Watchmen: Chapter I - page 10

PAGE 10

Panel 1: In the background, Dan is walking by one of the charging ports for electric cars in this reality.

In the foreground, we have signs of impending doom in the man’s “Pale Horse” jacket, the tattoo of a swastika on the girl’s arm, and – most importantly – the news headline that “Russia Protes[ts] U.S. Adv[ance] in Afgh[anistan],” a headline that is a complete reversal of what was actually going on during the mid-80s when Russia was the one occupying Afghanistan. But in this world, where Dr. Manhattan is a weapon of the U.S. government, things have gone a bit differently.

Panel 2: “Treasure Island” is a comic shop in the vein of the “Forbidden Planet” chain in the UK, Ireland, and the United States, which caters to a comic medium rife with pirates rather than superheroes. Above the storefront, readers can see a perfume ad for Nostalgia – another symbol of the dread people feel with nuclear death hanging above their heads – they wish for simpler times.

Panel 3: The plate on the door to Dan Dreiberg’s apartment shows: “Floors 1-4, Dreiberg D.” Dan is obviously well off.

Panel 5: Dan’s silhouette, with his feathered hair, is almost that of an owl, as in Nite Owl.

Panel 8: The can of Heinz baked beans that Rorschach is eating has a “58” on it rather than the “57” with which we are familiar – another little detail of this different world.

Watchmen: Chapter I - page 9

PAGE 9

Panel 1: As we see in the next panel, this is a close-up of the picture Rorschach just took from Edward Blake’s closet. This hero is the first Nite Owl, whom we will see in panel 3.

Panel 2: The camera pulls back, showing the full picture of the Minutemen, as just seen at Blake’s – alerting readers to the fact that there is a connection here.

Panel 3: Note the clock in the background, just a few minutes to midnight – as Dan Dreiberg mentions. This accentuates the theme of pending Armageddon that permeates the book, which was a very real fear in 1985 with the heated rhetoric between American and Russia and the escalation of nuclear arms propagated by these two Cold War antagonists, as symbolized by the Doomsday clock at the University of Chicago.

Panel 4: In the foreground we see some books – most notably two copies of Hollis Mason’s (Nite Owl I) tell-all book, Under the Hood, and a book that has been cited as the inspiration for Superman, Gladiator by Philip Wylie.

Also, the statue of Nite Owl next to these books can be seen as a symbol of how the citizens of this world see heroes if one reads the inscription “IN GRATITUDE” as one word, “INGRATITUDE.”

Panel 5: Hollis’s remark about how “. . . they put you youngsters out to grass in ’77,” is another remark about the Keene Act, which is explained later.

Panel 6: Graffiti on the outside of the steps is for a band named Pale Horse, another reference to the fear of nuclear devastation. From Revelations 6: “I looked and there before me was a pale horse! Its rider was named Death, and Hell was following close behind him.”

Panel 7: More graffiti: the first markings of “Who Watches the Watchmen?” – which is never seen in its entirety – and a better view of “Pale Horse.”

Panel 8: As Dan leaves Hollis’s place, we see the older Nite Owl’s auto repair sign coming in off the left of the panel. “Obsolete models a specialty,” is not just a marketing slogan, but also a statement about Hollis Mason and Dan Dreiberg, their heroic alter-egos now obsolete in the eyes of the world.

Watchmen: Chapter I - page 8

PAGE 8

Panel 1: Rorschach finds a red, white, and blue costume – in the vein of Captain America – that comes with a “gimp” mask. Coupled with the Uzi and knife, we can gather this belonged to someone other than a Captain America analogue.

Panel 6: Again, we see Rorschach using his left hand as he takes down the picture.

Panel 7: Now we see a clearer shot of the picture, which – as we will find out later – is of the Minutemen, the precursors to the Watchmen. This picture will be significant later.

Watchmen: Chapter I - page 7

PAGE 7

Panels 2 & 3: In panel 2, readers see that Rorschach’s arm is bent when it touches the back of Edward Blake’s closet, while in the next panel, his right arm is fully extended as it touches the wall against which this closet rests.

