Rorschach

Watchmen sequels and adaptations have a tendency to really divide audiences (and for good reason, per the strained relationship between the creators and the publishers, though that's a story for another day). The Before Watchmen prequel comics were most certainly of mixed quality, the movie and "true comics sequel" Doomsday Clock are quite divisive on a person-by-person basis, and even the well-received TV series won't be to every Watchmen fan's liking. This one, though, should be right up anyone's alley.Without going into spoilers, Rorschach is as much exploring the public's reception to Watchmen and the titular character in a meta sense as it is telling a political thriller, not dissimilar to Watchmen originally commenting on the superhero genre of its day. It reflects on the ways hero worship often gives the wrong or incomplete takeaways for the characters in question, it explores unforeseen effects of Watchmen's ending, and it even reflects the blockbuster explosion of superheroes in a way they weren't yet there in Watchmen's first publishing.The story does several interesting things, including VERY unexpected real-world people, and briefly implies it is in continuity with the TV series with one line. Tom King does a great job emulating the writing of the original, and even refrains from some of his usual writing quirks that wouldn't work as well in this story; I'm quite a fan of his other works, but even for people who aren't, this will still hold up very well.All in all, this is the Watchmen follow-up that really, TRULY feels like it was not only worthy, but perhaps even necessary as a sequel to that classic work.

Very different from what I expected. But if you look at the story as what it is, a slow study of the characters and their world, it's great.

This storyline was great. Enjoyed the ups and downs of the crazy roller coaster ride this took me on.This was my first Rorschach graphic novel and am looking forward to more.

One of the best post Alan Moore watchmen series I have read. The story was compelling and the pace was solid. Kudos to Tom King

The title turns out to be a bait-and-switch. This does not really involve Rorschach as in the one in Watchmen. Or I don't think the one in the Geoff Johns sequel Doomsday Clock, though I have yet to read that.This I guess is supposed to be in the same universe as the HBO limited series as it's 2020 and Robert Redford has been president for 20 years and running for another term. There is a mention of Oklahoma and cops in masks but that's it; none of the characters of that show appear in this. Redford's opponent Turley is nearly killed by an assassin dressed as a cowgirl and a guy dressed like Rorschach.The format of the story is like Citizen Kane as the unnamed detective follows the clues to discover who did what. But there's a twist at the end that was pretty good.Still, at the end of the day this is just a political thriller vaguely set in the Watchmen universe that just throws in some Rorschach branding to justify the title so DC fanboys will buy it. It doesn't feature the real Rorschach or offer any insights into his character. There is a mention that the assassin guy's fingerprints match the original Rorschach but that's just a red herring; original Rorschach is dead and stays dead. It's too bad because Tom King could probably have written a really interesting story on the actual Rorschach instead of this cheap branding stunt.Not that it's a bad book, but it's not King's best work. The art is fine. Pretty typical stuff that I guess wasn't a lot different from the original Dave Gibbons art in Watchmen. (Fun Fact: Comic book writer Frank Miller appears as himself, only in this world he wrote a pirate comic called The Dark Fife Returns. Heh.)

This was a fairly fascinating limited series and not what you'd expect for watchmen. It has its various easter eggs, but its really a separate story all its own. I enjoyed the story overall ad found it to be a good enough read that I'll likely enjoy it again. Just don't expect it to be like Watchmen.

Though I did not enjoy this story as much as I wanted to, I think it is a good read. Great contrast and twist on the icon of Rorschach playing out in the form of opposing political ideology, which transports the reader into some interesting and unexpected territory. Then, maybe the spirit of R has less to do with Leftist or Right-wing, but more I do with uncompromising, accurate facts.

I'd be against a Watchmen sequel, but this is barely that. A mind bending mystery starring Steve Ditko and Frank Miller, a weirdo book with a familiar character. If this stuff has to be made, this is how you make it.

I approached this read with eager anticipation but could not have been more disappointed. Slow-paced to the point of sending the reader to sleep - with over-convoluted dialogue and relentless flashback scene-swapping (a lot of which made NO sense). Ultimately a million miles away from the genius of Alan Moore. Recommendation: avoid.

Fooled again. Always the same with Tom King stories. Starts off great then about a third in it feels like King forgets what story he is telling and starts to weave in a storyline that that feels like it was meant for a different book. What this has to do with the Rorschach character from Watchmen I don't know. (Read Geoff Johns' "Doomsday Clock" if you want an amazing story on how to do that properly). King had obviously been watching 'Three Days of the Condor" and "The Parallax View" before writing this when he should have been re-reading Watchmen. Bought this with Kings' "Strange Tales". Hope that book is better.Art work and design was brilliant though.

We know, because we saw the movie, what sort of character and person Rorschach was (brutal, but honest), but King, for reasons I will not elaborate upon because they are self-evident, decided to tarnish Rorschach by telling us he was nothing but the personification of King's political animosities. Contrary to most, I expected King to disappoint me (but bought it because I am a completionist). The art is good. If not for it I would have awarded this book one star.

I liked bits of it. I wonder what Alan Moore thinks. But hey, it's post Watchmen and no one forced me to buy it. Had it for Christmas actually. It didn't snow.

This is set well after the main Watchmen. Nice curious story that pulled me in. I'd say it's a good stand alone even if you don't really know the Watchmen and/or Rorschach. But elaborating on the story would be massive spoilers. The actual book is well made and feels good in the hands as you read it.