I never really got into comic books. I’ve always loved superheroes, I know most of the back-stories and storylines, but I only actually read them for a few years, and I stopped when I was 11. I’ve seen all of the big comic movies the last few years, and most of them were awesome (the most evil super villains in the films are still Joel Schumacher and Ang Lee). But none of them made me want to run to the store and grab the latest issue of Action Comics. Until Watchmen.

As a writer and a fan of literature, I don’t pay attention to comic books. Graphic novels, however, are an underappreciated medium, and there is a difference. Comic books are generally between twenty and thirty pages, an ongoing plot with silly dialog, at least one fight, and its pretty much fluff. Graphic novels, however, are between one hundred and three hundred pages, much more intellectual, violent, and in depth. The writing is the best part of a graphic novel, and the really good ones have amazing artwork to match. For those of you who love Frank Miller’s films, I have news for you: he is a graphic novel writer, and he’s even done work on comic books. Though Miller is probably my favorite, a close second now is Alan Moore, writer of Watchmen.

Allan Moore

A big name in comics for decades, he’s penned some amazing novels that have been turned into films. V for Vendetta, From Hell, and The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen were all Moore’s creations. He has a broad career as a writer, and an impressive resume. His books are always dark, profound, multilayered, and entertaining. There is no question, however, that Watchmen is his seminal masterpiece. It was originally released in twelve separate chapters, each around forty pages long. Excerpts from fictional memoirs, scientific papers, and news clippings, adding an element or realism to the story, separate the chapters in the complete novel. This makes reading it a challenge, but his ability to make readers relate and feel comfortable in such an outlandish story is commendable.

The Story

Watchmen is one of the most complex and well-rounded stories I’ve ever read, involving a complete alternate history of America starting in the late ‘20’s. With the emergence of several masked heroes, the government decides to sanction groups of heroes as minutemen, only operating in times of crisis. None of these people have superpowers; no radioactive spiders, space anomalies, or mutations. They are normal people who dress up to protect society. In 1959, a scientist named Jon Osterman is trapped in an atomic experiment, and vaporized. Days later, he reappears as a being of pure energy, with the ability to move things with his mind, teleport, and experience time omnisciently. His presence in America fuels the nuclear program, he is used by the government in Vietnam, and this stirs up the Russians, bringing them to the brink of nuclear war with the U.S. President Nixon, in his fourth presidential term, allows a bill to be passed effectively disbanding the Watchmen, due to public fear and outrage. In 1985 (Nixon’s fifth term), after eight years in retirement, one of the Watchmen, The Comedian, is murdered. This causes the rest of them to once again don their cowls and uncover an evil plot.

The Characters

Dr. Manhattan is the name given to Jon Osterman after his transformation. He has amazing powers that he generally uses to aide humanity (via the U.S. government), but he is detached. His ability to see the future, to understand existence and the universe on another level alienates him from the rest of mankind, causing him trouble in relationships as well as in the public eye.

Rorschach is pretty psychotic. He was raised by a prostitute, who kept him in the brothel with her. This and the absence of his father resulted in the inability to connect with people on a meaningful level. He sees the world as a horrible place, full of vice and crime, and the people as childish sheep. The most interesting part of Rorschach’s story, though left out of the film, is that his mask is a piece of fabric he cut from a dress made by Dr. Manhattan with fluid woven into the fabric that is constantly changing shapes. Dr. Manhattan originally designed this dress for a woman named Kitty Genovese. For those of you unfamiliar with history and psychology, Kitty Genovese was stabbed to death outside her apartment in 1964. Thirty-eight people watched out their windows, but no one called the police, allowing the mugger to come back and finish her off. This gave birth to the psychological term, “the bystander effect”. Hence Rorschach’s mask being constantly changing, but always black and white; never gray. He swears he will always be a vigilante, no matter what the government says, and he will never compromise, not even in the face of Armageddon.

Ozymandias is rich, powerful, and his body extends to the outer limits of human physical prowess. He started the last chapter of The Watchmen, and was sort of their leader. He works with Dr. Manhattan on several nuclear projects, and is the only Watchmen to reveal his secret identity after retirement. He is the quintessential superhero, and he uses different methods to accomplish the same goals.

The Comedian is one of the Watchmen veterans. He went back and forth between being a hero and a government spy/assassin (the film implies more that The Comedian shot JFK). He has a fatalistic view of humanity, even feels himself superior to them. He’s pretty much an asshole with a gun, but there’s always something under his scowl that you can’t quite put your finger on. He attempts to rape Silk Spectre, he shoots a Vietnamese woman pregnant with his child. This is all seen in flashbacks, as The Comedian is the one murdered at the beginning of the book.

