William David Lee, ESQ.

"...and the people bowed and prayed...to the neon god they made." - "The Sound of Silence" by Simon & Garfunkel


The radiation sign is this issue’s recurring theme. Cut off it spells, ‘Allout Helter.’ Further cut off by the smoke it spells, ‘All Hel.’

Page 1
Panel 1 – ‘I saw the ship’s black sails against the Yellow Indies sky…’ Thus begins the comic-within-the-comic, the EC-inspired Tales of the Black Freighter. With society disillusioned by the existence of real superheroes, they wouldn’t care to read comic books about them. In real life, a glut of superheroes flooded the market following World War II after paper rationing was ended. Combined with the rise in popularity of crime and horror comics (particularly those published by EC), led to the death of the superhero and the end of the Golden Age of comics with only Superman, Batman, and Wonder Woman staying in publication. They’d be revived in the late 50’s with the creation of Barry Allen, the Silver Age Flash. The character of Dr. Manhattan acts as an embodiment of the Silver Age of comics which I’ll get into next issue.


Gibbons pitched the idea of pirate comics and Alan Moore, being a huge fan of Bertolt Brecht and his Threepenny Opera went with it. The song, “Pirate Jenny,” is included on the Watchmen soundtrack. Threepenny Opera plays a huge role in the upcoming third volume of League of Extraordinary Gentlemen. Pirate Jenny is re-imagined as the rebellious daughter of Captain Nemo.

The black on yellow radiation sign is alluded to in the opening lines of the comic.

Panel 3 – The first mention of missing comic book writer Max Shea. He appears on the cover of The New Frontiersman, an extremely right-wing news magazine.

Panel 4 – First appearances of the Bernies. The pair act as a sort-of chorus for the comic with the older Bernie being particularly perceptive of the goings-on, even if he isn’t fully aware of it. Copies of Nova Express, the left-wing counterpart to New Frontiersman, hang in the newsstand. The publication is named after the Edgar Rich Burroughs novel.


Issue 3’s title, ‘The Judge of All the Earth’, and its end quote are taken from the Bible, Genesis, chapter 18, verse 25. God speaking to Abraham as he judges the city of Sodom.

Page 2
Panel 1 – The logo on the electrical plug is similar to the Flash’s logo.

Panel 5 - With superheroes existing in real life (and society eventually growing in resentment), superhero comics died in popularity.

Panel 9 – Behind Kovacs is the Utopia Theater, a revival house with some ironic choices for screenings.

Page 3
Panel 1 – Kovacs reads the New Frontiersman

Panel 4 – First appearance of the Institute for Interspatial Studies which is supposedly doing research into alternate dimensions. As we learn in the climax, it’s a front for Veidt and the scapegoat for the arrival of the alien squid.

Page 6


Panel 1 – The next two pages are the comic book equivalent of split-screens. First appearance of Janey Slater, Dr. Manhattan’s ex-girlfriend. A friend suggested that the film could have gone the extra meta-textual step and cast Margot Kidder as the dying Janey.

Panel 6 – First appearance of Joey, a lesbian cab driver working for Promethean Cab. The name inspired by Greek mythology could be a clue that it’s another company owned by Veidt.

Page 7
Panel 2 – The first ad we see for the perfume Nostalgia by Veidt. Also, first appearance of the comic book shop, Treasure Island.

Panel 4 – The locksmith works for the company Gordian Knot Lock Company. The Gordian Knot was a sword in the stone-like legend associated with Adrian Veidt’s idol, Alexander the Great. When Alexander could not untie the knot, he simply cut it in half with his sword. It was the supposedly the first set in Alexander’s quest to conquer the known world. Aside from being an allusion to Veidt’s masterplan, it’s likely yet another in a myriad of front companies belonging to Ozymandias.

Page 9
Panel 5 – Dan’s teapot is made by Veidt

Page 11
Panel 2 – The Utopia is playing This Island Earth. The film’s Metalunan Mutant resembles Veidt’s genetically engineered creature.

Page 13
Panel 3 – First appearance of Nova Express reporter, Doug Roth, who was heard off-screen interviewing Janey Slater. He refers to Wally Weaver as “Dr. Manhattan’s Buddy,” an allusion to Superman’s Pal, Jimmy Olsen.

Page 15

Panel 6 – Dr. Manhattan’s televised appearance and the alley fight is probably the best example of the intercutting and ironic commentary that’s used throughout Watchmen. Post-coitus, Dan rolls over and Laurie lights up.

Page 16 – The panel layout for the interview and fight have been structured in the exact same way.

