'Half of New York City is dead"

Good day!
Less than ten minutes ago, I finished "The Watchmen" by Alan Moore and Dave Gibbons.
It is widely considered to be the pinnacle of Comic Books and Graphic Novels in the world, as it represents humanity in a dying age.


Truly the book is much more than a graphic novel or a simple comic book, it's a novel with pictures. Alan Moore (eccentric as he may be) is one of the best (and my second favorite) comic book writers that have ever lived (my first favorite being Sin City mastermind, Frank Miller).

It's impossible to describe the book without you actually reading it. Comics have gotten a bad rap of the past few years and I've been told to "grow up" after someone saw me with my copy of "The Watchmen", but they don't understand... comic books are just as much as an art form as movies, music or regular novels and The Watchmen is complete and utter proof of that.

It's not some difficult-to-follow short series inside of a larger series, The Watchmen is in it's own fucking world. They call out superheros as being superheros in some type of pseudo-fourth-wall breaking type thing. One of the characters, Nite Owl claims that he was a fan of the Superman comics and by doing this alone, The Watchmen create their OWN world. A world without people with insane powers given at birth.

The book is truly about humanity. The characters are so intensely written that you find yourself missing their presence and recalling certain deaths after the book is over. I've had it for over two years now, but with the new Watchmen movie coming in 2009 (directed by the great Zack Snyder) I figured I'd finally read it, and it's a worthwhile read.

So, put down your shitty "Twilight" novels and read something made of art.


- Josh.