Watchmen

Everyone who hasn't heard of Watchmen or seen the film is missing out. This groundbreaking comic by the brilliant team of Alan Moore and Dave Gibbons was published back in the mid 1980's and gave the world and the comic book industry a big kick in the pants. The basic plot of course for all who have not read the graphic novel is as follows: It is 1985, New York City, and it is the height of the Cold War. Everything appears to be following the correct historical time-line, except for one thing, the presence of superheroes. Their presence has drastically altered the events of real world events, including the Vietnam War and Richard Nixon's presidency. The long and short of it is, right at the beginning of the book, the police are investigating the death of Edward Blake, who is revealed upon further investigation by the vigilante Rorschach to have been the government agent and former superhero known as the Comedian. The rest of the book details events in the present, including the other heroes coming out of retirement, and flashbacks to the "glory days" of the heroes before they were outlawed in the mid 70's due a law passed in Congress that outlawed superheroes. The film version of the comic does not disappoint either, despite the filmmakers having to change the ending to seem more believable to non-comic book audiences, and many of the minor supporting characters roles being downsized to make the movie flow. The dvd and Blu-Ray Directors Cut includes great bonus features, but the Ultimate Cut has way more bonus features to satisfy fans. Whichever version you get, be sure to read the graphic novel first, that way you can understand this amazing story more.