by Alan Moore (undifferentiated)
First published 2013
The Comedian lies dead in his apartment, thrown from a window in what appears to be murder. His former colleague Rorschach investigates the killing, convinced someone is systematically targeting costumed heroes. In this alternate 1985, America won Vietnam thanks to Dr. Manhattan, a godlike being with nuclear powers, while Richard Nixon continues his presidency into a third term. The Cold War threatens global destruction as Rorschach reunites with his old teammates: the gadget-wielding Nite Owl, the second-generation Silk Spectre, the brilliant Ozymandias, and the increasingly detached Dr. Manhattan. What begins as a simple murder case expands into a vast conspiracy that could reshape the world. Each hero must confront their own moral boundaries as they uncover a plot that challenges everything they believe about heroism, sacrifice, and the greater good.
Genres: science-fiction, dystopia, crime, action, comics, alternate-history
Vibes: dark, emotional, suspenseful, thought-provoking
Tropes: found-family, moral-ambiguity, unreliable-narrator
Setting: America, Vietnam
Period: 1985, Cold War
448 pages · Hardcover · DC Comics
Content warnings: graphic-violence, murder, violence