Portable Wonderland

PREMISE: In an alternate 1985 America, costumed superheroes are part of everyday life. When one of his former comrades is murdered, masked vigilante Rorschach uncovers a plot to kill and discredit all past and present superheroes. As he reconnects with his retired associates, only one of which has true powers, Rorschach glimpses a far-reaching conspiracy involving their shared past and catastrophic consequences for the world’s future.

I’d imagine I don’t have to say too much about this by way of an introduction but just in case you haven’t heard of it, it’s essentially the greatest graphic novel ever written and even if you’re not into graphic novels, comics, superheroes, you should just forget all about that and read this. The story is top notch, the ‘superheroes’ are all great and well thought out (Rorschach is one of the best and most intriguing characters I’ve read in ANY book and Doctor Manhattan’s powers are beyond anything you’ll read in the rest of DC or Marvel) and even the story-within-the-story Tales of the Black Freighter is awesome and just adds to the overall package.

Without doubt one of the best novels I’ve read. I’d heartily recommend reading the hardback deluxe edition which features sketches and bonus material.

Just as an aside…contrary to most Watchmen fanboys (and Alan Moore himself) I personally thought Zack Snyder’s film adaptation of this was amazing and really faithful to the look and feel of the novel. And the TV series of the same name, albeit with a different story but set in the Watchmen ‘world’ is also brilliant and well worth checking out.