Silk Spectre II was bred to be a hero. Daughter of Silk Spectre, a Watchmen in the forties, Silk II was forced into heroing by her mother. As a character, the only overtly interesting thing about her is that she is Dr. Manhattan’s girlfriend, and she chain-smokes. What’s more intriguing than her as a person is her past. Her mother, the mystery of her father, and her friendship with Night Owl II make her thought provoking, but not sympathetic.

Night Owl II is a one-dimensional character. He’s like the Superman of the group, but without the superpowers. Gadgets are his strong suit, relationships are not. His only contribution to the story is his connection to Hollis Mason, the first Night Owl and author of Behind the Hood, a memoir of his hero days. This connection to the past, the purity of the Watchmen, is the only thing he’s got going.

Good vs Evil

Unlike most other comic books, Watchmen doesn’t really focus on the bad guys. Sure, they mention their foes from time to time, but since these heroes had no superpowers, neither did their counterparts. The main theme of this book is ideological: good vs evil. It’s actually very deep, and well developed in the novel, and it’s different for every character, but there are basically three sides: Black, white, and grey in the name of white. Obedience to the government, bonds of brotherhood, responsibility to humanity as a whole, and responsibility to people as individuals are all elements in the ideologies. It has some big questions in it. Is doing evil things in the name of good still good, or is it actually evil? Is apathy even worse then evil acts? Does one act of contrition clearly establish your moral lines and forgive your past? Or is the act of contrition itself an admission of wrongdoing that should never be made? I won’t ruin the ending (the mechanics are different than the movie, but the basics are the same), but the turning point for all these characters is when a grey area is introduced, and they all must take sides. Do the ends justify the means? Can you operate in this grey area while still claiming the white side? The conclusions they come to are unpredictable and complex.

Man as God

Jon Osterman walks into a room in 1959, and comes out an omniscient, omnipotent, and omnipresent being. “God is real, and he is American.” He experiences time all at once, instead of linearly, so he is always telling other characters what is about to happen, how things will turn out. They complain that they have a choice, that it doesn’t have to be that way, but he is right every time.

Even more interesting, as a god figure, he tries to help in human affairs, working mainly with the U.S. He fights in Vietnam, does his duty in the cold war, and is America’s secret weapon against deflecting a possible Russian nuclear strike. Yet he slowly drifts away from humanity, and takes a stance of fatigued indifference. One great part of the book is when the Comedian shoots his “baby mama”. Dr. Manhattan is standing right there, and tells him not to shoot. After she is dead, he tries to condemn The Comedian, but he argues, “You could’ve stopped the bullet, took apart my gun, frozen time, but you didn’t.” He is accusing Manhattan of being out of touch, apathetic, and cold. When he is on Mars, talking to Silk Spectre II about the fate of the world, he asks her, “Why would I save a world I no longer have any stake in?”

Chapter IV was, to me, the best in the novel, for the way it handled time, Manhattan’s flashbacks and flash forwards, and gave you a window into the psyche of a god. He feels isolated from everyone. Its not that he doesn’t care, he does. It’s that he’s not sure why he cares, if he cares for the right things or reasons, and if his responsibility is to directly help people, or to sit back and let them determine their own futures. This theme, though profound, is not overdone or overcomplicated. Good job Moore.

The Black Freighter

Another interesting part of Watchmen was the parallel story The Black Freighter. This is a comic strip that an incidental character is reading periodically throughout the graphic novel. In the panels, the internal dialogue from this comic book is run alongside actual dialog from Watchmen characters. It is the story of a ship captain whose entire crew is killed, and he is stranded on an island. He forms a raft out of the dead bodies around him, and sails home to warn his family of the approaching Black Freighter. This may seem unimportant, but this narrative was inserted into Watchmen at key plot points, and if you read the novel through, in the end you understand another parallel of Watchmen morality. (This was actually turned into a short animated film by Zack Snyder featuring Gerard Butler and a great song by Nina Simone.)

Novel vs Film

The film was condensed, entertaining, and a little more realistic at the end. The novel was extensive, elaborate, and included elements that, though their absence didn’t detract from the movie, would’ve made things a little clearer, and a lot cooler. Overall, I would say that the two are different halves of the same whole, and the best way to understand either is to enjoy both.

