what is watchmen about

Watchmen is a comic book maxiseries by the British creative team of writer Alan Moore, artist Dave Gibbons, and colorist John Higgins. It was published monthly by DC Comics in 1986 and 1987 before being collected in a single-volume edition in 1987. The story is primarily concerned with who keeps the people with the most power in check, and it made its intentions clear right from the beginning. The main characters are superheroes who must confront ethical and personal issues, who struggle with neuroses and failings, and who—with one notable exception—are not invulnerable. The story begins with a murder-mystery before unfolding into a planet-altering conspiracy: when a retired hero is killed, his former teammates must investigate. The conspiracy they uncover will entwine their secret traumas and twisted psychologies, ultimately asking where the fine line is drawn between heroes and villains. The series ironic self-awareness of the genre "all mark out Watchmen either as the last key superhero text, or the first in a new maturity of the genre". The story is rich, daring, and intelligent, and it has made fans of everyone from film directors Zack Snyder and Darren Aronofsky to the writers on Lost. In 2009, Watchmen was adapted into a movie, which was a faithful adaptation of Alan Moores graphic novel.