COMIC DETAILS
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Comic Description:
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Watchmen 1 Signature
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Grade:
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9.8
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Page Quality:
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WHITE
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Certification #:
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4238405001
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Owner:
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The Captain
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SET DETAILS
Owner's Description
September, 1986
"At Midnight, All the Agents..."
Alan Moore - Writer
Dave Gibbons - Penciler
Dave Gibbons - Cover Artist
Dave Gibbons - Inkers
John Higgins - Colorist
Dave Gibbons - Letterer
Len Wein & Barbara Kesel - Editors
Dick Giordano - Executive Editor
Synopsis:
NYPD Detectives Steve Fine and Joe Bourquin investigate the murder of Edward Blake, who was thrown out of his apartment window and fell many stories to his death. The detectives conclude that Blake's assailant(s) were rather strong, citing Blake's large and stronger physique as well as the strength of the glass window that Blake was thrown out of. The detectives decide to cover up the investigation in order to avoid interference from the vigilante Rorschach.
That night, however, Rorschach enters and searches Blake's apartment, finding a compartment containing weapons, a leather costume, and a picture of the Minutemen. Rorschach realizes that Edward Blake was the American government-sponsored costumed adventurer known as the Comedian.
Meanwhile, Dan Dreiberg is visiting Hollis Mason at the latter's home where they discuss their time as Nite Owl. After their discussion is over, Dan returns to his apartment to find his door broken in and Rorschach awaiting him while helping himself to a can of cold beans. Rorschach informs Dan of the Comedian's death, who proposes moving their discussion to the workshop in the basement where Dan stores his Nite Owl equipment. Rorschach tells Dan that he has been investigating Blake's death. Dan suggests that given Blake's services and history, his murder could have been a political killing in response to his actions in toppling Marxist Republics in South America. Rorschach proposes another theory that someone is attempting to eliminate costumed heroes. Dan is skeptical of this idea, but Rorschach points out that the Comedian had made a lot of enemies over the past forty years. Rorschach soon leaves but not before giving The Comedian's blood-stained smiley face badge that he found to Dan.
Rorschach later takes his investigation to a seedy bar called Happy Harry's, where the owner and patrons very fearfully know him well. He talks to Harry, asking who killed Edward Blake. A man named Steve mocks Rorschach, who then starts breaking the man's pinky and index fingers while continuing to ask the entire bar who killed Edward Blake. A man speaks up and claims that none of them know, so Rorschach releases Steve and leaves.
Rorschach visits Adrian Veidt, a retired hero formerly known as Ozymandias and a current billionaire, at his office. Veidt shares the same suggestion that Blake's murder was a political killing, perhaps committed by the Soviets. Rorschach considers otherwise, as the Soviets never dared to antagonize America because of the latter's possession of the superhuman operative Dr. Manhattan since 1965, and sticks to his costume killer theory. Veidt further explains that the Comedian had many political enemies other than the Soviets, claiming that Blake's reputation made him "practically a Nazi." Rorschach defends Blake from Veidt's remark, stating that Blake stood up for his country, never allowed anyone to retire him, and never sold his image - unlike Veidt. The billionaire remains unaffected by Rorschach's words, as he explains that he chose to retire prior to the passing of the Police Strike and the Keene Act that outlawed unsanctioned vigilantes.
Rorschach then goes to warn Doctor Manhattan and Laurie Juspeczyk at Rockefeller Military Research Center. The couple were already informed of Blake's murder by their government superiors in which Manhattan recalls that the C.I.A. suspects the Libyans were responsible. Manhattan remains unconcerned when Rorschach proposes his costume killer theory, explaining that he sees life and death as "unquantifiable abstracts." Laurie is very unsympathetic toward Blake, calling him a monster due to the fact that he had tried to rape her mother when they were both in the Minutemen. Her statements on Blake ends up in an argument with Rorschach. Due to upsetting Laurie, Manhattan teleports Rorschach outside of the facility.
Laurie decides to invite Dan Dreiberg out for dinner at Rafael's. Manhattan politely declines to join as he is occupied on finishing his research that would validate supersymmetrical theory. Laurie explains to Dan how she regrets her old life as the second Silk Spectre and her relationship with Jon. She mentions that the government kept her at Rockefeller Military Research Center to keep Jon relaxed and happy. Laurie and Dan then enjoy recalling the story of an old villain that only pretended to be a super-villain to get beaten up, laughing at their times as costumed heroes.
Notes:
-Signed by: Dave Gibbons on 06/30/2023
-This issue is reprinted in the Watchmen trade paperback and Absolute hardcover edition.