Final Review

I thoroughly enjoyed this novel. The art was fantastic, the narrative was amazingly deep without being cumbersome, and the flow was smooth. All the major elements of a great book are here, and so many minor elements are added that the realism and cohesiveness are almost perfect. Some of the panels actually look like a well-developed storyboard for a film, and the writing is so flushed out that Ayn Rand and Dave Eggers would both be proud. Though my exposure is limited, this is my favorite graphic novel so far, and one of the best stories (as far as material and character development) that I’ve ever read. My only criticism is that the ending in the novel was a bit ridiculous and underdeveloped. Objectively, it could have been better, but the film made up for it, so I’m happy.

Final Grade: A

No, this isn’t one of those “who would win in a fight” questions, or “whose tights are less gay”. This is a study in archetypes. The hero, since the days of ancient mythology, has been a figure of human perseverance. Overcoming external adversities and internal weaknesses is what we all strive for in our lives, even if we’re not going to put on boots and a cape to do it.

There are hundreds of superheroes in the comic world; too many to list here. However, I believe that these masked crusaders can be put into two distinct categories: The Idealist and the Vigilante. As far as longevity and popularity, no two characters can epitomize these distinctions better than Superman and Batman.

Superman is an alien. He came from a planet far, far away, and was raised in small-town America. He grew up having the values of this country’s culture engrained in him. So when he moved to the big city and became a superhero, he also became the embodiment of American idealism. Other superheroes, as well as his nemeses, refer to him as a “boy scout”. This is because he firmly believes in a simply morality. Innocent people must be protected. Bad guys must be punished, but not by Superman. Instead, he displays unwavering faith in the justice system, refusing to kill wrongdoers, and turning them over to authorities in full view of the public and media. Captain America was a blatant manifestation of U.S. propaganda against Russia during the cold war. Superman differs in only one color: instead of red, white, and blue, he is red, blue, and yellow. Primary colors. This implies that the convictions of Superman are universal, primary, inherent to the fabric of all human life, and America exemplifies all of them. Superman is real, and he is American.

Batman is human. He is the son of billionaires, who are killed by a simple mugger while wandering back from the opera through a bad neighborhood. The shooter was acquitted, proving to Bruce Wayne that the system doesn’t work the way it should. Rather than living off his inheritance and becoming a spineless socialite, he spent money on charities, and time honing his mind and body to become the ultimate vigilante. Half the people in the city support him, and half condemn him. Oddly enough, it’s mostly the upper class and politicians who consider him a menace. He is the voice of the downtrodden and the only one willing to get his hands dirty in the pursuit of justice and morality, whether it’s a simple purse snatching or a diabolical scheme by The Joker.

I won’t pick a side here, as this is applicable to myriad religious, ethical, political, and personal aspects of modern culture. But I will say that the main question in this battle of ethics is this: is it more important to stay within the law and defend justice as a human institution, or stain your hands with blood defending justice as an objective concept?

The paradox of both ideologies, however, is that the supervillains constantly attacking these respective cities probably wouldn’t exist if not for the appearance of the heroes. A hero is only a hero if he has a reasonably equal counterpart, and it isn’t always as simple as black and white. Is the Punisher a vigilante or a mass murderer? Is Magneto a civil rights advocate or a dangerous militant leader? Who was really warped, Rorschach or Ozymandias?

I could discuss (at great length and tedium) Hinduism’s polytheistic dualities, the partisanship in American government, or Spiritual morality. The point is that these make believe characters aren’t just silly stories for kids and nerds. They are as much engrained in our society and our psychology as sports, finance, politics, and philosophy. Every culture has their Hercules, their Thor, their Spider-Man. They give us something to aspire to; an idea to relate to our own lives. Because, though none of us are going to jump in our invisible jet and lasso evildoers, we all want to believe that our strengths outweigh our vices, and that we can overcome any problem that may arise.

1. The Joker

The mysteries of Joker’s origins can best be summed up in his own words, “Sometimes I remember it one way, sometimes another…if I’m going to have a past, I prefer it to be multiple choice!”

This guy is so fucking insane, it borders on genius. But the best thing about The Joker is that he doesn’t have a singular objective. Granted, he enjoys attempting to murder Batman as much as the next guy. But he genuinely delights in carnage, mayhem and mass-murder. His intricate plans and unpredictability make him a dangerous arch nemesis.

2. Green Goblin

While Sam Raimi’s film may have slightly exaggerated Norman Osborn’s relationship with Spider-Man. The Green Goblin was an enduring force to be reckoned with. Osborn may have been benevolent, but his alter ego was completely batshit crazy and out to kill Spider-Man. Rich, smart and strong as hell (thanks to his patented drugs), he spawned several imitators, but none could match.

