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Description edit
This Hugo Award-winning graphic novel chronicles the fall from grace of a group of super-heroes plagued by all-too-human failings. Along the way, the concept of the super-hero is dissected as the heroes are stalked by an unknown assassin. One of the most influential graphic novels of all time... read more
Ridiculously Simplified Synopsis edit
Summary edit
A complex, multi-layered mystery adventure, Watchmen is set in an alternate 1985 America in which costumed Superheroes are part of the fabric of everyday society, and the “Doomsday Clock” – which charts the USA’s tension with the Soviet Union – is permanently set at five minutes to midnight.... read more (warning: may contain spoilers)
Characters/People edit
- Edward Morgan Blake/The Comedian: One of two government-sanctioned costumed heroes who remain active after the Keene Act of 1977 bans their activities. The Comedian is a brutal crime-fighter who doesn't believe in veiling the natural brutality of humankind. He is murdered in the beginning of the book, leading Rorschach to formulate his mask-killer theory.
- Dr. Jon Osterman/Doctor Manhattan: A super-powered being who is contracted by the United States government and is one of the two government-sanctioned heroes who remain active after the 1977 ban of superheroes. Was a physicist who was transformed into a blue-skinned super-powered being after he was caught and disintegrated in an "Intrinsic Field Subtractor".
- Walter Joseph Kovacs/Rorschach: A vigilante who wears a white mask that contains a symmetrical but constantly shifting ink blot pattern, he continues to fight crime in defiance of the 1977 Keene Act. Mentally unstable, Rorschach works on his own agenda to purge the world of filth. He theorizes that there is a conspiracy to pick off former costumed heroes.
- Daniel Dreiberg/The Nite Owl II: The second Nite Owl (inherited the mantle from Hollis Mason). Currently retired with the passing of the Keene Act in 1977 outlawing vigilantes not endorsed by the government.
- Adrian Veidt/Ozymandias: Veidt was once the costumed hero Ozymandias, but has since retired to devote his attention to the running of his own enterprises: he is an extremely successful entrepreneur, selling self-help books, an action-hero franchise, cologne, and other products. Considered as having the highest IQ in the world. Draws inspiration from Egypt, Rameses II, and Alexander "the Great".
- Laurie Juspeczyk/The Silk Spectre II: The daughter of Sally Jupiter (Silk Spectre I). Her mother wanted her to follow in her footsteps, so she fought crime for ten years before the Keene Act banned vigilantes. Lives on a government research base with her lover, Dr. Manhattan.
- Moe Vernon: Owner of an auto repair shop in New York around 1928, where Hollis Mason's father worked. Committed suicide in 1933.
- Hollis Mason/The Nite Owl I: The original Nite Owl, now a retired auto-mechanic.
Quotes edit
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“I shall go and tell the indestructible man that someone plans to murder him.”
Rorschach -
“The city is afraid of me. I have seen its true face.”
Rorschach -
“Come...dry your eyes, for you are life, rarer than a quark and unpredictable beyond the dreams of Heisenberg; the clay in which the forces that shape all things leave their fingerprints most clearly.”
Dr. Manhattan -
“In the end? Nothing ends, Adrian. Nothing ever ends.”
Dr. Manhattan -
“Who watches the watchmen?”
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“No. Not even in the face of Armageddon. Never compromise.”
Rorschach -
“We gaze continually at the world and it grows dull in our perceptions. Yet seen from another's vantage point, as if new, it may still take the breath way.”
Dr. Manhattan -
“A world grows up around me. Am I shaping it, or do its predetermined contours guide my hand?”
Dr. Manhattan -
“Quis custodiet ipsos custodes. Who watches the Watchmen?”
First Sentence edit
Rorschach's Journal. October 12, 1985. Dog carcass in alley this morning, tire tread on burst stomach. This city is afraid of me. I have seen its true face.
Table of Contents edit
1. At Midnight, All The Agents...
2. Absent Friends
3. The Judge Of All The Earth
4. Watchmaker
5. Fearful Symmetry
6. The Abyss Gazes Also
7. A Brother To Dragons
8. Old Ghosts
9. The Darkness Of Mere Being
10. Two Riders Were Approaching...
11. Look On My Works, Ye Mighty...
12. A Stronger Loving World
Themes & Symbolism edit
Series & Lists edit
This book is in TIME Magazine Top 100 English-Language Novels. (community list)
This is book 15 of 100 in National Public Radio's Top 100 Science Fiction and Fantasy. (authoritative list)
Preceded by Neuromancer, and followed by I, Robot.
This is book 227 of 1271 in 1001 Books You Must Read Before You Die. (authoritative list)
Preceded by Marya, and followed by The Old Devils.
Authors & Contributors edit
- Alan Moore (Author)
- Dave Gibbons (Illustrator)
Other Contributors:
- John Higgins (Illustrator) - John Higgins the colorist was brought in by Dave Gibbons because he liked his "unusual" style. It helped that they lived very close as well, to share ideas.
First Edition edit
Original Language: English
Publisher: DC Comics
Country: USA
Publication Date: 1986
ISBN: 9780930289232
Page Count: 436
Publisher: DC Comics
Country: USA
Publication Date: 1986
ISBN: 9780930289232
Page Count: 436
Classification edit
- Library of Congress: PN6737.M6
- Dewey: 741.5941
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Movie Connections edit
- Watchmen (IMDb): 2009 film directed by Zack Snyder and starring Jackie Earle Haley, Billy Crudup, Matthew Goode, Carla Gugino, Jeffrey Dean Morgan, Patrick Wilson and Malin Akerman.
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