Quis custodiet ipsos custodes?

Who watches the watchmen?

Let me preface this by saying I can’t believe I hadn’t read this already. I’m a little embarrased.

The Watchmen is a graphic novel that follows our “hero” Rorschach as he uncovers threads of a deadly plot to wipe out the remaining Watchmen as well as innocent people .

The novel follows two generations of masked superheroes (Watchmen) and Rorschach’s attempt to team up with his old partner, Nite Owl, to unravel said conspiracy and the threat of nuclear war. The story takes place during Nixon’s term– in the book’s reality, someone has most likely killed Woodward/Bernstein before Watergate is uncovered. Combined with the Vietnam War, Nixon is extremely popular and is able to run for at least 5 consecutive terms.

The Watchmen simply has too much to absorb at once, as I read it the second time around I began to notice so much more as far as the art and the panels themselves. Just about every character has a touch of crazy and Moore’s orchestration to a shocking climax is absoluely amazing. I’m looking forward to the movie adaptation, but I know Alan Moore has pulled out, claiming to be unhappy with the way it was going.

Anyway, happy reading! If you’re not sure that this may be your cup of tea, check out a sneak peak at DC Comics!