Alan Moore: Watchmen annotated (2017)
424 pages
English language
Published Oct. 3, 2017
"This book examines each of the series' twelve issues in unprecedented detail, moving page by page and panel by panel to reveal the hidden foundations of this milestone in modern storytelling. Edited with notes by Leslie S. Klinger, this new edition draws upon critical and scholastic commentary, in-depth interviews with Dave Gibbons, and previously unseen original source material. Klinger provides the reader with a unique and comprehensive view of Watchmen as both a singular artistic achievement and a transformative event in the history of comics as a medium. Set in a world in which history has been forever altered by the existence of superheroes, Alan Moore and Dave Gibbons' monumental graphic novel Watchmen is one of the most influential comic book series of all time. Following two generations of masked crime-fighters from the end of World War II to the height of the Cold War, this compelling tale unfolds from …
"This book examines each of the series' twelve issues in unprecedented detail, moving page by page and panel by panel to reveal the hidden foundations of this milestone in modern storytelling. Edited with notes by Leslie S. Klinger, this new edition draws upon critical and scholastic commentary, in-depth interviews with Dave Gibbons, and previously unseen original source material. Klinger provides the reader with a unique and comprehensive view of Watchmen as both a singular artistic achievement and a transformative event in the history of comics as a medium. Set in a world in which history has been forever altered by the existence of superheroes, Alan Moore and Dave Gibbons' monumental graphic novel Watchmen is one of the most influential comic book series of all time. Following two generations of masked crime-fighters from the end of World War II to the height of the Cold War, this compelling tale unfolds from a simple murder mystery into an epic saga of power, corruption and the ultimate meaning of humanity. More than 30 years after it was first published, Moore and Gibbons' masterpiece continues to inspire and entertain readers around the world. Named one of Time magazine's 100 best English-language novels of the 20th century, Watchmen has won countless critical accolades and honors, including the Eisner Award and the Hugo Award"--
I've seen the film, so I had some idea of the plot, although there is more in the book and some differences. I'd been meaning to read this for ages and did enjoy it. I'll have to look out for some more comic books.
Wow.
2011:
looking for a new graphic novel to start, i googled 'best graphic novels of all time' and this one kept showing up.
i leafed thru it - ugh, superheroes?
but i thought i'd give the first few pages a try... wow. layered, incredibly complex, and even poetic in spots - this was beyond what i've seen in the genre. for the first time i can see the value in re-reading (and re-reading again!) a comic book. these issues must have been thumbed raw before the next installment was released. maybe my brother's comics weren't so dumb after all
. . . . .
2015:
my second reading - reread because of another book club. still amazed me - especially how they could carry 2 stories in alternating frames that kept the same theme. reminded me of when coronation street does a good 2 story build ups, alternating the stories …
2011:
looking for a new graphic novel to start, i googled 'best graphic novels of all time' and this one kept showing up.
i leafed thru it - ugh, superheroes?
but i thought i'd give the first few pages a try... wow. layered, incredibly complex, and even poetic in spots - this was beyond what i've seen in the genre. for the first time i can see the value in re-reading (and re-reading again!) a comic book. these issues must have been thumbed raw before the next installment was released. maybe my brother's comics weren't so dumb after all
. . . . .
2015:
my second reading - reread because of another book club. still amazed me - especially how they could carry 2 stories in alternating frames that kept the same theme. reminded me of when coronation street does a good 2 story build ups, alternating the stories but continuing to build the tension, even when that first story is on pause.... but this graphic novel does it more precisely, frame by frame rather than scene by scene. more than ever I wonder how the writer and the illustrator collaborate
