The Form of Conflict Toward Power Authority on Superhero Graphic Novel: Semiotic Analysis on The Watchmen Graphic Novel

TLDR: In this article, the authors used the semiotic analysis method defined by Roland Barthes to analyze the Watchmen comic book series and found that many themes and myths can be found in the graphic novel, which help to mould the underlying ideologies which form the narrative foundations of each plotline.

Abstract: This article elaborates upon the idea of the conflict with a power authority in a graphic novels, using the semiotic analysis method defined by Roland Barthes. It will highlight the denotation, connotation and myths of the visual signs and words. This is a piece of qualitative research and  uses constructivism as the paradigm. Primary data is taken from every chapter of the Watchmen graphic novel published during the course of 1986. Until now, The Watchmen was the only graphic novel that received a Hugo Award, a worldwide acknowledgement of this genre/format as a new form of art literature. Many themes and myths can be found in the graphic novel, which help to mould the underlying ideologies which form the narrative foundations of each plotline, and this article demonstrates how the genre can be read as a form of mass communication that itself promotes conflict todawds power authority.