Who watches the Watchmen?

This stunning volume encompasses the WATCHMEN comic book series as put forth by Alan Moore and Dave Gibbons. The mid-1980's saw a resurgence in comic books that concentrated on hard looks at characters, adult themes and intricate social settings. Amidst such titles as THE DARK KNIGHT graphic novels, the SANDMAN series, and the CRISIS ON INFINITE EARTHS series was one series that would give the final definition to the era. That comic was the WATCHMEN series and it set a new standard for heroic depiction in the medium.

WATCHMEN starts out with the premise that soon after the introduction of heroic figures in the comic books there would be some real life heroes that would attempt to do a similar form of justice. By having that coincide with World War II, and being pivotal in many aspects of it this world would be drastically different from ours. Jump to 1985, which is the present of this book, and we have a world on knife edge balance heading towards destruction. This starts with the killing of one of the few 'sanctioned' heroes, the Comedian, who was pivotal in helping to win the Viet Nam war. His grisly death is investigated by one of the unsanctioned heroes, Rorschach, who may be more than a little mentally disturbed already.

Rorschach goes to old friends and enemies trying to put the Comedian's murder into perspective and to warn of a possible 'mask killer'. He receives a cool treatment from these people, many who are trying to put their costumed crime fighting days behind them, and one, Dr. Manhattan, just can't be bothered with it as he is almost beyond all definitions of human.

News of the Comedian's death sets out a chain of actions amongst those who knew him, cascading across two generations of families and friends and changing their world forever. This interpersonal change is also reflected in the outside world where threats of nuclear destruction loom ever closer as the Nixon administration heads into its fifth term. Sclerotic leadership on both sides of the Iron Curtain undergo massive changes when the powerful Dr. Manhattan decides to leave Earth and live on Mars when it is revealed that old friends and enemies are dying from cancer. Suddenly a power vacuum is filled by a resurgence of Soviet strength in Afghanistan and possibly Pakistan, and the world trembles as the two super powers square off.

An assassination attempt against another ex-hero and reputed smartest man in the world, raises tensions still further. The capture of Rorschach occurs just on the prelude of Armageddon and his old partner, Nite Owl, and his new lover (a woman who had lived with Dr. Manhattan for a number of years, but doesn't have cancer) put on their old costumes and learn again the thrill of costuming in the night. They both soon realize that larger forces are driving events and that freeing Rorschach may be the only way to get information into who and why events on global and personal scales are happening in such drastic fashion.

One fascinating part of this story line is the counterpoint given to it by the happenings at a news stand in New York City. There we get to see the daily passing by of regulars and strangers and follow the monologue of the news stand vendor to a young black boy who is reading pirate comics. It seems that once heroes were no longer limited to comic books, the popularity of comic heroes declined. In the 1950's and 60's pirate comics took their place and remain a mainstay in this universe. A grimness set into these comics during that era, pointing out how fragile the peace of the Cold War was. The grotesqueries that happen in those pages is used to point out how dreadful the world situation really is, and yet how accustomed people become to it by necessity. And that is reflected in the opinions given by passers-by on world events and their personal relationships.

In all the writing for this work is superb! It deftly blends so many themes in American society of that era, with the more outlandish ones of comic book heroics that it transcends the media altogether. The themes, plots and characters are all extremely well presented and give a glimpse of an era that is past us, but not forgotten. I would favorably compare this work to those of Alfred Bester's "The Stars My Destination" or Gordon R. Dickson's "Way of the Pilgrim". Both have extraordinary portrayals of people with uncommon powers and yet weave an intricate story and plot around them. WATCHMEN stands next to these two works as a continuity for both its portrayal of inhuman capabilities and powers and for its deep look into the psychological motives of all its characters.

What WATCHMEN has beyond novels is its graphic element. The sort of work given in WATCHMEN is reminiscent of the movie "Blade Runner" for its showing of unrealistic scenes in a realistic fashion. This world does have a different look than ours due to the type of people that have changed its history, and those changes are in many scenes reminding the reader that this is something close to our world but not exactly like it. All of the characters are extremely well drawn, though not as good as later works like KINGDOM COME. This graphic portrayal of the story reminds me much of what Alfred Hitchcock would do with a film, showing enough to give you the sense of the grotesque, but letting your mind fill in the rest of it.

The recurring visual theme of Egypt and its centralizing around death is played out again and again throughout the work. WATCHMEN quickly show the reader direct visual Egyptian works around Veidt, and then implied ones with their connections with moving companies, animals and scenes in the desert. Other mythologies also get a play throughout, the most startling one is with Dr. Manhattan teleporting to Mars. This puts the spiritual and technical achievement of the western world on an alignment with the God of War in a desert wasteland. These visual metaphors mesh completely when it is his discussion with his old lover that will decide the fate of life on Earth.

Needless to say this is a MUST read book for science fiction fans and comic book readers alike. For those who would balk at reading a "funny book", I would like to point out that the themes dealt with in WATCHMEN are those not normally picked up in most modern novels nor as well presented. And it IS a fast read. But like any good novel it will present many ideas at a furious pace and seriously pose moral and ethical questions that the reader must answer in their own hearts. I have a hard time finding material like that on a daily basis and treasure it when I do find it.

If you like the WATCHMEN, then do pick up the DARK KNIGHT by Frank Miller to see what he does with a much older Batman. Recently KINGDOM COME has given us the best visual portrayal of heroes and one of the better storylines for living with our present day decisions. I heartily recommend the SANDMAN trade paperbacks as giving us a glimpse into a mystical and metaphorical world of Morpheus, the Lord of the Dreaming, and his other siblings each ruling a part of life and death.