Review: Rorschach #1
- WRITER
- Tom King
- Artist
- Jorge Fornés
- Letterer
- Clayton Cowles
- Cover Artist
- Brian Bolland, Jae Lee, Jorge Fornés, Mitch Gerads
- Publisher
- DC Comics
- Price
- 4.99
- Release Date
- 2020-10-13
- Colorist
- Dave Stewart
The latest title on DC Black Label, DC Comics' mature reader-oriented publishing imprint, is a continuation of the world created in Watchmen, the seminal comic book created by Alan Moore and Dave Gibbons, this time focused on one of the key characters, Rorschach. Set in the present-day, the 12-issue series has a new masked figure appear in the familiar guise of the satirical world's iconic antihero. Teased as a reactionary story in response to current events and the volatile political landscape of the country, Tom King and Jorge Fornés' opening issue to their own maxi-series immediately establishes Rorschach as very much a departure from the tone and style that Moore and Gibbons had created to very much craft its own take on the fan-favorite comic book universe.
Set 35 years after the end of Moore and Gibbons' classic story, Rorschach opens on the presidential election trail, with the sudden, murderous reappearance of the masked antihero at a campaign rally in Los Angeles. With a growing body count, political intrigue at the highest levels and unsolved mysteries stretching back to the Watchmen Universe's past, one investigator finds himself exploring the life and times of Walter Kovacs and the bloody legacy that he has evidently left behind in the present.
Much of Tom King's previous work has been visibly influenced by and includes direct references to Alan Moore's work, from The Omega Men to his lengthy Batman run. Interestingly, Rorschach -- at least judging from its debut issue -- appears to be the least evocative of Moore's work, in regards to themes and tone, while ostensibly serving as a direct extension to it. This isn't to say that it invalidates or distances itself from the classic 1985 comic book story or its Emmy Award-winning television continuation but it feels very much like its own thing; this isn't so much a superhero deconstruction as it is a political thriller and a noir-tinged mystery. King isn't particularly interested in retreading the same narrative ground as Moore and Gibbons as he is using it as a canvas to paint his own personal take on that world while reflecting modern times.
And that distinction is reinforced and elevated by Jorge Fornés, joined by colorist Dave Stewart. Rorschach's visuals make the proceedings feel like a hard-boiled pulp adventure set in the shadows of the City of Angels, with more muted tones than the saturated visuals from the previous story by Gibbons and colorist John Higgins. A lot of this opening issue is told in retrospect, examining the mysterious, violent reappearance of Rorschach but the art team manages to hold the reader's attention in the midst of an abundance of exposition. And with a brutal action sequence serving as a centerpiece for the issue, Fornés is able to really cut loose with an unflinching, bone-crunching fight that reflects a theme of consequence in contrast to the usual world of caped and cowled heroes.
Readers looking for a direct sequel or continuation to Alan Moore and Dave Gibbons' landmark story won't necessarily find it here. Reverential of the work that came before it without being beholden to it, Tom King and Jorge Fornés have instead crafted their own personal story within the Watchmen Universe that follows a conspiracy theory poised to unravel American society as its characters know it, with Rorschach's legacy smack dab in the middle.
Knowing Walter Kovacs, the masked antihero wouldn't have it any other way.