Quote Originally Posted by Wikipedia
Watchmen is set in 1985, in an alternate 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 eleven 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.
I made another thread over here so we can discuss the awesomeness of the graphic novels without spoiling it for the movie goers.

A lot of you guys seem to have already read this. Discuss away!

Link to full series