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I decided to read the graphic novel Watchmen, since it’s been quite popular recently with the movie coming out, plus my housemate is a big fan of superhero comic books and he recommended it.

Overall, it was definitely great. It kept me hooked right until the end, although I’m not sure how to feel about the ending. Without spoilers, it felt a little cheesy compared to the rest of the novel. Regardless, I enjoyed the rest, particularly the characters and how the whole thing was presented… really made it feel like it was a true story.

The whole time I thought the art style was deliberate, since it resembles 1980’s comics and the whole story takes place in the mid 80’s. After I finished I realized that the comic was actually first published in the mid 80’s! I was surprised at this because only til recently I’ve noticed that people cite Watchmen and other comics (perhaps Maus) as proof of the maturity and mainstream reach of the comic medium. Yet, these two titles were released almost 20 years ago!

What has been done since then? There must be other more current great works coming out, right? This probably says something about the comic book genre. There have actually been a few good published graphic novels that deal with stronger themes, but why doesn’t anyone talk about them? All we all just ignorant of what this growing medium has to offer for the rest of us?