Scratch

Here you will find older scratches, musings and other detritus that once were located on the front pages, but have now faded.

Filed away here to collect dust and cobwwwebs in perpetuity, links may break, facts may change and data may corrupt.

On occasion I may come down here to tidy, but for the most, I prefer to leave the past where it lies.

 

Watchmen

Alan Moore (Writer) & Dave Gibbons (Artist)

Perhaps one of the seminal Graphic Novels, which helped radically change peoples perceptions of the genre. The story stars a ragtag bunch of bizarre, damaged, retired superheroes, but with their heyday far behind them, they are drawn back into action by the murder of The Comedian, a former teammate.

Moore's characterisation of the melancolic, paunchy Nite Owl, the raving doomsayer Rorschah and the omnipotent Doctor Manhatten aswell as the rest of the characters is perfectly balanced, and whilst between them they cover almost ever aspect of human nature, there is an incredible amount of depth to them. Gibbon's artwork is very good, and captures Moore's paranoid mood perfectly throughout. Every gorgeous cinematic panel is packed with symbolism, and whilst some of the overlying themes (arms control, nuclear threat, vigilantes) have dated, the intelligent moral, social and political commentary and the structure of the story itself stands the test of time and is as relevant as it ever was.

Edit: 03 April 2006: If you are interested, and have read the book, you might want to wander over to this annotated guide and see what references you may have missed.

15 Aug 2005 19:11 | (0) comments | Books

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