Before Watchmen: Rorschach #4

Even though Rorschach doesn't do a whole lot in the last book of his mini-series, it ties up things very nicely. It gives some background on things going on during the riots. Brian Azzarello can write great transitions. Every ending sequence segways into the start of another scene perfectly. Even though it does it many times, it never feels clich. The wit Brian puts in this book is top notch. Not to mention the gritty artwork by Lee Bermejo. The images are noir-like, detailed, and engaging. Read Full Review

It's damn pretty, it had moments of pure Rorschach delight and it depicts a seedy dark New York like no other Before Watchmen title, but for a title that had the potential to be the best in the Before Watchmen run, this sort of just ended up being a solid, if somewhat underwhelming Rorschach mini series. Read Full Review

Before Watchmen: Rorschach started strong, but then fizzled in the end. Partially it's the directionless story, but Rorschach was already so defined in Watchmen that Azzarello really had nothing to add to the character. I like the idea of a story of Rorschach's early years, but this story lacks any lucid purpose. Ultimately, we're left with a comic that looks good, but is hollow at its core. Read Full Review

A lot of this issue feels forced. Many of the characters look to be posing rather than moving naturally. Street thugs begin to philosophize about human nature while watching misbehavior in other citizens. The protagonist escapes his predicament as a result of a confluence of improbable events. In the end, this series ends as it started: searching for something worthwhile to say. Read Full Review

Before Watchmen: Rorschach started out as a very promising series, but now, it's quickly deteriorated into a pile of junk and waste of an artist's talent. Read Full Review

I was pretty disappointed in the ending of this series. Rorschach is one of my favorite Watchmen and I didn't feel like the series as a whole did him justice. I think one of the major problems is that there was too much going on. Read Full Review

Hatmasta

Mar 12, 2013

The more I think about this book, the more I come to realize that I don't like it. Despite solid storytelling and wonderful art, the implications to Rorschach as a character are abysmal. Twice in this series we see him escape life or death situations by the seat of his pants, aka by blind luck (a tiger jumps into a room in one situation, killing the person who is going to torture Rorschach while he's tied up). I get that he's a young guy and is starting out, but I just don't feel like this is the same Rorschach from AM's original run. The real Rorschach doesn't make mistakes and doesn't rely on luck. If this was a standalone mini-series that had nothing to do with Watchmen and was about some other character, it would be ~8.0 grade.