Page 17
Panel 2 – Proof that New Frontiersman isn’t very popular, their slogan is vandalized, “The New Frontiersman In Your Heart You Know It’s Right”-Wing.

Page 18
”In the end, a man stands alone.” and ”…and in the terrible silence I understood the true breadth of the word ‘isolation.’ foreshadow Manhattan’s self-imposed exile to Mars.

Page 19
Panel 1 – The private is singing, “Walkin’ on the Moon” by The Police

Page 24
Panel 2 – Rorschach tosses Dan a copy of the New York Gazette, the same one he purchased as Kovacs.

Panel 8 – Rorschach palms a bottle of Nostalgia. When the cop states his disgust for Rorschach’s smell, I always thought it was because of perfume spilled all over him. Actually, I think Rorschach doesn’t bother to shower or wash his clothes and just uses cologne to cover up the odor.

Page 26
Panel 2 – Both the comic and film versions of Nixon’s war room owe a debt to the production design from Kubrick’s Dr. Strangelove.

Page 27
Panel 6 – Allusion to both Dr. Manhattan’s growing detachment to humanity and the plight of the Mariner in Black Freighter.


This excerpt from Under the Hood goes into detail about the fates of the former Minutemen.

Page 1
Panel 1 – The cover and first image of the second issue is the rain as it hits the angel statue across the eye and forms tears. Another recurring image as we see several times either with actual tears, make-up, or running mascara.

Panel 2 – I love the use of red in these first few pages.

Panel 3 – Guy holding the wreath of red roses is Moloch.

Panel 4 - The Silk Spectres, Sally Juspeczyk, and her daughter Laurie. Using the stage name, Sally Jupiter, the original Silk Spectre became one of the first superheroes more as a way to boost her modeling career than to fight crime. We’ve already met Laurie who was pushed into the superhero business by Sally who suffered from ‘stage mom syndrome.’

While Silk Spectre was ostensibly based on Nightshade, Alan Moore found the character too bland and brought in elements of other superheroines such as Black Canary and Phantom Lady. The original Black Canary was Dinah Drake who donned a bustier, leather jacket, and her trademark feature, a pair of fishnet stockings. She passed the mantle onto her daughter Dinah Laurel Lance. There have been several versions of the Phantom Lady with each one known for her skimpy costume. While Sally’s costume was rather alluring, it’s downright conservative compared to her daughter who essentially wore a negligee and high heels. I think some people might miss the point on Laurie’s costume as Moore was commenting on the trend in comics to barely dress their buxom females. I don’t see how anyone can run around on rooftops at night in only underwear and stilettos.

Panel 5 – Kovacs can be seen in the background still holding is “The End is Night” sign.

Panel 8 – Laurie loads the tobacco into the bulb of the funky cigarette holder. That’s how they work though I’m still not sure how those are different from a regular cigarette or maybe they’re just more fashionable. The date on the desk appears to be Oct. 16, 1985. Pay close attention to dates in the comic as some events aren’t told in a linear manner. They may be concurrent or even precede scenes despite appearing after.

Page 2
Panel 7 – Sally’s rest home is called “Penthe Gardens.” Penthe is a Greek word meaning, ‘to mourn.’ Very appropriate considering the circumstances.


Page 3
The title of this issue is, “Absent Friends,” from the Elvis Costello song, “The Comedians,” from the album Goodbye Cruel World, the follow-up to Punch the Clock. The last track on Goodbye Cruel World? “Peace in Our Time.”

Page 5
Panel 1 – The date in the corner reads Oct. 1940 which jibes with the newspaper headline, “Scientists Make First Artificial Wonder Element Plutonium.”


Here is the original team of superheroes, the Minutemen, who never actually fought crime together. Rorschach briefly touched on their fates in the first issue and Hollis Mason goes more in-depth in the supplements. Like the first ever superhero team, DC’s Justice Society, several members of the Minutemen had their run-ins with the McCarthy and HUAC. And like other superhero teams, they keep trophies of their adventures inside their headquarters. From L to R, the Minutemen are:

Mothman – Byron Lewis who descended into alcoholism and suffered a nervous breakdown following HUAC’s investigations. He’s still alive during the events of Watchmen, but confined to a mental institute in Maine. As seen in the opening credits of the film, Mothman is dragged away kicking and screaming.

Dollar Bill – Real name unknown, Dollar Bill was previously a stand-out college athlete who was hired as in-house security by a banking firm to capitalize on the masked hero fad. Long before The Incredibles, Dollar Bill was gunned down in 1947 during a bank robbery after his cape was caught in a revolving door.

