PAGE 17
Panel 1: Again, Moore
plays with the two narratives as the “Black Freighter” caption says, in part,
“my enemies’ hideous banner flapping dismally in my dreams,” while the news vendor describes the newspapers front
page as “a nightmare.”
And
the image in this panel is of the Black Freighter’s flag, which is a skull and
crossbones on a black field, another symmetrical image.
Panel 2: More narrative juxtaposition as the news
vendor talks about the murders and murder attempts featured in the paper
(“somebody chops up their kids, somebody else shoots at Adrain Veidt”) while
the “Black Freighter” caption reinforces this commentary with its statement
that a “deaths-head banner; it flies above us all.”
Note
in the imagery that the back cover on the “Black Freighter” comic the younger
Bernie is reading sports an advertisement for ‘The Veidt Method,’ similar to
the Charles Atlas ads commonly found in comic books of the past. We will see the full text of the Veidt method
in a later prose piece, but the general substance of the ad is that Veidt can
help people discover their inner potential through his method of exercise and
meditation. “You too can be a
superhero.”
Panel 3: The “Black Freighter” commentary that the
“head nailed to the [Black Freighter]’s black prow, those heads are our heads,”
plays against the idea put forth by the news vendor that, “if somebody wants to
off a saint like Veidt, what chance do any of us got?” Basically, these both say that “we’re all in
this together.”
Panel 4: In this panel, the news vendor discusses all
the good works Adrian Veidt has done in
public, while the “Black Freighter” caption states, “we exist upon the whim
of murderers,” which is a commentary upon Veidt’s secret plan and also
foreshadows the end of the book.
The
newsvendor’s statement, “[Veidt] revealed his name like he had nothing to hide [emphasis mine],” is also another nod to
Rorschach when juxtaposed with the imagery in the background (Kovacs walking
along with his “End is Nigh” sign) whose secret identity is passing through
this panel, keeping it hidden in plain
sight.
Also,
the fallout shelter sign in the background is another reminder of the doom
hanging over this entire world.
Panel 5: The news vendor’s statement that “no wonder
people go crazy” is a commentary upon the sailor from the “Black Freighter” in
this panel.
Panel 6: Moore
goes one better with this panel as the news vendor’s comment, “you never know
what’s bearing down on you,” does double duty.
First, it echoes the “Black Freighter” caption, which reads, “beneath my
raft, something moved,” signaling the sharks about to attack the sailor in the
following panels. But, it is also a
commentary upon the reality – as well as a foreshadowing of the end of this
chapter – that nobody knows Kovacs is Rorschach, as we see his hands carrying
“The End is Nigh” sign in the foreground.
Also
note, in the background – on the news vendor’s corner – is the Institute for
Extraspatial Studies, which will become very important later in this story.
Panel 7: The news vendor’s statement, “all we see is
what’s on the surface,” is a commentary not only upon the doomed sailor’s
initial thought that maybe the corpses upon which his raft floats were trying
to escape into the air – his inability to see the sharks beneath the surface
and his frail psyche forming this idea – but it is also a commentary upon
Moore’s audience, who – especially upon a first reading of Watchmen – might
only see the surface story and miss a lot of the deeper layers. More specifically to that final point, it
would also be a commentary upon the fact that many readers probably do not see
– in the background – all the clues that he’s laid out to reveal the identity
of Rorschach.
And
although it could not have been intended by Moore, this statement that we only
see the surface is also a commentary upon the fervor surrounding “grim ‘n
gritty” characters that followed the success of Watchmen and Dark Knight in 1986, as creators and
others within the medium took these more
adult surface elements and transposed them to the comics that followed –
believing this new “relevance” with adult actions and themes to be the reason
for these books’ success – instead of understanding it was the storytelling and
the density and the writing and creativity that launched these two books into
the hands of so many readers.
Panel 8: The news vendor says, “I bet there’s all
kinda stuff we never notice” as Kovacs – with his “End is Nigh” sign leaning
against the trash can – goes through his mail drop (as Rorschach told Moloch)
again, giving yet another clue as to Rorschach’s identity.
It
also echoes the “Black Freighter” caption slightly as the sailor is unable to
see things clearly in the dark, believing – or hoping – that the shadowy
figures approaching were boats to rescue him.
Panel 9: The news vendor’s comment continues from the
previous panel finishing the idea that we miss stuff “until it’s too late,”
which again comments upon the reality of the doomed sailor who understands too
late that there are no boats approaching.
They are fins, shark fins.
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