Watchmen: The End is Nigh Comments by Jon Hamblin

Oh yeah - "you are positively retarded. a comic book - and you can call it "graphic novel" as much as you want, it's still a comic book - will never even be close to literature. grow up already and start to read a few real books, then you might have a clue as to what literature is"

I didn't use the term 'graphic novel' once. I never do, funnily enough. I go with Alan Moore's description of 'big, expensive comics'. As for 'real books', I can PM you the contents of my bookcases if it'll make you feel better.

JahB - Sorry about the insults last page, I like comics & that blanket kind of "comics are for kids" statement just pisses me off.

But comics also include this "written word", just because they happen to have illustrations also = invalid ... ? And where's the dividing line here ... What about illustrated novels?

you draw the line when the pictures become necessary. i hardly doubt watchmen would have the following it has if it wasn't for the graphic representation. you can take all the illustrations out of an illustrated novel, since the pictures are secondary; but that doesn't work for a comic book.

@Banjo
well, at least we agree on something :)

@holsty

it wasn't meant that way, even though it probably sounded like it. what pissed me off (and inspired me to write this comment) was that self-righteous literature comment, which banjoman has now cleared up

Nice interview, EG! :)

I can't wait for the movie (disappointed to hear there's a different ending though!). The game actually looks like it might enjoyable!

For those who seem to think graphic novels can't be literature, I suggest you read stuff like 'the walking dead' or give me liberty.

Dreadful art with a story and dialogue that rapidly disappears up its own backside.

Says the bloke naming a Grant Morrison story as his favourite comic. ;)

Don't get me wrong, I love pretty much everything the baldie weirdo's ever written, but he's the king of the Self-Inserting Story. There's still a team of talented surgeons trying to extract the last six issues of The Invisibles.

But hey, it'd be a dull old world if we all liked the same things as Nigel Spackman, eh?

Oh, Christ.

Rhubarb: that was sort of the point I was making. That art is smug. But that's not necessarily a bad thing. The fact that anything that isn't completely self-effacing makes English people uncomfortable does not make it a universal truth that smug = bad.

JahB: You're taking a completely literal interpretation of what 'literary' means which actually puts you on firmer ground than the majority of people who argue about this sort of thing. But as you're also equating 'literary' with 'worthy' - making a qualitative distinction between EVERY book and EVERY comic - I think you've evidently wrong. Go watch/read Persepolis or Waltz With Bashir or read Maus and think about the way that a cartoon can be used to make a serious point.

Yes I'm conscious that this sounds patronising. So don't make stupid blanket comments.

I really like Watchmen. Sure, the art is dated, but then, it's old.

I must admit though, the ending was pure unadulterated shite.

Read Watchmen last month and thoroughly enjoyed it. I only read it because I'm a facking huge movie buff and thought the upcoming film looked rather slick, and I basically wanted to see what all the fuss was about when it came to the 'Graphic novel'. And as I haven't read any other comics and therefore have nothing to compare it to I ended up thinking Watchmen was pretty bloody awesome. For something that's 20 odd years old I thought it held up quite well, the artwork was great and the story compelling.
SPOILERS AHEAD!!
Have to say I'm glad that some of the rumours I've read as of late, regarding the film, have turned out to be bullshit. The most worrying one was that NiteOwl was going to kill Adrian at the end straight after witnessing Rorschach's obliteration. That would have been a huuuge and frankly stupid alteration, but it seems after reading this interview that's not the case. And as long as they've come up with a decent alternative I think I can live without seeing a giant, psychic brained, Squid flopping around New York :)

Movies gonna suck. This games gonna suck. I guess the end really is nigh.

Yeah JahB is right! It's like all those films that people keep claiming is art, ppfffft. If you have to back up the written word with moving pictures then its obviously rubbish words and just for children.

Pictures can = art.

writing can = art.

But pictures and writing combined can't = art? That's such a ridiculous statement.

I'm sure you'd agree that films can be art, so

moving pictures and writing can = art?

I fail to see why following this logic comics can't be art. To say it can't is incredibly short sighted.

"If they let me as Rorschach beat a dwarf to death in a toilet cubicle, I'm sold. "

This.

I have to say I've always hated the term "graphic novel"... it's for people who are ashamed of the fact that they're reading comics, or for those who feel the need to justify the medium to others.

It's a comic. Deal with it.

Did Watchmen turn up in collected format originally? No, it was written a series of comics and collected into a single volume like pretty much every other popular comic since V For Vendetta. Making it thicker and book shaped does not make it a novel.

Personally... I really dislike Watchmen. I didn't like it 1986, and I can't say I've ever felt the urge to revisit it. I tried & gave up a few years ago for me it just seems to disappear up its own arse about half way through & by the time you get to the squid (if you make it that far)... well, it just loses it totally for me.

I've never understood the revered status that this comic book holds. "V For Vendetta" came before it, and for me eclipses it in every way. As does "From Hell", which came much later. Although I really did like Dave Gibbons' art work at the time. Actually he's done some quality writing too, "Batman / Superman: Worlds Finest" with Steve Rude springs to mind, but Dave Gibbon's finest hour for me was definately "Rogue Trooper".

Alan Moore, is one of the finest comic writers of our time and responsible for creating some great characters & stories. I loved "The Ballad of Halo Jones", his run on "Swamp Thing", hell... he even gave us "Hellblazer", (well, he gave us the character John Constantine at any rate.) but my personal fave Alan Moore work is probably the very mainstream but oh-so-perfect, "Batman: The Killing Joke".

Can comics be art / literature? Of course they can! How anyone can argue against that is just ridiculous. Any new medium has to fight for the right to be classed as art. Films we're maligned as not being worthy of art for a long time. Comics were viewed the same way by many up until the 80s / 90s but the medium has matured somewhat & thanks to authors such as Alan Moore, Neil Gaiman, Warren Ellis, Frank Miller, Grant Morrison, Kurt Busiek etc. people are finally recognising the fact that comics do not necessarily mean Beano & Dandy

If you want to see comics as art / literature then read Neil Gaiman's "The Sandman", that's your starter for ten.

The reason Watchmen stands out in my mind, and perhaps others, is the way it treats the idea of superheroes with a level of realism and maturity you don't often see, probably even less so back when it was written.

It asks questions like: What would actually motivate someone to dress up in a ridiculous costume and beat people up? And the answers actually seem to make some sort of sense.

And then it talks about how that kind of person(read: Insane in some way) would interact with other people like them, and how they would be treated by society. Turns out, in real life, people don't like it when you put on a mask and assault people, even if you have a catchy name.

The ending was total crap, but the point of the book was a kind of exploration of the whole superhero concept, not necessarily that core story. Granted, that sounds like a shitty excuse for having a bit of a wank finale, but still.

This was a really well done interview. Gibbons seemed really forthcoming, which is a testament to good journalism.

This game could be cool, or it could be awful. Gibbons has done what he can to try and make sure it isn't the worst it can be. I think it bodes well for the film, either way.