So, why do people love Watchmen? It can't be for the plot--superhero tries to take over the Earth for its' own good? "Can't make an omelette without..." The Vision had preceded Veidt into this Utopian breach two years earlier, and the Squadron Supreme were pursuing a similar objective on another version of the planet at the very same time. Granted, by using a big fake exploding Vedic alien as his cat's paw, Veidt proves that he is more devious than these others--but, really, strutting around in that purple robe, serving up poisoned bubbly to his expendable henchmen, exulting over his triumph as the snow buries his hydroponic Eden, Ozymandias certainly doesn't seem like any less of a megalomaniac than your standard "everybody wants to rule the world" character... So the line between villain and hero is pretty much nonexistant, once you start thinking that you know best? No kidding. And so what?

But it's a great series.

Why?

As far as I'm concerned--it's got everything to do with the atmosphere. Unity of effect (even if it's an effect I don't look kindly upon). That kind of stuff. (Which means that Gibbons deserves at least as much of the credit as Moore does.) The visuals, the dialogue, the voiceover media & diary commentary--it's unrelentingly grim. Even the pleasures these characters manage to snatch from the void are solemn. This isn't just a work that was shaped by cold war paranoia and fears of "The End"--it's a work that craves a punchline, wants to knock 'em dead. In the world of Watchmen, nihilism is the watchword. Or is it? At the very least, I think we can say that any ideas of order that the book presents us with are quite explicitly man-made--they have no correlation to anything outside of the minds of the characters who espouse them. We are told again and again that the Comedian is a nihilist, but how different is he from anyone else we meet? Except that he happens to be a hedonist, of sorts--and a mean one... What the hell is so funny about the Comedian anyway? "Smartest man on the cinder"? Come on! But maybe that's the point. Maybe the joke's on Blake. The Comedian isn't a nihilist. He doesn't "believe in nothing". He suspects that there's nothing to believe in, and these suspicions make him bitter. Again and again, Blake tips his hand--in attempting to play the role of "the perfect comedian", he only makes a perfect ass of himself. He blows up every single time he appears--and this is very good characterization, as far as I'm concerned: like every person I've ever met who poses as a nihilist--the Comedian can't take a joke...

And neither can Moore, which is apparent from his handling of the Dr. Manhattan/Laurie Juspeczyk relationship. Now, Manhattan is a nihilist through most of this story, in that he places no more value on one thing than another. We are told that his affection for Laurie constitutes his only tether to this plane--although he actually exists in all times, in all places, and "the work" that he talks about doing in the present never seems to amount to anything, so it's debatable how "tethered" he actually is... One thing is certain--every once in a while, he remembers how miraculous it can be for someone else to buy you a beer. "Someone" can buy themselves a beer, but it's nothing without that "else". And you'd better believe in that--or else. But Manhattan does forget, and he wanders off, like Coverdale, in The Blithedale Romance, to savour the "moral sillabub" of his past associations. Of course, Laurie recalls him to his senses (such as they are), and he remains cognizant of the miracle of other people just long enough to play his questionable role in the maintenance of Veidt's temporary "reign of peace". But he forgets all over again when he finds Laurie has moved on with her life. She is no less miraculous in another person's arms. That's the joke. But Manhattan takes himself so seriously he might as well be the Comedian for chrissakes, and he disappears from the narrative, intent upon creating "miracles" of his own (a ridiculous plan, and a sad descent into autism--by definition, you can't create miracles... they've got to take you by surprise)...