I was never into comics growing up, but in the past few years, I’ve become quite the fan of graphic novels. The first I read was Blankets by Craig Thompson (written about here and here). It was a very good book. The second I read was the Pulitzer Prize winning graphic novel, Maus. This 2-volume book was also very moving and the illustration was really great. So when I first heard that The Watchmen was good and that it heavily influenced the creators of LOST…well, I knew I wanted to read it.
There are a variety of narratives taking place throughout the story — and it’s interesting to see how they all intertwine and play off one another. If you want a brief rundown of the plot of The Watchmen, go check out my friend Josh’s post here – he did a good job. I enjoyed the story – one of masked superheroes – some retired, some gone bad – and the plans of one mastermind to try and unite the world in peace, but who goes about it in a rather sinister way. The writing and illustrating is very compelling and kept me interested and pulled into the plot through all 12 chapters.
LOST co-creator Damon Lindelof said of The Watchmen, “The greatest piece of popular fiction ever produced” – so of course there are going to be many LOST fans who have thought extensively about how The Watchmen specifically influenced Damon and the other LOST creators and writers. If you’re interested in that, you can check out some of the following links:
- The LOST Watchmen Theory
- Is Desmond Dr. Manhattan – This one is very interesting, especially if you have read The Watchmen
- The Watchmen entry on Lostpedia
All in all, another good graphic novel and a fun way to get into the minds of the LOST creators – in a very small way.