Reality Sets In
In this issue a psychologist is looking to make a name for himself by taking Rorschach as a patient. Hoping to pull him out of his world of darkness. Instead he finds himself being pulled into it. Through their sessions together we find out more about Rorschach and how he became the scourge to the criminal world.
Talk to almost anyone who has read this series, and in the comic book community, that is just about everyone, and they will name this issue among their favorite. Frankly I agree with that. This issue amost strips away all the fantastic stuff we have seen in the past issues, and grounds everything into reality.
This also raises the stakes and connects the reader that much more to the story. We see a story of a man who wanted to do the right thing and was holding on to a sense of morals, until a moraless world pushes him over the edge, and he added judge and executioner to his resume as well as masked vigilante.
Yet the story is not about him. Nope, the story is actually about the reaction of the otherwise rational psychiatrist Dr. Malcom. Who comes to Rorschach full of optimism and a sense of carreer infallibility, only to have it thrown back into his face. Through his interactions with Rorschach he sees his own world crumble.
It is no big revelation that Rorschach is the most interesting character in the series, probably because he is the most like us. With real problems and a breakable psyche.
Without a doubt, in a classic series such as the Watchmen. This is its finest moment.