Writer Tom King and artist Jorge Fornés' upcoming Rorschach comic book series is one that places the eponymous Watchmen character in the present day. In the third and most recent issue of DC Connect, King spoke to exactly why he feels the character if Rorschach is perfect for the current sociopolitical climate.
In the issue, King was asked how a character like Rorschach -- "who has really only existed in one time period" (the 1980s) -- has relevance to him in 2020. "Things are crazy right now," the writer replied. "I mean, it's insane; it's driving people insane. And we have to talk about it; we have to try and make things that are as good as all that's bad out there is bad, or else we'll just surrender to it, and who wants to do that, who has the time to do that?
"The language of Rorschach is a language you can tell a story about a world like this in," King continued. "It doesn't work with Superman and Batman. Those are the wrong words. But Rorschach, he can talk to it, he can describe it, he can write it on a sign and march it down the street past all the heroes ignoring the truth that's in front of them. The only way to write Rorschach is to be relevant."
Rorschach, who ultimately perished in Alan Moore and Dave Gibbons' original Watchmen graphic novel, is known for his moral absolutism and fringe political views -- with Moore later explaining that he wrote the character as what he thinks costumed vigilantes would be in real life: "[I]f you're a revenge-driven vigilante, you're not quite right in the head."
Of course, King and Fornés' comic is not the first work to tackle the character's values from a modern perspective, with HBO's Watchmen television series -- which also takes place three decades after the original comic -- revealing that Rorschach's journal went on to inspire the white supremacist organization known as the Seventh Kavalry. King acknowledged the series when his new comic was first announced, saying, "Like the HBO Watchmen show and very much like the original '86 Watchmen, this is a very political work. It's an angry work. We're so angry all the time now. We have to do something with that anger. It's called Rorschach not because of the character Rorschach, but because what you see in these characters tells you more about yourself than about them."
Rorschach was technically also featured in DC Comics' own recent Watchmen sequel, Doomsday Clock. However, the version of Rorschach in that comic is revealed to be Reggie Long, as -- once again -- the original version, Walter Kovacs, died in the original graphic novel. The synopsis for the new Rorschach series says the vigilante "reappears" after 35 years, though does not explicitly state if Kovacs himself has been resurrected somehow. The full synopsis can be found below.
It's been 35 years since Ozymandias was exposed for dropping a giant telepathic squid on New York City, killing thousands and ending the public's trust in heroes once and for all. The Minutemen are gone; only their memory lives on. Especially the infamy of Rorschach, who has become a cultural icon since Dr. Manhattan turned him to dust.
Rorschach may have spoken truth, but he wasn't a hero...
So what does it mean when Rorschach reappears as part of a pair of assassins trying to kill the first candidate to oppose President Robert Redford in decades? Follow one determined detective as he walks backward in time, uncovering the identities and motives of the would-be killers, taking him deep into a dark conspiracy of alien invasions, disgraced do-gooders, mystical visions, and yes, comic books.
Written by Tom King and illustrated by Jorge Fornés, Rorschach #1 goes on sale Oct. 13 from DC Comics.