3. Magneto

Magneto is possibly the most respectable and sympathetic villain out there. When he was a child, his family was taken to Auschwitz, where he was forced to operate the gas chamber controls. He later befriended Charles Xavier (leader of the X-Men), both men being very intelligent and devoted to preserving mutant life. However, his experience with the Nazis led Magneto to lead a preemptive strike against humanity. Fearing another holocaust, he will stop at nothing to protect his Brotherhood.

4. Venom/Carnage/Toxin

We put these three together because they’re essentially the same thing. Venom was the original, an alien symbiote who first bonded with Spider-Man, making him a little evil, then with Eddie Brock, the anti-Peter Parker. Brock’s murderous tendencies turned the alien into a nasty Spider-Man doppelganger, with all of his powers and agility. The same symbiote was responsible for turning a serial killer into Carnage, basically Venom except more insane and dangerous. Carnage then begat Toxin, who, despite being labeled as a villain, was actually a good guy with a Jekyll and Hyde kind of dichotomy. Venom helped stop Carnage, Toxin helped stop Carnage and Venom…

5. Dr. Doom

He’s the usurped heir to an eastern European gypsy empire. He’s an expert in sorcery, alchemy, and metallurgy. He’s rich, strong, made of metal, and shoots sparkly things out of his fingertips. And he’s really pissed off. Sure, the Fantastic Four isn’t the coolest superhero group ever, but one on four, and he still holds his own. That and his actual name is Victor Von Doom…how can he not be a badass?

Honorable Mentions

The Riddler

An obsessive compulsive with a question mark painted on his chest may not be the greatest villain ever (especially after Jim Carrey and Joel Schumacher got done with him), but The Riddler is an interesting character. Most of his crimes are non-violent, and he never tries to outright kill Batman. Instead, he attempts to beat him in a game of wit, always giving Batman a way out should he solve the puzzle, and he nearly outsmarts him every time. He’s crazy, but in a One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest kinda way, not a Dahmer kinda way.

Brainiac

Since his introduction in 1958, Brainiac’s origin story has been changed several times, but the essentials stay the same. He is basically a brain and nervous system who finds host bodies. He also controls computers, which, added to his psychic abilities, makes him a formidable foe for Superman (he’s big and strong, but not all that bright). He’s more of a nuisance, but he’s more tenacious than Doomsday (whose body he actually controlled in an epic battle for earth…nerdy).

1. Batman

Over the last few decades, Batman has transformed from a blue/gray sketch in a comic, to the campy Adam West, to a dark and brooding puppet of Frank Miller. He’s completely human. Growing up, you believed you could be Batman. You didn’t have to get bitten by a radioactive spider or be born a mutant. His powers were being ripped as shit, smart as hell and richer than God—all things that seem perfectly attainable to the average 10 year old.

He is the quintessential vigilante. Battling a rogue’s gallery of villains crazier than any other hero, he’s multi-layered character that we’ve only begun to fully understand.

2. The Punisher

It’s like the guys at Marvel asked themselves, “How could we make Batman more badass?” Kill his wife and kids, paint a skull on his chest, and give him more guns than a Mexican drug cartel. Yup. That’ll do it.

He’s not as complex as The Dark Knight. But he fights the good fight and has no problem putting two in your dome if you’re a bad guy.

3. Ghost Rider

John Blaze makes a deal with the devil to save his father from cancer. The cancer goes away and then his dad dies in a motorcycle accident. Man, that Lucifer is shifty…

Ghost Rider’s motives are pure, protecting his loved ones at any cost. It’s just that at night, he turns into the most evil-looking superhero ever and spits hot fire out of a shotgun. You might not like Nicholas Cage or Method Man, but you gotta love the Ghost Rider.

4. Rorshach

Rorshach is fucking crazy, a murdering psychopath, but his morals are clearly defined. His mask is made from scraps of a dress designed by Dr. Manhattan for Kitty Genovese. The lines constantly change, but it’s always black and white. To him, being soft on criminals means letting them live. Raised by a whore, Rorschach can’t connect with society. He sees the world as a cesspool of sex, drugs and violence. But still, he seeks to save the world from itself. And he refuses to compromise even in the face of Armageddon.

5. Wolverine

For being such an enduring superhero figure, we don’t know much about Wolverine. His history is shrouded in mystery. We know he has those crazy fucking claws. We know he can regenerate. We know he was born in the late 1800s and his powers manifested early in life. But his backstory is full of contradictions and missing links. So much so that Wolverine spends most of his adventures trying to understand his past.

But anytime you have a guy that was an experimental weapon, an assassin, a samurai and saved the world, you have to be intrigued.

Blade

Blade is a superhero—that wants to drink your blood? That’s just cool. Half vampire, half human, Blade has all their strengths and none of their weaknesses (except, of course, for the thirst. But Kris Kristofferson will take care of that). With an arsenal like The Punisher’s and agility like Wolverine, Blade is by far the coolest vampire ever.

