52 Week 15 Cover

Last week in 52: Renee Montoya and Vic Sage (The Question) travel to Shiruta, Khandaq, looking for clues regarding Intergang’s possible involvement with the now reformed country.  While investigating, they find a murder scene in the Hni Hnak offices located in Shiruta; however, what they didn’t know was that Intergang was setting them up for suspected murder.  Upon leaving the scene, they are taken into custody by the Khandaq police.

In Metropolis, John Henry Irons (Steel) grieves over his niece’s alliance with Lex Luthor in the Everyman Project, enabling everyday people to gain powers.  He and Doctor Kala Avasti are also hoping to learn more about John’s own newfound powers.

Metal Men creator Doctor William Magnus’ Mercury Man prototype is slowly developing.  He also pays a visit to Professor T.O. Morrow, but finds that he has disappeared from his confined home.

**spoilers below**

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I am not about to present a plot summary or formal review in any sense.  If you are looking for such, then I would advise you read the elaborate review from my fellow writer, Jake Cole.  However, if you are looking for an analysis of the graphic novel, then I encourage you to read further – the meaning behind Watchmen runs deep, so missing little odds and ends is to be expected.  I will occasionally include commentary during the analysis.

This analysis only begins to deal with the complexities of certain issues and layout.  If I wanted to explain everything that was on my mind, I’d be writing a book.  Here’s hoping this will be enough to fill your appetite.

**Spoilers abound**

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OK, I admit, I’m a comic book newbie. I haven’t been reading them very long and all but a handful of the ones I have read have been older classics. But you know what, more and more people are going to be getting into comics in the near future, and most of them will convert thanks to the upcoming Watchmen film. So, in an effort to blog about what I’m currently reading as well as maybe help a fellow neophyte out, I’m introducing my own mini-feature: Classics Corner. Each entry will be about an established classic in the medium: its historic importance, how well it’s held up, and just plain how good it is. Some will be more spoiler-ish than others, but all of them will feature at least basic plot discussion and analysis. And what better place to start than the graphic novel that is universally regarded as a masterpiece and has been (and, from the looks of it, will continue to be) a gateway for many into comic books?

Watchmen is a 12 issue miniseries from comics god Alan Moore and artist Dave Gibbons that depicts a realistic world that must contend with real masked men. It’s an expansion of an idea that Moore first toyed with on the seminal (and woefully out-of-print) Miracleman, and it ends up being a nice foil for his first great graphic novel, V For Vendetta. V posed socio-political questions, while Watchmen is more of a personal, psychological profile. It realizes that anyone who would put on a costume and mask to pummel thugs is inherently insane, not heroic. Over the course of its 12 issues, the book evolves from a whodunit about a killer possibly targeting former masked heroes into a commentary on the thin line between vigilantism and crime and how a hero’s quest to save others can ultimately turn him into the world’s biggest threat. It manages to be twisted, deep, thought provoking, suspenseful, thrilling, darkly funny, and tragic, often at the same time.

**potential minor spoilers and more after the jump**

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