“Who watches the Watchmen.” The quote from Juvenal rings true to the story of “Watchmen” as the tale is brought full circle.  It is a tale of humanity; but not in terms of beauty and intellectual prowess on our behalf. We are wrong, disquieting creatures in the eyes of Alan Moore.  He would have us believe that we are sheep turned to cannibalism.  And during this harrowing graphic novel, I wouldn’t be one to disagree with him. 

“Watchmen” is a comic of epic proportions.  And I do mean epic.  If I could underline it five times and add a hundred exclamation marks, I would.  Then again I may be coming from a biased perspective.  How can we expect less from the man who gave us “V for Vendetta” and “League of Extraordinary Gentlemen.”  And I am talking about the comics, not the movies themselves, a separate review would be needed for the expanse of those movies.  And that was a minor tangent.  Back to the ‘Watchmen.” 

I’m ecstatically giddy that I read the graphic novel before I saw the movie that is due for release in 2009.   I saw this for many reasons; the first being I doubt that I could’ve understood the complexity of the story, the arc, the characters themselves by just seeing the movie.  It’s like trying to understand the story of “300” without any knowledge of the Ancient Greek Polis’s rather than just the surface knowledge of Sparta itself.  The second reason is just to see the original vision, the awe.  After finishing the book (and I say book as it is more of a book than a comic) I’m left to wrack my brain over how are they going to cut the story down to a length for the attention defiect infected public? Or why, in the case of the 1996 release of Hamlet, do they not allow it to be the epic it was meant to in order to tell the full story even with a four hour run time. But again, a tangent.

Lets go back to the actual subject… the graphic novel itself.  And the art that brought it to life.  Illustrated by Dave Gibbons, the art that makes up the visualization of the story is flawless.  Each and every panel is intense and rich with expression, intent.  His illustrations capture the pristine beauty and wonder of Oxymandia’s Antarctic lair, the technological wonder of the Rockefeller Laboratory, the grimy nature of New York City circa 1985, or even the grave desperation of a sailor on the open sea on a raft made of corpses.  It’s a tale that could be told with images alone and still hold power, but the words…

Alan Moore, the vegetarian anarchist that has stolen our hearts and minds a million times over, has done it again.  How do you review the greatest graphic novel ever written? You can and in turn you look like an ass.  So, I’m an ass.  To sound redundant, it’s complex.  And even in calling it complex I feel like I haven’t even touched the surface of the story.  Intense? Perfect? Phenomenal? Does it get any better? Not really.

And having sat here at my computer for four hours trying to give a review; typing out and deleting paragraphs because they just fall short of encompassing what I feel at this moment about this book; I find I am deemed to fail in my attempt.  Read it. Love it.  It’s a trip unlike any you have taken through a world that makes you question everything.  The past, the present, the future.  What drives us, what motivates us?  What leads us to live and what forces us to die.  How much will we and how much can we handle?

What if we were told the truth? And as a race, do we deserve to be doomed?

From Rorschach’s Journal, “The accumulated filth of all their sex and murder will foam up about their waists and all the whores and politicians will look up and shout, “Save us!” And I’ll look down and whisper, No.” 

Maus I and II are harrowing stories of survival in a time that I don’t think any of us can imagine.  Told beautifully through the interaction between father and son, “Maus” takes on the tragedy of the Holocaust through the eyes of understanding and coming to terms with how it changed the lives of those who lived through it.  I would not call this graphic novel an enjoyable read due to the subject of its content, but it is powerful and informative.  While reading it I found that even when I put the book down, it was still with me.  While reading it, the tale doesn’t leave you; even for a moment. 

Art Speigelman wrote and illustrated the book in an interesting manner that made it reminiscent to “Animal Farm.” With the Germans portrayed as cats, the French as frogs, the Americans as dogs and the Jews as mice you get a feeling for the atmosphere of the story almost immediately.  As most Holocaust stories are, it takes on a personal tale.  A father’s story as told to his son. 

We get an immediate articulation of the times in Poland for the Spiegelman family from the first few panels.  How it was before the war, how parents met, and how the war came knocking on the door of their lives only to destroy them.  Through Vladek Speigelman’s story we see the fear of hiding, the understanding of the choices made both inside the ghettos and inside the camps.  He tells us how it was to be a tin man in Auschwitz, dismantling the gas chamber towards the end of the war only for it to move to another camp in Germany so Hitler’s Final Solution could continue. 

It is a book that is written and illustrated completely in black and white, which is fitting, not because of the medium but because of the morality of the content.  That choice of color also seems to add overall to the haunting nature of the story.  Making it stay in your mind more vividly than a great Van Gogh painting. 

As a woman converting to Judaism and the girlfriend of a survivor’s grandson, it gave me quite a bit of understanding into both my partners’ life and into his parents that I previously lacked overall.  Which is not due to my lack of knowledge to the events in Nazi Germany, but in which these stories are told.  Art Spiegelman has created a tale so incredible that it drives the events into your psyche.  It is a must read for anyone.   

