One of the most renowned graphic novels of all time--and not without reason. 
 Watchmen is a densely ambitious, multi-layered tome made up of numerous interwoven narratives, fleshed out backstories, and various blended forms of literature. The setting impression is that of a dark alternate-reality/alternate-history early 1980's universe, injected with a toxic dose of Nihilism. It's a universe in which the Americans won the Vietnam war, Nixon is somehow still president, and costumed vigilantes have been outlawed in spite of the soaring crime rate. 
 Note: I say costumed vigilantes rather than superheroes because almost none of them are what could be called "super." They have varying degrees of talents combined with combat training, and one has an assortment of Batman-knockoff gadgets. Dr. Manhattan does have preternatural abilities, to be sure, but his are so extreme as to qualify him as a demigod--and arguably, the inadvertent source of most problems for this version of reality. 
 Unfortunately, this reader's personal apathy toward the story itself can be pretty well summed up by Dr. Manhattan's feelings toward the impending-doom conflict: 
 At the risk of being maligned for comic-nerd blasphemy, I'm going to have to admit I found it a slog of a read in many places. The inter-threaded pirate story felt like an irrelevant letdown, the rape subplot felt like too much of an 80's-typical throwback, and I couldn't bring myself to sympathize with any of the characters outside of Dr. Manhattan and Rorschack. 
 Rorschack kept me reading. While his shorthand speech pattern and hard-boiled detective persona didn't hold much for emotional appeal, his uncompromising consistency and determination made him an unforgettable narrator. There were subtle, redemptive glimmers about him that added a tremendous and broken depth to his psyche. Between the awful history, anti-hero tendencies, and undesirable physical appearance, Rorschack reminded me of Deadpool. Just... sadly lacking in a sense of humor. 
 Really, I'd contend this whole plot would have been granted some much-needed levity if Wade Wilson could have donned the blot suit. 
 I've heard it said that, in its day, Watchmen was a sort of epic anti-superhero comic meant to strain against the conventional. If that's truly the author's intention, then it succeeds. But to what end, this reader isn't sure. Just as with Orwell's 1984, the wretchedness of this dystopian world left me wondering if it was indeed worth saving.