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...human existence. This philosophical scene in the 2009 film adaptation of Alan Moore’s 1980s graphic novel—bereft of flashy slow motion action or stereotypical “KA-POW” heroics—seems at odds with the standard notion of the comic book as a simple diversion for children, and it has set a higher standard since its creation, which other comics artists and writers have sought to emulate. Driven by the philosophical influence of “Watchmen,” the past few decades have witnessed a dramatic shift in comic...
Moore's story, which was published by DC Comics in 12 monthly installments in 1986, was conceived back when Ronald Reagan and the Russkies were still swapping dark threats, and few imagined the Soviet Union could collapse under its own deadweight. This was the pre-Internet age (Moore pounded out his scripts on a manual typewriter), when most comics had an afterlife only in the back-issue bins. But Watchmen soon attained the status of legend and literature; in 2005, TIME cited it as one of the 100 best novels since 1923. (See page 54 for our book critic...
...know Snyder is in no way an actor's director. (The two self-starters are Haley, who does right by his grizzled role, and Morgan, a Robert Downey Jr. knockoff who chews the scenery and his stogie with equal aplomb.) And while the climax is unusual in a comic-book movie--bad guy does very bad thing, then escapes his comeuppance by persuading folks that what he's done is really kind of a good thing--it lacks the kick of apocalyptic retribution the mass audience expects and deserves...
...only reason not to see Watchmen. There are aesthetic grounds aplenty. The book doesn't lend itself particularly well to film. It's a long, many-threaded serial narrative that's not meant to be forcibly administered in one dose. Its content is also not easily extricable from its comic-book form. The fifth chapter, "Fearful Symmetry," unfolds symmetrically, the panels at the beginning echoing the panels at the end, with a grand mirror-image spread at its heart. Palindromes, reflections, symmetries--Watchmen teems with them. Look at Rorschach's face. They give visual life to the tensions that animate...
Should the fans see Watchmen? The comic has something to say on this question. Are you an idealist like Rorschach, who insists on absolutes, black and white? Or a pragmatist like Ozymandias, who deals in shades of gray? Ozymandias would go. Rorschach wouldn't. The point of the comic is that neither position is perfect or even tenable. But a choice must be made. To quote the master's final words: "I leave it entirely in your hands...