The Citizen Kane of graphic novels, the only comic to appear on Time magazine's list of 100 all-time greatest books, Alan Moore and Dave Gibbons' Watchmen is undoubtedly a virtuoso work, a true masterpiece of the form. Subverting and eschewing the superhero comic as we knew it, the pair broke down the genre in a way that fans had never seen before, provided political commentary for the Cold War era and was an amazing achievement in terms of form and page structure with its nine-panel grid layouts. It's also totally overrated. The amount of effort that Moore and Gibbons put into it is evident on the page, with the meticulous detail in the artwork and the overlapping storylines (especially the allegorical pirate comics-within-the-comic), but effort doesn't necessarily equal good quality work. The murder mystery that Watchmen supposedly centres around is something of a dud, the death of the Comedian barely important when there's sexual dysfunction and the existential loneliness of superheroes to be getting on with. Moore's barely-contained disdain for superhero comics is also evident throughout. The bearded writer has been more outspoken in his dismissal of the form he made his name in since, but that animosity is clear even with this relatively early work. Watchmen is a hateful piece of work, sucking all of the joy and fun from mainstream comics and daring you to admit you liked such a childish thing in the first place when it's got all this perversion and violence barely beneath the surface. It also ends with a total deus ex machina cop out, as Ozymandias' grand masterplan - which, unlike any other well written mystery plot, the reader could not possibly have figured out for themselves - comes off without a hitch. Like The Dark Knight Returns and Arkham Asylum, Watchmen is much more invested in blowing our minds by deconstructing its genre than in telling a good story. Ultimately, that makes reading Watchmen an entirely shallow experience. Its nihilism and lack of depth means none of the characters are relatable, fans clinging onto the affectations of avowed right-wing psychopath Rorschach in lieu of anyone actually likeable. The female characters, like almost all of Moore's work, are given a pretty bum deal, all paper-thin or sex objects. Gibbons' art is slick, but flat, grimy but not particularly evocative. It has been incredibly influential, popular and part of the zeitgeist. It's also incredibly overrated.
Tom Baker is the Comics Editor at WhatCulture! He's heard all the Doctor Who jokes, but not many about Randall and Hopkirk. He also blogs at http://communibearsilostate.wordpress.com/
