”We mustn’t complain too much of being comedians. It’s an honourable profession. If only we could be good ones the world might gain at least a sense of style. We have failed - that’s all. We are bad comedians, we aren’t bad men.” -
The Comedians by Graham Greene
The image used on the cover is almost always repeated in the first and last panels of the issue. It also represents the underlying theme of said issue. This is the first appearance of the infamous blood-stained smiley-face. The blood stain mirrors the hands of a clock which is another important symbol.
Page 1Alan Moore was notorious for the excessively detailed amounts of description he used in his scripts. He’d write out several pages just to describe one single panel. His script for the first issue (which was only 22 pages) was over a hundred pages. One of the innovative things he and Dave Gibbons used was borrowing techniques from film to make the comic more cinematic. The first page shows the ‘camera’ zooming away from the smiley face button and past Blake's apartment.
Moore and Gibbons, for the most part, use a 9 panel structure and only rarely open up the images. This allows the reader to truly pay attention to the story & art without disrupting the flow of reading by a confusing or varying layout. It also lulls the reader into a false sense of security thus adding to the impact when the structure switches significantly.
Panel 1 - The blood splatter on the sidewalk mirrors the blood stain on button.
Panel 3 - First appearance of the “End is Nigh” sign guy.
Panel 4 - “They could have followed in the footsteps of good men…”
The narration takes new meaning now that we know sign guy is Rorschach who holds a great amount of respect for the Comedian. Just as he’s tracking his own footsteps through Blake’s blood.
Page 2Panel 1 - First appearances of Detectives Fine and Bourquin, the Rosencrantz and Guildenstern of
Watchmen. The world of
Watchmen is filled with a lot of ancillary characters that show us the ‘man on the street’ point of view in this insane world of superheroes and imminent nuclear holocaust. They add another layer of subtext to the story as well.
Panel 2 - “That would take TWO guys or one guy on serious drugs…”
Or one guy at the peak of human physical condition…
Panel 5 – First appearance of Edward Blake, AKA The Comedian. During the genesis of this project, Moore had toyed with the idea of using the Archie Comics’ stable of superheroes including the patriotically themed Shield. Later, Moore pitched DC the idea of using the Carlton Comics characters (which DC had purchased) under the title of
Who Killed the Peacemaker? The story would center around the murder of the Peacemaker, a pacifist who so believed in peace he was willing to go to war for it. Blake would not hold such an altruistic motive. Moore eventually created his own stable of original characters when DC realized he’d render the Carlton crew ‘unusable.’
The Comedian’s name comes from the Graham Greene novel,
The Comedians, about Francois Duvalier’s brutal dictatorship in Haiti. Greene was known for his blunt critique of American foreign policy including their involvement in Vietnam (read
The Quiet American or view the film version starring Michael Caine & Brendan Fraser). Blake is definitely a representation of the darker side of American history.
Panel 6 - Det. Fine stares into a broken mirror image. This whole comic is essentially a shattered image of the traditional superhero comic book.
Panel 7 – Another important recurring image, close-up of a pair of hands clasping onto someone or something. The positioning of the hands is similar to the positioning of the hands on the Doomsday Clock. It’s also similar to the way one might hold a comic book.
Page 3Panel 1 - Blake is kicked in the ribs while he lays face first in a pool of his own blood. Poetic justice for what he did to Sally Jupiter when they were Minutemen.
Panel 6 - Notice the wacky looking pipe and hat of the elevator operator. Another example of the level of detail Moore & Gibbons went into by designing alternative fashions and accoutrements.
Panel 7 - Recurring theme, the intercutting between two scenes while the narration overlaps into the second scene providing ironic commentary.
Page 4Panel 3 – Bubblegum blowing kid is reading a copy of
Tales of the Black Freighter. More on that later. The newspaper headline behind him reads, ‘Vietnam 51st State.’
Panel 5 – First appearance of the Gunga Diner. The wacky cars all run on electricity in this world thanks to Dr. Manhattan. You can see Kovacs on the other end of the sidewalk as he approaches the detectives.
Panel 7 – The hands on Kovacs’ watch are in a similar position to the Doomsday Clock’s. These last two panels read very differently after we learn Rorschach’s identity.
Page 5Panel 1 – This is the exact same street corner from the previous panel with only the characters removed. This is another recurring theme using similar images as transitions from scene to scene. Ad on the side of the building for Mmeltdowns candy.
Page 6
First appearance of Rorschach who was based on the Carlton character, the Question, as well as the independently owned Mr. A. Both were created by Steve Ditko, co-creator of Spider-Man with Stan Lee. Ditko was a firm believer in Ayn Rand’s Objectivism which defined good and evil in terms of clear black and white. Both Question and Mr. A were followers of Objectivism though the latter was far more fanatical. The Mr. A comics were surreal, preachy, and quite brutal in their depiction of crime and punishment. Both characters wore a suit, fedora, and a unique mask to hide their face. The Question with a blank face, Mr. A with an expressionless metal mask. Rorschach is similar in dress, wearing a trenchcoat, purple pinstripe suit, and a mask made of two layers of white latex with an ever-changing blot of ink in between. The mask informing Rorschach’s worldview, black and white constantly shifting, but never mixing.
