Watchmen Part 8 of 12. Writer, Alan Moore. Illustrator, Dave Gibbons. Described by Liana Kerr https://twitter.com/lianaleslie Last modified March 2, 2015. Chapter 8. Cover. The words "Chapter VIII" are printed vertically in hot pink on black over the left third of the page. Above them is a hot pink and black clock with no numbers or markings that indicates that the time is 11:56. The right two-thirds of the page show Hollis Mason's gold statuette depicting him as a calm, muscular young man in his Nite Owl costume. He wears a short-sleeved shirt with a wide, pointy collar and briefs with a stylized feather pattern. His belt buckle is in the shape of a crescent moon, and he wears tall gloves and boots. He is standing confidently, his legs apart and his hands in fists on his hips. He wears a domino mask and a hood that covers his hair, coming to a point on the front of his forehead. The statue gleams in several places where the light hits it, and it rests on a base with a plaque on it that reads "In Gratitude." To the side of the statue is an owl-shaped bookend, holding up a book titled "Under The Hood" by Hollis Mason. Behind the statue is a six-pack of Miller Lite beer, with at least one can already taken from the plastic rings. Behind the statue is a set of three owl-shaped nesting dolls. Behind the statue is a framed copy of a newspaper, with the headline "Hero Retires." The subheading is "Opens Own Auto Business." Above that picture is the picture of the eight original Minutemen standing in a line. A plume of thin smoke floats up, covering part of the left side of the picture. The scene is colored in warm, golden colors that give it a cozy, retro air. Page 1. Panel 1. The statue from the cover, shown from a different perspective and colored differently. The room is darker, although the statue still gleams. In front of it is Hollis Mason, sitting back in his chair, although the panel is cropped so that we only see the back of his hand, holding the phone to his ear, and his arm. He says "*Hello*? Hello, is that *Sally*? *Sally*! How *are* you? I..." There's a pause. "Hollis. Hollis *Mason*." Panel 2. In a bright room, a bottle of Nostalgia perfume sits on a vanity, next to a small tin of powder. It sparkles where the light from the window hits it. Behind it, on the wall, are several pictures of a younger Sally Jupiter. Sally herself is sitting in a chair in the other room, holding the phone to her ear. The scene is positioned so that we only see the back of her head, her hand and part of her back. She says "*Hollis*? Oh *God*, I'm *sorry*. I didn't recognize your *voice*. It's been *ages*. So, how's *things*? All this time you had my *number*; you wait till we're both in our *sunset years* to use it!" Panel 3. Hollis is sitting in the dark room, facing his T.V., as he continues to talk. The reader sees the scene as if from his point of view. One hand is holding a lit cigarette in front of him, with smoke streaming from the tip, and the other hand is holding the telephone receiver up to his mouth. He says "Well, I reckoned this was a *special occasion*, Sal. Papers report a *tenement fire* last night: trapped people rescued by an *airship*. The pilot wore *goggles.* Seems he had a *woman* with him." The T.V. screen shows a map of Afghanistan, with arrows coming from the U.S.S.R. to the north, pointing down through the country to Pakistan in the south. Afghanistan and U.S.S.R. are colored in blue, while all of the neighboring countries are colored in green. Panel 4. Sally holds the phone to her ear, and all the reader can see of her is her hand, with its long, red fingernails. She answers "You're talking about that kid who succeeded *you*? So who's this *woman*? I... *Laurie?* My *daughter* Laurie? But she *hated* adventuring! Why should she... *Living* with him? A week after Jon splits? Jesus. Fast *work.*" On the coffee table to her side are some small round boxes and a bottle that looks like Malcom's Gopain medication, although the label isn't readable. Behind the coffee table, the T.V. is on, showing what looks like a soap opera scene between two angry looking women. To the left of the T.V. is a mannequin wearing Sally's old costume of a yellow belted sleeveless tunic, black briefs and blue fishnet stockings. Panel 5. Hollis answers "Hmm. Well, the *media* haven't *realized* yet, but *I* did, soon as I *heard*. Dan *confirmed* it when he called canceling tonight's *beer session*. Didn't *say* much, but he's *planning* something... Takes you *back*, huh?" In the foreground, the elbow of the statuette and the top of Hollis' autobiography are visible, while in the background, the picture of the eight original Minutemen is shown above the newspaper article about Hollis' retirement. Panel 6. Sally says "To our sordid *past*? Yeah. I guess it *does*. I've been thinking about old times a *lot* lately, wishing I'd kept in *touch* with people... How are *you*, Hollis? Bet you haven't changed a *hair*." The same picture is framed and standing on Sally's end table near some puffy orange flowers. The Silk Spectre Tijuana Bible is lying open and face down on her bed, next to a magazine with an advertisement for Nostalgia perfume on the back. Panel 7. Hollis answers "Oh, I've changed *several* hairs. Still, I try to keep in *trim*, working down in the *repair shop* and everything. How about *you*? From your *voice*, you're sounding younger than *ever*." A close-up of Hollis in the black-and-white photograph. He's smiling, his hands on his hips, and looks relaxed and confident as he stands next to Captain Metropolis. The picture is colored in dark tones. Smoke from his cigarette floats past the picture. Panel 8. Sally says "Why, *bless* you, Hollis, but that's probably just *senility*. No, I've gained some *weight*, but I can still squeeze into the old *costume* if I don't breathe *in*. *You* ever try on *your* old duds?" The same photograph in Sally's room, but colored in light yellow and white where the light hits it directly, and light green elsewhere. Captain Metropolis is standing next to Sally, and she's smiling and holding on to Hooded Justice's arm. Behind the picture is a calendar reading October 27. Panel 9. Hollis answers "Nah. It's *different* for guys. I'd feel *stupid*... Although all the *kids* round here are preparing for *Halloween* next week, so who *knows*? Maybe I'll dig out the old threads and go *trick-or-treatin'*." The outside of his building is shown, his window closed. The sign above the garage downstairs reads "Mason's Auto Repairs." The shutter is closed, and someone has spraypainted "Who Watches The Watchmen" on it, partially cut off by the panel border. A group of three children are standing in front of the building and adjusting their costumes. There's a white boy pulling a ghost costume over his head, a black boy in a devil costume fastening a cape around his neck and a white boy in a pirate costume holding a balloon. Page 2. Panel 1. Sally says "*Hahaha!