Reader’s Den

Reader's Den in July: Watchmen Part 3

Welcome back to Part 3 of the Reader’s Den for the book Watchmen. Here are a few questions you may have thought about while reading this book. If you think of something I haven’t, please post a comment.

  • What can a graphic novel (or this graphic novel) do better than a traditional novel? What are its limitations?
  • What do you think about the way Moore sandwiches traditional text and the comic book form? What is the effect of that strategy on you as you read?
  • The question "who watches the watchmen?" is written across this fictional world. Why?
  • What do the costumed crime-fighter back-stories tell us about human nature?
  • Do you think the pirate comic foreshadowed events?
  • Would the novel have the same impact if the heroes had traditional superpowers instead of being regular people?
  • How do you think this story would be the same or different if it had been written in the '90s or early 21st century? Does it convey late '80s culture effectively?
  • Did you feel the novel ended on the right note or was it open-ended? What do you think happens after the ending?