I just finished reading the Watchmen graphic novel and it is amazing. I was drawn in by the HBO series last year, which amplified my enjoyment of the original story. It might end up in my top five works of fiction.
The story is of its time: the Cold War, superheroes as saviors. Even better, it has timeless themes that feel relevant in our weird contemporary situation: growing authoritarianism and nihilism towards overcoming the status quo to tackle other looming problems.
I saw the Watchmen movie first, several years ago. The movie, as I remember it, holds to the first few issues surprisingly well. The ending of the comic is far superior to the one used in the movie. The comic has more space to expand minor storylines and even introduce a whole other comic within the graphic novel. The comic stands head and shoulders above the movie.
I still feel like the Watchmen HBO series was one of, if not singularly, the best shows on television/streaming last year. The graphic novel is the perfect chaser. Lots of plot points make more sense through the lens of the graphic novel: the whole squid attack, Looking Glass being slightly off, Robert Redford as president.
If it turns out they don’t produce more seasons in the HBO series timeline, at least there will always be the comic. (And Westworld, for the time being).
