Watchmen: Chapter VII - page 12

PAGE 12

Panel 3:  Note that Dr. Long, according to the news report, is arriving for his first interview with Walter Kovacs.  This quick bit of information places the chronology for this particular chapter toward the beginning of the previous chapter. 

Panels 4-7:  The news reports about the Russian invasion of Afghanistan call to mind real-world military actions, albeit ones taken – in this story’s reality – six years after Russia invaded Afghanistan in our “timeline.”  The Soviet war in Afghanistan lasted from 1979 until early 1989 in our history.  In the world of the Watchmen, that invasion and war was postponed due to the military deterrent provided by Dr. Manhattan.

Panel 9:  Again, Moore & Gibbons, juxtapose the words with the imagery to create an underlying tension within the narrative.  Here, we have Dan commenting about how people can remain “cool” and “apathetic” in the face of the intense heat experienced by those in Hiroshima at the end of WWII when the United States dropped the atomic bomb contrasted with the television image of female peace demonstrators struggling with British police officers (an example of people failing to remain calm in the face of such tension).