Reconsidering the Superhero - Watchmen

For Reconsidering the Superhero I read Alan Moore's: Watchmen.  I think he is one of the forerunners for the re-imagination of what we consider the superhero, but hardly the first.  I think it is important to understand the idea of the Anti-hero to better understand the direction and though that went behind the creation of Watchmen.
A good start is looking at the Byronic Hero, a character that was created by the great Lord Byron, and often includes a character who is: "mad, bad, or dangerous to know." One of the class antihero of our time is Sam Spade, a detective who, smokes, drinks, lies, cheats, and does bad things. However, at the end of the day he does his job and obeys the laws, and brings down the "bad guy." Although his means are not traditionally heroic, his ultimate actions and motives are seemingly for the betterment of man.

Where does Watchmen fit into this? Well Watchmen takes a look at the superhero retrofitted into a "real" world. Real superheros, and how they fit into a corrupt world.  The characters unlike many comic hero's of the past are effected by real emotions, real feeling, and real problems. All of these are characteristics of a Byronic hero, and create a character that is much more interesting and easily related to, than the traditional American superhero.  Another important implication to consider when talking about the "deconstruction" of the superhero comes in questioning the character's moral and ethical obligations in relationship to his or her obligatory governmental, work related duties.  I think this was very important in the Watchmen because it showed a lot of the struggles we have as a people in approaching every day quarrels with right and wrong.

Enough of that. Aesthetically I think Watchmen is a great piece or work, and is packed with excessive amounts of detail in each panel.  Being one of the strengths of the Graphic Narrative one can quickly recognize the power of this piece on a representative level.  The World itself is one of the most interesting characters, and it really becomes something special when you approach the work in this way.  This work is very important culturally and politically, along with its aesthetic value. I hope to dive more into the complex intricacies of Watchmen in the future, but for now I think it is one of the best examples of the "Reconsidered Superhero."