Alan Moore's comic

posits a fictional world in which costumed vigilantes are not celebrated as superheroes but have been outlawed by society.

takes its readers on a critical journey through the preceding decades of the superhero tradition. It displays formal finesse, tells a compelling narrative and has become the central example of the wave of sophisticated comics which emerged in the mid-1980s.

was written by Alan Moore, illustrated by Dave Gibbons and coloured by John Higgins.

Set in 1985, Watchmen's story develops along the lines of a murder investigation. The Comedian, one of the costumed vigilantes, has been murdered. He was a superhero in the government's employ. Rorschach, the only vigilante still actively fighting crime on his own authority, takes

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Citation: Kukkonen, Karin. "Watchmen". The Literary Encyclopedia. First published 28 March 2009 [https://www.litencyc.com/php/sworks.php?rec=true&UID=25852, accessed 23 November 2024.]

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