BW Media Spotlight

I tried getting myself to re-read the previous issue. I wondered if reading it as intended rather than the way I read it to review it if I might get a better experience. I don’t think I would. Maybe the constant character switching would be less jarring but the story itself wouldn’t change. It’s still not the superhero experience I wanted. Still, it made me do this issue a bit different. I usually like to do the intro before the review, like I do with Chapter By Chapter, give my thoughts going into the comic. I probably could have still, but I opted to read the chapter first this time, since we’re focusing on one character: Rorschach.

Rorschach is an interesting figure in discussing Watchmen. For Alan Moore he’s the baddie in this story. Maybe not evil, but you can tell from the story how much he hates the character. Rorschach was originally going to be The Question, specifically the original Charlton version by Steve Ditko. If you only know Vic Sage from Justice League Unlimited, you don’t know Ditko’s creation. Having read the old Charlton adventures Vic was very outspoken in his own identity as a news commentator. Yes, they had those before the 24 hour news cycle needed something to fill in time. Ditko was inspired by the writings of Ayn Rand, and for a far-leaning liberal like Moore that had to be the worst kind of character…and back in the 1980s that wasn’t even as left-leaning as some of the more extreme views today. (This is the end of the political commentary outside of examining the character himself.) So Moore wants us to hate Rorschach.

This is not what has happened, at least not by the people I follow who discuss Watchmen. To them, Rorschach is the hero of the story. He’s the only one investigating the murder. He’s the only one fighting crime because he feels it’s the right thing to do. His hero-worship of the Comedian is off-putting as is his brutal nature, so that puts me off. However, he actually believe in good and evil, right and wrong, and wanting to clean up the criminal underworld. I disagree with his methods and the specifics of his worldview, but I kind of see why some comic commentators see him as the real hero. You may not agree with the assessment by the time we’re done, but you may understand it.

Watchmen #6

DC Comics (February, 1987)

“The Abyss Gazes Also”

WRITER: Alan Moore

ARTIST/LETTERER: Dave Gibbons

COLORIST: John Higgins

EDITOR: Len Wein

Continue reading →