Captain Metropolis – A former Marine, Nelson Gardner (named after comic book writers E. Nelson Bridwell and Gardner Fox) used his military experience to fight crime. Metropolis put an ad in the papers calling for other costumed heroes to get together and form the Minutemen. He was involved in a homosexual relationship with teammate, Hooded Justice, and eventually died in a car accident in 1974.

The Comedian – I already wrote a bit about him last issue. He’s wearing a garish yellow and purple jester outfit that reflects the times. After being stabbed in a fight, Comedian switched to the darker, militaristic uniform that he’s seen in for the majority of the story.

Silk Spectre – Who we just met.

Hooded Justice – Not much is known about Hooded Justice who was the first costumed hero in the Watchmen world. He made his debut in brutal fashion dealing about severe beatings to an assortment of criminals. It is eluded to that he is a sexual sadist and is engaged in a homosexual relationship with Captain Metropolis. He posed as Sally’s boyfriend as a cover-up. He disappeared in the 50’s after refusing to reveal his identity to HUAC. In the Under the Hood excerpt at the end of issue 3, Mason speculates that Hooded Justice may have been an East German weightlifter named Rolf Muller who disappeared around the same time. Muller’s body washed up on a beach and it is more than likely the Comedian (who was tasked with finding HJ by HUAC) killed him in revenge for the events we are about to see.


If you look closely at the Last Supper shot during the film's opening credits, you can see HJ and Metropolis holding hands.

Nite-Owl – As mentioned before, he is police officer Hollis Mason.

Silhouette – Ursula Zandt was an Austrian Jew who fled Europe following the rise of the Nazis. She made her debut by taking down a child pornographer. She was revealed to be a lesbian in 1946 and kicked out of the group, only to be murdered six weeks later by a ‘minor adversary.’ In the film, Silhouette kisses the nurse in the famous VJ Day photograph and stuck around the Minutemen longer than her comic version. She and her lover are murdered in 1954.

Page 6
Panel 3 – Sally claws at Eddie’s face in the same place where he’ll eventually get the scar on Page 14.

Panel 9 – The trophy in the case is labeled, “King Mob’s Ape Mask” King Mob was a group of British radicals during the 1970’s. Their name originated from a graffiti slogan (sound familiar?), “His Majesty King Mob.” King Mob tagged their slogan, ” "Same thing day after day - tube - work - dinner - work - tube - armchair - TV - sleep - tube - work - how much more can you take? - one in ten go mad - one in five cracks up” in the London subway, a variation of which (one in eight go mad) can be seen in the first issue.

Grant Morrison named the lead character (and his stand-in) of The Invisibles King Mob. Morrison’s run on Doom Patrol featured the surreal terrorists, the Brotherhood of the Dada, which were also influenced by King Mob’s antics.

Page 7

Panel 6 – The bloodied Comedian being held by Hooded Justice mirrors him being held by the mystery assailant. The blood hitting his costume also mirrors the bloodied smiley-face button.

”This is what you like, huh? This is what gets you hot…” takes a new meaning knowing that Hooded Justice really did get off on this stuff. As a fellow sadist, I’m sure Comedian could smell his own.

Panel 9 – The clock above the doorway reads 5 minutes to midnight.

Page 8
Panel 6 – We get a better look of the painting behind Sally and see it is a portrait by Alberto Vargas who painted movie posters and pin-up girls. His art was replicated for use on the noses of aircraft during WWII. A mock Vargas of Carla Gugino as Silk Spectre was made for the film. It can be seen hanging in the Comedian’s apartment and she was painted onto the nose of the Enola Gay as it dropped the A-bomb on Hiroshima.

Page 9
Panel 5 - The first, last, and only meeting of the Crimebusters. The events here are replayed several times from different points of view. The headlines on the Comedian’s paper, read “French Withdraw Military Commitment from NATO” and “Heart Transplant Patient Stable’ The French withdrew from Nato in 1959, but the first heart transplant didn’t occur until 1964. Captain Metropolis put together this time much like he did with the Minutemen though he was excised from the film version and replaced with Ozymandias.

Page 10
Panel 1 – Clock’s hands are in similar positions to 5 to midnight.

The middle-aged Dan Dreiberg is almost where Capt. Metropolis is here with a pronounced paunch bulging out of his costume. His old-fashioned, conservative values are clearly out of touch with the social revolutions of the 60’s. As mentioned in the supplement, Metropolis would make racist remarks about minorities which only fanned the fuels of society’s anti-vigilante attitudes.

