Watchmen is a superhero comic book series based in the United States and the United Kingdom. Written by Alan Moore, illustrated by Dave Gibbons, and colored by John Higgins, the British creative team DC Comics released it in 1986 and 1987. In 1987, it was compiled into an one volume edition. ¹⁾

Watchmen grew out of a plot concept Moore made to DC employing superhero characters obtained from Charlton Comics. ²⁾

Moore's proposed story would have rendered many of the characters unusable in subsequent stories. Instead, Moore was persuaded to develop fresh characters by managing editor Dick Giordano. ³⁾

Moore utilized the novel to reflect on modern fears as well as to deconstruct and parody the superhero notion. ⁴⁾

Watchmen presents a different timeline in which superheroes first appeared in the 1940s and 1960s. Because of their presence, the United States won the Vietnam War and the Watergate break-in was never revealed. ⁵⁾