While I was lukewarm on issue one and two of ‘Rorschach’, the latest issue has quickly catapulted to my second favorite title that I’m reading under the ‘Before Watchmen’ banner after ‘Nite Owl’. Issue 3 brought a lot of things together and prepared us for the finale in the next issue.
As we look between these two covers, we join our hero as he continues to search for the prostitute killer plaguing the streets of the city, as well as to keep tabs on Rawhead and his gang, who have gotten wise to Walter’s ways and are trying to trap him. Meanwhile, in a complete twist that I’d never, ever expect from Rorschach, he asked out a girl?!
I’m not one to include spoilers in my reviews usually, and this one wasn’t even really a spoiler, but seeing Rorschach talk to the nice girl from the diner who brought him to the emergency room was a fun moment to see. Sure, I like the violence and vigilante-ism that we normally get with a Rorschach book, but the change of pace was a welcome change. Even the hardest of heroes can have a soft side and I like to see it once in a while, especially since it was done in a way that didn’t completely change the character. Brian Azzarello is doing a superb job with this book.
The biggest reason why I think Azzarello is more successful with Rorschach than he is with the Comedian is because he’s able to be more concise with this title. He only has four issues to tell Rorschach’s story. There’s no room for filler, so there’s really no wasted moments, especially in this issue. However, in the Comedian where he has six issues to spread his wings, the pacing is really off and I’m very bored as a result. But in this series, I get the exact opposite. The story is well paced and I would never classify myself as bored while reading it. Despite having a slow start, it was still interesting and made me want to continue reading.
Final Score:
BEFORE WATCHMEN – RORSCHACH #3
Written by BRIAN AZZARELLO
Art by LEE BERMEJO & BARBRA CIARDO
