Continued from part 4, book 5...

Book Six

Book six is Rorschach's origin story. As could be expected, Rorschach has "issues". Predictably, as a child he was abused by his prostitute Mother who didn't care for him. He was also a social outcast that turned violent when accosted by bigger kids on the street. We find out that Rorschach (real name Walter Joseph Kovacs) withdrew from human interaction after that. As a teen, he had but one word when told of the murder of his Mother: "good".

Back in modern day, while in prison, other prisoners begin to verbally threaten Walter. At this point a kind-hearted psychologist tries to help the troubled super-hero. But as the issue rolls on, the opposite effect happens. Probing Walter's persona causes the psychologist to drift into despair himself. The message here being that things are too bad even for a good man to make a difference.

We see Rorschach turning from the average super-hero interested in truth and justice into the unhinged, dangerous vigilante he had become as the series began. Rorschach became involved in a child abduction case promising to bring the little girl back to her Mother. But he failed and the child was murdered, her dissected body fed to the kidnapper's dogs before Rorschach could track him down. Rorschach kills the suspected murderer by burning down his house after handcuffing him to a pipe so that he cannot run away. To add a morbid twist, Rorschach offers the killer a hacksaw so that he can save himself by sawing his own hand off to get away from the flames. Naturally, the killer fails to do so and burns up with the house.

It seems the chief feeling the series is selling so far is despair. Throw up your hands, nothing can be done, we're all doomed it moans. The self-pity is nearly palpable here. It amazes me that since the 1930s the only works from the art world hailed as "groundbreaking", or "amazing" and "new" can only be commendable if they are filled with darkness, despair, and nihilism.

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