The Watchmen, by Alan Moore

I don't normally read comic books, but The Watchmen was supposed to have a great plot so I took a chance on it.  Having finished it, now I'm thinking I missed the qualifier:  a great plot for a comic book.  The book started with an interesting mystery--who killed a former super hero--but then went on and on about other former super heroes and their lives.  There was a lot of filler in the middle and I didn't even know what the story was about until almost the end.  The conclusion did have a master plan with a villain, but it wasn't set up with the plot building up to it in steps.

Even with a lot of back-story, I never cared much about any of the characters.  Perhaps it's because I didn't really know what they were fighting for.

If this is the best that comic books can deliver, I'll stick with regular fiction.