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berlyhansen's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
2.5
Graphic: Death, Gun violence, Sexual assault, Violence, Blood, Murder, and War
steveatwaywords's review against another edition
- 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: Body horror, Death, Emotional abuse, Gore, Mental illness, Rape, Sexual content, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Blood, Murder, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Toxic friendship, War, and Injury/Injury detail
megb64's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
Graphic: Death, Genocide, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Violence, and Murder
myclutteredbookshelf's review against another edition
4.0
Graphic: Animal death, Death, Gore, Gun violence, Blood, Police brutality, and Murder
Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Pedophilia, Racism, Rape, Sexual assault, Vomit, and War
Minor: Homophobia and Lesbophobia
theskyboi's review against another edition
Graphic: Ableism, Body shaming, Cursing, Death, Fatphobia, Misogyny, Racial slurs, Racism, Sexism, Sexual assault, Violence, Police brutality, Alcohol, Colonisation, and War
owls_rainbow's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.0
Graphic: Death and Violence
Moderate: Rape
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: Death, Mental illness, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Violence, Blood, Murder, and Injury/Injury detail
manjal's review against another edition
- 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: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Bullying, Cursing, Deadnaming, Death, Emotional abuse, Genocide, Gore, Gun violence, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Racism, Rape, Self harm, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Torture, Violence, Blood, Police brutality, Death of parent, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, Alcohol, War, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Addiction, Body horror, Body shaming, Bullying, Domestic abuse, Hate crime, Homophobia, Grief, Death of parent, Pregnancy, and Abandonment
Minor: Drug use, Emotional abuse, Fatphobia, Misogyny, Self harm, Sexism, Suicide, Toxic relationship, Police brutality, Stalking, and Fire/Fire injury
parenthesis_enjoyer'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
4.0
Graphic: Death, Mental illness, Violence, and Blood
Moderate: Rape and Sexual assault
Minor: Homophobia, Racism, and Cultural appropriation
rswm11's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
Graphic: Death and Gore
Moderate: Sexual assault
Minor: Animal death