| Watchmen | 
 enlarge | Author: Alan Moore
Creator: Dave Gibbons
Publisher: DC Comics
Category: Book
List Price: $19.99
Buy New: $10.30
You Save: $9.69 (48%)
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Avg. Customer Rating:  623 reviews
Sales Rank: 51
Media: Paperback
Number Of Items: 1
Pages: 416
Shipping Weight (lbs): 1.2
Dimensions (in): 10.1 x 6.6 x 0.9
ISBN: 0930289234
Dewey Decimal Number: 741.5941
EAN: 9780930289232
ASIN: 0930289234
Publication Date: April 1, 1995
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
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| Customer Reviews:
 We ALL should watch the WATCHMEN November 27, 2008
ok, I'll admit - the main reason why I got interested in the book was because of the teaser trailer that came out before The Dark Knight (which by the way was AWESOME!!!). I had never heard of Watchmen before and all I kept reading was, "most celebrated graphic novel of all time", so that added to the intrigue. Who were these characters? Why had I NEVER before seen any merch, Saturday morning toons, ice cream truck popsicles even!?! I had to find out. I started looking it up online. First it began with buying the iTune for Smashing Pumpkin's 'The Beginning is the End is the Beginning'. Then I hit the fan sites hardcore style until I finally found the official Watchmen movie site.
The site contained abridged plot schematics of each of the 12 books. I didn't want any spoilers, I wanted the MEAT of the story!! So I decided to buy the whole thing. Mind you, I'm a comic book fan just like the next guy, but I had never actually purchased my own books before. I was the guy who had friends with boxes full of them that would either recite them to me, or drop the geek guard long enough for me to flip a few pages at a time, but mostly I got my dose of the scene from cartoons and tell-tale. The fact that this book supposedly was THE book that shaped modern comics as we now know them, also helped in the decision to finally buy my own books.
I plunged in, and hard! Immediately I found out that the trailers for the movie were absolutely deceiving. I started realizing why I hadn't seen the Ozymandias line of action figures in stores... That toy story-line in and of itself was masterfully scripted with gushing satire spewing all over the pages! These weren't super heroes!! These were ordinary Joe's and Jane's with, quite frankly, EFFED up lives... AWESOME!!! Alan Moore had to have been real upset with somebody in his lifetime to come up with some of the darkness that envelopes this book. From the dramatic suspense of the mystery aspect, to the down-right freakiness of the Superhero aspect of it with Dr. Manhattan, this book had everything I could have imagined from a sci-fi or suspense drama movie from today! No way this was written back in the mid-eighties!! Each character is so incredibly rich and dynamic, that on the last pages, you feel absolutely cheated and begging for more. The moral implications it leaves you with are enough to make your head spin for days to come, and it only makes you crave just a few more pages to justify your mixed feelings about the ending!! By far, the most extraordinary book I've ever read. I believe it's safe to say, that if Dave Gibbons wasn't involved, this book very well could have been acceptable as an ordinary black and white cover to cover novel. An are-you-kidding-me?-you-haven't-read-it!? kind of book that MUST be in everyone's personal library.
I won't say I'm a die-hard fan (mostly because I just found out about it existing and only because of the teaser trailer). I will say I'm a Watchmen fan who can't wait to see the film's interpretation. I've heard much about the ending being different, changes made to appeal to the masses, fan rage for even considering making this a film - but all I can say is it's important for this film to come out. If not for the fact that sheep are going to flock to it expecting the next Batman franchise and coming out totally disappointed (which I can't wait to see myself!!) but because it's a new generation exposed to the greatness of this book. Go out and buy the book, read it, and then watch the movie. Get as much Watchmen as you can. You won't regret it!
 A Unique Experience November 26, 2008
What would happen if small-time vigilantism and all its collateral damage went universal all at once? Would those vigilantes approve of the ultimate conclusion to the code they practiced ineffectively, until now; would the people they protect? The complex character histories provide the clues to these answers which the rather abrupt ending completes. The slightly goofy mad scientist elements aside, this story highlights some interesting ethical conflicts and shows their effects upon a diverse set of characters.
I've read several reviews expressing a preference for novels. However, this graphic novel presents a story in a way a conventional novel never could. By layering multiple storylines from different places, times, and even other comics, it evokes a sense of time and action unlike most novels and comics I've read. And for this experience alone, I think it's a good read.
Brilliant!! November 25, 2008
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
This book is on Times 100 Best Novels since 1923 for a reason, it is one of the best stories I've ever read. An avid comic book fan since youth, this story is unlike any comic or graphic novel I've ever read, chock full of text, thought provoking ideas, and a theme that adapts itself to todays society, this book paved the way for modern comics and comic book movies. There never would have been a Dark Knight or Civil War without this groundbreaking novel. This edition is beautifully rendered in high-quality glossy pages, and as nice as the dust jacket is, the true beauty of this product lies beneath it, a handsome faux-leather binding with a clock set appropriately set 10 to midnight clock on the front in high contrast yellow. I recommend this to anyone who had ever enjoyed reading a novel or comic book. So good it will astound your average novel reader who is reading "comics" for the first time.
 Cold War gem November 23, 2008
Watchmen captures the fears of a changing world at the end of the cold war in a unique and imaginative way that few other books can. The Dr. Manhattan character embodies the unholy power of nuclear weapons in a frighteningly cold persona. This is really a stand alone work of comic fiction, any Sci-Fi or comic fan should own this one. Can't wait for the movie, hopefully it does it justice!
Excellent read November 22, 2008
I wanted to read this before the movie released. I'd previously read Alan Moore's V for Vendetta. I was not disappointed. Alan Moore is an amazing writer, and this is a stunning story, very well crafted, very well told. I'm even more excited for the movie now. Why can it not be March already?
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