Perhaps the most satisfying aspect of reading Watchmen was that it was a comic book, and the particular way in which one enters into a fictional universe that the comic book allows.  Especially considering how heavy the text was on apocalyptic imagery, it allowed an entry into a world which felt fully realized, and in that way, all the more frightening.  Had the novel been text alone, the plot itself is strong enough that it could easily have been captivating as a traditional text novel (if that is the term).  But the visual element truly made the experience for me.  More than anything, reading Watchmen immediately post-Glorious Appearing was a lesson in not judging a text by form alone, as the graphic novel in this comparison is words apart from the traditional novel in character development, complex unfolding of plot, and use of symbols and themes. Continue reading →