Pages 1 and 28

Comments for Pages 1 and 28:

These pages are laid out in Watchmen's standard, nine-panel grid. They depict Rorschach's entrance and exit from the home of Edgar Jacobi (once known as "Moloch the Mystic"). On page 1, Rorschach approaches the house. We see the reflection of the skull-and-crossbones neon sign belonging to the "Rumrunners" bar, reflected in the puddle which we'll see again on other pages. A menu from the Gunga Diner lies on the ground, as well as a newspaper with the headline, "RUSSIA INVADES." Page 28 shows Rorschach jumping from the building and being subdued by the police. The flashing neon sign illuminates the same alternate panels on each page: panels 1, 3, 5, 7, and 9. The action on both pages takes place entirely outside, in the rain.

Moore neatly introduces the entrance and exits by having Rorschach step in and out (see 28.8 where his foot is being dragged out of the frame). The theme of symmetry shows up visually on page 1 with the initial reflection of the crossbones in the puddle -- and since the image is reflected, there are two axes of symmetry, one in the image itself and the other between the sign and its reflection. There is also a textual reference to symmetry in the line, "Everything balances." Notice the array of objects that will show up throughout the chapter. Some of these themes will be really subtle -- in at least one panel in each mirrored spread, a hand or pair of hands will be very significant. Two close-ups of shoes appear in this spread.

Of course, this repetition of images isn't only an internal function of Chapter V -- if you check closely through the chapter, you'll many signature objects that run through the work as a whole.