Moore ya ce an tsara Watchmen don a karanta "sau hudu ko biyar", tare da wasu hanyoyin haɗi da kuma alamomi kawai sun zama bayyane ga mai karatu bayan da aka karanta da yawa. Dave Gibbons ya lura cewa, "[a] ya ci gaba, Watchmen ya zama mafi yawan game da labarin da ya fada fiye da labarin kanta. Babban abin da labarin ya shafi abin da ake kira macguffin, gimmick... don haka ba da gaske ba shi da ma'anar ma'anar ma'anar... ba kawai abin da muka samu game da comics ba. Kamar yadda babu wani kafofin watsa labaru da zai iya aiki ba, "kuma ya jaddada wannan ta hanyar jaddada bambance-bambance tsakanin comics da fim. Moore ya ce an tsara Watchmen ne don a karanta" sau hudu ko sau biyar, "tare da wasu hanyoyin haɗi da alamomi kawai sun zama bayyane ga mai karatu bayan karatun da yawa.
Shekarar 1986