The Evolution of Comic Books and the Origins of the Watchmen

First let me begin this review by saying that there are very few contemporary writers that I truly admire and respect for their artistic integrity and uncompromising ideas. And let me also inform you that there are not many books in recent years that I would call essential… but the graphic novel Watchmen by  Alan Moore is a mesmerizing exception.

I first came across the book when I was in summer camp and I was about thirteen-years old. At the time I was heavily into reading a bizarre combination of Greek myths, fantasy novels, comic books, and Shakespearean plays (mainly the tragedies). I suffered under the pretension that I was an intellectual because most of my peers were reading quaint young adult novels about adolescent romances and school troubles, while I was reading poetry, philosophy, and wanting to become a professional writer. Then I encountered a fellow camper with similar tastes and, dare I say, an even bleaker outlook on life than my own. It was this angry, self-doubting, pubescent punk that introduced me to  Alan Moore's classic 12-part series Watchmen… and I've never looked at comic books the same way again.

Watchmen is an amazing, epic series that commenced in 1986 and was published by the legendary  DC Comics. DC is best known for a trio of classic comic book heroes that were created in the late 1930s and early ‘40s. Superman,  Batman, and  Wonder Woman are still a popular staple in the "DC Universe", mainly because they can evolve and adapt to better reflect the current social atmosphere.

In the early 1960s, DC revived many of their best-selling characters in a series of slightly more sophisticated updates of their classic ‘40s comics. Meanwhile  Marvel Comics, at the time a hipper, edgier company, found great success with their new take on superheroes. As  Marvel began creating a cosmology of self-centered, morally conflicted, and neurotic characters, DC suffered from "Batmania". With the popularity of the ridiculously campy and self-satirizing  Batman series, starring  Adam West and  Burt Ward, on the rise  DC found itself losing readers. While  Marvel's characters were tackling sociopolitical and even spiritual issues spawned by the tragedies of the Vietnam War,  DC was being denigrated by their reputation as a simple, old-fashioned publisher of children's cartoons. But that changed when a group of socially conscious writers, artists, and editors came on board and began breathing new life into  DC's superhero pantheon. An era began of more topical comics, where people had no qualms with dealing with controversial issues. Civil rights, anti-war, and even anti-government stories began to proliferate at both  DC and  Marvel.

By the early 1970s writers began to take notice that the average reader was no longer a five to ten-year old. College kids had discovered the new complexity of the comic book. The world of comics had entered a new age, where posters of superheroes were proudly hung upon the walls of student dormitories next to pictures of revolutionary figures like  Malcolm X and  Che Guevara. Comics were becoming part of the counterculture and paradoxically they also became more commercial than ever before.

Yet as tastes evolved and the hippie mentality of a "revolution of love" faded away, a new group of writers and artists emerged to remind the world that life wasn't all sunshine and flowers. The ‘70s were coming to an end, faith in the American government was dissipated after the deception and distrust of the Nixon years, and the consumerism and Cold War paranoia of the ‘80s were just around the bend.  It was in this decade of decadence and denial, of great artistic innovation and technological advancement that comics were forced to grow up… whether readers were ready to or not.

Just as there had been an "invasion" of British innovators in the rock 'n' roll music of the ‘60s, a similar "invasion" began happening in the comic book industry. European writers and artists were dealing with a wide range of social, political, economic, and religious problems within their ever-increasingly conservative cultures. Inspired by the rebellious attitude of punk rock and the writing of the beat poets and the hippies, some comic book creators began telling stories of dystopian futures that reflected their growing concerns with modern society. As these darkly pessimistic books began to gain in popularity,  DC Comics executives sat up and took notice. They began importing talented British writers and artists to the U.S., and here they began to reawaken the spirit of social activism that had been so prominent during the Vietnam era.

Among the many talented writers who made names for themselves were two innovators : Alan Moore, who specialized in anarchic storytelling with a distinctly philosophical slant and  Neil Gaiman, whose darkly humorous tales are often tinged with mystical themes. Both of these writers, along with many others, would inspire and influence their contemporaries, as well as future generations of comic book and graphic novel fans.

