Watchmen: The Complete Motion Comic [Blu-Ray]

Conveniently preceding Zack Snyder's anxiously anticipated Watchmen movie, Warner and DC release Watchmen: The Complete Motion Comic, a literal translation of the graphic novel from page to screen, with animated versions of artist Dave Gibbons' original illustrations and every word of the text preserved. Though the images move, the animation is very slight — characters speak without moving their lips and move awkwardly within the confines of the original panel. This is not an animated version of Watchmen but the original comic, essentially being read and shown to you — for five-and-a-half hours. It's kind of cool but ultimately superfluous. Alan Moore and Dave Gibbons' groundbreaking comic has been mentioned in the press a lot recently and by now most people know that it is a brilliant de/reconstruction of superhero mythology that has been hailed as a distinctly important work of literature and, more notoriously, that Alan Moore has withdrawn his name from all adaptations. The Complete Motion Comic is no exception. Despite the fact that nothing is omitted and no changes were made to his story, Moore's name appears nowhere in the credits, which seems strange until you understand his reasoning. For Moore, the transfer from the medium of print to the medium of film inherently loses the participatory intimacy that accompanies readership, as opposed to viewership. In this regard, the Motion Comic would probably piss off Moore even more. The only audience this presentation truly benefits is illiterate people with no arms who are desperate to read Watchmen but have never been able to. Everyone else can just get the comic. As for the animation, the same effect can be achieved by having a few drinks before picking up the graphic novel. One highlight of the high-def Blu-Ray version is its presentation of Gibbons' art — the visuals are phenomenal and captivating. For vehement Watchmen fans, the Motion Comic could be a great way to spice up repeat visitations with a familiar story. What lost me, though, was the narration. Tom Stechschulte provides the voice for every character, even the women (he sounds like a drag queen, and it's creepy). Who reads a comic and imagines every character sounding the same? While I can appreciate and enjoy parts of the Motion Comic, to truly get into the story you have to go back to the source. Special features include a video journal with Dave Gibbons and a preview for a new animated Wonder Woman movie.