Overall Comments

Rating: 8 out of 10

I really enjoyed the political aspects of Watchmen. Most comic books I have read in the past are quite simplistic in its plot, all in all the good guy defeats the bad guy. But, in Watchmen none of the superheros end up being 'right', in an absolute sense. The entire point of the book was to break the conventions of the average superhero. Which I liked because I came into the book knowing the tropes of the superhero, due to pop culture, but had never read many superhero comics myself. This made Watchmen's message really effective for me, parodying the expectations I first had. I also liked the fact that the story uses actual American history, and twists it to suit the plot. This takes the book to a higher intellectual level, which other comics do not come close too.

Another aspect of the book I found intriguing was the artistry. The pictures were greatly detailed, and perfectly depicted the books dark tone. The colours in the book also make it stand out from other comics. The artwork itself can be appreciated by almost anyone, comic book fan or not.

The only thing I disliked about Watchmen was how complex it could be at certain points. To fully understand this book it must be read multiple times. The political references in the book confused me a bit, and I had to research topics I did not understand. During the reading process this annoyed me, but in the end I learned a lot of new information I would have otherwise not known. Also, the graphics helped me understand the plot a bit better. If there was something I did not understand in the text, I could try to figure out what was happening through the pictures.

All in all, Watchmen is a great book. I would recommend that others read it. This book will change the way you look at comic books forever. It might take you a few reads to fully grasp the concepts, but it's worth the trouble.