release.  20th Century Fox just wants their piece of the pie considering that Warner Bros. bankrolled the entire flick.  Some heads had to roll at Warner for not making sure that the rights were completely free of any previous contractual obligations before they started principal production.  Regardless, the merchandising for The Watchmen has already started with action figures from DC Direct.  They look decent, but I'll pass.  Only Gears and Conan figures for me!

    Friends don't let friends two-piece.

    by Blankman on Tue Dec 02, 2008 at 12:29:37 PM EST

    •  Awesome. (none / 0)

      I was actually talking to a buddy earlier about this and he mentioned something about Fox tying it up.

      Great to hear you've read it. You've gone up two coolness points for the record. LoL.

      But yeah, man it was AWESOME. Words can't express how damn good this book was. And Rorschach has to be the hardest superhero ever. Before I read about him, I loved Batman. But he'd eat Bruce Wayne for breakfast.

      Saving real lives, taking virtual ones. The circle is COMPLETE.

      by tyrus on Tue Dec 02, 2008 at 12:36:59 PM EST

      [ Parent ]

  •  woot woot woot woot woot (none / 0)

    it's gonna be f'in amazing you know!

    Not all who wander are lost

    by Zoso Fan on Tue Dec 02, 2008 at 03:01:55 PM EST

  •  saw the new trailer (none / 0)

    for it when I saw Transporter 3. It's definitely gonna be amazing. Also, "The Spirit" looks really good as well.

    IMG tags STILL arent allowed..

    by RoBBins0096 on Tue Dec 02, 2008 at 03:15:11 PM EST

  •  You know, I saw a beautiful (none / 0)

    copy of this in the airport on my way home from Canada this summer.  I wanted to buy it and even carried it around with me for a while in the store.  I eventually put it back, knowing that my visa card was already heavily burdened and that I was going to have to shoulder that burden in a month.

    Too bad.  I will have to check out Amazon.co.jp.  They offer very competitive prices on their books.  

    UPDATE:  Just checked.  I can get it for two sawbucks!  Placed that puppy in the cart!  Thanks for the review and promp on this, ty!

    All that is gold does not glitter.

    by 3Suns on Tue Dec 02, 2008 at 08:02:39 PM EST

  •  Word. (none / 0)

    It's worth the read. Look forward to hearing what ya think about it when you're done.

    Saving real lives, taking virtual ones. The circle is COMPLETE.

    by tyrus on Tue Dec 02, 2008 at 08:35:23 PM EST

Comments Disabled | 8 comments