Watchmen: Chapter II - Page 18

PAGE 18

Again, this page is washed in shades of red, signifying the bloody confrontation the Comedian and Nite Owl just went through, as well as the bloody confrontation to come.  Metaphorically speaking, red would seem to be the dominant color of the Comedian’s outfit.

Panel 2:  Nite Owl’s comment that Rorschach “works mostly on his own these days” is in reference to the event that changes Rorschach into the relentless champion of justice that he becomes – an event we will see in Chapter VI: “The Abyss Gazes Also,” of which a superficial description is mentioned by the Comedian in

Panel 3:  when Blake says, “[Rorschach]’s been nuts ever since that kidnapping he handled three years back.”

Also in the foreground:  more “Who Watches the Watchmen?” graffiti.

Panel 4:  Like Rorschach, the Comedian sees himself as completely sane and mentally balanced.

Panels 7-8:  Alan Moore includes some transitional dialogue here as the Comedian tells Nite Owl, “Let’s really put these jokers through some changes” in panel 7, and the caption over panel 8, from the minister at the Comedian’s funeral, is saying, “. . . who shall change our vile body . . .” at the point when the Comedian’s body has gone through the ultimate change from life to death.

Panels 8-9:  And our transition from the past to the present is delineated by Dave Gibbons utilizing – as he has with all of the flashbacks in this issue – the same layout in each panel with Nite Owl’s “past” hand morphing into his “present” hand as he stands in his civilian identity of Dan Dreiberg, and the Comedian, who was disappearing into the smoke in 1977, is in the same place in the present, albeit within a coffin that is being let down into its grave.