Despite being an amoral thug, the Comedian is the most perceptive of the heroes as he points out the ridiculousness of trying to combat abstract concepts. How exactly does putting on a goofy outfit stop ‘campus subversion’? How do you punch ‘promiscuity’ in the face?

Panel 5 – The date on the newspaper places this meeting in 1966.

Page 11
Panel 4 – One of the social ills Capt. Metropolis hoped to combat is ‘Black Unrest.’


Panel 7 – The seeds are planted for Adrian’s master plan.

Page 13
Panel 1 – One of the biggest divergences in this alternate timeline, America wins the Vietnam War thanks to Dr. Manhattan.

Page 16
Panel 4 – I love the irony of the counter-culture actually rioting FOR the cops. The Comedian now wears an S&M mask to hide the scar. And I can’t help but hear, “I’m Your Boogie Man.”



Page 17
Panel 6 – Newspaper headline reads, “Cops Say ‘Let Them Do It.’ Senator Keene Proposes Emergency Bill.” The police strike and subsequent riots lead to the Keene Act which bans masked vigilantism.

Page 19
Panel 4 – Moloch leaves flowers for Blake

Panel 5 – Jon notices Moloch.

Panel 6 – Jon and Adrian have cufflinks that match their insignias.

Panels 7-9 – Kovacs watches Moloch leave the cemetery.

Page 20
Panel 2 – Newspaper headline reads, “Soviets Will Not Tolerate US Adventurism in Afghanistan”

Panel 4 – First full look at Moloch, one of the only supervillains (other than Big Figure) to be seen in Watchmen. Aside from maybe one panel, we’ve never seen any of the heroes battle the supervillains in their heyday.

Pages 22, 23 – The blinking light from the Rumrunner neon sign matches the way color changed in the first issue.

Page 24
Panel 4 – Laetril (or Laetrile) is also known as Amygdalin, the term used in the film.

Page 25
Panel 1 – Porno theater is screening, “Enola Gay and the Little Boys,” one of several growing symbols of war that Veidt mentions in Karnac.
Panels 2 & 3 – Nostalgia as a recurring theme pops up again as Rorschach laments simpler times.

Page 27
Panel 5 – Pagliacci is a meta-textual opera by Ruggero Leoncavallo. It’s about an acting troupe performing an opera in which the fictional events mirror their real lives. In both instances, the lead murders his adulterous wife and her lover.

”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 1
Alan 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 2
Panel 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 3
Panel 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 4
Panel 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 5
Panel 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 8
I 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 9
Panel 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 10
Panel 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 11
Panel 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 12
Panels 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 14
Panel 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 17
Panel 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 18
Panel 4 – Headlines read, ‘Nuclear Doomsday Clock Stands at Five to Twelve Warn Experts.’ And ‘Geneva Talks: U.S. Refuse to Discuss Dr. Manhattan’

Page 19
Panel 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 20
Panel 1 – First appearance of Dr. Manhattan, the only super-powered human being in the world, and his girlfriend, Laurie Jupiter, Silk Spectre II.

Page 23
Panel 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 24
Panel 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 25
Panel 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 Row

Page 27
The 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 Page
The Doomsday Clock is at 11:48 and counts down with each subsequent issue.

The Doomsday Clock is counting down to Watchmen. I know some of you are probably sick of all the Watchmen links, but it'll be over soon.

On the lighter side, a few fans had some Photoshop fun with 104 Ways to Ruin Watchmen. I'd say Steven Seagal as Dr. Manhattan is my favorite.

You should also check out Saturday Morning Watchmen, a fan-made parody of Watchmen as a cheesy 80's cartoon. Catch Ozy & Bubastis as Shaggy & Scooby-Doo, Dr. Manhattan as Teen Car, Nite-Owl disco dancing, Rorschach as the comic relief, and Silk Spectre as Jem. It's funny, yet disturbing.

For Watchmen proper, YouTube has some brief words with Zack Snyder, Malin Ackerman and Jeffrey Dean Morgan followed by a clip of the assassination attempt on Ozymandias.

6 Minutes to Midnight has an interactive inkblot game you can play to view more bits & pieces from the film.

Neil Gaiman has scanned an old interview he did with Alan Moore back in the 80's on his blog.

Plenty more Watchmen coverage over at Wired including a new interview with Alan Moore as he talks about making comics and magic. Seriously, the dude worships an ancient Roman snake god.

More linkage:

I loves me some Olivia Munn. We've seen her as Princess Leia, The Baroness, Wonder Woman, and a Bond girl. Now, here she is as Chun-Li. Not bad at all though I am disappointed at the lack of Spinning Bird Kick.