* Well, if you run into *Laurie* and her new boyfriend while you're bobbing for apples, tell her Mom says hi. Jeez. Laurie back in *costume*. Maybe she'll finally thank me for all that *training* I made her do." The outside of Sally's building is shown. It's a one-story building painted bright yellow, with large windows and pink curtains. Bushes with red flowers are planted outside, and there's a sign reading "Nepenthe Gardens Rest Resort." Panel 2. Hollis answers, "Ah, well, you know *kids*. No *gratitude* until it's too *late*. I was just the *same*. I often wish I could thank *my* old man for giving me a *career*, a living I *enjoy*..." He taps the ash from his cigarette into an ash tray that reads "Spark Plugs." There are already two cigarette stubs in it. The ashtray is on top of a newspaper, next to which is a pack of cigarettes, a can of beer and a silver lighter with the initials "H M" on it. His room is colored in gloomy purples, browns and oranges, and the statuette is visible on the table behind him, although all that's visible of Hollis himself is his arm, holding the receiver for his rotary telephone, and his hand holding his cigarette. Panel 3. Sally answers "Oh *sure*. Choosing the right *lifestyle's* just *so* important, and sometimes you need *guidance*. I never *had* guidance, so I'm *indecisive*. I mean, should I book extra *analysis* or *aerobics*? A decision *you'd* make *instantly!*" Sally's hand is seen resting on the side of the chair, her legs stretched out in front of her. Behind her is a colorful flower arrangement, and in front of her is a table with a bottle labeled "Multi-Vite," a small tub labeled Ginseng, a larger tub labeled "Vitamin D Wheatgerm", some pills and the latest Dr. Manhattan edition of Nova Express. Panel 4. Hollis' white dog is sleeping at his feet. Hollis says "Hm. Uh, well, listen, it's been great *talking* to you, Sally, but calling *California* is *expensive*. I better *go* before I put too much strain on my *bank account*. God knows it doesn't need any *more*." Hollis is wearing red slippers with a tartan pattern. Panel 5. A young woman in a white coat and glasses is applying red nail polish to Sally's toes. A name tag pinned to her coat reads "Acme Manicure." As she works, Sally answers "Yeah, well, that's *Nixonomics*. We're all feeling the *pinch*, I guess. Anyway, thanks for the news, and don't get *too* misty-eyed thinking about old times. It ain't *healthy*. You take *care* now, Hollis. 'Bye." Panel 6. Hollis replaces the telephone receiver on the base. The phone sits on a low shelf next to a stack of papers or magazines and a can labeled "Phone Money." The statuette of Hollis stands proudly on a shelf in the background, its reflection mirrored in the glass of the window behind it. Hollis' hand and arm are visible as he hangs up the phone, but his face is visible reflected in the glass. He's frowning slightly and looks weary and downcast. Panel 7. The three children in their costumes from the previous page are running through the street in front of Mason's garage, from where he looks out the window at them. One boy is a devil, with a horned hood and mask similar to the one that Hollis wore as Nite Owl, one boy is a ghost with his face entirely covered by a sheet, except for two square eyeholes, and one boy is a pirate, wearing a tricorn hat, an eyepatch, one tooth blacked out and carrying a balloon with a skull and crossbones on it. They all look playful and excited. Underneath this panel is the chapter title, "Old Ghosts." Page 3. Panel 1. A voice from offscreen is saying "It's like all our old *nightmares* come back to *haunt* us, y'know?" The street scene outside the Gunga Diner, with the trashcan next to the graffiti of the silhouette lovers holding each other. A car passes, a pedestrian rounds the corner and some trash blows on the ground. The text of the comic book reads "Adrift and starving, my darkest imaginings welled up unchecked, spilling from brain to heart like black ink, impossible to remove." Panel 2. A continuation of the street scene from the previous panel, showing the sun setting over the city skyline. In the foreground, the intersection is empty. The newsvendor, presumably the speaker from the previous panel, is standing to the side of his stall, looking down at a magazine. A purple car with a logo of a triangle within a circle drives by. Across the street is the sign for the Promethean Cab Company and a person catching a taxi. Trash blows across the street as the newsvendor continues, "Red *invasions*, masked *men*... Seen this week's *Nova Express? Quote "*Spirit of '77*" unquote. I mean, I *remember* 1977... God *spare* us." The comic book continues, "I pictured Davidstown's quiet streets overrun by tattooed fiends. Recalling their brutality, I moaned." Panel 3. A continuation of the street scene from the previous panel. The comic-book reading boy is sitting against the spark hydrant next to the newsvendor's stall, facing the Institute for Intraspatial Studies. A man with a jacket that has the logo of a triangle within a circle is walking towards the door to the building, holding a medium-sized package with a triangle on it. A sign set up on the corner by the Utopia Theater is for the movie "The Day The Earth Stood Still" and shows a stylized man. Trash blows across the scene, and a car drives past, splashing through a puddle. The newsvendor continues, "Everything's going to *hell*. I'm just glad my *Rosa* ain't alive to see." The comic book continues, "The freighter had surely reached Davidstown already. My wife was almost certainly dead. These notions *transfixed* me, stopping *time* in its *tracks*." Panel 4. The newsvendor continues, "Today woulda been our *anniversary*. Sunday, 27th *October*. Funny, this time o' year she's always on my mind." The comic book continues, "I remembered her waving goodbye from the verandah shadows, sunlight illuminating one cheek bone. Dead?" The panel from the comic book is shown, depicting a blonde white woman in a colonial-style pink dress with a wide lace-trimmed collar standing on a porch. She's waving with one hand and touching one of her children on the back with her other hand, and her expression is sweet and proud. The shadow of the verandah crosses her face, leaving half of it in a light shadow and half of it in direct sunlight. A young girl in a yellow dress with blonde hair is standing next to her, looking out from the verandah, and a slightly older blonde girl in a green dress is standing in front of the porch, waving a white handkerchief and smiling. Panel 5. The newsvendor continues, "She'da *hated* how this *superhero* thing turned out: Doc Manhattan *exiled*, Ozymandias *shot* at... An' *Rorschach*! See inna *Gazette* he attacked some other prisoner with hot *fat*? Jesus." The newsvendor is arranging a new edition of the Nova Express on the side of his stall as he talks. The magazine shows three head shots, one of which is covered by the newsvendor's hand, and the other two of which show Rorschach and Ozymandias in costume. Underneath it is the Gay Women Against Rape rally poster. The comic-book reading boy continues to read, smoking a cigarette. The smoke from the cigarette trails out behind him, toward the street. On the back of the comic book is an advertisement for the Veidt Method, showing a muscular man striking a pose. Malcom Long, wearing his overcoat and his helmet-like hat, is walking towards the stall, his face grave. The comic book continues, "Those glorious days; that innocence... *dead*?" Panel 6. The newsvendor continues, "I still can't believe it... Him comin' here every day, nobody *realizin'*. Still, that's *life*: lotta stuff happens under the *waterline*..." The comic book continues, "*Dead*: I imagined my shipmates' bloated corpses, carrying my raft on fisheaten backs..." The panel shows a panel from the comic book, showing the underside of the sailor's grisly raft. One of the corpses he'd used is tied to the planks of the raft and submerged in water, its belly bloated and its eyes staring