Considering Watchmen by Andrew Hoberek delves deeply into the rich cognitive natures of the Watchmen and analyzes both the characters and the book as a whole, highlighting its place in the comic medium and elaborating on the process Moore utilized to create such incredibly tragic characters. This reading was fascinating, so much so that I blabbed about it to my dad while I was reading it. At first, when I read Watchmen, I was connecting the heroes and their roles to major elements: Rorschach being war, Dr. Manhattan being God, Ozymandias being an embodiment of the shady agendas that fuel America, etc. However, I was surprised to be informed that the characters went much further than simply acting as personifications of common comic and action tropes, but rather they were the embodiment of the comic experience itself! As is explained in the chapter "Poetics", Hoberek states that Dr. Manhattan represents the comic reader itself, for he is omniscient like the reader but cannot see beyond his own experience, whether it be in the future or past. Just like the comic reader, we can flick back and forth between the previous and future pages to see what happens, but if we do not read it linearly, we cannot understand why it happens. Just like Dr. Manhattan, we see the future in the same type of frame (panel) that he sees the picture of his past self, Dr. Osterman. However, we cannot change it, we can only observe. Like Dr. Manhattan, we are going through the motions and reacting accordingly. Even more fascinating was Ozymandias personification of the story itself, being the big mystery reveal that is common in stories, but also acting as a commentary that his own subjectivity is hidden from the reader in a contrasting point to a story being richer by having a vast character subjectivity. The read was a very interesting one and I exaggerate not when I say this, but Watchmen is one of my favorite comics and I feel my fannish nature already growing as I catch myself watching the movie immediately after finishing the book, being excited to read Hoberek's analysis of the text, and already pre-ordering the Watchmen: The End is Nigh game in hopes that I can write about it for my video game blog instead of Batman: Arkham Asylum (which I had already started playing but am hesitant to write about because I am so currently endulged in Watchmen).
In reading the second half of Watchmen, the chapter that drew my attention most was chapter 6. I had seen the Watchmen movie around 5 or 6 years ago and remembered only very little of it: a few fighting scenes, the bright colors and dark nature of Rorschach. However, the movie did not stick with me for some reason, possibly because I was young and cared little about politics and the 'larger picture'. However, as I grow into my twenties, my attention towards things I never blinked an eye toward began to broaden. When I started reading the book, I was already hooked from the type of commentary it was making on society and humanity as a whole. An unexpected turn in the book was the removal of Rorschach's mask, straying away from the mystery case and now into the psyche of Walter Kovacs. Kovacs represented the arguably good kid surrounded by darkness, with an obligation to fight against it because that is all he knew. Once one looked at the dark elements of life in its' full glory, it is impossible to turn away from the neverending battle. We see everyone in the comic have their own view of why they are quitting being masked heroes, and it is all great and at first I thought Dr. Manhattan was the most interesting, for he was the most poetically logical and mechanical character, but then we got to Rorschach and he is the the one who got me. His explanation was so real and tragic, he had no other choice. He had to let go of his old, innocent, human self and become Rorschach because nobody else in the world was being Rorschach and it was clear humanity needed one. Little girls being butchered and thrown to dogs and a girl being raped with nobody calling for help is a desperate call for strict disciplinary action. Rorschach has just became one of the most fascinating and personally influential characters in my historical comic journey.
My dad is a huge fan of Watchmen, so when I had heard we were going to read this, I was very excited. At first, I thought it was going to bore me a little bit because I was not really able to read it before; the language was very poetic and sometimes was a little dense for me, I was unaware of a lot hero references, and I was politically unequipped. Now, after reading many Superman comics (amongst others), reading Watchmen was a breeze. I now understand why Watchmen is very important, both historically politically and for comics; the story plays on the elements common in super hero stories and manipulates them to fit the pressing issues of our society, and not just crime: homosexuality, rape, identity, psychological issues, disbandment, loss of friendships, etc. This story was so beautiful and I am so happy that I now understand this. The book reads like a poem at times and as I read on, it made more and more sense and the book got heavier and heavier in content. I had to read it very slowly because it was a lot to take in, but so worth every minute. I am actually happy I didn't read this before because reading the comics I did during the course really allows me to see why Watchmen is such a significant piece of work. It is not just a comic but it makes a huge commentary on society, even moreso than previous comics have. "Watchmen" reminded me alot of Frank Miller's "Batman" because, even though it is completely unreal and fantasy, they give it a twisted 'real' vibe to it by incorporating horrible elements of our actual society. The realistic and tragic vibe of Watchmen almost makes the whole idea of hero costumes and such seem completely not-cheesy. Such a great read. Probably amongst the best I've read this semester, and the previous readings have set a high bar.
Hey, readers! Today's blog will be about The New Gods #1 & #7, Green Arrow/ Green Lantern #7, and Bradford Wright's "From Social Consciousness to Cosmic Awareness" pg. 155-174.
I haven't entirely figured out why, but I wasn't that interested in the Orion comics. I think after reading the comics throughout this course, I am leaning towards a more Spiderman type hero, possibly Batman (and Robin, I actually really appreciate Robin's presence in the Batman comics). I guess I found the whole outer-galaxy intergalactic space thing kind of too overwhelming for me, especially since I read it a little later at night when my brain wanted to deactivate. However, I did like the introduction of Darkseid. I had seen him appear in the Mortal Kombat vs. DC video game I played and I thought he was just a Superman character--I didn't know he had appearances in other comics. I guess that's just another mainstream entertainment media assumption of mine. I also was interested in Green Lantern's change of costume in the comics. A lot more edgier and he looks more serious and developed. What interested me most about the readings was actually the Bradford Wright piece. He mentioned the war and how the entire mentality of the people changed, therefore the comics themselves took a different turn. It was interesting that the popularity of the comics themselves seemed to decrease while the demand for idealism and a response toward political events were high. I, personally, like to see political statements in comics like that. Wright mentioned the first black hero --one that worked alongside Captain America-- and I felt as though that is what literature in its entirety should and has the power to do: make a statement, change peoples minds and force them to critically think. I love the idea of supermen in tights fighting crime, but I love the idea more when it is fighting crime and dangers that are relevant to the now. Another thing I found interesting about the article was the idea of graphic novels and comics being separate entities, GN often being more respected than comics or neither being praised worthy of literary acknowledgement at all, even though the popularity of comic books in the 1970s birthed the debatable praise of graphic novels today. |
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May 2015
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