A higher quality version will debut soon, but for now, you can check out the new trailer USA Today has the new trailer for Wolverine. More Gambit, more Deadpool, more Maverick, a little bit more of Wraith.

I know I will. We're about four days away from the film version of one of TIME Magazine's 100 Greatest Novels of All-Time.

I know some folks are trying to stay away from anything spoiler-ish, but I'm devouring everything I can because I can't wait until opening day. NBC is running a series of clips focusing on each of the main characters during primetime. Dr. Manhattan debuted last night and Rorschach's piece aired during Heroes. You can check them online over at NBC's Watchmen sub-site.

There's also a great article on the film over at Wired.

Time permitting, I'm hoping to do a series of write-ups on the original comic. I will definitely be doing a blog on recommendations for those who liked Watchmen and want to read more stuff like it.

More sweetness from the Watchmen viral marketing campaign. I love this little addition to the Watchmen mythology. It totally makes sense that a guy like Adrian Veidt would come up with the idea for MTV.



And two more clips from the movie just went online over at Trailer Addict. You can also view them at Get the Big Picture. These feature Rorschach investigating the Comedian's apartment and breaking into the military base to meet with Manhattan.

Gah...can't wait any longer.

Nothing too exciting tonight, but it wasn't a complete train wreck. I am disappointed that Mickey Rourke didn't win, mostly because we were deprived of another awesome acceptance speech like this one...



I did like how they changed things up during the awards presentations. I thought the quintet of actors introducing each nominee individually was a fantastic idea, better than the usual clips. Robert DeNiro's promo for Sean Penn was funny. The way they did the screenwriting was cool, Tiny Fey & Steve Martin were hilarious, light years ahead of the crappy awards show banter we always get. And James Franco name dropping Necro Butcher during the Pineapple Express skit was fantastic.

Stuff that didn't work. The never-ending musical numbers of death and the mind-numbing montages. Did we really need a montage of people saying, 'thank you'? That preview of upcoming movies was ridiculous. Yeah, I'm sure G-Force and Night at the Museum 2 will have a big presence at next year's awards.

Another Watchmen clip went online. This one features Silk Spectre and Nite-Owl beating up prisoners during the breakout sequence. It's a cool fight scene, but purists will probably be pulling out their hair.

I can't believe we are only two weeks away from a movie that many people have been waiting twenty years for. It's still a bit surreal for me to see Watchmen just about everywhere I look. Never in my wildest dreams would I expect Watchmen to turn up on friggin' Entertainment Tonight. Hell, they even made Watchmen condoms. Turn your doodle radioactive blue, Dr. Manhattan-style.

The main cast of Watchmen are on the covers of this week's Entertainment Weekly which you can see here.

Wil Wheaton has saw the film at an exclusive screening and already posted a spoiler-free review. Hey, if you can't trust Wesley Crusher, who can you trust?

Boing Boing TV has a brief interview with visual effects supervisor, Des Jardin, and clips of a Q&A with Zack Snyder.

For the impatient fanboys who can't wait the 14 days until the movie premieres, clips from the film have popped up all over the interwebs.

Myspace Vids has Nite-Owl and the Comedian attempting to quell the police riots in the 70's.

MSN Video has a clip featuring Dan Dreiberg warning Ozymandias about a possible mask killer. This is a big change from the comic as it's Rorschach trying to warn the "World's Smartest Man."

Sky Movies has a scene with Nite-Owl and Rorschach in the Owl-Cave.

Head over to IGN to watch the fire rescue with Nite-Owl and Silk Spectre.

Access Hollywood has a video focusing on both Silk Spectres.

Not enough? Five more vids went online while I was typing this up. You can check them out here. These include a continuation of the riot scene, Rorschach escaping from a SWAT team, a brief clip of the Crimebusters sequence (w/ Ozy standing in for Capt. Metropolis), plus the birth & reveal of Dr. Manhattan.

Trailer Addict has a ton of stuff as well including most of this vids and short interviews with the cast & crew.

And here's the trailer for the animated version of Tales of the Black Freighter. It will be released on DVD March 24. The theatrical version of Watchmen supposedly runs 2 hours & 45 minutes. There will be a director's cut on DVD as well as an even longer version with Black Freighter edited in. Oh, man, I can't wait to get that.

In non-Watchmen news, here are the three promos for Wolverine they aired on Fox. Looks like they pulled a lot of stuff from Origin. Also, more shots of Deadpool and Gambit which is always a good thing.

More goodness from the Watchmen viral campaign. They previously released the mock news segment about Dr. Manhattan. Now, there's a PSA for the Keene Act which outlawed masked vigilantism in the Watchmen world.



