Depression And Its Effects On Depression

The superhero comic landscape during the Golden and Silver age of comics was saturated with comics that were very similar in structure. In The Revisionary Superhero Narrative, Geoff Klock points out that comics like Superman, Batman, and Wonder Woman followed an established set of conventions where each issue only mechanically added another story to their respective folklores (117). It would not make much of a difference what order they are read in because they do not take into account the history of the character or what lasting impact their actions will have on the world. The complexity of these comics do not go far beyond commercial literature, and they only seek to prolong their lifespan. However, author Alan Moore challenges this view of superhero comics by creating Watchmen, a revisionary comic series that redefines the purpose of the superhero and explores how superheroes can greatly impact the world in a political and social context. By incorporating these ideas in Watchmen, Moore effectively creates a more realistic, and ultimately a more novelistic, depiction of the superhero figure.

With the admission of confidence and guilt from Veidt, to the explosion of psychic energy that destroys New York, the last two pages of chapter eleven of Watchmen are filled with “moving lines”, moments in a work that are filled with meaning and emotion. In these two pages, the mystery that has fueled the plot of the graphic novel reaches an epic climax in which the themes and ideas within the work are simultaneously revealed and questioned. With deliberate structure, powerful imagery, and self-reference, Alan Moore literally and figuratively destroys motifs that he had built throughout the work to challenge the morality represented by Veidt and force the reader to question how right or wrong it is.

Alan Moore and Dave Gibbons’ Watchmen illustrates the lives of retired superheroes in the 1980s. The Keene Act outlawed the “masquerading” of superheroes in the 1970s and led to the dissolution of many superheroes. The murder of an old colleague, The Comedian, forces them to come out of retirement and sets the events of the graphic novel into place. Moore and Gibbons sets up a world of superheroes in the midst of a very real historical period of the Cold War. We usually think of superheroes as existing in a fictional place, with an altered history. However, the novel references President Nixon, the Cold War, Vietnam, and other real events and figures. These references help to establish the superheroes as people existing in reality. Here,

Watchmen is a revolutionary piece of literature. It is technically a comic book, some prefer to call it a graphic novel. There is a negative connotation that goes along with that. Graphic novels are frequently presumed too childish and fantastic to actually teach any insightful lessons or even make you ponder them at all. Watchmen is a graphic novel that transcends this undue criticism of comic books. It is, “One of the first instances ... of [a] new kind of comic book ... a first phase of development, the transition of the superhero from fantasy to literature." (Klock, pgs. 25-26)

Watchmen written by Alan Moore and illustrated by Dave Gibbons utilizes the literary tool of symbols to connect ideas and themes. Time is a major theme throughout the comic and plays a significant part in the structure and outcome of the story. This theme is successfully coupled to the theme of destiny by the use of the clock and other symbols that are present throughout the comic. Symbols such as clocks, the smiley pin, and the graffiti are utilized to efficiently connect the themes of time, justice and the loss of innocence and morality throughout Watchmen. The combination of all of these themes ultimately allude to Ozymandias’ decision to unleash chaos on Manhattan by foreshadowing his betrayal and explaining how impossible it is to entrench the peace that he has manufactured by unleashing this chaos.

Vigilantes exist to fight for the suppressed and weak individuals in society. Many vigilantes’ purpose is sparked by the tragic events that leads to the crusade of justice. It is rather the inadequacy law enforcement that leads for vigilantes to exist. Both Watchmen and The Dark Knight Returns, deconstruct the traditional superhero through the theme of vigilantism, Alan Moore’s text offers the realistic interpretation of vigilantes, while Frank Miller emphasizes the dark side of the masculine hero through the rebirth of Bruce Wayne as the Dark Knight.

If the concept of good and evil was clear and concise, every nation would have an identical criminal codes. However, mortality is subjective as religion, culture and personal opinions influence human’s judgment of what is right and wrong. The graphic novel Watchmen, written and drawn by Moore and Gibbons is a graphic novel about a mysterious murderer hunting vigilantes formally known as the Watchmen. While the remainder of the former members of the Watchmen are searching for this mysterious murderer, the graphic novel depicts how each vigilante had his or her version of justice and how it should be served. By showing the perspective of each vigilantes’ view of the world, Watchmen demonstrates that the concept of good and evil differ for every individual. The vigilante’s history, their perspective of how the world runs and their concept of justice, are a reflection of how people in modern day society cannot fully agree on a set of social standard.

It is easy to empathize with Jack Nicholson’s brilliant Joker as he laments in Tim Burton’s classic 1989 film, Batman, “Where does he get those wonderful toys?” The average person may not be villainously inclined, but one can certainly relate to having their best laid plans constantly being thwarted. Though, to be fair, probably very few people would take issue with someone as awesome as the Batman getting in their way. Despite being a mere mortal, Batman and his fellow graphic novel heroes serve as present day gods akin to the ancient Greek gods of Rome. There are a great many things that set Batman apart from his colleagues, however; chief among them are his tragic origin story, the best villains in modern literature, his total lack of superpowers, wealth, and endless interpretations.

It's a darker world, with darker endings for many surrounding characters. Cyborg's hero story is cut-short by tragedy, and each member of the Trinity carries devastating origin stories.

Moreover, this film reflects the political campaign of 2016 in where Donald Trump tapped into the hatred of Americans and used it to be inaugurated as president. The basic synopsis of the film is where Batman and Superman solve their disagreements by fighting. However, the film embodies a complex reality where Bruce is hardened and weary after

Many people around the world suffer from depression, a mental illness that negatively affects the way we think, act, and feel on a day-to-day basis. However, it can hurt the body in ways that can affect your future. Even though it’s only mental, it comes with a lot of physical effects. How does it physically hurt the body?

Late 1980’s saw the emergence of two fundamental comic mini series: The Watchmen and Frank Miller’s Dark Night Returns. Both texts were created independently, but serve as similar yet juxtaposing monuments in post-modernism literature. They two comics favor in their gritty undertones and dark storylines entrenched in compelling political engagement.

In the world of comic books, there are so much stories of comic book characters. Whether be it from a positive point of view, or a negative point of view. Whether it’s Spider-Man teaching us to not give up when going get bad. Or when Batman teaches it is ok to remember the past, as long you keep moving forward. The comic book genre offers many points of view, that sometimes they align themselves for the same common cause in different ways. Or sometimes the contrast each other drastically where, each view is dramatically different from each other. Alan Moore's Watchmen ideas of super heroes are realistic, and grounded to the brutal reality if superheroes existed, compared to Batman: The Long Halloween tackles the idea

Watchmen, by DC Comics, should be considered a literary work for its great use of realism and deconstruction, storytelling and subplots, and the focus on personal character development and their moral codes. Watchmen utilizes these aspects in a way that makes the reader change the way they think about their popular culture and what is valuable to them. These aspects help solidify the idea that Watchmen is the first in a new breed of comics, one in which they make the transition from fantasy to literature. It is a work that is recognized by many as a revolutionary comic series, and is even lauded as one of the best novels and most significant works of the 20th century. It has solidified its place as a cultural classic in America and it would be injudicious to not see Watchmen as a literary work.

Alan Moore’s Watchmen graphic novels have been the subject of much scrutiny since their release in serial form from 1986 to 1987. The DC published series had much political and social relevance in the time that they were published and often still can be said to reflect society and politics today, as well as differing greatly to the typical superhero mould readers are often given.