DC Comics has just announced Rorschach, a new sequel to Watchmen set 35 years after the events of the original comic.
Rorschach will be published as a 12-issue limited series under the DC Black Label imprint. The series is written by Tom King (Batman, Mister Miracle) and drawn by Jorge Fornés (Batman, Daredevil), with colors by Dave Stewart (Hellboy) and letters by Clayton Cowles (Batman).
Check out the slideshow gallery below for a look at the cover and several pages of unlettered art from Rorschach #1:
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Unlike the 2012 prequel series Before Watchmen: Rorschach, the new comic won’t be focusing on original Rorschach Walter Kovacs. Nor does it appear to feature his successor Reggie Long, who was a major protagonist in DC’s previous Watchmen sequel Doomsday Clock. The new series isn’t even about Rorschach the man so much as the dark legacy he left behind after his death. Similar to HBO’s Watchmen series, Rorschach has become a cultural icon in 2020, with many in this alternate universe seeking to follow his violent example.
“Like the HBO Watchmen show and very much like the original ‘86 Watchmen, this is a very political work.” said King in DC’s press release. “It’s an angry work. We’re so angry all the time now. We have to do something with that anger. It’s called Rorschach not because of the character Rorschach, but because what you see in these characters tells you more about yourself than about them.”
According to DC’s press release, the series opens with a mysterious new Rorschach and his partner attempting to assassinate a political challenger to President Robert Redford. Though they fail (and appear to be killed in the process), the series follows a detective’s quest to retrace the assassins’ steps, uncover their identities and learn the truth behind their mission. In that sense, Rorschach may play with time every bit as much as the original Watchmen and the HBO series.
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The finale of Doomsday Clock laid the seeds for another sequel, though it’s unclear how directly Rorschach will reference the events of that story, or if any of the surviving Minutemen will appear. Interestingly, depending how Rorschach is structured it could theoretically act as a continuation to both Doomsday Clock and the HBO series without contradicting either one.
Rorschach #1 is priced at $4.99 and will release on October 13. No doubt DC will reveal more about the new series at upcoming digital conventions like Comic-Con@Home or DC FanDome.
To help tide you over until the release of Rorschach #1, why not read our full review for Watchmen: Season 1 and see all the hidden Easter eggs included in the HBO series?
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Jesse is a mild-mannered staff writer for IGN. Allow him to lend a machete to your intellectual thicket by following @jschedeen on Twitter.
Source: IGN.com Rorschach Lives: DC's New Watchmen Sequel Explores a Legacy of Anger