Cool stuff including brief glimpses of the tragic fates of two of the original costumed heroes; Mothman (who went insane after the Communist witchunts) and Silhouette (who was murdered after being outed as a lesbian). You can watch it over at Trailer Addict.

In addition, JoBlo has the first look at for the animated version of Tales of the Black Freighter. It looks good, more like Ninja Scroll then Dave Gibbons.

This is the comic within a comic that's being released separately on DVD along with a faux-documentary based on the history of the Watchmen world. They got Gerard Butler to do the voice of the lead character and it'll be edited into the movie for a deluxe, extended edition.

I have a fever and the only cure is more Watchmen. We're about a month and a half away from the film premiering in theaters and I am getting sweaty. The film debuts on March 6 as schedules, despite the lawsuit between WB and Fox which wound up being much ado about nothing. The merchandise juggernaut is all set to roll out with t-shirts & posters already hitting some malls. Amazon has a bunch of tie-in books up for pre-order. Of course, what would a superhero flick be without action figures? DC Direct debuted their Watchmen line at last year's Comic-Con with busts, replicas, and action figures. Most comic shops should have gotten in the first series (which includes Nite-Owl, Rorschach, Ozymandias, and Silk Spectre II) this past Wednesday on new comic book day. I got mine on Tuesday after pre-ordering them from Amok Time.





PACKAGING - ****
The four figues come in the standard DC Direct packaging which is very cool and more fancy and sturdier than your standard mass market toys. This is one of those rare occasions where I was extremely careful not to damage the box since I actually wanted to keep them rather than tossing them into the recycling bin. The top flap features a yellow band with the Watchmen logo and black & white art of the main characters. Inside of the box has a mock-up of the 'Who Watches the Watchmen' graffiti. The side has the trademark Watchmen logo with the doomsday clock and a picture of the figure while the back features a synopsis of the film and a shot of all four figures in the series. These would definitely look great on your shelf if you're a MIB'er.



SCULPTING - Nite-Owl, Ozymandias, Rorschach ****, Silk Spectre II *** 1/2
The sculpt work is simply incredible. Each figure looks almost exactly like their cinematic counterparts. Nite-Owl and Ozymandias are definitely the stand-outs of the bunch. Nite-Owl's cape and cowl feature all the same lines and details as they do in the film and comic. They didn't skimp on the ridges on his chain mail-esque armor. The body work on Ozymandias is just as superb with his Ancient Egypt by way of Joel Schumacher costume. He's got the molded muscles and, yes, the nipples. They also sculpted on his domino mask and tiara when they could have been cheap and simply painted them on. Ozy's head is shaped slightly more square jawed than Matthew Goode though that's a negligible nitpick.



Rorschach is another figure which features a remarkable likeness. His trenchcoat is exceptionally detailed as the sculptors managed to capture every fold and crease. The sashes on the belt are made of soft plastic rather than sculpted on. He is the shortest of the four figures which jibes with what was in the comic. There are a few points that old him back from being the star of the series which I'll explain below.



I knocked Silk Spectre down a half a star simply because she doesn't quite look like Malin Ackerman. There isn't anything else wrong with her head sculpt, she looks good. DC Direct didn't skimp on the details either for the lone female of the bunch. Again, they could have easily just painted the details on, but there are slight ridges and bumps to distinguish between fabric, skin, and vinyl. Also, I love the little touches like the garters, the zipper down the middle, and the collar. It also appears Silk Spectre is very cold when she's out fighting crime. The only problem are her high heels which (like a lot of other female figures) makes it difficult for her to stand on her own.

PAINT - ****
With all the intricate detailing in these figures, you'd think it'd be easy to mess up just a tiny bit. But, no, none of my Watchmen have any kind of slop or bleeding. Silk Spectre has a shiny layer of black to replicate the leather of her outfit.



ARTICULATION - Nite-Owl, Ozymandias **, Silk Spectre * 1/2, Rorschach - *
I knew going in that these weren't going to be well-articulated action figures. However, I was rather disappointed with how Rorschach turned out. He's stuck in that 'walking down the alley' pose. His head is permanently titled to the side like that and the collar on coat prevents his head from turning too far to the left. Other than the neck joint, he has joints at each should and elbow. Silk Spectre has those same joints, but her long molded hair blocks any significant movement with her head. She has no joints in her legs other than cuts at her thighs which are pretty pointless.

Nite-Owl and Ozy both have basic articulation with joints at the neck, shoulders, elbows, legs, and knees. Even then, there's not a lot of poseability. I will say the areas of their costumes over the shoulders is made of a soft plastic so that the shoulder joints at least have a full range of motion.