down towards the fish surrounding it. The water and planks are colored in lurid, disquieting yellows, while the corpse and fish are green. A thin white line trails across the panel. Panel 7. The newsvendor continues, "In fact... Oh, Gazette? Sure. Hey, see this *Rorschach* item? He was a *customer* here. Always kinda *suspected*, but, hey, pretty *incredible*, right?" We see the scene from Malcom's perspective, with the smiling newsvendor passing him a copy of the Gazette with a picture of Rorschach at his bail hearing. The newsvendor is colored in unnatural shades of yellow. Malcom's hand, colored in shades of orange, takes the paper from the newsvendor, and Malcom says "*Kovacs*...? Uh, yes. Incredible. Thank you." The comic book continues "*Dead*: the putrefying shark, its snarl no longer *convincing*..." In the background, the boy continues reading the comic book, and the delivery van drives away, revealing the fallout shelter sign on the building across the street. Panel 8. The newsvendor says "Bye. Have a nice *day*." The comic book continues, "*Dead*: I hear her *pleading*, see their yellowed *smiles*, their cutlasses carving relentlessly until all her *personality*, all her subtleties of *posture* and *expression* are *obliterated*, reduced to *meat*... *Dead*." A panel from the comic book is shown, colored in heavily shaded red. It shows the captain of the Black Freighter, Blackbeard, lifting his sword above his head, his expression triumphant and inhuman as a woman's arms reach out toward him. A sword wielded by another man offscreen cuts off one of the woman's arms at the forearm, and a pirate to Blackbeard's side scowls down as he raises his own sword. Panel 9. The newsvendor watches Malcom leave, saying "Hmm. *Preoccupied* type. Probably a *teacher*, thinkin' about *algebra*, *relativity*, whatever. Whadda those guys know about *life*? World's going *crazy*, they don't even *notice!*" Malcom crosses the street, towards the fallout shelter sign, and the boy continues to read his comic book. The comic book continues, "Finally, faced with horrors both *intolerable* and *unavoidable*, I chose *madness*." Page 4. Panel 1. A tall and thin panel that takes up the space of two regular panels. Laurie is walking past a pair of hover bikes in Dan's basement, which is now well lit. She's wearing her pink jumpsuit and white apron-like outfit and getting her cigarette holder out of one pocket as she gestures with her thumb and says "This is *insanity*. We're young *lovers*, the world could end *tomorrow* and how are we spending Sunday *evening*? We're planning to bust a *homicidal maniac* out of *Sing-Sing!* Listen, I'll load those *hover bikes* after this *cigarette*, okay?" Panel 2. A tall and thin panel that takes up the space of two regular panels. A continuation of the scene from the previous page, showing Laurie walking past a futuristic, two-seater car, which is now gleaming. The smoke from her cigarette trails past the car as she walks. From offscreen, Dan answers "Sure. And it's not insanity. *Something's* going on: four adventurers attacked within *eleven days* isn't *coincidence*. Maybe that cancer scare *media assault* that prompted Jon's *exile* was part of somebody's *plan*. Maybe someone *intended* to start World War Three." There is a chair to the side, near a cabinet filled with gadgets, and a newspaper lying on the chair. Panel 3. A tall and thin panel that takes up the space of two regular panels. A continuation of the scene from the previous panel, showing Laurie standing a few feet behind Dan, who is standing at the control panel of a gigantic computer, looking at the screen. Laurie gestures with both hands, saying "Oh, *Dan*, come *on*..." Dan looks up at the screen as he says "Laurie, you *lived* with Jon. *You* didn't contract *cancer* from him. Maybe *nobody* did. My *computer* lists most people *Nova Express* mentioned as employed by a *research company* called *Dimensional Developments* between '67 and '85. Weird, huh?" Dan is wearing his glasses, a black t-shirt that shows his muscular arms, and red pants. The robot exoskeleton hangs on the wall to his left. Panel 4. Dan looks up at the screen, the light from the red background reflected in his hair. Small locks of his hair are sticking up on each side of his head, giving him subtle owl-like horns. He is looking at a network of rectangles labeled with names and connected by lines, and continues "Janey *Slater*, Wally *Weaver*... They even gave *Moloch* a temporary job when he left prison. They fund the *Institute for Extraspatial Studies*; another company, *Pyramid Deliveries*, funds *them*. This *corporate structure* stuff's a *maze*..." In the foreground, Laurie's hand lifts her cigarette holder, and smoke trails out the end past Dan and to the side of the panel. Panel 5. Laurie looks critically at him, holding the cigarette in front of her, and says "Yeah? Well that and your logic *both*. I mean, why risk springing a *liability* like *Rorschach*? We took *enough* chances with that *tenement rescue.*" Dan, still looking up at the screen, answers "Rorschach's been investigating this thing all *along*. We need his *information*." The light from the screen is reflected in his glasses, hiding his eyes. Panel 6. Dan turns to her, gesturing and saying "...And we may not have long to *get* it. Today's *Gazette* mentions *death threats* following yesterday's *hot fat incident*. It's *important*, Laurie. If Jon's *exile* and its *consequences* were *premeditated*, maybe it's the most important thing in the *world*." Laurie looks over at him, her expression concerned. The smoke from her cigarette trails up towards the ceiling. In the foreground is a copy of the Gazette sitting on the chair, and the headline reads "Reds Cross Pakistan Border." Page 5. Panel 1. Laurie and Dan are walking side-by-side away from the room with the computer, back towards the room with the Owlship. Laurie gestures with both arms, saying "Superhero saves *world*, huh? This is some elaborate *scam* to get me back into my *costume*, right?" Dan points at her and says "*Ha ha*. Laurie, the costume was *your* idea..." Laurie answers "*Whaaat*? That's *ridiculous*. I *loathe* that Halloween suit. *Obviously* I wore it to help *you*." Panel 2. As they walk past the Owlship, Dan puts his hand on Laurie's shoulder and she puts her hand on the small of his back. Dan gestures as he looks at her and says "Oh, *obviously*. Own *up*, Laurie: Doesn't this bring all those old times flooding back? *Night* patrols; having a *secret*..." Laurie looks back at him, smiling, and says "*Welll*... Yeah, *patrols* were okay. I had nine different *routes* over Washington's *rooftops*. Route *five* was best." Panel 3. As they walk up the stairs through the bright lights from the Owlship, Dan's hand crosses to her other shoulder, and her arm goes around his waist. She continues "That had the *White House*, the *Lincoln Memorial* and then *home* to me and Jon's fabulous *apartment*. We were *happy* there. We... Oh, *Dan*, I'm *sorry*. I keep mentioning *Jon*. He just *pops* up when I don't *expect* it." The oil barrel is still knocked over next to the toolbox, and a drop of water splashes onto a puddle on the ground in the foreground. Panel 4. A tall and thin panel that takes up the space of two regular panels. Dan, still holding Laurie around the shoulders as they walk, looks at her, saying "Don't worry. It's early days. A few *skeletons* are *bound* to keep jumping out of the closet. I