Gambit Abandoned by his family because of his glowing red eyes, Gambit was raised by a guild of thieves in New Orleans. After killing his fiancee’s disapproving brother, he was exiled and spent his life as a thief and mercenary before being picked up by Mr. Sinister (a really, really bad guy). Sinister helped him develop his powers in exchange for violent favors. Soon after, the X-Men took him in and he’s been throwing supercharged poker cars at bad guys ever since.

Spawn

Spawn would deserve an honorable mention, if only because Todd MacFarlane drew the comics. That man could make the Care Bears seem menacing. Spawn is a lot darker than most comics and is considered to be more of an anti-hero than a superhero. He dies, goes to hell and sells his soul to a demon to come back and see his wife one last time. Once back on earth, he desperately tries to hang on to his humanity and ends up doing battle with an insane assortment of evildoers.

Gran Torino – Clint Eastwood
Clint Eastwood has been hit or miss as a director, and his acting these days borders on the chronically cranky.  This one is a hard call.  First he doesn’t like Asians or children, then he does, then he protects them from other Asian children.  Then he works on a car.  Then he takes a nap.
Clint Eastwood
January 9

The Unborn – David Goyer
Goyer has had several successes as a writer. (The new Batman franchise, the Blade Trilogy, Dark City), but as a director, he’s still shaking out the kinks.  This does look much better and creepier than the rest of the teeny-bopper Japanese remakes, and the effects look sweet.  Plus Gary Oldman seems like a smart guy.
Odette Yustman, Gary Oldman, Carla Gugino, James Remar, Idris Elba, Jane Alexander, Meagan Good
January 9

Defiance – Edward Zwick
Most people don’t know Edward Zwick’s name.  But Legends of the Fall, Courage Under Fire, The Last Samurai, and Blood Diamond are all solid, violent dramas with great character development.  Daniel Craig headlines this WWII film about hiding from Nazis, and then killing Nazis.  And really, who likes Nazis?  No one.
Daniel Craig, Jamie Bell, Leiv Schreiber, Alexa Davalos
January 16

My Bloody Valentine 3-D – Patrick Lussier
When a mediocre horror movie needs a sequel directed, they call Patrick Lussier.  A couple Dracula 2000 sequels, White Noise 2, and The Prophecy 3 haven’t made for a bright career.  But really, are we going to this movie for the production value, the script, or the performances?  No, we’re going because 3-D horror movies are sweet, and there hasn’t been a good one since Friday the 13^th part 3.
Jaimie King, Kerr Smith
January 16

Notorious – George Tillman Jr.
I’m going to guess right now that this film is going to exaggerate Biggie’s hard upbringing, and focus on his gangstericity.  However, the lack of known actors intrigues me, and BIG was one of the greatest rappers of all time.  It won’t be Walk the Line, but it’ll be good.
Jamal Woolard, Derek Luke, Anthony Mackie, Naturi Naughton, Angela Bassett
January 16

Killshot – John Madden
This movie has been in production for like 3 years, and I’ve been waiting the whole time.  Mickey Rourke just rocked us in The Wrestler, and Gordon-Levitt just keeps getting better.  But also, this is an adaptation of an Elmore Leonard novel (He wrote Get Shorty, Be Cool, Out of Sight, Jackie Brown, etc.)  Thomas Jane has been surprisingly good the last few years.  It’s about damn time.
Thomas Jane, Diane Lane, Mickey Rourke, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Rosario Dawson
January 23

Che – Steven Soderbergh
The character is an icon, and always a good story.  Benicio Del Toro is a great actor.  However, I’m concerned because, even though Soderbergh directed Traffic, and I haven’t forgotten that, he also directed Ocean’s 11…and 12…and 13…and I haven’t forgotten that either.  I also haven’t forgotten that writer Peter Buchman’s only credits are Jurassic Park III and Eragon.  Hopefully, this will be an amazingly detailed and entertaining film (It’s being released in two parts.), But don’t be really surprised if it ends up being like Medellin from Entourage.
Benicio Del Toro
January 24

Taken – Pierre Morel
The last time Morel directed a Luc Besson screenplay was District B-13 (pretty sweet stunts), so this could be really good.  Neeson’s daughter gets kidnapped, but he’s a crazy ex-operative, and decided to kill people rather than pay.  Too bad he’s not intimidating in the least (anyone can slap Orlando Bloom around, you don’t scare me Liam).
Liam Neeson, Famke Janssen, Xander Berkeley, Maggie Grace, Leland Orser
January 30