Also in panel 3, readers are introduced to Rorschach’s strange word balloons, which give his voice some character – gravelly and disturbing.

Panels 4 & 5: The use of the wire hanger, and the bow that would remain after Rorschach straightened it out, is brilliant to better show what might not have been obvious on panels 2 & 3. The bow in the hanger adds a level of detail to the book often missing in comics, but also gives the audience a gauge by which to measure the depth of this closet.

Watchmen: Chapter I - page 5

PAGE 5

Panel 1: Clue #3 that Kovacs is Rorschach:

It is now night, but looking back at the final panel of Page 4, we see that this is the same image from a slightly different angle, and where we saw Kovacs’s head in Page 4, Panel 8, we now see the top of Rorschach’s hat.

Panels 6 & 7: Rorschach takes out his grappling gun to fire it with his left hand, tracing back to panel 7 of the previous page, where we see that Kovacs is left-handed from how he wears his watch.

Panel 9: Rorschach scaling the façade of this skyscraper is another indication of the overall theme in this issue of the heroes looming over everything in this world.

Watchmen: Chapter I - page 4

PAGE 4

Panel 1: The Knot-tops are a kid gang that exists in this alternate reality.  KT-28s and ‘Luudes (quaaludes) are illegal narcotics, as noted in this comment for the complete Chapter 1 annotations.   

Panel 2: Juxtaposition: “A lot of crazy things happen in a city this size.” overlaid on the image of Edward Blake falling to his death.

Panel 3: An insinuation that heroes are not beloved on this Earth as they are in our comics when Detective #2 makes the comment: “We don’t need any masked avengers getting interested and cutting in.”

Note the comic in the boy’s hands in the foreground – the first look at the “Tales of the Black Freighter.” Also note behind him two other comics – “Pirate” and “X-Ships,” and, more importantly, the headline on the newspaper states “Vietnam 51^st State” an even more ominous indication that this is not our world.

Panel 4: Juxtaposition: “. . . well, what say we let this one drop out of sight?” as Edward Blake falls into the night.

Panel 5: First mention of the Keene Act of 1977, which we find out later is the legislation that outlawed masked heroes.

The cars look different, another sign this is a parallel reality.

On the right of the panel we see Kovacs marching with his sign toward the detectives.

In the foreground, a symbol of another of the overriding themes of the book – the threat and fear of nuclear devastation – can be seen in a flyer for a popular candy, MMeltdowns, which has as its brand image a mushroom cloud, symbolic of the meltdown from a nuclear detonation.

Panel 6: The statement, “Rorschach’s still out there.” carries over to

Panel 7: as, in the foreground, we see Kovacs (the alter-ego of Rorschach) approaching the detectives.

Note Kovacs is checking his watch, which is on his right wrist, signifying that he is left-handed. (Clue #2 that he’s Rorschach)

The statement, “What’s the matter?” from Detective #2 as Detective #1 pulls his jacket closer about his neck, carries over to

Panel 8: as Detective #1 says, “Uh, nothing . . . just a shiver,” as they pass the man with the “End is Nigh” poster. This is significant because the man they are discussing, Rorschach – a violent and feared vigilante – is the man with the “End is Nigh” poster.

Chapter I - page 3

PAGE 3

Panel 2: Note the pirate ship on the bookshelf behind the detective. Pirates are the most popular characters for comics in this world where superheroes walk among the populace, and the “Tales of the Black Freighter” comic that will be shown later will have far-reaching symbolic significance on the main story itself.

Panel 3: Here we see the blood spattering the smiley face button.

Panel 6: More hints at a different world: fashion as exemplified by the hat worn by the man in the elevator, and the smoking implement utilized by this same man – especially as compared to the traditional cigarette Detective #2 is smoking.

Panel 7: Another example of juxtaposition, this time used for black humor as the man in the elevator tells the detectives: “Ground floor comin’ up.” as we see the image of Edward Blake being thrown through the window.