Reviews tagging 'Physical abuse'

Watchmen by Alan Moore

14 reviews

sulinde's review against another edition

dark reflective tense medium-paced

• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.0

This book is mostly interesting for its position within comics history. It's a bleak, brutal book set against a bleak and brutal development of superhero comics into an adult-focused celebration of reactionary fascism. To the author's dismay, it was more influential for encouraging this manner of comics writing than anything else but it was by no means an unimpeachable piece of criticism even without that distasteful legacy. It is an incredibly strange, incredibly violent, incredibly angry book and I don't feel that its merits as a piece of comics craft or as a bleak send-up of the contemporary momentum in superhero comics justify just how unpleasant it is. 

There's a place for grotesque, brutal, depressing stories--I don't feel like Watchmen makes it to that place.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Emotional abuse, Gore, Physical abuse, and Violence

Moderate: Rape and Sexual content

boy_topics's review against another edition

dark slow-paced

• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.0

I did not enjoy this book. It has aged poorly in a disturbing way (as in it rings too true as something that could've been written by a strange section of humanity in our present moment). It is not a pleasant read and the ending is intensely dissatisfying. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Ableism, Addiction, Adult/minor relationship, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Body horror, Cursing, Death, Hate crime, Homophobia, Infidelity, Mental illness, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Violence, Xenophobia, Blood, Antisemitism, and Murder

scripturient's review against another edition

dark mysterious tense slow-paced

• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

2.0

Ugh, I think I'm done with Moore. You'd think the man should be capable to write a SINGLE female character without having her raped and/or tortured, but apparently not. That's just laughable character development.
The plot was interesting in parts, other parts bored me to death, but overall, I just don't get the hype at all. But maybe I was too focused on the rampant sexual violence and misogyny, who knows. I think I'll stick to other writers from now on.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Animal death, Body horror, Cancer, Child abuse, Death, Domestic abuse, Gore, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Terminal illness, Torture, Violence, Blood, Kidnapping, Religious bigotry, and Murder

Moderate: Homophobia, Mental illness, Pedophilia, Toxic relationship, and Trafficking

tenten's review against another edition

adventurous dark medium-paced

• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

i watched it to make more sense of the HBO series. it was good and i can see why it's a classic. but it was written by a white man in the 80s — not to say that white men in the 80s cannot write or are inherently bad or whatever i just mean, it's a product of its time and creator. it's overly cynical,  quite sexist on occasion, included period-typical homophobia, everyone is white except two side characters. some of the topics introduced are not handled well, which is largely my point because i don't except the average white man in the 80s to really understand some of these things. it's not incredibly clear to me whether some of the writer's own views are expressed through the characters but even so, most of the characters kinda suck, including my fave Dr Manhattan.

but i think that's what makes the story compelling and stand up to the test  of time....or whatever? i think it's not as deep as it was trying to be in some places. but it was good for what it's worth and i can see why it's considered a classic. i definitely prefer it to Moore's other famous work, The Killing Joke — the only good thing to have come out of that was Oracle, then DC went and ruined her by ~curing~ her disability 🙄

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Confinement, Gore, Gun violence, Misogyny, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Violence, and Blood

Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Child abuse, Emotional abuse, and Physical abuse

Minor: Drug abuse, Homophobia, Mental illness, Torture, and Trafficking