HUGO AWARD WINNER A NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER. In an alternate America, a murder mystery evolves into an ominous, planet-wide conspiracy in a world where superheroes shifted the course of history as we know it. The Absolute edition of the groundbreaking masterpiece from comics legends Alan Moore & Dave Gibbons that took apart the infallible superhero archetype, forever changing graphic storytelling. It s the 1980s The United States has emerged victorious in the Vietnam War, Richard Nixon remains in office, and the Cold War rages on. Superheroes have been outlawed, with some going into retirement, some becoming government agents, and still others turning to vigilantism. And an unknown assassin is stalking a group of heroes who ve fallen from grace, plagued by all-too-human failings. After this scattered team Rorschach, Nite Owl, Silk Spectre, Dr. Manhattan, and Ozymandias comes together to mourn a friend, they discover that the murder is part of a larger plot to upend the fragile geo-political balance and spread calamity across the world. This Absolute Edition of Watchmen is a must for collectors. It presents all 12 issues in a beautiful, oversized volume with a slipcase and a ribbon bookmark. Each page of art has been restored and recolored by WildStorm FX and original series colorist John Higgins and approved by Gibbons to appear as originally intended. Also included are 48 pages of supplemental material produced exclusively for the Graphitti Designs Watchmen hardcover edition and not seen since their original publication. You ll find a cornucopia of rare and historically valuable treasures, including samples of Moore's Watchmen scripts, the original Watchmen proposal, Gibbons' conceptual art, cover roughs, and much, much more! 'A landmark in the graphic novel medium.' Time Magazine. 'Watchmen is peerless.' Rolling Stone.