was just thinking about *Adrian*. We ought to *contact* him, but maybe not till *after* the jailbreak." As they continue up the stairs past the closet where Dan's costume used to hang, the reader sees the two of them as if we're inside the Owlship, looking through one of the large, round windows. The steering column and control panel are near the window, and behind it on the floor is Laurie's discarded yellow dress, high heels and stockings, still lying haphazardly on the floor. Panel 5. A tall and thin panel that takes up the space of two regular panels. Dan continues, "I mean, in *his* position, knowing *beforehand* would be *compromising*. He might feel obliged to *stop* us. Laurie continues, "Dan, sometimes, *I* feel obliged to stop us. I mean, a *jailbreak*, I can't believe we're taking this *seriously*." A continuation of the scene from the previous panel, showing the scene from within the Owlship. The two of them are hidden by the control panel and wall between the two large windows on the Owlship as they walk. The large screen inside the ship shows the two of them walking, and the small screens show a close-up of Dan's face, Laurie taking a drag from her cigarette, and two more scenes of the basement. In the foreground is the driver's seat, with Dan's cowl and hood, goggles and utility belt hanging off of the side of the seat. His boots are on the ground in front of it. Panel 6. A tall and thin panel that takes up the space of two regular panels. A continuation of the scene from the previous panel, showing the scene from within the Owlship. The two of them are visible in the other window of the Owlship. Dan takes his hand off Laurie's shoulder to gesture, and says "Assuming somebody's using *Jon* to trigger *Armageddon*, then how *should* we take it? It's *serious*... And for *Rorschach*, if the mood around that prison gets any *uglier*, it's a matter of life or *death*." Laurie looks at him, her expression concerned, holding her cigarette holder in her hand. In the foreground within the Owlship are her choker, earrings and panties, and Dan's pants hanging from the back of the driver's seat. One of Dan's gloves is lying on the ground, next to Laurie's suit. Page 6. Panel 1. Two men in prison uniforms are approaching a guard in a blue uniform who is standing outside of a cell. The hallway is dark, with striped shadows coming from the lit cells. The reader views the scene as if we're right behind the men. Panel 2. The men are right next to the guard, and he turns to them, adjusting his necktie. The men's faces and positions remain the same as they were in the previous panel. The guard's face is worried as he says "Uhh... What do *you* guys want?" There's a pause. He continues, "Hey, look, this is the *solitary* wing. You're not supposed to *be* here. If anybody *sees*, we could *all* get into trouble." Another pause. He says "Hey, c'mon, gimme a *break*, huh?" Panel 3. A speech bubble comes offscreen from between the shoulders of the two men, its tail pointing down to indicate that the speaker is between them but does not reach to their shoulders. The speaker says "How's the wife, Mulhearney?" The guard looks down, chagrined. The two men's faces and positions remain the same as they were in the previous panel. Panel 4. Mulhearney looks down, fear creeping into his expression, and gestures with his thumb as he says "*What*? *Hey*, listen, she's nothing to *do* with this, okay? You better leave..." The two men to the side don't move, and from offscreen between them, the speaker says "...And the kid? You still have a *kid*. That's *right*, isn't it?" Panel 5. Mulhearney says "Y-Yeah. But I..." He puts his hand over his eyes, looking to the side, and says "Aw Christ. Look, what do you *want*?" The two men to the side don't move, and from offscreen between them, the speaker says "Five minutes alone with the baby you're minding. Don't worry. We won't hurt him. We just want to say hello." Panel 6. Mulhearney looks at the three men, gesturing and saying "Well... Well, alright. Five minutes. But that's all, okay?" Okay fellas?" Then, in smaller text, he continues "Okay. Okay, fine..." Mulhearney is standing outside Rorschach's cell. Rorschach is sitting on a bunk bed near the cell door. His back is perfectly straight, his hands rest on his legs and his feet are planted on the ground. He looks straight ahead of him, toward the opposite wall. The bunk that he's sitting on is attached to the wall with a chain and presumably folds up. A foot or two away from his legs is the edge of a toilet bowl. Panel 7. Mulhearney leaves, and one of the two tall men starts to walk past the bars. Rorschach's posture and expression don't change. Panel 8. The two tall men are standing outside Rorschach's cell, and standing between them is a third man. He's white and so short that the top of his head reaches the waist of the taller of the two men. He stands confidently, a sneer on his face and his hands on his hips. He wears the grey prison uniform, but has a red ascot tie around his neck. The man on his left is a pudgy white man with a little black mustache and a thin beard on his chin, and the man on his right is a tall, muscular white man with a strong jaw. The full faces of both of the two taller men are cut off by the top panel border. The strong-jawed man is reaching into his breast pocket for something as the short man says "Rorschach. It's been a long time." Rorschach's posture and expression don't change, and he continues to look at the wall across from him. Panel 9. Rorschach replies, without changing his posture or expression, "Big Figure. Small world." The man on Big Figure's right passes him a cigar, and Big Figure smiles unpleasantly at Rorschach. Page 7. Panel 1. Big Figure unwraps his cigar, the corners of his eyes crinkling as he says "Ha ha. Quote "small world" unquote. I *like* that. That's very *good*. But y'know, you're *right*. This *is* a small world. I've been in it now for how long is it, Michael?" The man who gave him his cigar answers "Twenty years, Mr. Figure." Big Figure says "Twenty years..." Rorschach continues to look straight ahead of him, away from his visitors. The background is light green. Panel 2. The other one of Big Figure's guards lights his cigar for him as he says "It's a long *time*. You must have thought you could *forget* what you did to me, you and that *owl* guy. Funny, ain't it, how..." He takes a drag from his cigar, making a "*Ffp*" noise, then continues "Thank you, Lawrence... ...How these things come back to *haunt* us?" The background is light green. Panel 3. The smoke from Big Figure's cigar drifts up and splits in two streams, framing Rorschach's head. He looks toward Rorschach and says "Incidentally, that *guy* you *burned* is *dying*: Maybe tomorrow, maybe Thursday, Friday. But don't *worry*... It'll never reach *court*. You neither. See, when he *croaks*, this place *blows*... And then you die by *inches*." The background is light green. Panel 4. Still looking straight ahead, Rorschach replies impassively, saying "Tall order." Through the bars, Big Figure's expression is furious, and Michael's hand curls into a fist. The background is black. Panel 5. Michael looks down at Big Figure, scowling as he says "Lemme get *Mulhearney* to unlock this *cage*! I wanna tear this guy a new *hole*..." Big Figure puts a hand on the man's wrist and says "*No*. Not *yet*, Michael. I've waited *twenty years*. There's no *hurry*. He'll get his soon *enough*..." The background is a vibrant