The Watchmen is a legendary 12 issue comic created by writer Alan Moore and artist Dave Gibbons, the same men behind the comic V for Vendetta.
Watchmen was a watershed comic because it brought the medium out of its adolescence and into maturity. The characters are exceptionally complicated, the story is intricate, and the themes and morality of the book tend to hover in an extremely gray area.
The story is about a few former superheroes in America a slightly altered version of 1980s America. The key differences are that Richard Nixon is President, there are superheroes (although only one of them has powers), and the Cold War tensions are running much higher than they actually were. The American people are extremely fearful of the superheroes and a law was passed in 1977 banning their activity. The few that remain in their line of work are either renegades or operating under government contract.
At it’s core, Watchmen is a gritty “who dun-it” murder mystery.
The book also deals with the unanswerable question, “Who’s watching the watchmen.” – As in, who is overseeing the actions of our police, government, and superheroes. Who keeps tabs on those who have power and authority that extend further than most of your typical citizens.
I would say more, but I have no interest in giving away the story. I strongly recommend you read the graphic novel. However, if you aren’t so keen on that idea, you can still get your Watchmen fix on March 6, 2009 when the big budget film hits theaters. Check out the latest trailer:
I was apprehensive about the cinemazation of Watchmen, but everything that I have read about director Zack Snyder’s (300) take on the characters indicates that he gets the characters and the story.
On March 6th, you can find me in my local movie theater. I’ll be watching the Watchmen.
The Geek Whisperer 
i’m pretty sure i need to re-read this so i can finally start to understand the hype.