Contributed Notes for Chapter I
Greg Bole I.9.8 sign "Obsolete models a specialty" showing how Hollis as a superhero is now obsolete and later explained by the electric car tie-in with Veidt and Jon. I.24.4 Rorschach sees naked couple embracing like his mother and her "John." I.10.9 Rorschach eating raw beans, he takes things straight, has a raw personality. Ties in with I.21.7 eating raw sugar and V.5.6 eating raw egg. Nice bit! Connect to "raw shark" in Chapter V.
Joe Aultman I.1.2 -- This is the actual first glimpse of the Signboard Man, not I.4.6-8. Those are his feet, and in panel I.1.3 we see all of him. Notice how he is walking through the Comedian's blood. There's something there... See how the words in Rorschach journal are summed up by the signboad in the same panel. Why It Should Have Been Obvious To You The First Time That The Signboard Man Was Rorschach -- Part 1: In the _first_three_panels_ of the series, we are reading Rorschach's Journal, and who is the first person we see? [first person, indeed!] And isn't he stating Rorschach's sentiments in summary for the whole world to see? I.3.3 -- This is the exact moment when the smiley face badge gets its blood smear. Blood is dripping _onto_ the badge. I.4.5-8 -- Rorschach overhears about the murder investigation they want to keep him from hearing about. Why It Should Have Been Obvious To You The First Time That The Signboard Man Was Rorschach -- Part 2: The above statement, plus the observation you make about the sudden chill the detective gets at the very moment they are talking about him. I.5.6-9 -- Rorschach is being set up here to be a Batman parallel, especially in panel 9. If we take the bait and think we know him, we are in for a big surprise. Later on, we see a better Batman type in Nite Owl II. I.6.2 (lower left) -- Did someone come by after the police left and set the chair upright? I.10.4 -- Smashed lock. Presumably from Gordian Knot lock company, the same as its replacement and the one at Jacobi's place. Rorschach defeats the lock, the knot, by destroying it, like Alexander, Ozymandias. Veidt's lateral thinking ideal. I.11.7 -- Dan says he feels exposed. He is. We are looking at him and Rorschach from outside through his kitchen window. I.16.9 -- Rorschach calls Veidt "a better class of person." This combined with I.17.3, Rorschach removing his hat for Veidt, as he did not for Dan, suggests that he respects Veidt, but not Dan. This respect seems to last only until Veidt disagrees with him about the mask killer theory. Why It Should Have Been Obvious To You The First Time That Veidt Was The Mask Killer -- Part 1: I.17.3,6,8 -- He is acting oddly, at least in his facial expressions, which we can see, but Rorschach can't. How many ways can that "Hm" be explained? Then in I.18.1 He abruptly sidetracks the conversation. I.18.4 -- Rorscach has mangled one of the Ozymandias dolls. I.19.3 -- "Why are so few of us left active, heatly, and without personality disorders." Rorschach thinks he's sane and they're all crazy. I.23.2 -- Laurie thinks Rorschach is crazy. I.23.7 -- "The bestiary." Also the name of the bar at Gila Flats. I.24.2-4 -- Our first sighting of lovers in silhouette. Does Rorschach see it? I.Doc.2 -- Caption under photo in Under the hood reads "Vernon's Auto Repair c. 1928." Hollis Mason is age 12 in this photo, not 21 [as caption in the original comic had it; this may have been corrected in the graphic novel edition.] I.Doc.6 -- I am aware of convincing evidence that Hooded Justice was homosexual, but you state it so definitely. What are you using as the element of proof?
Joe Aultman I.1.6 "...nobody can think of anything to say..." Like the cop in panel 4. I.4.4,6 The backgrounds of these panels go together to form one picture. I don't know what the technique is called, but it's one of my favorite comic book tricks. I've seen it used very well in Boswell's Reid Fleming comics. I.18.4 Veidt logo on computer terminal. What doesn't this guy make? ..."a stronger loving world?" -- cynical sam I.26 Notice how this page strongly echoes the first page both structurally and thematically.
Joshua Merrill At the Comedian's funeral, on your page you say "Rorschach comes up behind Dr. M. to place flowers on the Comedian's grave" (II.12.2-3), but it is actually Moloch who places the flowers.
