Watchmen Reaction Week 1

It's been a while since I read it, and like Nate I haven't looked at it with a critical eye before. But now that I'm older since the first time I ever read it and learned more about the comic making process I can appreciate Watchmen for the truly groundbreaking work it really is. One thing I love about it, is how it uses all the old school comic book storytelling devices, but at the same time manages to add something new to the medium. Like with the sheets you gave us, it didn't occurr to me before but there are absolutely no sound effects words like POW, ZAP, etc. you know all those sound effects that were always on the old Adam West batman show. The assigned pages of the McCloud were also on my mind as I was rereading, particuarily the section about the Gutters between panels, closures, and scene transitions. Moore and Gibbons utilize a wide variety of transitions throughout each issue, I'm sure they're all used at some point, and each serves a unique purpose and point. The first time I heard about Watchmen was through a great documentary that aired on the history channel a few years ago called "Comic Book Superheroes Unmasked" which gives a great in-depth history lesson on the origins of American comics from the early 20th century up till today. I think Watchmen is captures the divisions in the eras of the comic book industry with the Minuteman representing the bright and enthusiast golden age characters and the subsequent Crime Busters taking their place as the Silver Age. I also liked how Moore modeled his characters on many past or current superheroes of the time. Some of the obvious ones are Nite Owl II and the various Blue Beetle characters including a flying ship, Rosarch and The Question, and Silk Spectre and Black Canary. Another thing about Watchmen I really appreciate is that it's not something you can sit down and flip through and still get the whole picture. It requires reader involvment which was one of the things McCloud noted in "Understanding Comics" that makes comics unique from other mediums like television and film. That was one of the sections of "Understanding Comics" that really resonated with me and was constantly on my mind as I was rereading Watchmen. Moore and Gibbons utilize this concept to its fullest and really allow the reader to become the director of the comic, so to speak. When the Comedian is beaten and thrown out a window, it's us who fill in all the gaps and decide how hard the fall was, etc. etc. Same thing with the Rosharch capture sequence, another one of my favorites. I think my favorite part of the series is Issue #6, with the origin of Rosharch and Malcolm Long. It's really disturbing to see the transformation of both Kovacs and even Long into their dark worldview of humanity. I also love Nite Owl's dream sequence in which he strips off his skin into his costume, and that small panel of him embracing Laurie as skeletons. Really chilling and yet I can't look away. I really hope they keep that for the film adaptation.