Watchmen Novel Review, Movie Preview, and LOST connections

I just finished reading Watchmen. It's the first comic book/graphic novel that I have ever read, and I have to say that I really enjoyed it! A friend recommended it to me a couple months ago, but I gave it little thought until recently. With movie coming out soon (March 6th), I decide to order the novel from Amazon.com and check it out for myself.



New to comic books, I struggled to get through the first few pages, but I soon found myself sucked into the storyline and taken on an exciting ride. The first night I read until I was shocked to see that it was 4 in the morning! I finished the novel the next night, up until 3 am. I just could not put the book down. I had never read anything like this before.

Watchmen tells the story of an alternate 1985, in which Richard Nixon is still president. The world is at the brink of a nuclear war at the height of the Cold War. Five superheroes, all but one ordinary human beings, and all of them harboring complex emotional ties and relationships with each other and the world around them, are brought back together after the death of a sixth reveals a disturbing conspiracy which has implications for the whole world.

It is difficult to see how a story as complex as Watchmen could be translated effectively to the big screen, but I trust that director Zack Synder (also the director of 300) has done his very best not to disappoint the fans. The movie opens this Friday.

For more information on the novel:
Watchmen novel on Wikipedia

For more information on the film:
Official Watchmen film site
Watchmen film on IMDB.com
Watchmen film on Wikipedia

LOST connections:
The back cover of the novel features quotes of praise from critics. It was cool to see that LOST co-creator Damon Lindelof called Watchmen "the greatest piece of popular fiction ever produced." I searched for Watchmen on Lostpedia.com and found an interesting list of connections that the two stories share. The complete list can be found here.