So, yes, I just finished reading the Watchmen graphic novel, before really paying much attention to the Watchmen movie trailer floating around the internet. I had heard from so very many people about how amazing Watchmen the graphic novel is, how it was the first to deconstruct superheroes, with a very much… well I’m not going to spoil it.

Needless to say, it was a fantastic graphic novel. Its left me shell-shocked, almost emotionally blank. Such amazing writing, such an amazing progression. There were the subtle and sometimes morbidly humourous little jokes in the background, which, in one case, gets pulled to the forefront of an important character relationship. I especially was struck by the clock on the backpage of each chapter, slowly moving towards midnight with each chapter, minute by minute; while above, blood seeps down the page. It was horrifically creepy, and a marvelous bit of foretelling. In fact, in the first chapter, the Doomsday clock gets mentioned, again, linking the clock on the back to the concept of Doomsday and nuclear war.

The most important part of the whole thing, is the progression of relationships around Jon. Jon acts as a piece of grit in an oyster in the story, the device that moves things along, that forms the multiple pearls of the story. His existence acts as a death knell of sorts for the regular costumed heroes, replaced now not just by a superman, but by a God.

They evolve, change, suffer, pass on their mantles and names, all because of Jon, yet, it is the regular people that are heroes that matters to the story. Their decisions, their feelings, worries and secrets are what are important. From Rorsarch’s abiding, yet useful insanity, to the Comedian’s apparent and senseless cruelty hiding a sensitive layer, the characters are deep and complex, suffering maladies we all suffer. They suffer ills of the heart, of the mind, and of the soul, and thus consequently truly human.

The real subtle theme, however, is how the villain, though ostensibly calling himself a hero, a saviour of mankind… he appears to suffer no ills of the heart, mind or soul, and feels no pain, no remorse for killing several million people. In comparison, to the other characters, he is nowhere near human, with Jon expressing more doubt and concern of ethics than the villain. The villain, for all his speeches, for all his plans, suffers not like his enemies.

There is, however, a few flaws with the story. The first is with the God in the Machine, Jon, whom literally can create water from thin air. Moore resorts to technobabble to solve the conundrum of Jon just “knowing” what will happen. The only unfortunate part, however, is that Jon figures prominently in the evolution of the story, and especially in the theme of obsolecense and irrevalence for ordinary people in the presence of a being which is a God.

Now, the trailer. It looks fantastic, keeping to the exact same fantastic aesthetic as the novel. Now, here’s hoping it’ll be kept the same all the way through, including the intricate character relationships and dialog. I am definitely going to see the movie when it comes out.