Alan Moore and Dave Gibbons’ graphic novel Watchmen is unconventional in the comic book genre, because it was the first to veer away from the simplistic plot of superheroes with superpowers in a fictional world and lean more towards a complex narrative of multiple characters that are more “human than super” in a realistic setting (Moore, “Mindscape”). The authors cover the dark issues of rape, war, and violence in Watchmen’s world where the characters’ lives soon end in their own demise. The most important concern the rhetors focus on is deciding what is truly right or wrong and this question of morality is present throughout the novel, shown through the character the Comedian (Edward Morgan Blake). Moore and Gibbons use ethos to characterize Edward as a despicable character in Watchmen, but towards the end of the novel the audience sees his humanistic qualities that helps them to sympathize with this character. Moore also uses dialogue and symbolism to show the Comedian’s humanity behind his initially evil guise. The authors continue to characterize the Comedian by employing flashbacks along with stylistic choices of color and drawings in the panels to create a mood of disgust and pity towards his persona. Moore and Gibbons rhetorical devices produce pathos so that the audience develops an emotional tie to the Comedian that leads them to reflect on their own morality.
To understand Moore and Gibbons use of pathos we look to how they introduce Eddie’s character in the text as someone the audience initially detests. The Comedian’s character is noted as being “ruthless and cynical” which can be shown in a flashback when Eddie tries to rape Sally Jupiter (Watchmen). Moore uses dialogue to directly convey to the audience how...
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...ndscape”). Watchmen can be interpreted as a novel that changes the way the audience will look upon their own world after reading it and look unto their own judgment on a person’s morals in construing them as a good or evil.
Works Cited:
MacGregor, Paige. “Fatal Attraction: Hating to Love Watchmen’s Comedian.” fandomania. 31 March 2009. Web. 16 May 2010.
McCloud, Scott. “The Vocabulary of Comics.” Understanding Comics: The Invisible Art. Northampton: Kitchen Sink Press, 1993. Print. 24-59.
Moore, Alan. “Alan Moore discusses WATCHMEN: the Mindscape of Alan Moore.” Youtube. N.p. Web. 9 May 2010.
Moore, Alan. “Alan Moore talks-02-Watchmen.” Youtube. N.p. Web. 9 May 2010.
Moore, Alan, writer. Watchmen. Illus. David Gibbons. Color by John Higgins. New York: DC Comics, 1995. Print.
“Watchmen.” Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation, 5 May 2010. Web. 9 May 2010.
Alison Bechdel's graphic memoir, Fun Home: A Family Tragicomic, documents the author's discovery of her own and her father's homosexuality. The book touches upon many themes, including, but not limited to, the following: sexual orientation, family relationships, and suicide. Unlike most autobiographical works, Bechdel uses the comics graphic medium to tell her story. By close-reading or carefully analyzing pages fourteen through seventeen in Fun Home one can get a better understanding of how a Bechdel employs words and graphic devices to render specific events. One can also see how the specific content of the pages thematically connects to the book as a whole. As we will see, this portion of the book echoes the strained relationship between Bruce Bechdel and his family and his attempts to disguise his homosexuality by creating the image of an ideal family, themes which are prevalent throughout the rest of the nook.
Rabinovitz, Laura. For the Love of Pleasure; Women, Movies and Culture in the Turn-of-the-Centry of Chicago. New Jersey: Rutgers university Press, 1998.
It is understandable to think that Rorschach is the most influential character in Watchmen, however it is clearly The Comedian due to his incredible influence of all the characters and the fact that his death sets the main plot in motion. Though his heroic code is not as strong and stable as Rorschach’s, The Comedian understands the world perfectly, but “he doesn’t care” (Moore, 4.19). Both of these characters saw the “true face” of this reality, one just fought against it while the other became a parody of it.
In Fun Home: A Family Tragic Comic, Alison Bechdel uses the graphic novel technique of bringing visuals and concise text to her audience to reveal the relationship with her father in a perspective that can not be modified through the readers perspective and interpretation. Bechdel employs this type of writing style to help visualize a better interpretation of how she describes the differences in both her and her fathers’ gender roles throughout the novel. This tactic helps discuss and show how these gender roles were depicted as opposite from one another. But, in this case being opposite from one another made them gain a stronger relationship of understanding and reviling that these differences were actually similarities they also shared.
Alexie, Sherman. "Superman and Me." Los Angeles Times. Los Angeles Times, 19 Apr. 1998. Web. 14 May 2014. http://articles.latimes.com/1998/apr/19/books/bk-42979
...ulture. Together the characters of Watchmen reflect an unflattering image of American identity. We sacrifice morals to defend principles rather than saving people. We sacrifice ourselves for commercial gain and for the fame that comes from the worship of strangers. We worship our own achievements, obsess over time and in the end we lose what makes us human as we continue down a path that takes us farther away from each other and deeper into ourselves.
