PAGE 6
Panels 5-8:
Up to this point, readers have come to understand Rorschach as one who
sees the world in very black and white terms. There is no room for compromise. And in the previous panels of this page, we see him
preparing to take retribution on his landlady for the lies she said about him
on the news – specifically the lies that he had made sexual advances on
her.
In panel 5 Rorschach refutes the thought
of doing nothing, stating that he “…can’t…” because it is a slur on his
reputation. Rorschach finishes by
calling his landlady a whore. This
– and her entreaty of Rorschach not to call her that in front of her children,
who don’t know the truth of their parentage – transitions to a scene of one of
the young boys clutching at his mother’s waist, an image reminiscent of the
young Kovacs (Rorschach), whose own mother was a whore. With panel 7 we see Rorschach looking down at this boy with sadness – born
of compassion and recognition, it seems.
Then Rorschach turns to leave, without taking the retribution he was so
ready to enact only seconds earlier.
In this
fleeting moment, we are afforded a glimpse at the humanity within Rorschach
that has lain dormant for so long.
Panel 9:
The image of Mrs. Shairp and her children huddled in the doorway of
Rorschach’s apartment transitions directly to
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