As I have said earlier, whether readers were ready for it or not, comics were about to leave behind their domain as a medium for children and enter the cruel world of the adult. And it was  Alan Moore's masterpiece Watchmen that would be responsible for this momentous change.

 
 "At midnight, all the agents and superhuman crew, go out and round up everyone who knows more than they do."
-Bob Dylan in the song Desolation Row

The world of the Watchmen is set in a hellish alternate 1985, where Nixon is still President of the United States of America. In this alternate reality superheroes (or more accurately, costumed vigilantes) are not uncommon, though the government has outlawed them. But their existence is not purely beneficial and they are typically as dysfunctional, if not more so, than average citizens are. As the tensions between the U.S. and the Soviet Union grow to an unbearable level, a sociopath masked crime-fighter named Rorschach begins his own investigation into the murder of a fellow superhero (who was less than super as you will find out when you read the book) known as The Comedian. Rorschach's instincts tell him that the death of The Comedian is no random incident and he suspects an elaborate conspiracy against all heroes, but who if anyone is behind it?

 
"Shall not the Judge of the earth do right?"
-Genesis 18:25

While Rorschach stalks the streets of New York looking for answers, his former allies reminisce about their glory days as superheroes, before the government outlawed their brand of vigilante justice. Former heroes Nite Owl (a man named Hollis Mason was the first Nite Owl), a self-doubting and apathetic man whose real identity is Dan Dreiberg, and Silk Spectre (her mother was the first Silk Spectre), whose real identity is Laurie Juspeczyk, begin to question if their abilities as heroes are once again needed. As Laurie spends more time with Dan, she and her former boyfriend (if you can even call him that) Dr. Manhattan become more distant.

 
"Battle not with monsters, lest ye become a monster, and if you gaze into the abyss, the abyss gazes also into you."
-Friedrich Wilhelm Nietzsche

Dr. Manhattan, formerly known as Jon Osterman, became the first superhuman superhero when, as a brilliant young science student, he was accidentally trapped inside of an intrinsic field test chamber and was de-atomized. Yet somehow Osterman's consciousness survived and he psychically manifests a new body for himself. Osterman now possesses the god-like ability to manipulate all matter, constructing or destructing whatever he chooses. Osterman's powers make him an international celebrity, a status to which he is ambivalent, and he is employed by the U.S. government to fight the Communists during the Vietnam War. But Osterman, now dubbed Dr. Manhattan (named after the Manhattan Project), becomes more and more detached emotionally, until finally he begins to disassociate himself from all of humanity.

 
"On Hallowe'en the old ghosts come about us, and they speak to some; to others they are dumb."
-Eleanor Farjeon in the poem Hallowe'en

Meanwhile Rorschach continues his vigilant quest, all the while society falls apart around him, reinforcing his fanatical apocalyptic religious beliefs.

Former superhero Ozymandias, a.k.a. Adrian Veidt, now an egotistical entrepeneur, who exploits his own celebrity for financial and political gain, is said to be one of the most intelligent men alive. So, naturally Rorschach distrusts him, as well as former hero Hollis Mason, the original Nite Owl, who vocally expressed his dislike of the violent and morally deviant Comedian.

 
"It would be a stronger world, a stronger loving world, to die in."
-John Cale in the song Santies

But as Rorschach and the other heroes come closer to the truth, as the mystery of The Comedian's death unfolds, it becomes grossly apparent that the "Watchmen" and their superhero fraternity was comprised of severely flawed individuals: rapists, murderers, racists, psychopaths, and opportunists.

In the end, an entire city is devastated, good people suffer or lay dead strewn across the carnage-filled streets of New York, the corrupt thrive as ever, and the greatest of heroes turn out be the greatest of failures.

"Quis custodiet ipsos custodes."
"Who watches the watchmen?"
-Juvenal, Satires, VI, 347

The climax of Watchmen is delightfully nihilistic and shows Moore's dislike of neat-and-tidy happy endings. What he delivers is a darkly humorous and disturbing finale, which perfectly encapsulates the emotional reality of his psychologically flawed characters.