ACCESSORIES - Rorschach * 1/2, Others *
Rorschach comes with his grappling gun and an alternate hand to hold it. I don't have any pictures of it yet as I haven't been able to get his hand off to switch it out. Nite-Owl comes with an Owl-a-Rang hooked onto his belt that is removeable. All four figures come with display stands that look like a metal grating rooftop. This works out perfectly for Silk Spectre who can't stand and for Rorschach who has some trouble as well.



VALUE - **
I pre-ordered these from Amok Time and, to my surprise, they arrived via UPS this past Tuesday. Including shipping, I paid a few cents south of $60 which is the best price I've been able to find online. Most comic shops will probably have them for $15 or more which is standard for these types of figures. Considering these are licensed figures for the specialty market, $15.00 is likely going to be the best price. $12.99 would be better.

OVERALL - ***
I should note that, scale-wise, these Watchmen figures are about a head taller than the DC Universe Classics. So if you were looking to display these on the same shelf as your DCUC, they are not going to fit right in. Also, while I'm a bit disappointed by the lack of articulation, I'm still happy to have these Watchmen figures. They look incredible with Nite-Owl being the stand-out of the four. Rorschach will probably be a popular choice for most fans, but Ozy might actually be my favorite of the group. I'll definitely be picking up the second wave which consists of The Comedian, Dr. Manhattan, and the original Nite-Owl and Silk Spectre. Here's hoping these sell well enough to get some of the other secondary characters like Silhouette, Captain Metropolis or Moloch.


For more pics you can check them out on Flickr.

Taking a respite from my listamania to bring you this special report...



Man...this movie just keeps getting better and better and it still hasn't come out yet.

In case anybody hasn't seen it, here's the Japanese trailer for Watchmen...


Lots of cool new footage including glimpses of the alternative political landscape (Nixon, Castro, JFK, etc.).

And here's the new TV spot.

First, head over to DVD Town to read my reviews for Synecdoche, New York and Slumdog Millionaire.



New Watchmen trailer went online over at Yahoo Movies. This one emphasizes the blockbuster action side of the film. Whatever gets people into the theaters, I suppose. I'm not feeling the way the voices of Rorschach and Dr. Manhattan sound. They're just not what I hear when I read the comic. Rorschach has too much of a growl-y Batman vibe and I always imagined Manhattan to be more emotionless and detached. Billy Crudup just sounds too human.

It's been announced (Hollywood Reporter) Brett Ratner will direct the new Conan movie which kills all interest I have in it. Funny thing is, Ratner (LA Times) says the announcement was premature since he's working on a much bigger project. A little flick called Beverly Hills Cop 4. Ugh...that cinematic cockroach just won't die will it?

In other crappy director news (as in news about crappy directors), IESB is spreading the word that Warner Bros. digging what they've seen of Terminator: Salvation and are looking to tap McG for the long in development Wonder Woman movie. On top of that, Beyonce is going around telling everybody she really wants to fly around in an invisible plane. She does have an inside track as she was McG's top pick for Lois Lane back when he was attached to one of the many aborted attempts to reboot Superman.

Double ugh...last thing I want is Wondy turned into another Charlie's Angels movie. And me not liking the idea of Beyonce as Diana has nothing to do with skin color. I just don't picture her throwing tanks or deflecting bullets with her bracelets.

We've also got an overzealous fan (Wonder Who) who seems to love the idea of Megan Fox in the role. I say 'No' to that as well. I don't want my Wonder Woman looking like an anorexic supermodel.

Chris Rock (Hollywood Reporter) wants to remake Death at a Funeral. Evidently, we are now remaking movies that came out LAST YEAR!

In better news Captain America now has a director in Joe Johnston. Not the flashiest choice, but I think he can get the job done. Johnston directed one of my favorite (and one of the most underrated) comic book movies in The Rocketeer. The Cap movie can definitely use that same type of old-fashioned adventure tone. With Favreau gearing up for Iron Man 2 and Kenneth Branagh on Thor, Marvel should be kicking some ass in a couple years.

Here's the reel they showed at the Spike Scream Awards.



Better quality version here.

Dammit...we're 5 months away from release date and I'm getting awful sweaty for this flick. Some of the CGI in the reel is obviously a work in progress. I love that fuckin' shot of Manhattan's giant fist smashing through Ozy's retreat. They better keep that whole sequence intact for the film, it's one of my favorite parts of the book.

"Adrian...you're an asshole." "KI-YAAAAH!"

