Tristan Posted January 12, 2011 Share Posted January 12, 2011 Hey, since when do you people discuss the sequential artform? I'm absolutely flabbergasted! In a good way, of course. This is.. healthy. Yes, most definitely healthy Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kylie Posted January 12, 2011 Share Posted January 12, 2011 We've also read The Complete Maus in the past Tristan. Have you read The Watchmen? If so, I hope you're planning on sharing your thoughts with us. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tristan Posted January 12, 2011 Share Posted January 12, 2011 Yes, I've read most of Moore's impressive oeuvre. Quite a fan of his work actually, but most people are I guess. You just simply can't deny greatness, can you? What is most laudable about Watchmen, and it is something that's often forgotten about, is the sheer brilliance of its structure. The conventional sequential storytelling, supported by the sections of text between the chapters, makes for a most interesting way of absorbing the story. Each adds to the other, enhances what the other was conveying. In that time, it was most certainly daring to use this device. But, however great the book is, V for Vendetta remains Moore's superior work. It's more original, I found, and the most inspired. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kylie Posted January 12, 2011 Share Posted January 12, 2011 But, however great the book is, V for Vendetta remains Moore's superior work. It's more original, I found, and the most inspired. I'm glad to hear you say this because, as much as I enjoyed The Watchmen, it's really V for Vendetta that I've been looking forward to reading. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AbielleRose Posted January 13, 2011 Share Posted January 13, 2011 I just started this today and am still adjusting to the feel of reading a graphic novel. The story is interesting so far, I'm just a tad frusturated I can't read it faster! Maybe I'm just looking at the pictures too long, lol. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tristan Posted January 13, 2011 Share Posted January 13, 2011 I just started this today and am still adjusting to the feel of reading a graphic novel. The story is interesting so far, I'm just a tad frusturated I can't read it faster! Maybe I'm just looking at the pictures too long, lol. Don't be frustrated Calililly. Reading a graphic novel really is not the same as reading a book. It requires some getting used to. Is this really your first GN? Not exactly what you would call starting easy,now is it? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Amesy Posted January 13, 2011 Share Posted January 13, 2011 I've not read the Graphic novel yet but it's definitely on my TBR pile. I have, however, watched the film and from the thing's you guys have said it looks to be quite a close match. I simply LOVED the film so I've got high expectations. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AbielleRose Posted January 13, 2011 Share Posted January 13, 2011 Don't be frustrated Calililly. Reading a graphic novel really is not the same as reading a book. It requires some getting used to. Is this really your first GN? Not exactly what you would call starting easy,now is it? Aside from Bazooka bubble gum wrappers, this is the first comic/GN I've ever attempted (except for a manga book I started about 2 weeks ago... definitely a different feel from that, though!) To be honest, the story really isn't my cup of tea so far, but I do want to finish it. If nothing else, Watchmen is opening up a new door to the GN world for me. The more I read the easier it is to balance the story and the pictures flow-wise. There is something really interesting about the art of it all. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kell Posted January 13, 2011 Author Share Posted January 13, 2011 I'm adding a few more questions to the first post: 7. Did you find reading this graphic novel more difficult or easier than reading a regular novel Wy? 8. Do you think this would have worked as well as a regular novel? Why? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tristan Posted January 13, 2011 Share Posted January 13, 2011 Aside from Bazooka bubble gum wrappers, this is the first comic/GN I've ever attempted (except for a manga book I started about 2 weeks ago... definitely a different feel from that, though!) If nothing else, Watchmen is opening up a new door to the GN world for me. The more I read the easier it is to balance the story and the pictures flow-wise. There is something really interesting about the art of it all. It's a very exciting world indeed. If you know where to look. You can always ask me if you want suggestions. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AbielleRose Posted January 13, 2011 Share Posted January 13, 2011 Thanks Tristan I'll do that. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kell Posted January 14, 2011 Author Share Posted January 14, 2011 I'm going to be away for a few days (Satuday after lunch till Wednesday night) and won't get much of a chance to get online during that time, but I hope everyone will continue discussing Watchmen while I'm away - I know I will have finished it by that time too and be dying to talk to you all about it! