Before Rorschach
Review:
Besides NiteOwl and Ozymandias, Rorschach has got to be my most favorite character in the Watchmen universe and I'm pretty sure I'm not the only one. His dark nature towards criminals, fine detective and brutal fighting skills, alienated personality, and a strong belief of Black (Evil) that must be punished and White (Good) to protect is what drove the character and what made him so appealing. Even when the odds were stacked against him and at the face of death, he never compromised. When word came out that a series of comics called Before Watchmen each caharcter having their own series, I knew that it would cause an uproar for hardcore fans of the series because it was an solid 12 issue story that was best left alone. However, DC did so otherwise, and so most of the comics came out and finally, after a month or so, we get to see our favorite character return... Only to get his ass handled back to him.
It's your basic simple story; It's 2 years later after the Blair Roche incident, Rorschach breaks a guy's arm for information on where the supply of drugs are, goes into the sewers for hours until he gets setup into a trap, gets his ass kicked and the gang walks away proudly when they could've just killed him right on the spot. But don't worry folks, Rorschach will definitely gets his revenge, just how and what is the million dollar question.
The art by John Higgins was fantastic, it gives a 1970's feel with it's hookers, taxi cabs, the ghetto streets of new york, all that stuff. I especially like at the end with Rorschach's expression that kinda resembles the one from issue 6 of the Watchmen comics. I'm a little split on the writing; it's not bad and it defines Rorschach but I'm more in tuned with Alan Moore's writing because whenever Rorschach rights his journal or talked in a caption there's this philosophical theme or message around it and creepy feel to it. That's why the series was so special, both it art and in writing. In this comic, Rorschach curses a lot but I don't remember him doing that in Watchmen, though it was great when he first appears. I don't mind him losing a fight but that would be something that would happen later in the comics right?
Overall it was an enjoyable issue, not great but worth getting if your a Watchmen or a Rorschach fan. I'll keep reading this series but if there' s something not right with it then I'll drop it. The only other thing I would like to see more of is the Detective part of the character and not just some Punisher knockoff who constantly punish criminals just for the sake of shock value and being a dark and edgy comic. There's more to him than that. 4/5