Batman: Year One.

#404

Frank Miller’s Batman series recaptures the story of Batman in a dark, gritty fashion that rings true to the evolution of the modern comic. In the issue of Batman #404, we see the story chopped down to the very core.  A new foundation.  It opens up with paneling that is so very reminiscent to the N,W line that travels through Queensboro Plaza in Queens, New York.  It’s that same primordial concrete jungle feel as Lt. Gordon comes to find his place in Gotham City.  It’s a homecoming issues for both he and Bruce Wayne.  A symbolization in storytelling that lies out just how intertwined these two individuals are.  In my opinion, Batman #404 is a great issue for both those familiar with the Batman series in its entirety or those just coming to experience the phenomenon.

#405

In this issue of Batman: Year One by Frank Miller and Illustrated by David Mazzucchelli, we read and witness more of the origins.  We are also intruced at this point in time to Arthur Dent.  We see the fates of Batman and Lt. Gordon become more intertwined as he begins to investigate these vigilante assaults.  The tale is illustrated amazingly in gritty detail that allows us to see what urges both of these incredible men. 

#406

In this issue we see more and more of Gordon’s internal struggle with his investigation. It is painstakingly written to capture the knowledge of corruption versus knowing the honesty of the vigilante he’s hunting.  While the tale of Batman at this point takes the same siding, our masked hero finds himself looking down the barrel of realization that Gordon may just be his strongest ally.  What we also can notice at this point in the story is the journal issues for both of the men are becoming richer and a bit more intense as time goes on. 

#407

As of the beginning of issue #407 we have the introduction of cat woman, who is trying to separate herself from the silhouette of Batman in the eyes of the media.  We also have the first case of corruption in the Gotham Police Force come full circle in an event that leads Lt., now Captain Gordon to ally himself with Batman in order to fight the crime of this violent city.  It is also in this issue that the expressions of the characters really seem to come to life, their moods, and emotions are just as easily read upon their faces as the blimps of floating text in each panel. The series at this point is also beginning to have a crack like quality when it comes down the addiction in which it is read. 

Overall, the series is an incredible retelling of the origins of not just Batman, but also the villains and supporting cast as well; it is a gritty beginning of honest, true to the word super hero great.  Though as with all of Frank Miller’s work with this title, the morality tends to not be so black and white.  

“Sleeper” is an interesting story with a conspiratorial take on the idea of super villains. As operatives in a secret organization whose decisions tend to change the modern world, we are allowed a fictional glimpse into the society of, “they.” As explained by an operative in the upper echelons of this organization, “There are aliens buried at Area 51, except THEY don’t want you to know that. Or – the Freemasons run the world, but THEY don’t want you to know about it.”

The “Sleeper” series is written by Ed Brubaker and illustrated by Sean Phillips.  And it is done so quite beautifully – at least illustration wise.  In this first installment, “Out in the Cold.” I found the introduction to be clear and concise regardless of the overwhelmingly generic feel.  The backgrounds, origins, organizational layouts are all weaved into the story without really a thought for the creativity of how. 

The characters overall are predictable, following hero and villain molds made fifty years ago without an ounce of tribute or originality. While the story arc itself is interesting (as I do love a good conspiracy,) the dialogue is often lacking, at times even falling towards cursing where more descriptive words could’ve been used. 

In the end, read it for the conspiracy if you like the “Bourne” type of thing.  Otherwise, you’re not missing a thing. 

“Hell and Back: A Sin City Love Story.”  Do I have to honestly say it? Do I have to really put into words how much this installment of the Sin City universe blew me away?

Magnificent. 

As with all the Sin City comics, I was thoroughly impressed by the grit and primal human nature that is brought to life artfully by Frank Miller.  Yet, “Hell and Back” brought a new take to the story, love.  We’ve seen it poorly done and fantastically done in comics before. But never before has the urge itself, the lust behind the emotion been captured so beautifully.  Not to mention, what would we do for someone we loved?

With the emotion laid out for us in the first few pages, we find ourselves on a ride of hallucination, vindication, vengeance and truth seeking for the rest of the graphic novel.  This is truly Frank Miller’s baby, the care with the art and the choices of words paint that picture more vividly than most operatic sagas. 

Maybe it’s because I’m female. 

The women in this tale all tend to take on the body of Jessica Rabbit, which isn’t a bad thing in the least.  They are lust.  The looks in their eyes seem to be the only things that mirror who they really are.  An assassin, a whore, a lost soul… While the men seem to have the chiseled and rugged look of those hardened by life in a city that can suck the very life out of you if you don’t fight it every minute of everyday. 

With that said, the story takes on a new life.  A tale that’s been told before, but never with the passion as it finds in Frank Miller’s hands.  Then again, I’m a huge fan of the Sin City series.  So, this is a biased review.  Still, my opinion remains that this is a must read in the life of the modern day comic.