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pickle Posted January 14, 2011 Share Posted January 14, 2011 Abby there are so many different genres of GN I have a personal favourite which was serialised in one of the national papers in the 1960's its nowhere near as complicated as The Watchmen which I read ages ago more of a crime caper kind of thing called Modesty Blaise. I need to read The Watchmen it again to contribute meaningfully here will dig it out this weekend. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BigWords Posted January 16, 2011 Share Posted January 16, 2011 Just popping in to drop a link to this book which states that, yes, Watchmen IS literature. Finally, any arguments can be solved with one book - to either convince people that comic-books are an equal art form to novels, or to hit them over the head with... Either way works for me. Oh, and I found a copy of the massive hardback Watching The Watchmen by Dave Gibbons (highly recommended) which states that Alan Moore (genius that he is) wrote each issue sequentially - as the art was being done for the previous issue. Sometimes handing over as little as a few pages at a time. The layering, foreshadowing and recurring themes weren't all planned out from the start - it makes me respect the finished work all the more having discovered this fact. If you're thinking this might be a quick read you would be mistaken, and it's also $39.95 / £24.99 - so not a cheap read either. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Raven Posted January 17, 2011 Share Posted January 17, 2011 I'm adding a few more questions to the first post: 7. Did you find reading this graphic novel more difficult or easier than reading a regular novel Wy? I found large parts of the graphic section easy to read (there were no words in parts of it!), but then other parts demanded my full attention (the inter-cutting of the pirate story with the main plot, and Rorschach's journal entries, for example). I can't say it was any easier or difficult to read than a conventional novel though, it was just different. 8. Do you think this would have worked as well as a regular novel? Why? That's a tough one. By definition the book relies on the visuals to help tell the story, could it have been told as clearly if it were a written novel? Probably not, as you would certainly have your own vision of what everything looked like (can you imagine how you would have pictured Dr. Manhattan, for example, from a description about a naked, blue super man? And how much credibility would that have carried?). I think the story could probably be told in novel form, but I think the feel of it would probably be quite different. ------- To help keep things moving, in Kell's absence: 9. Do you think nations really would unite against a common alien threat as they do at the end of Watchmen? 10. There is a lot of moral ambiguity in the book, with characters who carry out highly dubious acts in the name of peace and/or justice. Who do you think is justified in their actions? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ooshie Posted January 22, 2011 Share Posted January 22, 2011 (edited) 1. Who was your favourite character and why? Jon was my favourite character. trying to get my mind around being able to see things down to the molecular level and seeing the past, present and future all at once really made me think! 2. Was there a particular part you enjoyed/disliked more than the rest? I didn't particularly enjoy the parts where the story from the comic book being read by the boy were interwoven with the main story. It was very cleverly done, but I just didn't enjoy it. 3. Was this the first book you've read in this genre/by this author, has it encouraged you to read more? I have never read a graphic novel before; I already have Audrey Niffenegger's (short) graphic novel The Night Bookmobile lined up to read, and I would consider more traditional "superhero" graphic novels too - my son is currently reading Batman: Year One and is encouraging me to give it a try after he is finished with it. 4. Were there any parts/ideas you struggled with? Not really, no. 5. What did you think of the artwork in this graphic novel? I thought it was very good. The level of detail was great, and I hadn't expected the zoom in/out sequences or the interesting perspectives. 6. Is this your first experience with a graphic novel and, overall, did you find it an enjoyable experience? This was my first graphic novel, and I did enjoy it. 7. Did you find reading this graphic novel more difficult or easier than reading a regular novel Why? I found it harder to read than a regular novel, just because I was spending so much time studying the graphics. 8. Do you think this would have worked as well as a regular novel? Why? I find it hard to imagine it as a regular novel at all. 9. Do you think nations really would unite against a common alien threat as they do at the end of Watchmen? On a national level, very disparate groups of people tend to band together when their country is under threat, so I can imagine it being possible that the human race as a whole would unite against a threat to earth. Although I think it would be business as usual as soon as the threat was perceived as having been overcome! 10. There is a lot of moral ambiguity in the book, with characters who carry out highly dubious acts in the name of peace and/or justice. Who do you think is justified in their actions? This one is hard - I'm off to do more thinking! Edited January 22, 2011 by Ooshie Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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