The background is that during the 30s, a pop culture trend started where civilians would take the law into their own hands, dressing up in costume and fighting crime. Now in the 80s, with nuclear apocalypse looming, the trend is winding down. The Nite Owl has hung up his costume forever. Dr Manhattan and The Comedian work for the government. The only vigilante still active is a fairly insane sociopath called Rorschach, who openly flouts the law in his quest to bring ultra-brutal justice to the streets.

It’s hard to explain why Alan Moore and Dave Gibbons’ classic graphic novel works, and equally hard to describe just how well it works. All of its problems seem tiny next to its monumental achievements. It’s like a juggler who somehow manages to keep ten balls in the air at once. Would you care if he drops one at some point? This book does so many things, and so many of them are brilliant.

What things? The dark, gloomy atmosphere. The premise sounds like a springboard for all sorts of wacky hijinks, and there’s a bit of that, I guess, but we are soon made to realise that these characters live in a world that teeters on the brink, and that no vigilante is able to change things. The incredibly detailed world, for another. Sprinkled throughout the book are samples from autobiographies, magazine articles, et cetera, all building up the illusion of a world where masked crimefighters are a reality, and these are just as fascinating as the main story.

The story really goes nowhere fast. A former vigilante called Edward Blake is found dead, and a hunt for his killer is soon underway. The plot takes its sweet time, going along many detours and tangents…and there’s nothing wrong with this! That aspect is probably my favorite part of Watchmen, how it rambles all over the place but still keeps the reader locked into place. Yes, by all means let’s stop the story so we can explore the background of some insignificant character! Yes, you can certainly include a film review from some movie Laurie Jupiter’s mother was in! I can’t wait to read it!

I am seriously not being sarcastic here.
By the end of the book, I was persuaded that they could have printed the Nite Owl’s grocery list and made it interesting. This is a stirring testament to the ideal that any approach to storytelling can work, it all comes down to execution, tone, and character.

Speaking of characters, all of Watchmen’s cast is detailed and colorful, although Rorschach does tend to steal the show at times. Note that I didn’t say “realistic” in the last sentence, because I can’t imagine anyone like Adrian Veidt or Walter Kovacs existing. That’s always been a weakness of the medium. Because of the need to save space, characters have their personalities exaggerated and intensified. Still, Watchmen’s characters are great, and even the minor players like Sam Hollis are well fleshed out and interesting.

Stepping back from the trees and examining the forest, you can find numerous small unbelievabilities and inconsistencies with Watchmen. You’ve gotta love Rorschach’s method of conducting investigations. He walks into bars and beats random people up until they tell him what he wants. The graphic novel also seems to cheat a bit with Dr Manhattan’s powers. Sometimes he’s an all-powerful god, other times he’s just a regular superhero like Superman (why did he need to fight the Vietnam war at all? Couldn’t he have just waved his hand and caused every communist in Southeast Asia to die?).

But right now we’re discussing whether this is a 99% comic or a 98% comic. Watchmen rules your ass like Mistress Helga. Buy it now, retard!