Like anyone who wasn’t living under a rock this summer, I saw the Dark Knight and caught the trailer for the upcoming Watchmen movie.  At first I didn’t know what to think of it, and I soon learned that it was based on the most celebrated graphic novel of all time and had already amassed a large fan base.

I decided not to form a negative opinion on the movie until I read the book. The book is a collection of 12 issues of the Watchmen comics combined into the graphic novel format.

It is perhaps the most critically acclaimed graphic novel ever and is the first and only graphic novel to win the Hugo award. Another one of its achievements it’s that it was the only graphic novel to appear in Time magazine’s 100 best novels.

Watchmen is set in 1985 in an alternate history. Tensions are building between the US and the Soviet Union and they are edging closer to a nuclear war.

The book tells the story ex-superheroes that don’t posses any super powers and act as masked vigilantes. The only super hero that posses super human abilities is Dr. Manhattan (the blue guy in the trailer).

Dave Gibbons, the comic book’s illustrator, did a great job of vividly bringing author Alan Moore’s writing to life. The illustrations in the comic book are incredible and Gibbon’s embeds his work with so much symbolism and symmetry.

The story is well written and all the subplots are connected at the end. The book is a perfect example of what a graphic novel should be. It also completely revolutionized the comic book genre.

It also proves why the comic book medium should be taken seriously. If you have read comic books or graphic novels in the past then there is no excuse for not reading Watchmen and if you have never read either then you might as well start with agruebly the best that the genre has to offer.

Overall I enjoyed Watchmen and it definitely lived up to its reputation. I am excited for the movie. Many comic book fans have said that Watchmen can’t be made into a movie, but I think with modern special effects it is indeed possible.

The movie has been slated for a March 6th 2009 release. Recently 20th Century Fox has filed a lawsuit against Warner Brothers claiming that they own the rights to make a Watchmen movie.

They have claimed that their goal is to stop the movie from ever reaching theatres. The trial between Warner Brothers and 20th Century Fox is scheduled for a January court date and is most likely not going to interfere with the film’s release date.

It also proves why the comic book medium should be taken seriously. If you have read comic books or graphic novels in the past then there is no excuse for not reading Watchmen and if you have never read either then you might as well start with arguably the best that the genre has to offer.
 

--Submitted by Rigo Reyes, Entertainment Editor