A couple of weeks ago, I decided that I wasn’t going to be left behind any further with the Watchmen. Knowing only that it had a large and very loyal following, I had no idea what I was about to witness. What I got was an amazing experience for both comics and storytelling in general.
As the first episode of any good show goes, Episode I of Watchmen was the bait, if you will, in the trap. Once I watched it I was hooked and knew that I had to watch the rest, just knew it. As each episode progressed, at least through the first five or six, I was shown each main character and a little peek into their lives. Who they were, where they came from, and what made them part of this story.
Episode IV is an amazing bit of comic book storytelling and narration. The way that they reveal Dr. Manhattan, and his “ability” was simply awesome. Through most of the episode, I was just trying to comprehend what I had just seen, and not because of the blue dong that kept showing up every couple of scenes. The way that writer, Alan Moore, crafted his exposition of this character, created more interest for me in the story, than all the hype I had heard about the comic, and the movie, combined.
The rest of the cast is interesting, in some respects, but none as much as Dr. Manhattan and Rorschach. The plot of the story though sometimes veiled from the reader is always working in the background. Leading you sometimes unknowingly to the end. Sewing up loose ends along the way, and tying in parts of other stories running concurrently with the main plot. The end, however, that was a bit of a shock with it’s strange SciFi twist at the end, but I guess it worked out fine.
Then there was Rorschach’s back story. Who he was, and why he became the vigilante that he did. Trying to get into the head of a deranged yet oddly intelligent person is not an easy thing to do. Moore was able to develop his character and do so in a way that didn’t make him seem over the top. He’s not some raving psycho, running loose through the streets killing at will. He is introspective, calculating, yet cool and level headed man. He knows the best way to get information, and he will do so, the best way he knows how.
Someone should look into getting the narrator Tom Stechschulte some sort of award. Narrating a comic like this doing all the voice work himself, and actually doing a great job of it couldn’t have been easy for him. Most of the time I didn’t even realize that it was the same guy reading each part. Female characters, male characters, they all had distinct voices, and each was done with subtly. Not once did he slip into some strange falsetto to read as a woman. Also being able to give each of the main characters a “voice” and then remember what each sounds like through the course of the novel deserves an award on its own.
At the end of the twelve part series, after the strangeness of the ending had worn off, I was completely ready to go out and see the movie adaptation. Though I can’t help feeling that because I watched the motion comic, I may have spoiled my view of the movie itself. I have been told that the ending is not the same, but still, I don’t know if going into the theater totally blind to the history of the comic would have made me like it more or dislike it more. Either way, I have yet to make it to the theater to see it for myself. I hope to do that over the coming week.
All in all, this is probably one of the best comic storylines I have ever read. Even though it was about “superheroes” and “saving the world” it never felt overdone. Things that your everyday run of the mill comic may have blown way WAY out of proportion were toned down in this. I am very sorry that I was so utterly and completely late to the party on this book, but am very happy that I caught up when I did. I look forward to the theatrical release, and will probably post a review about that, afterward.
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