The Watchmen

I thoroughly enjoyed reading the article, "The Comic Book Virgin Reads Watchmen," by Isabelle Burtan. I thought the metaphor (of one being a 'virgin' to comic book or graphic novel reading)Burtan used throughout the article was funny, clever, and intelligent. I had not read a long comic book series or graphic novel before reading "The Watchmen." So I guess I will have to admit to losing my 'comic book virginity' to "The Watchmen." Gosh, that sounds weird. Therefore, I would have to agree with Burtan regarding my unique experience with reading "The Watchmen." Reading a graphic novel is quite different from reading any normal novel, or one that does not include near as many illustrations. At the beginning, I thought the graphic novel would be a simple, easy read as the first thing that came to my mind was lots of pictures! Something that I was not used to reading as an assignment in any class which made me happy. As I read the graphic novel, I realized how intricate and complicated the plot and characters were. I was forced to both read the text and look and interpret the many drawings and dialogues. One most definitely has to read this type of novel differently than reading any other typical novel. At many times there were more than one storyline being discussed within the same page. This was confusing. There were many hidden text, symbols, and drawings throughout the book that were key to the story. In order to identify all of these political and religious symbols and references, one must pay close attention to both the illustrations and text. It was difficult to pick up on all of these things. However, this forced me to read and look closer in order to comprehend the 'total picture.' I think I shared a similar experience to Burtan because of not reading a graphic novel or comic book before. We shared similar emotions or excitements as well as frustrations with regard to the read of "The Watchmen." Reading "The Watchmen" was not simple and at some points became exhausting and wearing yet still enjoyable. "The Watchmen" needs to be read multiple times in order to fully get all of its rich messages. I look forward to reading it many more times allowing myself to pick up on even more symbolic messages. It seems like a novel that gets better every time you read it.