Archive for November 17th, 2008
TDLibrary: Watchmen
Sometimes I mean to review something and I stick a note in here reminding me that I have to flesh out notes, but I continually put it off because something else comes up and by the time I get back to writing the review — it’s been months and I’ve already forgotten some important stuff. Such is the unfortunate case with Watchmen.
Like most people who haven’t really been in to the graphic novel, I only really decided to try Watchmen because I saw the trailer attached to The Dark Knight. I had a bit of a wait for it because of the bump from the trailer and the fact the library only had 4 copies of it for all of New York City. Apparently, my tax dollars do not go in to keeping up with increased demand for books about to be made in to a movie. Fools.
Anyway, at this point, I’m not even going to attempt to review it anymore. Instead, I’ll just refer everyone to the awesome Low Resolution Book Club Review which goes chapter by chapter and hits all the major plot points and has better discussions then we could get going here. It is not, by any means, a spoiler-free review, so if you want to be surprised by the movie or have plans to read the book and want to experience it as you go along, then avoid it until after. If you want to get an idea about the movie, check it out.
Two things I will note. I found (and someone on Low Resolution mentioned) reading a graphic novel to be mentally exhausting. When I picked it up, I expected to buzz through it like the occasional X-Men or Buffy comic I read when I wait for Ms. L to find something at Borders. Not so with a well-done graphic novel. A graphic novel, when one is trying to catch extra clues and storyline elements in the images, is working both hemispheres of the brain at the same time. It’s challenging when you’re not used to it. You may roll your eyes at this paragraph, but it’s true.
Second, the ending is supremely depressing and I will be VERY interested to see if the movie people leave it intact. Hollywood has a terrible tendency to go for happy endings. The ending of this — not really happy.
I’m glad I read it. It was a fun read and gave me the idea of the quality stuff out there in graphic novel form.