Comic Talk #6

For most things that generate the buzz that “Watchmen” has generated in the quarter of a century since its release, it’s perfectly acceptable to throw the word “overrated” into the conversation.

In the case of this twelve-part comic book miniseries by Alan Moore and Dave Gibbons, it’s a totally inappropriate adjective.

While the book’s heroes may lack the merchandising power of fellow DC stalwarts like Batman and Superman, their stories are just as fleshed out and ultimately more impressive considering that they only have twelve issues that feature them.

Alan Moore would probably say that he didn’t peak as a writer until he started America’s Best Comics and controlled every part of the creative process, and while it’s not as if “Tom Strong” and “Promethea” are throwaway titles, he’s dead wrong. “Watchmen” is not only the best thing Moore has ever worked on; it’s the greatest comic book of all time.

“Watchmen” boggles the mind. It’s incredibly accessible; the color palette is warm, the dialogue is laced with surprisingly undated witticisms, and Gibbons’ artwork is understated and tasteful, like Roman sculpture or Greek architecture.

Comic book heroes have had human flaws ever since the early days of Marvel Comics, but “Watchmen” amplified them to unprecedented levels and inadvertently created one of the best trends in comics. In an era of Cold War cynicism, nothing could have been more effective than to find out that, even in comics, the people whom we count on to protect us are the most fucked-up of them all.

Critical reception was unanimously positive. It was pretty clear that “Watchmen” had changed the face of comics. A new generation of comic book writers was so inspired by what Moore and Gibbons committed to paper that they began to reinvent comics in their image. Those writers were the Brian K. Vaughans and Mark Millars and Mike Mignolas who are so important in today’s comic book scene.

Speaking of today, “Watchmen” couldn’t just be left in 1987. One of our era’s most prized directorial treasures, Zack Snyder, announced in 2008 that he would be directing a film adaptation of the movie. He was going to be as faithful as possible to the graphic novel because he loved it so much and he wanted Alan Moore and Dave Gibbons to appreciate what he had done. Oh, he was going to change the ending, but whatever.

In March 2009, the “Watchmen” movie hit theaters. It introduced the comic to a whole new segment of the population, and comic book lovers and newcomers alike loved it.

The only problem was that it sucked. The beautiful subtlety of the comic was replaced by the brashness that Snyder specializes in. While it could claim to be faithful to the comic in a lot of ways, a discerning viewer could find something in every scene that blatantly changed the spirit of the book, presumably to sell more tickets.

It wasn’t all bad, though. The film’s release prompted Gibbons to release a collection of sketches and letters between he and Alan Moore entitled “Watching the Watchmen.” A deluxe edition of the graphic novel was released. A new collection called “After Watchmen, What’s Next?” republished vital issues of similar series and sold them for a dollar to kids who wanted to get into comics but didn’t know where to turn. The crass capitalism that led to the making of the wretched film also gave the book a wholly new audience and probably turned some people onto comics who never gave them a chance.

“Watchmen” will probably never be surpassed. In this columnist’s humble opinion, “Ex Machina” by Brian K. Vaughan and Tony Harris and “The Ultimates” by Mark Millar and Bryan Hitch have come the closest, but they’re still miles away from the high water mark that Moore and Gibbons set all those years ago. If you’ve somehow read this far without being familiar with “Watchmen,” please get yourself to the nearest bookstore immediately. Join the club. Know the greatness.

Selected titles available this week
Amazing Spider-Man #623
Invincible Iron Man #24
Fall of the Hulks: The Savage She-Hulks #1
Detective Comics #862
Jonah Hex #53
The Authority #20
Jack of Fables #43
Conan the Cimmerian #19