yellow. Panel 6. Big Figure continues to talk as he walks away, saying "...And nobody is going to *care*. I hear even his *shrink* resigned today." The other two men follow as Big Figure continues, "You're alone in the valley of the *shadow*, Rorschach, where your past has a long *reach*, and between *you* and *it* there's one crummy *lock*. Think about it." Panel 7. A large panel the size of three regular sized panels. Rorschach is sitting in the same position, looking straight ahead of him, as the three men walk back out towards the brightly lit hallway. Big Figure's cigar smoke trails back behind him in an uneven white line as he walks between Michael and Lawrence. Rorschach's expression is impassive. A few feet ahead of him is the lock on the cell door. Page 8. Panel 1. The locksmith from the Gordian Knot Lock Company is kneeling outside Dan's open door, looking up at Detective Steven Fine who is standing outside the door. Fine displays his badge and says "Excuse me? My name's Detective Steven *Fine*, I'm looking for a Daniel *Dreiberg*." Dan is just inside the door, wearing his cardigan and adjusting his glasses. He says "I'm Dan Dreiberg. Uh, you better come *in*..." Panel 2. The locksmith looks toward Dan, saying "Almost *through* here, Mr. Dreiberg. This baby'll hold off an *army*. Sorry we kept you *waiting* for the *installation*." Dan leads Fine through the hallway, saying "That's okay. Well, detective, how can I *help* you?" Fine steps inside and answers "Edward *Blake*. *Homicide* victim. You *knew* him." Panel 3. Inside the kitchen, Dan fills his teapot with water, looking uncomfortable and saying "Uh, yes. Vaguely." Fine, who is several feet away looking at a wall calendar with a picture of an owl sitting on a branch, continues "You knew him well enough to attend his *funeral*. I saw the *photographs*: You, Adrian *Veidt*, Doc *Manhattan*. You keep heavy *company*, Mr. Dreiberg." Panel 4. Dan opens a canister of instant coffee. Light reflects off his glasses, hiding his eyes, as he answers "I met Blake through *Veidt*. I, uh, once donated some *money* to one of Veidt's *charities*." Fine picks up the edge of the calendar, looking at it as he says "Uh-huh. Big *guy*, that *Blake*. For a *diplomat*. Quite a *heroic figure*. Maybe he worked *out*, huh?" Panel 5. The panel is cropped so that we see Fine's hands taking a cigarette out of a pack, and Dan's hands scooping coffee into one of his red and white striped mugs, which is sitting on the counter next to the bag of bulk sugar cubes. Fine continues "Funny... There's been a *lot* of quote "heroic figures" unquote in the news lately: *Rorschach* captured, *Veidt* shot at, Doc Manhattan leaves *Earth*, damn near kicking off World War *Three*... Cigarette, Mr. Dreiberg?" Dan answers "No. Thanks. I don't." In the foreground is the kitchen table, on top of which is the new edition of Nova Express, the New York Gazette and another coffee mug with a stirrer sticking out of it. The Nova Express has pictures of Doctor Manhattan, Rorschach and Ozymandias on it, and the headline reads "Spirit of 77." The New York Gazette's headline reads "Tanks Mass In Eastern Europe." The subheading reads "Quote Purely defensive unquote say Reds. Another article's headline reads "California Governor Reagan Urges Hard Line." Panel 6. Fine raises the cigarette to his lips, saying "Very *wise*. ...And then there was that thing last *weekend*. You *read* about that? That *tenement fire*?" Dan and Laurie's coats are hanging in the hallway behind him, and the locksmith picks up his toolbox and calls over, "All *finished*, Mr. Dreiberg. You got *maximum security*." The new lock gleams where the light hits it. Panel 7. Dan, looking quite uncomfortable, calls back "Uh, *right*. Right, *thanks*! I'll settle by *check*..." Behind him, Fine lights his cigarette, the light from his lighter reflected on his face, turning it a yellowish color. He continues, "Craziest story... This *airship* rescues all these *people*, hovering down between the *buildings*. Ain't many airships can do *that*." Dan answers "No?" Panel 8. Fine continues "No. Interviewed some *witnesses*, but the *details* were *garbled*: pilot wore *goggles*; had a female *accomplice*; played *music*; served *coffee*..." He picks up the edge of the bag of sugar cubes, saying "Hey... Sweet Chariot *sugar* cubes! Only come in *catering packs*, right?" Dan, turning toward him, says "Uh, yes. I believe so. Why?" Behind him, the kettle is starting to boil, sending a line of steam billowing up. In the foreground, next to the lit cigarette Fine is holding in his hand, is an ashtray with Laurie's long, thin cigarette holder in it. Panel 9. Fine, continuing to inspect the bag, answers "No reason. Y'know, the only ship I ever heard could maneuver between *buildings* belonged to one of those masked *adventurers* they outlawed in '77. Couldn't have *been* him, naturally... He'd be in his *forties* now." Dan stands with his back to Fine, pouring boiling water into the cup. He looks startled, and his expression is dismayed. A line of steam rises from the cup. Page 9. Panel 1. Fine, gesturing with the hand holding the cigarette and continuing to inspect the sugar bag, continues, "I mean, guys that age like *us*, we're *unhealthy*. We get up in the morning and cough our *lungs* up, we... Oh, but then I forgot. You don't *smoke*, do you?" Dan, turning to him as he gets the milk out of the fridge, looks annoyed as he says "No. Listen, what's this *about*?" Smoke from Fine's cigarette curls to the side, framing Dan's face. Laurie's long, thin cigarette holder is in the ashtray immediately to Fine's right. Panel 2. Fine jiggles the handle on the door that leads to the basement, saying "Ain't about nothing. I'm not even on *duty*. Just called to see if you knew anything about *Blake*." Dan, facing away from Fine and pouring milk into the steaming coffee, looks to the side and says "I'm afraid *not*. We weren't *close*. Uh, that leads to the *lumber room*. Key's lost, I'm afraid." Panel 3. Fine says "No sweat. I gotta go, anyway. Say, I noticed this calendar *earlier*. Nice *owl.* He gestures with his thumb at the calendar, his cigarette trailing smoke around his head. He continues, "Y'know, two kinds of people have *calendars*: people who peek at next month's picture in *advance* and people who *don't*. Which are you?" Dan, standing by the counter and putting the milk down, looks over at Fine. His glasses hide his eyes, but his expression is annoyed as he responds, "I don't." Panel 4. Fine, standing next to the calendar, says "You ought. It pays to look ahead." He flips the page up, saying "Hmm. *November's* a *hawk* taking a *sparrow* in *flight*. Ominous kinda *picture*, huh? Aw, hell... I hope I didn't spoil the *surprise* for you? Dan, standing behind him with one hand in his cardigan pocket, is looking at Fine's back with a grumpy expression. Panel 5. Dan stands next to Fine, looking at the calendar and saying "Oh, don't worry. Life has *enough* surprises." Fine holds up the previous calendar page and runs his finger over the dates, saying "I'll bet. Incidentally, I'm sorry for boring you with that talk about *adventurers*. It's a kinda *hobby horse* of mine. Since I arrested *Rorschach*, they've been preying on my *mind*." The November calendar page shows a large, purplish-brown hawk in mid-flight, zooming down on a smaller brown bird. There are mountains and a line of clouds in the background. Panel 6. Fine, walking out into the hallway, continues "I mean, rescuing *fire victims*, *nobody* condemns *that*, but if it went any *further*... It's like Nova Express *says*: quote *Spirit of 77* unquote. Brrr." He looks at the two coats on the hooks in the hallway as he continues "Those *characters*: that *dame*, the *Silk Spectre*; where's *she* now, I wonder?" Dan follows, his expression troubled. Panel 7. Fine, standing just outside the door to Dan's apartment, turns back, holding his cigarette in his hand. His expression is relaxed and genial as he says "...And *Rorschach*. Heh! Know what he had in his *pockets* when we *collared* him? *Sugar cubes*. Weird *shit*, huh? I'll be seeing you, Mr. Dreiberg. You take *care*, now." Dan, standing inside his apartment with one hand on the door, answers "I will. Good evening, detective." The new strike plate and lock glisten. Panel 8. Laurie, wearing a robe with her hair up in a towel, comes down the stairs, saying "*Dan*? Who was *that*? I was just in the *bath* but I heard the *last* of it. What he said about *1977*... What did it *mean*?" Dan locks the door as he looks up at her, his expression grave and his eyes hidden by his glasses. Panel 9. Dan puts his hand on her shoulder, and she puts her hand on his back as he looks back at his shiny new lock. His expression is worried and determined as he answers "It means time's running *out*. Maybe he's already called *Rockefeller Base*. Maybe he already knows you're *here*. Springing *Rorschach* any later than *tomorrow* isn't *safe*. Suddenly, we have a *deadline.* Laurie looks up at him, her expression worried. Page 10. Panel 1. A pair of hands is using a brush and glue to paste lines of text onto a large sheet of paper which is pinned to a large board on a table, by a jar of glue, a pair of scissors and a ruler. The New Frontiersman logo is already on the page, and the hands are pasting what is presumably the date and issue number on the upper right hand corner of the page. The person who is pasting the paper says "*October thirty-first... Nineteen... eighty-five.* *There!* That's all straight. Seymour, come *on*, this has to be pasted *up*, *printed* and *out* by this afternoon. Gimme the *headline*. Where's the *pictures*?" He is addressing a fat young white man wearing a green shirt with a yellow smiley face over a long-sleeved yellow shirt. The man has curly red hair, buck teeth and a rather dull, sleepy expression. He is standing behind the table, holding some strips of paper and some pictures, and says "Uh, right here, Mr. Godfrey." Behind him is a clock with Roman numerals, a tiled light and a window that's been repaired with tape. Panel 2. Hector Godfrey, wearing a wristwatch, a white dress shirt with rolled up sleeves, suspenders and a necktie with the end tucked into the shirt front, places the first line of the headline onto the page. It reads "Honor is like the." He looks down grouchily at the page with his small eyes as he says "Well, don't just *stand* there like an asshole, we still need that *filler* in back. Something outta the *crank file*. Y'know, this is my greatest headline yet. So much for *Nova Express*: quote "Spirit of 77" unquote shit." Behind him, Seymour is rifling through a pile of papers and envelopes. Two pictures are on the desk near the page, one of the Comedian in his full-face covering mask and one of Rorschach in his mask. Behind Seymour on the wall is a picture of four people, presumably a family with two adults and two children. The clock reads 8:32. Panel 3. Seymour holds up a few sheets of paper and looks over at Hector, saying "Uh, is *this* okay? It's addressed to quote "the people of the Jewnited states of America unquote..." Hector, glaring as he applies paste to the back of the picture of the Comedian, says "Sure, fine, whatever. Where the hell is that other picture? There's only *two* here. Find it. Plus the pictures for our quote missing writer unquote followup..." Panel 4. Hector has applied the pictures of the Comedian and Rorschach to the page underneath the headline, and is in the middle of applying the second line of the headline, which so far reads "Honor Is Like The Hawk... Sometimes It." He says "My *God*, this piece is *hot*! It catches the mood on the *street*; the *war* paranoia and now all this *masked man* stuff... Y'know, it's rumored that a masked man pulled that *tenement rescue*..." Seymour, pulling pictures out of a filing cabinet, says "I got 'em." Panel 5. Seymour stands on the opposite side of the table, showing Hector a picture of Max Shea. Shea's face is grave and angular and his hair chin-length. He asks "Will *this* picture do, of the *writer*? I know we used it before..." Hector applies paste to the back of the third picture, saying "Seymour, just get out of my goddamned *face*! I can't see what I'm *doing*! Huh. Appropriate *material* for the *Halloween* edition." Panel 6. Hector glares at Seymour and points at him as he places the last part of the headline on the page, over the three pictures of the Comedian, Rorschach and Nite Owl. The full headline reads "Honor Is Like The Hawk... Sometimes It Must Go Hooded." He says "Okay. That's it... Listen, you go out and grab lunch... and no *Gunga Diner* shit, no *hanky-head* garbage! Get me a *hamburger*. An *American* hamburger! Meanwhile, I'll get this whole pantomime ready to hit the *streets*." Seymour looks back at him with a hang-dog expression as he leaves. Panel 7. A large panel the size of three regular panels. Laurie is sitting in the chair in front of Dan's gigantic computer monitor, looking up at him and gesturing toward blueprints of a large building on the screen labeled New York State Penitentiary. She is wearing her costume, and is in the middle of slipping on one of her high heels. Her mouth is open as if they're discussing the plan. Dan is wearing his pants, belt, top and gloves, and he is holding his cowl, hood and goggles as he looks back at her. Behind them, the robotic exoskeleton is hanging on the wall. Page 11. Panel 1. An easel set up with a large rectangle of white paper tacked to it. A woman's left hand has just started to sketch in a curvy, abstract shape that at this point looks like a circle and a larger oval with a cross in the middle of it, from which sinuous lines are extending. The woman's skin is dark, and she is wearing four silver bangles. She is facing what looks like a sandy beach, although most of what she is seeing is blocked by the large easel. Far beyond the easel is a tarp covering something large, purple and dome-shaped. There are three people visible on the ground near it and two people standing on top of it. Whatever it is is at least five times as tall as the people, and evidently very large. In the distance is the ocean, and a ship coming towards the scene. To the left of the easel is a small island with some palm trees. A man's shadow falls over the left third of the easel, and a voice from offscreen says "Still *sketching*, Ms. *Manish*? I thought you'd be glad to see the *back* of the damned thing." Another voice from offscreen answers "I am. I just needed some final studies of the *facial assembly*. You're blocking my *light*." Panel 2. The man steps around the back of the easel, pulling a pack of cigarettes from his breast pocket. It is clearly Max Shea, the man from the picture that Seymour was holding up in the previous page. However, he is smiling at the artist and looking relaxed. He gestures with his thumb at whatever is under the tarp and says "Oh, *I'm* sorry. Please excuse an