Alexx Kay Chapter I discussion of first issue cover 'echoes' The motif of 'face with one eye obscured' is pervasive throughout the series, and apears on more covers than the ones cited. The cover to VII shows a smear across the eye of both 'Archie', and Night Owl's goggles. In the cover to X, a face can be made out in the radar screen: the two incoming blips form the eyes, one of which is obscured by the sweeping radar line. The cover to XI shows a clear spot of *exactly* the same shape as the blood smear from I, and the butterfly revealed beneath is remeniscent of an eye. Other, less obvious resonances to this motif can be drawn for the covers to III - VI, VII and IX, although some of them are rather stretching the point. I 1 3 Note the use of the verbal imagery of 'look up' and 'look down', as the virtual camera's long vertical pan starts to become apparent. Similarly, 'precipice', in panel 5 and 'on the brink' in panel 6, as the height becomes more extreme. I 1 4 Again, the words and pictures echo the same image, this time 'footsteps'. I 1 6-7 We see cars and trucks with a distinctly different outline from those we are used to. I 3 3 Also note that this is where the smiley face button acquires its blood stain. I 3 6 First appearance of those odd pipes. I 4 1 First mention of Knot-Tops, a kind of violent youth movement that seems to be similar in some ways to both Punk and Skinheads. I 4 4,6 More dialogue/image: 'drop out of sight', 'fell outta grace'. I 4 5 Lots more background stuff appearing in this shot: the newstand, Gunga Diner, and 2 posters for Mmeltdowns candy. I 4 6-8 No, the signboard man first appears on I 1 2! I 4 8, I 5 1 Rorschach, in his two different guises, appears in the same position in these two panels, helping to subconciously link them in the mind of the reader. I 7 1-6 Wonderful visual depiction of noticing, then measuring the depth of the closet, implying the presence of a hidden compartment. You can tell the discrepancy in length by the kink in the coat hanger. I 8 7 First clear shot of the Minutemen photo, forming a link with the following scene. I 9 The background here tells us a lot about Hollis. His framed memorabilia of his hero days, and his retirement from them to open an auto business. The trophy. His bookshelf, which has two copies of _Under the Hood_, a bookk on _Automobile Maintenance_, and Philip Wylie's novel _Gladiator_, often cited as one of the primary inspirations for Superman. The exterior of his house is run down and covered with grafitti (some of which refers to the band Pale Horse, who feature more prominently later). Finally, there is the irony of the sign "Obsolete models a specialty", which applies as much to superheroes as cars. I 10 1 First picture of Knot-Tops. Also note headline "Russia protes... US adv... in Afgh..." I 10 2 We see our first ad for Nostalgia, atop the Treasure Island store, continuing the pirate motif. I 11 3-6 Rorschach picks up some sugar cubes. I 17 6 Note poster for Indian Famine Relief benefit performance. I 18 4 and sidebar article: "Geneva talks: U.S. refuses to discuss Dr. Manhattan." I 19 6 Rorschach is entering the "Special Talent Quarters". I 21 6-7 Rorschach eats one of the sugar cubes from page ii, and drops the wrapper on the floor. I 23 1-2 Laurie cleans up the sugar wrapper from two pages ago. I 24 1 More graffiti: "One in eight go mad". Also, a poster for the Pale Horse concert at Madison Square Garden. I 24 7 Followed on the next page, of course, by "It's getting pretty late," helping link the scenes nicely. I 25 4 The background figures here show that like other rebellious youth movements, there are 'poseur' Knot-Tops. Also note the woman with the egyptian eye motif, probably popularized by Veidt. I Doc 5 "enemy spies with cyanide capsules" foreshadows the unreality of Veidt's 'assassin' in Book V.
Joshua Davis I.23.7 Dr. Manhattan is anxious to validate the supersymmetrical theory, a nod to one of the most pervasive themes of the book.
Mark Speener I.9.3 Dan Drieberg (Nite Owl II) says, "It's almost midnight. I oughtta go." The clock on the table shows 5 minutes to midnight. This is the first appearance of that recurring theme.
Kennedy I.10.7 Rorschach's slurps are the closest we get to sound effects in the entire series. I.12.2 Note the wrench in the left corner is leaning against what looks to be a giant D-cell battery. I.13.3-4 Interesting Dan somehow manages to keep the tunnel lit, though for little apparent reason. Also notice the red lights are not unlike the bloody footprints Rorschach leaves in the beginning. I.15.5 Harry looks not unlike The Comedian in II.23.8.
Eric Englehard I.24.1 In the editor's notes, for I.24.1, you indentify the graffito "Krystalnacht" as the name of a band. ["Krystalnacht" appears on several posters as the band opening for "Pale Horse" at Madison Square Garden on the night of Veidt's attack. -- sam] The word Krystalnacht has much deeper inplications. It's the common name for the night in 1938 in Germany when the hatred that had been building up towards the Jews boiled over, and ordinary citizens (encouraged by the Nazis) took to the street and threw bricks through the windows of Jewish shop owners, looted their stores, and beat several of them. The name refers to all the broken glass that covered the streets and sidewalks from shop windows. In terms of what it reflects, I would say it sets up an immediate link between the Knot Heads (who presumably wrote the graffiti) and Nazis/Skinheads, and their later terrorizing of Hollis Mason. I don't remeber if Mason is Jewish or not (not, I think.) I know that Schexnayder is Jewish, but I don't remember anyone terrorizing him. Themes of breaking glass are certainly carried on in Chapter IX, where the glass palace on Mars shatters, the bottle of Nostalgia, etc. The theme of breakage does go on throughout the book, most notably in connection with Laurie. Dan Dreiberg, who may be Jewish, fights back very effectively when threatened by the knotheads. "Krystalnacht" is usually (if not always) mentioned in correlation with "Pale Horse" (as in Apocalypse) -- in other words, breakage goes along with death. This is also discussed in notes by Stephen Brogee and Greg Bole. -- jef |