Watchmen

Just before Christmas I was looking to get my daughter the complete Narnia box-set for her to read after watching the movie and I came across an ad for a fantasy fiction bookclub. I joined up and got C. S. Lewis' classics for less than a fiver! The only catch being that I had to choose 4 other books. The bright cover of Watchmen leaped out of the magazine at me and so I went for that, curious about the genre of graphic novels, a world I had yet to dip my toe into. The instant joy of once again reading something with pictures got me hooked without too much fuss - it felt like a guilty pleasure at first (surely, this can't be serious art? I thought) but soon I was devouring it in huge chunks, eager to reveal the mystery behind the vivid story of ex-heroes in an alternate past, an alternate American Metropolis. I have since discovered that the writer of this, Alan Moore, is a massive cult figure in comic book lore, and that Watchmen is considered one of The graphic novel classics ever. Lucky intro for me then. And I can easily see how that would be the case - the story is, of course, incredible and wildly imaginative, but also rooted in a deep humanity that constantly challenges in addition to the more visceral thrills of good guys beating up bad guys. The morality is ambivalent, the heroes aren't always heroes: my favourite character, Rorschach (his mask changes like the images of a Rorschach test) is an anti-hero of the highest order, dangerously violent, clearly insane and ruthless to a fault, but with a sense of values that highlight well the hypocrisy and apathy of the state and its degenerate people. Ultimately a work of major worth intellectually, Watchmen borders on prophetic and sucks you into a world not as distant from reality as you might think. The skill is not only in the story, but in the exceptional artwork (Dave Gibbons) - it is fascinating how the brain interacts with images in this format; the detail, or lack of it, the introduction of a shadow or extra line, the use of colour and the exaggerated expressions the characters express: I am infinitely impressed and kicking myself for not discovering it sooner. Needless to say, the book club will be getting plenty more orders for graphic novels from me. 9.5/10 Kx