What Alan Moore gives us, as readers, is a pessimistic yet not inaccurate view of America's inability to take responsibility for itself. The main problem being that, on a whole, our nation is too quick to rely on heroes, icons, celebrities, and powerful political and religious organizations. Rather than being self-reliant, we surrender what little power we have to those who hunger for it the most. We lie back and complain about the woes of our world, but we are too lazy to take action. While self-appointed heroes prove themselves to be insecure and amoral, we are equally guilty as we are tainted by apathy and a reluctance to help ourselves and others. We glorify and vilify heroes and public figures, as we glorify and vilify all leaders, but when we cast down those leaders we fail to uphold their burden of responsibility. We fail, as they fail.
 
If there were a single message or moral to Alan Moore's story, it would have to be that we must all become heroes or else we are all naught but villains. There is no middle ground, no in-between, not so long as we are inert and submissive. The story also carries an anarchic message about relying on authority figures to protect us. Authority is often obtained by the enforcement of power and anyone capable of enforcing or asserting their power on another individual cannot be trusted. In this sense, Watchmen is about how we must abandon our tendencies to rely on external powers, be they religious, economic, or political organizations. The people who succeed, or seemingly succeed, within these organizations have only done so because they are corrupt and willing to exploit those weaker than themselves in order to possess even greater power.

Just as writer Alan Moore revolutionized the art of storytelling in comics with his vast interweaving narrative, so too did artist  Dave Gibbons raise the bar in the graphic storytelling medium. Gibbon's work on Watchmen is simple and understated. It recalls comic books of the ‘60s and yet it is very unique to its own time period. In the ‘80s, many comic book artists pushed the boundaries of what was acceptable, greatly emphasizing sexual and violent content, but Gibbons never sunk to the amateurish level of exploitation that many artists of the era succumbed to. Instead his style reflects the world we live in and the world of the Watchmen, while colorist  John Higgins' unique use of colors creates a memorable secondary reality that is both very familiar and foreign.

In Alan Moore's brilliant Watchmen saga, he embraces certain themes that are reminiscent of other great works of literature. Watchmen is as detailed as J.R.R. Tolkien's The Lord of the Rings; as brilliantly convoluted in its non-linear narrative as Bram Stoker's Dracula; its political commentary and satire equal  George Orwell's 1984 and  Ray Bradbury's Fahrenheit 451; it's as dark and psychologically complex as  Philip K. Dick's A Scanner Darkly; it's as contemplative and poetic as William Shakespeare's Macbeth. Yet it is as original as any of those works were when they were first published.

Rarely in comic books can a reader go through panel by panel and uncover layer upon layer of visual metaphors, hidden symbolism, and artistic and narrative motifs that are carried throughout. Yet this is common on every single panel and page of Watchmen, partly because of  Alan Moore's meticulous description of each scene, but also because of the unique inventiveness of  Dave Gibbons' artwork, which hearkens back to the comic book artists of the Silver Age.
It's not often that one goes out of their way to praise a colorist in their critique of a comic book or graphic novel, but  John Higgins' contributions to the overall look of Watchmen cannot go overlooked. Going completely against the grain, Higgins used secondary colors (greens, oranges, pinks, and purples) rather than primary colors (reds, yellows, and blues), which are more typical in the graphic medium. This unconventional approach was at first questioned because some felt that the color palette was unattractive, but Higgins explained that it was intended to reflect the reality of New York in the 1980s and the neon signs and garish wallpapers that were then popular.

The Watchmen has been celebrated as a milestone in graphic literature, yet it has also caused controversy for its anarchic message and it portrayal of corrupt and unreliable institutions, whether they be political, religious, social, economic, or scientific. Watchmen is a work of pure genius, both irreverent and relevant. Irreverent in that it deconstructs the beloved icon of the American superhero and satirizes the worse aspects of the American society and government, and relevant in that it took a great progressive leap forward in the evolution of comic books and in that it dared to criticize the conservative political structure of the 1980s. It is this combination of irreverence and relevance that gives the book much of its appeal.

In the final view, Watchmen is too complex to summarize, just as our world cannot be summarized. It succeeds in telling a story so complex, both thematically and structurally, that it defies all categories, stereotypes, and genres. It is truly a transcendent work of art.