TIME Magazine's All-Time 100 Novels

The only graphic novel to appear on TIME's All-Time 100 Novels is the 'Watchmen' (1986)by Alan Moore & Dave Gibbons. Here is their synopsis of the graphic novel:

"Watchmen is a graphic novel—a book-length comic book with ambitions above its station—starring a ragbag of bizarre, damaged, retired superheroes: the paunchy, melancholic Nite Owl; the raving doomsayer Rorschach; the blue, glowing, near-omnipotent, no-longer-human Doctor Manhattan. Though their heyday is past, these former crime-fighters are drawn back into action by the murder of a former teammate, The Comedian, which turns out to be the leading edge of a much wider, more disturbing conspiracy. Told with ruthless psychological realism, in fugal, overlapping plotlines and gorgeous, cinematic panels rich with repeating motifs, Watchmen is a heart-pounding, heartbreaking read and a watershed in the evolution of a young medium.—L.G. "

• TIME's All-Time 100 Novels : Watchmen

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Watchmen Wallpaper

The iconic 'Watchmen' smiley face wallpaper.

Cast of the Watchmen

Zach Snyder at Comic-con 2008

Here's a few casting notes released this week. The Watchmen is being directed by Zach Snyder who also helmed the smash hit '300.'

Patrick Wilson ... The Night Owl

Billy Crudup ... Jon Osterman/Dr. Manhattan

Jackie Earle Haley ... Walter Kovacs/Rorschach

Jeffrey Dean Morgan ... The Comedian

Malin Akerman ... Laurie Juspeczyk/The Silk Spectre

The Watchmen Movie Site

The Watchmen Movie Site is officially up with a brief synopsis and cast listing. Here's a sample storyline:

"Watchmen is set in 1985, in an alternative history United States where costumed adventurers are real and the country is edging closer to a nuclear war with the Soviet Union (the Doomsday Clock is at five minutes to midnight). It tells the story of a group of past and present superheroes and the events surrounding the mysterious murder of one of their own. Watchmen depicts superheroes as real people who must confront ethical and personal issues, who struggle with neuroses and failings, and who - with one notable exception - lack anything recognizable as super powers. Watchmen's deconstruction of the conventional superhero rchetype, combined with its innovative adaptation of cinematic techniques and heavy use of symbolism, multi-layered dialogue, and metafiction, has influenced both comics and film. "