My two big worries...one, all the slow motion. I know Snyder has a huge boner for that stuff, but it's so f'n cliche. Two, some of the characters are looking way too badass. They seem to forget Nite-Owl is supposed to be a middle-aged man with a paunch and limp dick. And what's up with Rorschach running up the wall like he's Spider-Man?

G4 posted this awesome video of their visit to the set of Watchmen. Take a gander at the storyboads and our first look at Jackie Earl Haley as Walter Kovacs (Rorschach unmasked). The attention to detail on this movie is downright scary.

Watchmen-a-mania is still running wild. Apple Trailers has the official release. Watch it in fantabulous HD Quicktime.



For more Watchmen-related goodness check out Entertainment Weekly's Watchmen Article and their Comic-Con Preview photo gallery. You know, they have all that great movie stuff, but what I was most excited to see is the artwork for the new League of Extraordinary Gentlemen series.

NECA will also be handing out these nifty Mason Auto Repair t-shirts at the Con.

Mild spoilers ahead...

( And now the trailer-to-comic book analysis )

Here's another link to the trailer.

And here are some screencaps to tide you over...

EDIT: Christ almighty. Not 1 second after I make this post, Warner Brothers has killed the YouTube link. Try this link to watch it in better quality Flash. If WB kills that? Sorry, kiddies, guess you'll just have to see this with The Dark Knight.

You is.



This is what I needed. I'd seen the costumes and the sets and they all looked great, very faithful to the comic. But, I needed to see that shit in action and this is it. They've got some of the most memorable moment from the source material translated to perfection.

Edward Blake being thrown out the window, Ozymandias fighting off his assassin, the Owl-Ship emerging from the water, and what can I say about Dr. Manhattan? The vaporization, his first appearance, the construction of his Martian palace.

The trailer is supposed to play before The Dark Knight and I can't wait to see this in IMAX. I geeked out at just a crappy, grainy YouTube version. I think my head will explode Scanners-style at seeing a 100ft. tall Dr. Manhattan stomping through the jungles of Vietnam in IMAX.

My only gripes. I think they made Owl-Man a little too badass. He's a middle-aged man with a ponch, remember? And I'm still not crazy about Ozymandias's costume. I know they're referencing Joel Schumacher's Batman, but he is supposed to be the world's most 'perfect man.' Why does he need molded muscles? Finally, I hope Snyder keeps the slow motion stuff to a minimum. I loved 300, but he really overused the slow motion in the action sequences.

BTW, the song used is "The Beginning is the End is the Beginning" by the Smashing Pumpkins which is off the Batman and Robin soundtrack. Damn, Schumacher again.

I'm eagerly awaiting a high quality version to hit the net. Nerd that I am, I'll be doing comparisons between screenshots from the trailer with scans from my Absolute Edition of Watchmen.

Ain't It Cool News just posted a group shot of The Minutemen from the upcoming adaptation of Watchmen.



From L to R: Silhouette, Moth Man, Dollar Bill, Nite-Owl, Captain Metropolis, The Comedian (kneeling), Silk Spectre and Hooded Justice.

I couldn't scan a good shot of the original photo from the comic, but here's a close approximation...



Carla Gugino looks fantastic as the original Silk Spectre and I like the tweakage they did to Comedian, making his costume a little more military-esque instead of just a pair of pajamas. Hooded Justice looks a little dumpy and I thought Metropolis should be taller.

And, yes, I realize they all look like a bunch of cosplayers on their way to Comic-Con (58 days and counting!), but that's the point. Part of the deal of Watchmen was how silly people would look dressed like superheroes in real life.

News is also coming from NYTimes, that "Tales of the Black Freighter" will be released as a direct-to-DVD animated film, along with a pseudo-documentary about the Minutemen called Under the Hood, after Nite-Owl's biography in the comic. They'll also be releasing a series of webisodes on the official site featuring the actors narrating panels from the comic to give background to their characters. Plans are also being made for an ultimate edition DVD of the film with everything edited together. On one hand, I'm happy that Zack Snyder and company are attempting different methods to pack in as much stuff as they can. On the other hand, I'm kinda worried about the fact that you might need to watch a hundred different things to understand a 2 hour film.

In other movie news...

Nicolas Cage is set to star in a remake of Bad Lieutenant which has 'bad idea' written all over it. However, Werner Herzog is attached to direct, so it might at least be interesting.

Speaking of Herzog, he's working on a film with David Lynch called My Son, My Son which is tentatively scheduled to film down here in San Diego (Coronado, to be exact) in March. We're all in trouble now.