Watching the Watchmen: The Definitive Companion to the Ultimate Graphic Novel (2008)

by Dave Gibbons

Other authors: Mike Essl (Contributor), Chip Kidd (Designer), Dan Scudamore (Photographer)

Series: Watchmen (Companion)

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285	7	98,677	(3.83)	2
Enjoy the ultimate companion to a comics masterpiece, as award-winning artist Dave Gibbons gives his own account of the genesis of WATCHMEN in this dust-jacketed hardback volume, opening his vast personal archives to reveal never-published pages, original character designs, page thumbnails, sketches and much more, including posters, covers and rare portfolio art. Featuring the breathtaking design of Chip Kidd and Mike Essl, WATCHING THE WATCHMEN is both a major art book in its own right, and the definitive companion to the graphic novel that changed an industry. Voted among Time magazine's 100 Best Novels from 1923 to the present, a perennial bestseller over the past twenty years and widely considered the greatest graphic novel of all time, WATCHMEN is a gripping, labyrinthine piece of comic art, which has earned an acclaimed place in modern literary history. "I've had a great time, re-visiting the very beginnings of Watchmen and unearthing material I haven't set eyes on for many years. As a fan myself, this is the kind of stuff I eat up and I'm sure the many devotees of the graphic novel will do the same!" says Gibbons. © DC Comics 2008. All Rights Reserved.… (more)

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If you just like Watchmen a lot, then I'm not sure this big coffee-table slab is necessary; there are a couple of nice stories about the making of the comic, and some cool character sketches and so on—although not a lot in the way of full-page original art, because most of that was long gone into the hands of collectors before this was put together. Fanatical completists of course will want it—although, for reasons that I'm sure you know, none of it is from Moore's point of view. But if you're involved in writing or illustrating comics, it's both a pleasure and a great resource. I could look at Dave Gibbons's thumbnail pages all day (which make up the bulk of the book) and learn more about design and storytelling than I would by actually reading the comic, and the stories about how he and Moore bounced ideas back and forth are like a best-case scenario of how collaboration can work. (

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elibishop173 | Oct 11, 2021 |

Nice behind-the-scenes look at the making of the artwork of Watchmen. When everyone thinks Watchmen, they inevitably think Alan Moore. Which is fair. Moore was the one that created the initial ideas and story. But it was Dave Gibbons and John Higgins that really brought it to visual life.

And make no mistake, visually, design-wise, this book was groundbreaking. Gibbons is never given enough credit for the ultimate success of this series.

So, this is an interesting, albeit one-sided look at the creation of the Watchmen series.

However, I'm taking one star off for whomever decided it would be good to print some of the content as blue type on black backgrounds. (

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TobinElliott | Sep 3, 2021 |

What was most enjoyable about this book is the background information and anecdotal stories told by the illustrator of "Watchmen". He describes the creative process behind the drawings as well as the evolution of several character designs. Also included are many original drawings, sketches, and page layouts. With the upcoming film incarnation of "Watchmen", fans of the graphic novel will appreciate and enjoy this unique opportunity to "Watch the Watchmen", a clever response to the graphic novel's oft graffitied question: "Who Watches the [b:Watchmen|472331|Watchmen|Alan Moore|http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1175041710s/472331.jpg|4358649]?" (

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mabrown22 | Jul 17, 2013 |

An interesting coffee table book about the creative process behind the Watchmen comics. There are notes about the production process as well as preliminary sketches of the entire graphic novel. Gibbons seems a positive person, and he does not dwell on the negative side of working with D. C. Comics on this title. He has only praise for Alan Moore and the other members of his creative team. The book is large but is mostly filled with wordless sketch artwork. Of interest to Watchmen fans, comics historians and those interested in comics publication process. I guess I'm a little bit of all three. (

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questbird | Jan 24, 2012 |

A behind-the-scenes tour of the making of "Watchmen," provided by Dave Gibbons. There are many pictures, rough sketches, and reproductions of Alan's Moore's typewritten script pages.

This is probably a must for any true Watchmen geek. It made me appreciate the artistry of the original series even more. (

)

jvalka | Mar 29, 2009 |

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Author name	Role	Type of author	Work?	Status
Dave Gibbons	—	primary author	all editions	calculated
Essl, Mike	Contributor	secondary author	all editions	confirmed
Kidd, Chip	Designer	secondary author	all editions	confirmed
Scudamore, Dan	Photographer	secondary author	all editions	confirmed

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Watchmen (Companion)

Reference guide/companion to

Watchmen by Alan Moore

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Canonical title

Watching the Watchmen: The Definitive Companion to the Ultimate Graphic Novel

Original title

Watching the Watchmen

Alternative titles

Original publication date

2008-10-21

People/Characters

The Comedian (Edward Morgan Blake)

Doctor Manhattan (Jonathan Osterman)

Nite Owl (Daniel Dreiberg)

Ozymandias: Adrian Veidt

Rorschach (Walter Kovacs)

(show all 6 items)

Important places

Important events

Related movies

Watchmen (2009 | IMDb)

Epigraph

Dedication

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Disambiguation notice

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List of Watchmen characters

▾Book descriptions

Enjoy the ultimate companion to a comics masterpiece, as award-winning artist Dave Gibbons gives his own account of the genesis of WATCHMEN in this dust-jacketed hardback volume, opening his vast personal archives to reveal never-published pages, original character designs, page thumbnails, sketches and much more, including posters, covers and rare portfolio art. Featuring the breathtaking design of Chip Kidd and Mike Essl, WATCHING THE WATCHMEN is both a major art book in its own right, and the definitive companion to the graphic novel that changed an industry. Voted among Time magazine's 100 Best Novels from 1923 to the present, a perennial bestseller over the past twenty years and widely considered the greatest graphic novel of all time, WATCHMEN is a gripping, labyrinthine piece of comic art, which has earned an acclaimed place in modern literary history. "I've had a great time, re-visiting the very beginnings of Watchmen and unearthing material I haven't set eyes on for many years. As a fan myself, this is the kind of stuff I eat up and I'm sure the many devotees of the graphic novel will do the same!" says Gibbons. © DC Comics 2008. All Rights Reserved.

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