What do these novels have to do with the overall theme of the course?

As most of you should know by now, I created this blog for my English 103 project. The main themes of the course were "Coming of Age-Identities in Crisis", these themes are seen throughout both the Watchmen and Whatmen novels. In Watchmen, the conflict between the US and Russia causes a Cold War to arise which causes citizens to riot in fear of destruction. This is clearly seen by the people carrying the picket signs throughout the novel as well as the doomsday clock which is at the end of every chapter. This connects to the Identities in Crisis theme because these novels predict how people would react in such disastrous times. The only event that can be compared to those portrayed in Watchmen is the actual Cold War. This is an obvious connection to real life and I believe that Watchmen is just Moore and Gibbons comic book interpretation of the Cold War. Since Whatmen is directly derived from the plot of Watchmen they both share this connection to reality. Both of these texts show Identities of Crisis on a range from a national to a personal level. The national level shows how we react as a country, and although the novel is based in New York City, the newspapers and the articles that are placed throughout the story show that the nation is acting in a very similar way. As a nation, people determined that the Costumed Vigilantes such as those found in the Minutemen and the Crimebusters were too reckless which ultimately leads to the creation and passing of the Keane Act. A personal example that portrays the theme "Identities in Crisis" is the Comedian after he discovers Adrien's island. He obviously knew that what Adrien was doing was morally wrong but did not say anything about it because as crazy as it was, it might actually work. That was the "humor" of his situation that he complained to the Moloch about. This ties to the theme of Identities in Crisis because typically I think that the Comedian can be described as a cocky son of a bitch and after discovering this crisis, his identity changes to become this soft emotional character. It is examples like these that show how Watchmen and Whatmen are tied to the overall course themes.

The second theme that both the Watchmen and the Whatmen are tied to is the "Coming of Age". The best example of this as a whole is actually seen at the climax of the novel, when Adrien uncovers his master plan and releases the alien on NYC killing thousands. This is certainly a coming of age moment as a reader as you realize what lengths Adrien has gone to make sure that his plan went off flawlessly as well as the realization that even though its completely insane, it might work. This is also a coming of age character development moment because as each character begins to understand Adrien's plan, they react differently. The most extreme of these reactions is Rorschach's "I'm going to tell the world" glory moment and the complete opposite which is Doctor Manhattan "coming of age" and completely understands Adrien's implications. A good example of the Coming of Age theme depicted in Watchmen as a nation is the passing of the Keane Act. Although it is also a Identity in Crisis situation, the Coming of Age of this act is also quite notable; it took citizens and politicians a very long time to determine what was right for the country and as time goes on those needs change. So the passing of the Keane act relates to the coming of age because the population took time to determine what was best, or maybe what they thought was best. In the end these costumed "heroes" interfered more than anyone thought possible, for better or for worse that is for you to decide.

What is The Whatmen?

The Whatmen is a 34 page graphic novel which acts as a complete parody to the Watchmen. The satyr that is the Whatmen pokes fun at things as simple as character development by changing their appearance and names. A fantastic example of this is seen in the character Rorschach. If you have read Watchmen already or at least seen the movie, it is pretty obvious that he is a pretty important character and that he is very serious. In the Whatmen novel, his name is revealed to be Nutsack on the first page of the chapter titled "Call My Agent". This is a very important change because it erases the back story that explains why Rorschach chooses to wear a mask that depicts a typical Rorschach test and takes away from his identity. His mask in Whatmen is of a much more comedic nature and instead of being intimidating it is silly, curious and childish. All of the characters had their appearance and name changed in some way much of this information is found on page 2 of the chapter titled "Absolute Friends". Ozymandias who named himself after Ramesses II is renamed as Ozzy Mandious. The Second Nite Owl is renamed as "Hooty the Owl" whose costume consists of some normal clothing, a cape and most noticeably, a brown paper bag as his mask. The Comedians costume is very similar to the original other than the fact that in Whatmen, he is wearing ass-less chaps. These are just a few of the changes of the character changes in the graphic novel "The Whatmen".

The True Purpose of This Blog

This is a more thorough description of what I hope to accomplish by using this blog and although it is repetitive to the blog description, there is new information in the end:

This blog serves as a medium that will allow users to compare and contrast the differences between the Watchmen and the Whatmen graphic novels. Discussions will include the comparison of plot, artwork, character development as well as the themes and will show how these connect to the overall themes of the class which are "Coming of Age-Identities in Crisis". This blog appeals to the audience that are interested in discussing the Watchmen, discovering parodies of the Watchmen or different adaptations of the text.

Thank you for visiting my blog and I hope that you learn a lot about the inner themes of Watchmen and Whatmen and how they relate to the overall themes of "Coming of Age-Identities in Crisis".