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Watchmen | 
 enlarge | Creators: Alan Moore, Dave Gibbons
Publisher: Titan Books Ltd
Category: Book
Buy New: $48.67
New (2) Used (4) from $22.20
Rating:  535 reviews
Sales Rank: 1182657
Media: Paperback
Edition: 3rd printing
Pages: 424
Shipping Weight (lbs): 1.4
Dimensions (in): 10 x 6.6 x 0.8
ISBN: 1852860243
Dewey Decimal Number: 741
EAN: 9781852860240
ASIN: 1852860243
Publication Date: October 1, 1987
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
Shipping: Expedited shipping available
Shipping: International shipping available
Condition: Brand new Item. CD, DVD, Book, VHS more than 400 000 titles to choose from. ALL days Low Price !
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Amazon.com
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
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| Customer Reviews: Read 530 more reviews...
 Who watches the Watchmen? September 6, 2008
This is a fantastic graphic novel. Do yourself a favor and immerse your mind into this book before the film version comes out next March. I looked around for it and I found it cheapest on Amazon.
Watchmen is as great as ever September 6, 2008
Whats ironic about re-reading this book now is the fact that the world is where it is. Poverty, homelessness, lack of tolerance, invasions, corrupt people and government, the human heart and our need to be loved and understood. Of course these aren't new things, BUT Watchmen does it in such a brilliant way. Can't wait to see if the movie does it justice.
 Watchmen September 6, 2008
I love it. It's one if the best graphic novels I've read. I just hope the movie lives up to the book.
Just in Time September 6, 2008
This isn't really a review (what more can be said?), but more about how became acquainted with this masterpiece.
I've never been big on comics, but recently I began reading manga (already an anime fan). I discovered Watchmen on a forum that was questioning whether this or a manga called 20th Century Boys is better, which is a tough choice, but I choose Watchmen because of the symbolism, metafiction, and because Dr. Manhattan is a god. Anyway, I decided to buy it a week later, and then after three days or so of reading (decided to spread the 12 chapters over 12 days. It was very hard to do.) I discovered that a film version is basically done and coming out next year. My God! I'm glad that I was able to read this before the movie's release, and I respect the long-lasting fans that have been much more patient in waiting for the project to come to fruition.
The Greatest Graphic Novel Ever September 5, 2008
I wanted to get back into reading comic books/graphic novels for a while but was a bit hesitant. Maybe it was the surge of comic book inspired movies that made me want to see what behind these amazing movies or the need for a greater story that I felt was missing, but I decided to start my kick off with Watchmen. I couldn't have picked a better book!
The cover of Watchmen touts it as a "Winner of the Hugo Award" and "One of Time Magazine's 100 Best Novels", and as soon as you pick it up you will know why. It starts off heavy after the death of one of their own, the "hero" Comedian, and picks up steam after that. But the greatest things about this book aren't things you can see right away, it's what's underneath everything that keeps you reading.
The first thing is obviously the story; it is real. It has a back story that actually builds upon the current story. Everything written in this novel has a purpose, and I know that every time I read it it will show me something new. After the first read I'm still trying to piece everything together because I know there are more details that connect, I just haven't seen them yet. And the fact that I want to read it again is a major accomplishment considering it's size and the weight of the story alone.
Another are the characters. They aren't your usual cookie-cutter hero's. Sure, they are based on a lot of today's modern characters but they each have their own life and story. They have their own tendencies that make them human and their own person, and it's great to see how each person, no matter how different they are, interact with everyone. They are people just like you and me who have chosen to "adventure" for one reason or another, and their backstories are given to further strengthen the characters. They don't have any great powers (except for Dr. Manhattan) and they are wanted by the law throughout the book which makes it even more difficult for them.
Throughout the entire story you read along as these characters get themselves in and out of trouble and the entire time they handle it like you think they would, but never does the story reveal itself or are you aware of what is coming next. Especially when it comes to the ending. The ending blows me away even now thinking about it.
The bottom line is get this book because it's a story that will last longer than time and keep you hooked even longer.
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