I just read the Watchmen for the first time! And of course I loved it. It makes me appreciate the movie oh so much more, that I want to see it again.

Years and years ago I was told that I would love the the graphic novel and how it was so me. And I confess that THEY were right. If only I read more books, maybe I would have been a better (amateur) writer. I have been an Alan Moore fan ever since I read the Promethea series. Which happens to be the only other thing I've read of his. I love how Alan Moore seems to juggle so many characters so effortlessly. I am not a big fan of writers who appear to flex their ego with tons of dialog that comes across as just way to brag "look at how much I know!" But with Alan Moore, he fills pages with attention grabbing, relate-able characters. I loved how he mixed in the story of the pirate ship. The plot twists, characters with identifiable faults-- Brilliant! I especially love it when a writer and artist can explain a scene without any dialog. Normally I don't get into comics with the kind of art styles that his artist use. I am more into complex art styles that have more detail. But the artists he uses are perfect for his writing style, it somehow creates a perfect balance and uncomplicated medium for his work. The more I read his work, the more I believe that he has degree in psychology. Just how each character relates to the next is such a reflection of society.

Reading this also brought back a lot of memories from my life back when I worked as a comic book illustrator. The super villains and heros of this art medium are largely a reflection of the creative people behind it. The masked heros/villains reminded me of the other artists I worked with. How by day we were these ordinary-nerdy-unusual people working ordinary jobs, silently mixed in with ordinary people. But by night (and at comic book conventions) we became these bigger than life characters. Sometimes I was confused between it being who we really were and who we really wanted to be. Kind of like the costume most people pick for themselves for Halloween, or the way people get dressed up when they go clubbing, or hanging out at the local bar, etc, etc. The Watchmen also reminded me that it takes a lot of work to keep a group together. That you can grow together as easily as you can grow apart. How when one of us died, it somehow brought us together... if only for a moment. How when we loss one of our team, it made us all look back at a time where we were a group of artists who wanted to change the world with our stories and art (and hopefully be able to pay the bills along the way). After that life I find it hard to ever make fun of anyone who gets dressed up as comicbook characters, cosplay, fetish gear or even transvestites. I understand that need to dress up and do something that APPEARS to be childish or crazy to stay sane.

But I have never quite understood the drive to dress up like Sailor Moon. Takes all kinds.