old drunk who's just out admiring the coast of mosquitoes and daydreaming about getting back to the *mainland*. Three more *days*... How can you draw it under that *tarpulin*?" The artist's hand continues to draw, adding depth to a cloudy mass near the top of the drawing. The people in the background move around the tarp, and the boat is drawing closer. There is a purple circle with a black pyramid inside it on the boat's prow. Panel 3. The artist answers from offscreen, saying "They lifted it for me to see the *beak structure*. It's beautiful *work*. I hope they keep it properly *refrigerated* on its *voyage*. If it *decays*..." Shea lights his cigarette, looking out toward the tarp, making a "*Fpp* sound as he takes a drag of his cigarette and saying "Oh, it's plenty cold enough where *that's* headed." The artist has fleshed out the sinuous lines into tentacle-like shapes, and is working on the larger oval with a cross in it, turning it into a puckered shape bordered by curved lines. Two small tentacles hang down over it. The boat is near land now, and someone on the top of the tarp is gesturing at it. Panel 4. Shea stands behind the easel, looking out towards the boat and the tarp, and gestures with both hands, saying "A lot colder than where *I'm* headed when I leave here. I tellya, this place... Goddamned paranoid *movie companies!* It's been like being *shipwrecked*. I remember, I wrote this *story* once..." The artist leans forward, adding detail to one of the tentacle shapes on the side of the figure and holding the side of the easel with her other hand. Her face is hidden, but she has medium-length straight black hair tied back in a ponytail, dangling silver earrings and a pink sari over a green dress. Her body blocks most of the picture on the easel. The boat has now apparently landed. Seagulls fly around in the bright blue sky above it. Panel 5. The artist stands up, her body blocking most of the picture on the easel as she places her pencils in a tray attached to the base of the easel. She says "More pleasant than your *current* one, I hope. Illustrating that sequence where the young chew their way out of their mother's womb was quite an *experience*. There. Finished. Shall we go and wave our baby *goodbye*, Mr. Shea?" Shea looks back at her, smiling and holding his cigarette, and smoke trails around his head. Panel 6. The two of them walk away, and Shea faces the artist, saying "*Baby*? *Ha*! If that's any baby of *mine* there's just *gotta* be a more enjoyable way of *making* 'em! Okay, c'mon... We'll go check for a *family resemblance*. Let's give the tyke a final once-over." Behind them is the finished black-and-white drawing. It appears to depict an alien monster, with a spongy mass at the top over a single, large eye with a tiny pupil. The eyelids aren't open all the way, and are turned with the points of the eye up and down, instead of side to side as with a normal human eye. There are rows of lumps to each side of the eye. Large and small tentacles extend from under the eye and to each side, and underneath it is what looks like a puckered mouth or an anus, surrounded by a number of curved lines as if it's showing from underneath a layer of skin. The mouth is surrounded by four smaller tentacles that bulge at the end like teardrops. At the bottom left hand corner is the artist's signature, Manish, and the date, 10/31/85. Panel 7. A large panel the size of three regular panels. Dan is leaning over one of the control panels of the Owlship in his basement, wearing his full costume. He's looking out the window toward Laurie, smiling and giving the thumbs up. Laurie, still in full costume, is holding a gigantic electric cord up to an outlet on the side of the Owlship. The cord connects to a large generator, and Laurie is wearing oversized rubber gloves that nearly reach her elbows. There is another machine that looks like some form of diagnostic tool that's hooked up to a panel on the front of the Owlship. Dan's trophy case is to the side, with some figurines inside and an owl statue enclosed by a glass bell sitting on the top. Page 12. Panel 1. Hollis Mason's hands are scooping out pulp and seeds from a large pumpkin on the table in front of him. It's set near the T.V., and an old white-haired man is saying "...My opinion, nuclear war is quite possible within the next *ten days*, inconceivable as that might seem. God knows what these people have instead of *brains*..." The newscaster says "Thank you, Professor. Moving *on* now..." In the foreground are individual striped bags labeled "Candy" and some apples, along with the top of the pumpkin and a bowl for the pulp. In the background is Hollis' bookshelf with owl bookends and his statuette. Panel 2. As Hollis carves triangles for eyes onto the pumpkin, his dog comes up to sniff at the top of the pumpkin. The announcer on the T.V. continues "Today's *New Frontiersman* makes an appeal for clemency on behalf of *costumed adventurers*. It's been described by *Nova Express* writer-editor *Doug Roth* as quote "Attempting to graft an acceptable face onto glorified Klan-style brutality unquote." The bowl of pulp is piled high, nearly overflowing. Panel 3. Doug Roth appears on the T.V. as Hollis sticks the knife into the pulp in the bowl and removes the final triangle from a row of smaller triangles representing teeth that he's carved under the two eyes. Roth says "The *Frontiersman* piece was, uh, an *attack* upon *myself* and my *magazine*. It claimed we were, ha, funded by communists in our *Dr. Manhattan expose* and our current *Spirit of '77* feature." Hollis' dog looks on as Hollis says "*There*. Like *Rodin*, huh?" Panel 4. Roth continues, "It's pure *comedy*. *Nova Express* is financed by, of all things, a very *ordinary*, very *all-American* delivery company. Certainly not by *Moscow*. As for their *editorial*, I'd call it quote "Spirit of *Nuremberg*." Hollis' hand reaches for something, saying "Wait a minute..." His dog looks up at his hand. Panel 5. The announcer continues, "Doug Roth. Meanwhile, as public resentment grows towards masked heroes following Dr. Manhattan's abandonment of Earth, police admit having no evidence to support rumors of vigilante involvement in Saturday's *tenement rescue*..." Mason inserts a lit candle into the pumpkin, saying "Lemme just put this in here..." His dog watches the process. Panel 6. The announcer, looking to the side, continues, "Just coming in; the prisoner scalded by captured vigilante *Rorschach* died this afternoon. Fearing a *riot*, prison spokesmen say they're quote "Looking into the jaws of Hell" unquote." With the candle in it, the orange pumpkin is illuminated, turning bright yellow. A spot of pulp is dripping over the pumpkin's right eye. Mason replaces the top of the pumpkin and says "Pretty *good*. Can hardly wait until it's *dark*." The dog turns away, its tail wagging. The three costumed children from earlier in this chapter are outside the window in the distance, running along the sidewalk. Panel 7. Dan and Laurie are riding the Owlship through the abandoned, trash-filled tunnel. Dan is sitting at the controls, looking out ahead of him confidently, while Laurie is standing behind him, holding on to the chair. Rats run away from the Owlship's lights behind them as it zooms along. Page 13. Panel 1. The newsvendor, sitting to the side of his stall and holding a magazine, looks over at a customer, whose arm is visible. The man is holding a coin toward the newsvendor, and he's wearing a