-The title of this issue is taken from Bob Dylan's "Desolation Row." The lyrics of the song appears at the ending of this issue: "At midnight, all the agents and superhuman crew, go out and round up everyone who knows more than they do."
-Rorschach's initial statement in his journal: "Dog carcass in alley this morning, tire tread on burst stomach," foreshadows the incident that led to Rorschach becoming a more unhinged vigilante in issue #6.
-The Doomsayer holding the "The End is Nigh" sign on page 4 makes sporadic appearances throughout the course of the series until his significance and true identity is revealed in issue #5.
-A newspaper headline reading "Russia Protests US Adventurism in Afghanistan" is a reversed version of real-world events in which (at the time of the publishing of Watchmen) the Soviet Union invaded Afghanistan in 1979 and ended in 1989, and was opposed by the United States and other nations. This later becomes important in the story in issue #3.
-The last page of the issue reverses the composition of the first page, with the viewpoint traveling from close-up of the smiley-face button to a high vantage point.
-The Doomsday Clock shows 12 minutes before midnight, the same time that is displayed on the front and back covers of the issue.
Trivia:
-The phrase "Who Watches the Watchmen?" is first seen spray-painted on the bay door of Hollis Mason's auto-garage (pp. 9). The phrase appears sporadically throughout the title and is popularly recognized as a tagline for the series as a whole.
-In the foreground where Detectives Fine and Bourquin are leaving the apartment building (1:4:3) there is a headline on the newspaper states "Vietnam 51st State: Official!" The results of the Vietnam War in the world of Watchmen is later elaborate in issue #4.
-On Hollis Mason's bookshelf, right next to two copies of Under the Hood, is Philip Wylie's science fiction novel Gladiator. The book has been cited as the inspiration for Superman.
-The can of Heinz baked beans Rorschach is eating (1:10:8) has "58" just visible (likely for "58 varieties"). In our world the founder of the Heinz corporation decided in 1892 on the tag line "57 varieties" for his products.
-On the building's window sill where Rorschach is standing on is a "Stick with Dick in 84" poster (1:14:4). This is an appeal to vote for Richard Nixon for his fifth term in office as President of the United States, his first term having commenced in January of 1969. Nixon's unlimited term of office is explain in issue #4.
-In front of Happy Harry's (1:14:5) is a newspaper with the headline: "Congress Approves Lunar Silos". This seems to indicate that the Outer Space Treaty, which prohibit weapons of mass destruction in orbit of Earth, either abrogated or never came into effect.
-In Veidt's office is a poster for his benefit performance for Indian Famine Relief. Veidt gives his televised performance in issue #7.
-On Veidt's desk is a New York Gazette with the headline, "Nuclear Doomsday Clock Stands at Five to Twelve Warn Experts" and "Geneva Talks: U.S. Refuses to Discuss Dr. Manhattan." The "Geneva Talks" is likely an allusion to the Geneva meeting between U.S. President Ronald Reagan and Soviet General Mikhail Gorbachev in November 1985 to discuss the international arms race.
-Gluino, as mentioned by Manhattan, is the supersymmetric partner of gluon, the exchange for strong force between quarks. Supersymmetry predicts the existence of gluons, and the discovery of a gluino would go a long way toward confirming the theory. In the real world, without the assistance of Dr. Manhattan, research continues through the use of the CERN Large Hadron Collider, the Thomas Jefferson National Accelerator Facility, and other high-energy facilities. "Bestiary" is a scientific vernacular for a listing of the subatomic particles that make up all matter.
-Rorschach's musing that Veidt is "possibly homosexual," is a sign of the mid-1980's (as of the writing of Watchmen) when American conservatives (such as Rorschach) largely disapproved of homosexuality and even believed the AIDS epidemic, which came to the forefront at that time, was a homosexual disease.
-In Rafael's, there are several fashionable women wearing the knot-top hairstyle, suggesting its pervasiveness; their eye makeup is based on the Eye of Horus, suggesting Veidt's obsession with Ancient Egypt. In the foreground are two seated men who are an openly gay couple, something rarely seen in upscale straight restaurants in 1985 in the real world.
-Spaghetti Africaine, as mentioned by Laurie, is not a specific type of recipe; rather, it is a fanciful name for spaghetti with a sauce featuring African or Creole spices.
Quotes:
"The accumulated filth of all their sex and murder will foam up about their waists and all the whores and politicians will look up and shout "Save us!"... and I'll look down and whisper "No." — Rorschach
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