watchmen – alan moore – 4 stars

i think i may have read more comics this year than any year since i was in junior high school, but i see that as a positive thing considering what the selections have been (maus, understanding comics, more preacher). the latest, which i finished around two weeks ago, is overdue for review; in fact i’m already almost finished with the next book i picked up after this one.

but backtracking a bit, i can’t forget to recommend this book, despite the fact that anyone into graphic novels at all would probably have read it already. it seems to hold legendary status in the genre, and with pretty good reason. it’s not only a great comic, and a great read, but it’s specifically good as a comic for the way it milks the medium for all its worth.

how the artist and author use juxtaposition of words with images in ways prose or film can’t do really pushes the way you see and feel the story. there are scenes where a boy at a newstand is reading a comic, and that nested narrative is overlayed with the overarching story taking place involving ‘real-life’ comic heroes dealing with the public’s revolt against such masked vigilantes who assumed such roles inspired by the comics those characters themselves read as children… effectively allowing moore to take several pieces of great writing, along with the visuals accompanying each strand, and intertwining them all to create one impressively strong and moving work.

as a novel the story might not have felt like enough, and in many places might not have made sense at all. but i think the greatest enjoyment to be had from this graphic novel, beyond its surface appeal as a good comic story, is a demonstration of what levels of sophistication and complexity comic writers can reach in their craft. and as in this case with moore, they can be attained and surpassed for a very satisfying and mature story that elevates comics as a whole.

in fact, if there were more stories this good, i might go a year reading nothing but comics. preacher may be cooler, and i still like sandman better — the only reasons i give this a four and not five — but this is still an unmissable book.

(plus it’s extremely cool looking — i love the new cover design (the original had a weak-ass shattering window) and there are some panel visuals that cinematographers would envy without question. honestly, what are you waiting for?)