Who Watches the Watchmen?

The Michigan Partisan

Watchmen by Alan Moore and Dave Gibbons.

By Page W. H. Brousseau IV

Upon completing any book, I feel a sense of euphoria in knowing more than when I started. Whether it is war or politics, or even fiction, a good book can give the reader a feeling of knowledge. Once in a great while, I will put a book down and take a deep breath, coming down from the literary plateau. Perhaps great writing does not lead to this, Clancy or King are distantly not considered "great," yet they have made me sweat as I carefully turned the page before me.

Watchmen is like that. Unlike books in the past, whose stories have stayed, glued, to my subconscious, Watchmen is a graphic novel. For those not in the know, "graphic novel" is euphemism for "comic book." Like nearly every other God fearing American, I read comics growing up. I never was big into the "superhero" comics. My taste ranged along G.I. Joe and The 'Nam. Two titles that I could say, "yea that could happen." Expanding my friend base in the military, I came across many friends that could recite with ease the very issue this or that happened in a various superhero's comic run. With superheroes, there is always a good and bad, or the gray is shifted away to reveal man's true nature. Watchmen walks in the gray and pulls black and white upon itself.

The book takes place in the 1980s, in a world where President Nixon used superheroes to win Vietnam then amended the Constitution to maintain office. These superheroes do more than win wars; they produce enough material for electric engines to make gasoline obsolete. Then they still take time fight the local mugger or drug dealer. However, in 1977, cops across the country went on strike to protest the superhero vigilantism. Politicians, being what they are, quickly joined the cause, and passed a bill to outlaw superheroes. Politicians, being what they are, had exceptions for those superheroes that worked for the government. Many hung up their capes, but a couple went rogue. The story of the Watchmen begins with the murder of the Comedian. Robin Williams, this man is not. We find out along with being a world-class asshole he is an attempted rapist, and shot a woman carrying his unborn child. This is not your father's comic book. Like every human, these superheroes all hold their own secrets, none are perfect, they contain all Seven Deadly Sins, and use their aliases as an escape or means of carrying out their perversions. Jealousy, isolation, and hatred of the human condition drive them to fight evil.

Unlike any other comic, even dare say book, which I have read, Watchmen tells multiple stories at once, all interwoven to tell a single story. Using flashbacks, we see today's superheroes starting out in the '60s, and their predecessors starting out in the '30s. We see the creation and demise of caped crusaders, and how the events decades before form the minds and attitudes of today's heroes.

Symbolism rips off every page, so blatant, yet never interfering with the story. Another story told is that of a comic from the '60s one character is reading throughout the Watchman story. This comic deals with a stranded man, slowly going insane at the idea of a ghostly pirate ship bearing down on his hometown to kill and rape his family. As these panels appear, their captions, along with dialog from those standing around the kid reading them intertwine; if both were replaced with each other it would still work. The device never for a moment seems trite and forced. The entire book flows with a rhythm that leaves and indelible mark on the reader.

The story of the book grows from the Comedian's murder and the plot surrounding it, as superheroes come out of retirement, the doomsday clock is ticking. Soviet tanks rush into Afghanistan, while our caped friends look into themselves to figure out if they should save the world. It appears the police are out to arrest the rogue heroes and a killer stalks those remaining.

Watchmen asks what is the greater good and what are we willing to sacrifice for it? Good and evil are merely determined from your perspective. Thus, those with whom we give authority determine the definition. Sometimes, rules must be ignored to create the greater good, and things are not always what they appear. That is something upon which to think.