Watchmen's first issue opens in 1985, in an alternate America where costumed heroes exist, Richard Nixon is still president, and nuclear war with the Soviet Union seems near. The Comedian, a government-employed vigilante named Edward Blake, is thrown from his high-rise window. Rorschach, a masked vigilante with an inkblot mask, who still operates despite a ban on heroes, begins to investigate and warns his old colleagues, Nite Owl (Dan Dreiberg), Dr Manhattan and Ozymandias, that someone may be hunting masks. Alan Moore and Dave Gibbons establish the nine-panel layout, Rorschach's journal and the recurring smiley face stained with blood.
This opening issue works well for readers curious about the comic that changed how superheroes were written. It sets up the mystery and the characters, and rewards slow reading.
Deep, open-ended and thought-provoking; a demanding read.
Best for readers like The Deep Diver. Which reader are you?
- Published
- 1986
- Language
- EN
