Pages 7 and 22

We're back to the nine-panel pages here, but the light-and-dark effect has been switched off for the nonce. Since these are the only pages where the two detectives have a main role, and since detectives are concerned with finding patterns, the visual symbols are laid on pretty heavily. The triangle motif occurs on the Buddha poster (along with the ever-present splatter). This poster is the transitional image to page 8, with the splash against the triangle repeated on the side of the delivery truck. The other poster mimics the skull and crossbones of the earlier pages and the pirate comic; also its title, "Grateful Dead," is a morbid reflection of what Mr. Hirsch attempted to do -- keep his children from experiencing a nuclear war, whose "survivors would envy the dead." This poster also serves as the transition panel to 23, echoing the skull and crossbones in 23.1.

These two detectives are the ordinary kind, the ones who wear their underwear inside their pants, but notice how much influence the unseen costumed detectives have on this mundane existence. The homicide they investigate stems from the threat of war, a threat made real by Dr. Manhattan's self-imposed exile. The last half of page 22 is overwhelmed by the heroes -- Veidt, Blake and Rorschach crowd into the final panels, and an airship floats by, reminding us of Dr. Manhattan's influence on technology in this world. Detective Fine senses a pattern, but it's as intangible as sound waves. Overtly and covertly, the heroes warp their world.