I don’t know where to start with Watchmen. I don’t know what part of the story to start with or which characters to discuss first or which themes to really delve into because there is so much that can be talked about.
It would be easiest, I guess, to start at the beginning so start there I shall. But don’t expect any real chronology to follow. Like I said, there is so much going on, on various levels, that “beginning to end” doesn’t work.
Watchmen opens with the murder of the Comedian, one of the masked adventurers who was part of the Watchmen. Set in New York in 1985, in an alternate reality that has Richard Nixon still in the White House, these masked adventurers have been outlawed since 1977. This brings up two elements in the story that I really liked: these people were not so much superheroes as masked adventurers or costumed adventurers (they refer to themselves as such) and that, at one point in time, these adventurers were a valid and acceptable part of society. Okay, so readers don’t find this out right at the beginning but it’s important because it sets it up that this isn’t a story about Spiderman and Wonder Woman.
But back to the beginning. The Comedian is murdered (don’t worry, this is not a spoiler) and this sets the story in motion. Who killed him? Why? Is someone out to get the “masks”? Despite being admired in the past, these masked men and women have now become feared and reviled and viewed as dangerous vigilantes. It is Rorschach who discovers the murder of the Comedian and is determined to solve it. In doing this, he must visit friend and foe from the adventuring days. The story then moves between past and present, introducing the reader to the characters, explaining who they are and why they became adventurers and how the dealt with being outlawed. We meet Sally Jupiter (Silk Spectre) and her daughter Laurie (Silk Spectre II), Night Owl I and Night Owl II, Ozymandias, Dr. Manhattan and Rorschach, as well as many others. Through their interaction in the past and present, we begin to see who the Comedian was, how he lived and who he had become.
As we learn about the characters, it becomes obvious there is no “With Great Power Comes Great Responsibility” motto driving them. They are flawed. They are weak. They are selfish. They make mistakes. But all are shaped by the world around them; forget radioactive spiders or exploding planets, these are real people.
Of course, like every good fantasy story, there are fantastical elements (the least of which is Nixon as President) and this contrasts starkly against the grim real world. And, being set in 1985, this grim reality is right in the middle of the Cold War and Russia is no friend. From this, fact and fantasy mix to create a world of uncertainty, fear, disillusion and despair.
And then the climax comes in all its catastrophic glory. This is the part of the story that affected me the most. I didn’t know what to think of it at first and I’m still thinking about it. But it is how the story had to end. The entire book exists on many levels and every character and storyline, no matter how small, is multi-layered. The ending had to be the same, had to make the reader think, had to present many sides in a single event. This is a testament to the writing ability of Alan Moore, not only his imagination but his ability to execute it so well. The book is illustrated by Dave Gibbons, but the script Gibbons had to work from (by Moore) outlined in great detail what each scene looked like. And there is so much detail in each scene, any reader would be doing a disservice by not paying close attention to the smaller, finer elements.
Another interesting part is a secondary story that runs through the book, a pirate story being read by a kid who hangs out at the newsstand. This story stands on its own but also works with the events that are happening which makes for a wonderful and terrifying juxtaposition. I also find this incredibly clever and perfectly executed.
I just realized I didn’t really tell much about what happens in the book, just gave a rather vague overview of the framing elements. But to tell what happens would deprive you the joy of reading it for yourself. A blurb from Time can be found here and see the Wikipedia entry here. Really though, just go read it.
I had mentioned before that my next book would be White Noise by Don Delillo. Change of plans. I've opted instead to next read The Corrections by Jonathan Franzen. This could take a bit of time though, as the book comes in at over 700 pages. But it's on the list and I've gotta get going on this. So The Corrections, here I come!
