Transcending the Genre

by Liberty and Power

I am not much for comic books or, to use the nicer sounding term, “graphic novels”. While my wife has always been a fan, the thought of idling away my free time reading of masked avengers and people who shoot laser beams from their eye sockets never appealed to the snob that lay within.

Then, after repeated urgings from my wife, I picked up and read Watchmen , the cream of the graphic novel crop. Much to my utter surprise, I cannot recommend it more. It is, hands down, one of the greatest novels (yes, novels) I have ever read.

Even if it does have masked avengers in it.

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More Comments:

Aeon J. Skoble - 8/28/2009

Touche!

Ross Levatter - 8/28/2009

Aeon's article is superb. But I would be remiss if I didn't point out that for the same price, he provides about 10 pages of insight while I offer over 200...:-)

Aeon J. Skoble - 8/28/2009

Ross' work is indeed excellent, but I now feel obliged to plug my essay on the subject, which appeared in the volume _Superheroes and Philosophy_, edited by Tom Morris and Matt Morris (Open Court, 2005).

Jeffrey Rogers Hummel - 8/25/2009

One can further enhance the enjoyment of reading Watchmen by obtaining "The Watchmen Guide," Ross Levatter's 200+ page panel-by-panel analysis of all the hidden subtle references in Watchmen, available by emailing dav_ross@me.com. Or you can check out this website.