Watchmen
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
For the upcoming film based on the comic book limited series, see Watchmen (film). For other uses, see Watchman.
Watchmen
Cover art for the 1987 U.S. (left) and UK/Canada (right) collected editions of Watchmen, published by DC Comics and Titan Books.
Publisher
DC Comics
Schedule
Monthly
Format
Limited series
Publication date
September 1986 October 1987
Number of issues
12
Main character(s)
Nite Owl, Dan Dreiberg
Rorschach, Walter Kovacs
Silk Spectre, Laurie Juspeczyk
Dr. Manhattan, Jon Osterman
Ozymandias, Adrian Veidt
Comedian, Edward Blake
Creative team
Writer(s)
Alan Moore
Artist(s)
Dave Gibbons
Colorist(s)
John Higgins
Creator(s)
Alan Moore, Dave Gibbons
Collected editions
Watchmen
ISBN 0930289234
Absolute Watchmen
ISBN 1-4012-0713-8
Watchmen is a twelve-issue comic book limited series written by Alan Moore and illustrated by Dave Gibbons. Originally published by DC Comics as a monthly limited series from 1986 to 1987, it was later republished as a trade paperback,[1] which popularized the "graphic novel" format. To date, Watchmen remains the only graphic novel to win a Hugo Award,[2] and is also the only graphic novel to appear on Time's 2005 list of "the 100 best English-language novels", an annual feature of the magazine since it was founded in 1923.[3]
Watchmen is set in 1985, in an alternate history of the United States where costumed adventurers are real and the country is edging closer to a nuclear war with the Soviet Union; throughout the books, the Doomsday Clock is shown gradually ticking towards midnight. It tells the story of a group of past and present heroes and superheroes and the events surrounding the mysterious murder of one of their own. Watchmen depicts heroes as real people who must confront ethical and personal issues, who struggle with neuroses and failings, and whowith one notable exceptionlack anything immediately recognizable as accepted super powers. Watchmen's deconstruction of the conventional superhero archetype, combined with its innovative adaptation of cinematic techniques and heavy use of symbolism, multi-layered dialogue, and metafiction, has influenced both comics and film.