Their contact with the British government is an ancestor of James Bond and, as in the Bond books and movies, the head of British intelligence is M, and his initial is a hint at his own fictional identity. Moore and O'Neill use these characters to play a sophisticated version of the fantasies kids indulge in about whether Superman could defeat Spider-Man. The graphic novels are written and drawn in a style that mingles the formality of Victorian literature with contemporary raunch and bloodthirstiness. When Hyde goes on a rampage we get to see him ripping bad guys quite literally in two, or chomping on their limbs. The Invisible Man takes advantage of the sexual liberties open to a man who can't be seen.
When comics were first coming out, they were not all that popular but in todays’ world, they have become very popular and well known. Several of these comics have been turned into films, which is one of the many reasons why the popularity has been rising over the years. One of the most well known comics is Batman: The Dark Knight Returns. This comic was composed and released in 1986 by Frank Miller. With the usage of Frank Miller’s powerful, intense lines and the artwork done by Klaus Janson’s and Lynn Varley’s it has elevated this comic up to the very top of mainstream comics. In Batman: The Dark Knight Returns, the skillful illustrations on the pages successfully create the thought that there are underlying meanings, which makes the atmosphere a very intense one throughout the comic. The work of art that is presented on the pages in this comic are embedded in such a way that the pages become the continuum for the meaning. One of the main themes that are imbedded on the pages through the artwork in this book is the ideological struggle between Bruce Wayne and Batman.
In Alison Bechdel’s comic “Compulsory Reading”, she creates an image of how she feels about the world of creative writing. Bechdel mentions different authors and well known titles like “Beloved”, Romeo and Juliet”, and Charles Dickens. She also mentions her distaste to novels as well. Bechdel uses media and design, rhetorical patterns, and tone to communicate how she feels about literature.
Through the character Rorshach, The Watchmen explores the issues of nature verses nurture for him. Moore adds that a super hero, can be a psychological argument. A super hero is neither born nor shaped by environment, it is the creation of an alter ego to suppress childhood conflicting inner issues. Rorshach dealt with issues as a young child that rationalized in his mind to hide behind a costume and a mask in order to live.
Even though there are superheroes existent in the Watchmen universe, a majority are human and thus exhibit routine human characteristics. They frequently “ponder what sort of person would put on fancy dress and punch muggers every evening,” but when they do themselves, their flaws shine though the costume, causing them to commit questionable actions (Barber). They are not perfect heroes, exposed by the fact that Moore created them as shadows of well-known superheroes like Batman, Superman, and Iron Man (Barber). Furthermore, there are no clear protagonists or antagonists because each character battles their own morality, adding to the human factor of the novel (Wu). Hence, humanity’s worth can be distinguished through an analysis of the morals
The purpose of this paper is to provide the reader with an insight into the Super Hero Series Batman. This crime fighter originally appeared in Detective Comics issue #27 in 1939. It later became a comic book series, a TV series and a movie series. The character Batman is second only to Superman as a Super Hero. Amazingly Batman has no super powers, but he does have a lot of neat crime fighting gadgets. In this paper, we will explore the creation of Batman, his supporting cast of characters both good and bad and the gadgets he used.
When William M. Marston, creator of fictional heroine Wonder Woman, asked a girl which female superhero she aspired to be, the girl retorted, “Aw, that’s girls stuff! Who wants to be a girl?” And that is the point; just as the young comic enthusiast suggested, our world has become a dominantly patriarchal society, ranking men over women in the social hierarchy. While some might argue that there is more gender equality in our world now than in any other moment in American history, we still find nonetheless in our culture these continually degrading attitudes towards women. Women today are still only represented as icons of male sexual desire and are only viewed as valuable insofar as they can satisfy that sexual desires. This value is often tied to their attractiveness through their physical qualities, and superhero films offer the medium to accentuate the representation of these qualities. More specifically, superhero movies have become subjected to the male gaze, which proposes that movies are filmed specifically for the heterosexual male audience. This has continued to lead to the falsely characterized perception of women, intriguing the viewer through her hypersexualized style of clothing. Some may claim that superheroes do not relate to actual society and teach us nothing about human nature because they are too fantastical; however, I would suggest that these narratives imply, though indirectly, some theory of human nature. By examining female superhero icons such as Wonder Woman, we can investigate the ways the creators of superhero characters thought both about human nature and the nature of sexual difference. In essence, the portrayal of women is superhero film perpetuate...
To conclude, the graphic novel Watchmen presents the non-fantastic representation of a superhero, implying that not all heroes are like Superman. This notion is explored within the novel by mentioning the realistic motives of the characters choosing to become superheroes, by Rorschach’s representation and through the heroic reactions of the New Yorkers to a street crime. These elements all contribute to Watchmen’s uniqueness and complexity as a superhero comic.
In the novel Watchmen by Alan Moore and Dave Gibbons, interprets the achievement of order and law through the use of power and violence by superheroes. This novel consists a total of seven different characters to demonstrate how superheroes obtain peace in society through the use of violence. The writer portrays the plot in different characters’ perspectives by guiding readers in their point of view. This motivation also assists readers to examine the loneliness and the feeling of isolation during Dr. Jonathan Osterman, Walter Joseph Kovacs and Laurie Juspeczky’s life experiences.