Tom King and Jorge Fornés’ thrilling Rorschach maxi-series can be read without interruption on a cold night, which is a pretty perfect setting for it. Set in the world of Alan Moore and Dave Gibbons’ Watchmen, knowledge of the previous series can help provide a bit of context, but it’s not required.
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Think of Rorschach as a spinoff story that explores its own dark corner of the complex comics legacy rather than a true sequel. For starters, the story seems to end with the death of its main character. (And no, this is not a spoiler. It happens on the first page.)
If your answer is: “Wait, isn’t Rorschach already dead?”, you’re not wrong. This newly murdered Rorschach turns out to be a comic book artist who was wearing the iconic vigilante costume while he and a young woman named Laura Cummings were attempting to assassinate a presidential candidate.
After the assailants are gunned down by Secret Service agents, an anonymous detective is tasked with finding out who they are, where they came from, and why they attacked Governor Turley.
If you love murder mysteries and conspiracy stories, this Black Label comic will become your new obsession. It is often said that reality is perception and that is a concept that this comic plays with. As the anonymous detective unravels new layers of the mystery, it becomes clear that everyone has their own idea of what the truth is.
information bias
Reading this thought-provoking and, let’s be honest, rather provocative graphic novel, a lot of thought was given to the power of confirmation bias. For those unfamiliar, confirmation bias is when you have a preconceived theory, so your brain looks for things that support that theory, while rejecting information that counters it.
For example, if I thought Batman is left-handed, I’d look for vignettes where he uses his left hand, but deliberately ignore clear cases where the Dark Knight writes with his right hand.
We have all been victims of confirmation bias at some point in our lives. It’s usually something small and harmless (“the rival sports team is cheating!”) and most of us can get away when confronted with the evidence. But sometimes confirmation bias can lead people down dangerous paths, and that’s exactly what happens in Rorschach.
Laura Cummings’ father is a great example. After the events of the original Watchmen saga, he became convinced that the alien squids were planning their next attack on Earth. As her paranoia grew, she came to believe that the squid were already among us.
He searched for any evidence that the squids were controlling the people around him, including his wife, whose doubts he took to be the squids’ mind control. Laura’s mother was simply using critical thinking, but disturbingly, that didn’t fit with her father’s worldview, so he rejected the truth and instead shaped his fiction so that his doubts fit it.
In the end, Laura’s father was willing to die for his beliefs. He became convinced that the squids were now mind-controlling him and asked Laura to put him down.
reality is not what it seems
Governor Turley continued to insist that his assassination attempt was orchestrated by his political rival, President Redford. At the time, there was no evidence to support his claims, but Turley insisted.
Of course, at the end of the story we learn that there is more to Turley’s story than meets the eye. I was so busy looking for examples of confirmation bias that I had completely missed all the obvious red flags around Turley. That’s how powerful this book is: you end up on the same journey of perception that the characters do.
Although he died decades before the events of this story, the original Rorschach’s legacy can be felt throughout this comic. Rorschach is the perfect character for a story like this, even in his name.
What do you see what you see in these inkblots?
Rorschach got its name from a psychological inkblot test in which each viewer would perceive a different image. In other words, Rorschach wears a confirmation bias symbol right there on his face.
In many ways, the tape that Wil Myerson, Laura Cummings, and Frank Miller (yes, that Frank Miller) listen to can be considered a Rorschach listening test. Each person who listens to him leaves and concludes that he says something else.
In most cases, they hear what they want to hear. Thanks to confirmation bias, Wil and Laura are convinced that they are listening to a message from Doctor Manhattan. Outside forces are able to take advantage of this and convince the duo to attack a presidential candidate.
Everyone sees a Rorschach test in their own unique way, and maybe this comic is the same way. I experienced a noir crime mystery that served as a commentary on confirmation bias, but maybe you’ll see something I didn’t.
Like the original Watchmen story that inspired it, there are many ways to interpret Rorschach. The question is, what do you see what you see in these inkblots?
You can also read: Tom King shows a preview of his new project with Watchmen
Source: DC Comics
Who is the man behind the mask? Rorschach arrives at SMASH and DC Black Label
It has been 35 years since Ozymandias unleashed a gigantic interdimensional squid on New York City, killing thousands and forever destroying public trust in heroes. And since then, a masked figure, hat and trench coat, has become a divisive cultural icon.
So what does it mean that Rorschach reappears as an assassin trying to eliminate the candidate running against President Robert Redford? Who is under the mask and why is he acting this way? It’s up to a detective to discover the true identity of this would-be killer… and this will lead him through a tangle of conspiracies.
SMASH and DC Black Label bring you Rorschach, the work of Tom King and Jorge Fornes that will become a suspense classic that should not be missing from your collection.
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