Today we are republishing a discussion on the first issue of Alan Moore/Dave Gibbon's landmark 1986 comic book Watchmen. We first released this on Nov 27, 2019. At that time, HBO was airing its television series adapation of/sequel to the comic, so Kevin and Will went through the first issue of the comic. Now five years later we want to go through the entire series. Listen to this epsiode and we'll be here next episode with a discussion of issue 2!
Watchmen is, of course, a 12 issue comic book series featuring superheros that live in a world much more realistic than we usually see them. It's about a merecenary superhero, The Comedian, who gets quietly murdered, and another superhero, Rorschach, an emotionally shut down detective, who finds out. Even though the "masks" have been banned by the government, they all start communicating to unravel this mystery. The one legal superhero -- the supernarually powered Dr. Manhattan -- has used his power to cement America as an unchallenged sole dominant nation. When he is forced to leave Earth, the world seems destined for a nuclear apcolypse unless the non-powered, legally banned "masks" can save it.
"Realistic superheroes" is an idea that's been done, but never with as much command as Watchmen. Each character -- created forthis series -- seems lived in with a rich deep history. The story is deeper and more complicated than most comics dare to present. The dialogue reveals the character's personality while also making ironic commentary on the story. And all along, it shows the darker side of superhero comics tropes and archetypes.
It's funny, fascinating, challenging, and it changed comics forever.
