Comic Books Come of
Age:
Alan Moore's The Watchmen
Getting the obvious
out of the way, this is a comic book. Well, a graphic novel. The author,
Alan Moore (also: V for Vendetta), set out writing The Watchmen as a literary take on the old superhero genre of comic books. Full of
diverse narratives, viewpoints, references, and side-stories, The
Watchmen is a book based on suspense. It was released in twelve
increments over the course of 1986. Each cover page contains a clock with
the minute hand advanced one more minute until striking twelve midnight on
the final issue.
The basic conflict
of the novel complicates the old structure of the superhero genre by
presenting a city ridden with vice, as Rorschach (the main narrator, also
a masked hero) informs the reader; “Dog carcass in alley this morning,
tire thread on burst stomach. This city is afraid of me. I have seen its
true face. The streets are extended gutters and the gutters are full of
blood and when the drains finally scab over, all the vermin will drown.
The accumulated filth of all their sex and murder will foam up about their
waists and all the whores and politicians will look up and shout ‘Save
us!’” While the “vice-ridden city” is a convention of the superhero
genre, the conflict is whether or not each masked hero will chose to save
the city when it is facing not only ultimate destruction, but also an
assassin who is slowly killing off each masked hero.
The universe of The Watchmen is stand-alone; it exists in no other book, and is based
on the premise that in the 1950s certain individuals donned masks and
alternate personas to fight back against the vice of the city. However,
these are no superheroes (save one). Each character has a unique identity
that reflects on popular heroes from the classic comic books, such as the
character of “Night Owl,” who relies on technology and gadgets to amaze
those who witness him saving the day. However, the action of the book
takes place many years after masked heroes are outlawed. Night Owl is
older, more human, and sexually impotent, facts which play into every
aspect of the storyline and give this “comic book” a depth of meaning we
associate with serious literature.
Take, for example,
the novel’s “Superman” counterpart, “Dr. Manhattan,” the only character in The Watchman with super-human powers. He has the ability to
teleport, fly, alter atomic particles, change shape, and essentially do
whatever he wants. However, Dr. Manhattan is more interested in exploring
the wonders of the universe than the robbery on 15th street. As
he reflects, “A live body and a dead body contain the same number of
particles. Structurally, there's no discernible difference. Life and death
are unquantifiable abstracts.” With a “superman” caught in such
existential binds, and epigraphs from William Blake and Friedrich
Nietzsche, The Watchman is a page turner that keeps you thinking.
-- Tom Boice
