by Alan Moore & Dave Gibbons
Alan Moore
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Dave Gibbons
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Watchmen is a graphic novel by writer Alan Moore, artist Dave Gibbons and colorist John Higgins. It was serialized as a limited series by DC Comics in 1986 and 1987, and collected in 1987.
Watchmen originated from a story proposal Moore submitted to DC featuring superhero characters that the company had acquired from Charlton Comics. As Moore's proposed story would have left many of the characters unusable for future stories, managing editor Dick Giordano convinced Moore to create original characters instead.
Moore used the story as to reflect contemporary anxieties and critique the superhero concept. Watchmen depicts an alternate history where superheroes emerged in the 1940s and 1960s, helping the U.S. to win the Vietnam War. The country is edging towards a nuclear war with the Soviet Union, freelance costumed vigilantes have been outlawed and most former superheroes are in retirement or working for the government. The story focuses on the personal development and struggles of the protagonists as an investigation into the murder of a government sponsored superhero pulls them out of retirement, and eventually leads them to confront a plot that would stave off nuclear war by killing millions of people. Creatively, the focus of Watchmen is on its structure. Gibbons used a nine-panel grid layout throughout the series and added recurring symbols such as a blood-stained smiley face. All but the last issue feature supplemental fictional documents that add to the series' backstory, and the narrative is intertwined with that of another story, a fictional pirate comic titled ''Tales of the Black Freighter'', which one of the characters reads. Structured as a nonlinear narrative, the story skips through space, time and plot.
A commercial success, Watchmen has received critical acclaim both in the comics and mainstream press, and is frequently considered by several critics and reviewers as comics' greatest series and graphic novel.
In 2012, DC Comics began publishing Before Watchmen, a comic book series acting as a prequel to the original Watchmen series, without Moore and Gibbons' involvement.
Watchmen originated from a story proposal Moore submitted to DC featuring superhero characters that the company had acquired from Charlton Comics. As Moore's proposed story would have left many of the characters unusable for future stories, managing editor Dick Giordano convinced Moore to create original characters instead.
Moore used the story as to reflect contemporary anxieties and critique the superhero concept. Watchmen depicts an alternate history where superheroes emerged in the 1940s and 1960s, helping the U.S. to win the Vietnam War. The country is edging towards a nuclear war with the Soviet Union, freelance costumed vigilantes have been outlawed and most former superheroes are in retirement or working for the government. The story focuses on the personal development and struggles of the protagonists as an investigation into the murder of a government sponsored superhero pulls them out of retirement, and eventually leads them to confront a plot that would stave off nuclear war by killing millions of people. Creatively, the focus of Watchmen is on its structure. Gibbons used a nine-panel grid layout throughout the series and added recurring symbols such as a blood-stained smiley face. All but the last issue feature supplemental fictional documents that add to the series' backstory, and the narrative is intertwined with that of another story, a fictional pirate comic titled ''Tales of the Black Freighter'', which one of the characters reads. Structured as a nonlinear narrative, the story skips through space, time and plot.
A commercial success, Watchmen has received critical acclaim both in the comics and mainstream press, and is frequently considered by several critics and reviewers as comics' greatest series and graphic novel.
In 2012, DC Comics began publishing Before Watchmen, a comic book series acting as a prequel to the original Watchmen series, without Moore and Gibbons' involvement.
Covers of the original limited series issues (#1-12)
TPB cover (1st printing)
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TPB cover (2nd and later printings)
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TPB cover (Warner Books)
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TPB cover (Titan Books, UK)
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In 1988, Graphitti Designs produced a collected edition of Watchmen for DC; a black hardcover in a slipcase:
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In 2005, DC released the Absolute Watchmen. For this edition, each page of art was restored and recolored by WildStorm FX and original series colorist John Higgins.
The supplemental material is reprinted from the limited edition Watchmen hardcover published by Graphitti Designs; it includes background on characters, the original creation process as well as brief essays by Alan Moore and Dave Gibbons.
Eventually, the new coloring from the Absolute edition found its way into the trade paperback version.
The supplemental material is reprinted from the limited edition Watchmen hardcover published by Graphitti Designs; it includes background on characters, the original creation process as well as brief essays by Alan Moore and Dave Gibbons.
Eventually, the new coloring from the Absolute edition found its way into the trade paperback version.
The Absolute Watchmen
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TPB (with the Absolute edition recoloring)
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In 2008, DC issued a new version of the trade paperback called Watchmen: The International Edition. This version was intended for readers in the UK, though it has also been made available in North America. Aside from a new cover image by Dave Gibbons, this version is more identical to the regular (American) paperback; it contains the modern color scheme from the Absolute edition and there are no extras or bonus materials included.
Watchmen: The International Edition (TPB)
Also in 2008 - with a major motion picture in production - DC Comics released the first-ever regular hardcover edition of Watchmen. This volume features a new cover by Gibbons and contains the high-quality, recolored pages found in the Absolute edition. Also included are selected bonus sketch materials.
Watchmen (HC)
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In 2013, Watchmen: The Deluxe Edition (hardcover) was released; a larger format than a regular graphic novel, but smaller than the Absolute edition. It also has the recoloring of the Absolute edition. |
Watchmen: The Deluxe Edition (HC)