The title, ‘At Midnight, All the Agents’ is taken from the Bob Dylan song, “Desolation Row,” the last track off the album
Highway 61 Revisited. revisiting, nostalgia, song is bleak. “Desolation Row” was covered by My Chemical Romance and played over the end credits of the
Watchmen film. The song is referenced again at the end of the issue.
Page 8I should point out that the last four pages contain no thought bubbles or sound effects. In fact, they aren’t used at all throughout the series. Comic book staples, the thought bubbles and effects have only recently become passé. In any other comic, the writer would have put in thought bubbles over Rorschach’s head saying, “Hurm…something behind this closet. I must investigate further…Great Scott! This man Blake was the costumed vigilante, the Comedian.”
Panel 7 – This photo gives us our first glance at the Minutemen.
Page 9Panel 1 – The original Nite-Owl.
Panel 3 – Here are both versions of Nite-Owl, Dan Dreiberg with an elderly Hollis Mason. Nite-Owl is loosely based on the Carlton character, the Blue Beetle. The original Beetle was Dan Garret, a police officer who took up costumed crime fighting. He was succeeded by Ted Kord who used his scientific skills to develop a wide arsenal of gadgets including an airship in the form of a beetle. Mason and Dreiberg have similar origins. Notice the clock on the fireplace mantle.
Panel 4 – The Nite-Owl statuette pops up again and again in several important ways. The three masks are of similar design to the Comedian’s S&M mask. Novels on the shelf are 2 copies of ‘Under the Hood’, a book on cars, and Philip Wylie’s
Gladiator. Wylie’s novel was about Hugo Danner, born with super-strength and bulletproof skin. Rather than immediately deciding to fight crime, he simply wishes to live his life only to be met with fear and suspicion. There’s a belief that the novel was influential in Siegel and Shuster’s creation of Superman.
Panel 7 – First glimpse of the graffiti slogan, “Who watches the watchmen?” First mention of the band Pale Horse (as in ‘Death rides a…’).
Panel 8 – The motto of Mason’s Auto Repairs is the very poignant, “Obsolete models a specialty.”
Page 10Panel 1 - The song playing on the boombox is “Neighborhood Threat” by Iggy Pop off the album,
Lust For Life. The track follows the song? “Turn Blue.” This is also our first glimpse of the Knot-Tops street gang.
Panel 8 – Label on the can says, Heinz 58. Evidently, in the Watchmen world, they have one more variety than we do.
Page 11Panel 5 – The Sweet Chariot sugar cubes pop up a couple more times as Rorschach flips a bunch into his pocket. Even sociopathic vigilantes have a sweet tooth.
Page 12Panels 3-5 – Just like the real Rorschach test, you can read whatever you want into the expressions on Rorschach’s mask.
Page 13
Panel 5 - One of the more iconic images of
Watchmen which is basically a half-page penis reference. Dan, in his civilian attire, sits there, slumped over and limp while his costume stands tall and rigid.
Page 14Panel 4 – Stick with Dick in ’84 flyer hangs in the window below. Our first reference to Nixon still being president.
Panel 5 – ‘Congress Approves Lunar Silos.’ The U.S. is growing really ballsy if they’re planning to put nukes on the moon.
Page 17Panel 1 – The Chrysler Building in the background is dwarfed by Veidt’s skyscraper. There’s a Geodesic dome beneath it, further evidence of the drastic changes in
Watchmen world. There are three total in this version of New York City.
Panel 3 – First appearance of Adrian Veidt, AKA Ozymandias. Veidt is loosely based on Peter Cannon, Thunderbolt. Another Carlton character, Cannon was raised in a Tibetan monastery and used Eastern mysticism and philosophy to hone his body and mind to perfection. Because of Veidt’s proficient fighting skills, I always mistakenly believed he was based on Judomaster. Veidt has given up his costumed alter-ego in order to build a vast corporate empire. I’ll have more on Ozymandias’s origin when we get to the penultimate issue.
I might be reading too much into it, but Rorschach actually takes his hat off in Adrian’s presence. Maybe it was just wet or maybe, despite their difference of opinion, Rorschach holds a certain amount of respect for Ozy? He certainly didn’t take his hat off for his best pal, Dreiberg.
There’s a fascinating dichotomy between these two characters. Rorschach has an unwavering black and white view of the world. He has a one-track mind where his entire crime fighting modus operandi appears to be to visit the same seedy bar and break somebody’s finger in order to gain information. He’s tackling crime one rapist after another. Veidt has effectively moved into shades of gray. He’s also a lateral thinker by taking into account the big picture and initiating a Byzantine plot to save the world.
