One of the world's most acclaimed graphic novels has been transferred to Blu-ray which has been directly transcribed from Alan Moore and David Gibbon's 12-part mini-series about the tarnished world of superheroes.

The story is set during the 80's in an alternate universe where Richard Nixon is serving his fourth term as president, thanks to the efforts of Doctor Manhattan, a powerful superhero who changed the tides of the Vietnam War.

Although the world of heroes was not always so grim and gritty and before them was the Golden Age, a group of American heroes who combated evil during World War II, however these heroes were also tarnished which leads to the premise of "Who Watches the Watchmen?".

The story begins with the death of the Comedian, one of the first heroes in America who was unceremoniously thrown out the window of his high rise apartment. From here, one of the few active heroes named Rorschach is investigating this murder and believes that the target of this killer are former heroes.

Through his investigation, he manages to reinspire Dan Dreiberg to take on the cowl of Night Owl again and Laurie Juspeczyk as the Silk Spectre, however there most powerful member, Dr. Manhattan is beyond the realm of human involvement even though someone is pulling his strings. Lastly, there is Ozymandias, an immortal who has turned his back on the world heroics and has become a corporate force which thoroughly disgusts Rorschach to the core.

The series was extremely well written and was recently turned into a fully fledged motion picture thanks to director Zack Snyder. Unlike the movie, this current instalment uses the original drawings from the graphic novel that is complimented with some basic animation to assist in making this story come to life and needless to say, it comes together perfectly, thanks to the involvement of the original artist, David Gibbons. It should also be noted that the tone of the story is quite dark in terms of issues such as homosexuality, rape and even racism.

In terms of the transfer to Blu-ray, there are even some basic special effects in the movie such as Rorschach's forever moving mask which only draws you in even more. The comic is narrated by Tom Stechschulte who does all the voices in the adaptation which is at times like listening to an old radio broadcast.

It would have been nice if some others were involved in the voices because his interpretation of the female characters sounds a little tacky at the best but nevertheless, it somehow works.

Featuring all 12 issues of the comic, The Watchmen: The Complete Motion Comic is truly an amazing experience that looks fantastic on Blu-ray, thanks to the high definition transfer that makes reading the comic a flawless experience.

The colours are vibrant, the blacks are deep and the detail is quite awe-inspiring. This presentation also supports Dolby Digital 5.1 and only adds to the narration of Tom Stechschulte that is matched with music and sound effects that in turn makes this comic come thoroughly alive.

When it comes to extras, this presentation features a small featurette about the Zack Snyder adaptation of the movie and a preview of Bruce Timm's brilliant Wonder Woman movie which is nice, however some interviews with Gibbons and Moore would have been more enjoyable, alas this was not to be.

In conclusion, if you enjoyed the movie and want to delve more into the history and story of the Watchmen, then I would highly recommend this Blu-ray which goes just over 5 hours of pure unadulterated entertainment.