Panel 7 – There’s an irony to all the Nazi talk as Adrian is the Aryan ideal of genetic superiority. He's blonde, blue-eyed, and is the peak of human perfection in intelligence and physicality. There is a mild implication that Adrian’s parents may have been Nazis or, at least, Nazi collaborators. I know Matthew Goode made that leap in creating the backstory to his character for the
Watchmen film. He assumed Adrian gave away his wealth out of guilt and even had a hint of a German accent which he let slip during the final confrontation.
Panel 8 – Now that we know Veidt is the big bad, the look on his face probably means he’s thought up about a 100 different ways to take out Rorschach.
Page 18Panel 4 – Headlines read, ‘Nuclear Doomsday Clock Stands at Five to Twelve Warn Experts.’ And ‘Geneva Talks: U.S. Refuse to Discuss Dr. Manhattan’
Page 19Panel 1 – The logo resembles the Superman ‘S’
Panels 2 & 3 – Rorschach runs down the sad fates that befell the original superheroes which I'll get to next issue.
Page 20Panel 1 – First appearance of Dr. Manhattan, the only super-powered human being in the world, and his girlfriend, Laurie Jupiter, Silk Spectre II.
Page 23Panel 9 – Another knowing look that takes new meaning upon second reading. Jon seems to already know that Dan and Laurie will wind up with each other.
Page 24Panel 1 – The ‘Who Watches the Watchmen’ graffiti tag appears again. Written on the fence are ‘Krystalnacht,’ a fictional band in the
Watchmen world. Like Joy Division, their name originates from Nazi nomenclature. The name actually plays a role in the final issue. Another graffiti tag, ‘One in Eight Go Mad.’ Not sure what the vandal originally meant by the phrase, but there were eight Minutemen, one of whom (Mothman) was sent to a mental institution.
Panel 4 – In the second floor window, we see the silhouette of two lovers embracing, another recurring image.
Panel 9 – Nixon campaign poster from last year’s election
Page 25Panel 4 – The woman on the left has a knot-top hairdo so it isn’t only a gang trademark. She’s ordering a four-legged chicken, a subtle sign of the advancements made in genetic engineering. The woman in the right corner has Egyptian style eye-makeup. No doubt influenced by the rise in popularity of Adrian Veidt. Some people have speculated that the two men behind her are actually Hooded Justice and Capt. Metropolis who faked their deaths. Dave Gibbons said that wasn’t his intention.
Page 26
Captain Carnage is the first mention of the highly sexualized nature of superhero outfits. Uniforms as costume fetish wear.
The ‘camera’ pulls away from the smiley face button just like the first page.
Panel 8 – “At midnight, all the agents and superhuman crew, go out and round up everyone who knows more than they do.”
I also found the following lyrics to be very relevant to
Watchmen:
Yes, I received your letter yesterday
About the time the door knob broke
When you asked how I was doing
Was that some kind of joke?
All these people that you mention
Yes, I know them, they’re quite lame
I had to rearrange their faces
And give them all another name
Right now I can’t read too good
Don’t send me no more letters no
Not unless you mail them
From Desolation RowPage 27The first of many supplemental materials. I probably wasn’t the only one who skimmed through the prose pieces or skipped them entirely. If you did, you’re missing out on some important details.
Hollis Mason, a former superhero and auto mechanic, has appropriately titled his autobiography,
Under the Hood. The death of Moe Vernon sums up the ludicrous tragedy of the Minutemen and their successors. “Ride of the Valkyries” is used in the film in a more
Apocalypse Now fashion as the giant Dr. Manhattan stomps through the Vietnam jungle. Mason seems to have had the truest, most simplistic reasons for dressing up as a superhero. He was a cop as well as a fan of the pulp heroes and later the first costumed superhero, Superman. The same goes for Dreiberg who represents the fanboy in all of us, having grown up admiring Mason as well as birds and mythology.
"I'd never been entirely sure what Lamont Cranston was up to with Margo Lane, but I'd bet it was nowhere near as innocent and wholesome as Clark Kent's relationship with her namesake Lois."Nostalgia isn't just a perfume, it's another major theme of
Watchmen even if it is misplaced. Like most people, Dreiberg and Mason look back on the old days with fondness and think how much better things were. However, Moore turns those idyllic days on their head by showing how messed up the classic heroes actually were and not just in
Watchmen. Looking back on a lot of those Golden Age comics, they all aren't quite as innocent as people think. In his earliest appearances, Batman would brutally dispatch criminals, snapping their necks or dumping them into a vat of acid. Wonder Woman stories had a lot of weird S&M, bondage stuff. As for Superman and Lois Lane's innocent relationship, all you have to do is browse
Superdickery to see how messed up those
Superman's Girlfriend, Lois Lane comics were. And I haven't even mentioned the racism or passe social morays.
Back PageThe Doomsday Clock is at 11:48 and counts down with each subsequent issue.
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