wristband and has a muscular arm. The newsvendor smiles and says "*Gazette*? Sorry, pal... Should be here any minute, you wanna wait. Been to the *Utopia*? Those old *movies*... *Raves* outta the *grave*, right?" Several magazines are hung up on the stall next to him, including the new Nova Express, and underneath is the pink Gay Woman Against Rape poster. A figure in a coat and hat is crossing the street toward the newsstand, hands in pockets. The comic-book reading boy's hands are visible, holding the comic book with one page folded behind it. There are three panels, showing the sailor and various images. Smoke from the boy's cigarette curls up and to the left, underneath the sign for the Promethean Cab Company. The comic book reads, "In my ravings, desperate for company it seemed I conversed with my perished *shipmates*." Panel 2. The man stands closer to the newsvendor, who stands up and looks up at him, his face concerned. The man is wearing a vest with the words Pale Horse and a horse head logo on the back, a green shirt torn off at the arms and yellow wrap-around sunglasses. He's white, and his hair is pulled up into a knot at the top of his head. He gestures with his thumb as he says "Yeah, this *space guy* comes to warn everybody about *nuclear war*..." A woman next to him puts her hand on his shoulder and says "Ten *days*. On T.V. They said ten *days*! Jesus, Derf, gimme some *katies*! I wanna get *crazy*." She's white, with a swastika tattoo on one shoulder and her hair up in a tight knot. The comics-reading boy brings his cigarette up to his mouth, and the comic continues, "Their voices spoke from beneath the raft; thick; bubbling..." The figure crossing the street comes nearer, and on the sidewalk opposite the street, the three children in costumes pass beneath the Promethean Cab Company sign. Panel 3. The figure crossing the street turns out to be Joey, the curly-haired cab driver. She stands behind the newsvendor, touching his shoulder, and says "Hi. Gimme a *Gazette*. I wanna look in *apartments to rent*. I busted up with *Aline*." The newsvendor looks uneasily over at her, saying "Uh, hi, Joey. Joey, the Gazette ain't *arrived*..." Derf gestures with his index finger towards the Nova Express with the three superheroes on it, looking at Joey, and says "These *superfags*... *They're* the guys *I* hate." The woman next to Derf looks up at him, saying "Derf..." The comic-book reading boy breathes out a large puff of smoke, covering most of the comic book, and the comic book continues "The conversation of the dead: dreary, bitter, endlessly sad..." In the street nearby, a van with the words "New York Gazette" on it drives by. Panel 4. Joey says "*Hey*!", moving as if she'd like to fight with Derf, although the newsvendor is blocking her. He looks worried as Derf curls his hand into a fist, still pointing to the magazine with his other hand, and says "That *Manhattan* guy... It's *him* who brought all this down. And that *tenement rescue*. I heard..." The woman with him puts her hand on his back, looking angrily at him and saying "Derf, I know you got some, you bastard..." The delivery truck splashes Joey and the newsvendor, and the boy continues reading. The comic book continues, "Interminable bad news from mouths wherein the little fishes dart." Panel 5. The delivery man, wearing a baseball cap and holding a stack of papers, hands them to the newsvendor, saying "Hi. Here they *are*..." Joey points at the stack, saying "Hey, gimme one of those!" The newsvendor takes the stack, a troubled look on his face. Derf reaches into his vest pocket as he continues, "...I heard *that* was superheroes *too*. It's like the spirit of seventy-six!" The woman next to him, her hand on his elbow, says "Seventy *seven*. Gimme those *katies*..." The comic-book reading boy brings his cigarette to his mouth, and the comic book continues, "We talked together, my rotted fellows and I..." Panel 6. The comic book continues, "...Of life, and its endings. Of the terrible sentence upon us all." The newsvendor holds the stack of papers, looking at the headline with a grave face. The deliveryman, Joey and Derf all listen as he says "Oh Jesus. See *this*? Quote "*Sing-Sing Erupts: Captured Vigilante Sparks Riot: Five Dead* unquote." Derf says "Well, I guess that's *it*. I guess the *balloon's* gone up." The woman with him tips something from a bottle into her mouth. The comic-book reading boy exhales a cloud of smoke, which covers most of his comic book and drifts off to the side. Panel 7. The Owlship rises on a cloud of smoke out through the buildings and skyscrapers, towards the full moon. Two zeppelins fly far above in the sky. Page 14. Panel 1. A group of at least five men in prison outfits are standing outside of Rorschach's cell. One is holding an improvised weapon that looks like a pipe, and they're shouting and shaking their fists. They're being held back by Michael, who faces them calmly. One says "*Rorschach*..." Another says "Off his eyelids and then I'll." Another says "Figure, you better let us *at* him! After *Otis* croaked, that *looney tune's* got his *coming!*" Another says "*Yeah!* We *wanna* piece, Figure!" What looks like a guard's blue pants are lying on the ground behind them, and a line of puffy smoke is going from the bottom left corner to the middle of the right side of the panel. Panel 2. Big Figure is standing behind Michael and the mob, with Lawrence behind him holding a heavy, boxy machine the size of a briefcase, attached to loops of frayed electrical cord that are wrapped loosely around his hand and wrist. On the machine is a cord that goes from the side of the machine to a long, thin tool with a long, claw-like tip that's been blackened from repeated use. Lawrence is sweating from the weight of the machine. Big Figure, holding a cigar in one hand, looks back and calls "Sure. Thanksgiving's *early* this year, but everybody gets a piece of *turkey*. It's just I get to *carve*. Now *beat* it. Lawrence, hurry the god-damned *arc welder* up. We *already* got delayed busting it out of the *machine shop*..." Smoke from his cigar trails to the ceiling. Panel 3. Big Figure faces Rorschach's cell and says "...And I want to take my *time* over this. *Well*, Rorschach, here it *is*! Halloween, when the dead things return and devils are free to roam the *night*!" Rorschach stands in front of the door, the lock to his right, with his back to the group. His expression is impassive as he starts to take off his shirt, revealing his white sleeveless undershirt. Big Figure asks "Whatsamatter? Too *warm* in there? Gonna get plenty *warmer*." The toilet is in front of Rorschach, there's a roll of toilet paper mounted on the wall to his left, and the bunk is to the wall on his right. Panel 4. Lawrence leans over Big Figure, saying "*Rii-i-ght*! Hey *Boss*, you *notice*? Suddenly he ain't giving you no quote "tall order, small world" unquote shit. Maybe he figured out that once we slice these bars we're gonna make *him* a little shorter." Rorschach, holding his shirt in front of him, continues to look away from the men impassively as he says "Fat chance." He appears to be ripping his shirt in half. Although Rorschach is a relatively small man, his arms are quite muscular. Michael leaves the mob several feet behind him in the hallway, coming to plug in the arc welder into a nearby outlet on the wall behind Rorschach. Panel 5. Lawrence reaches his arms through the bars, his outstretched fingers hovering an inch away from Rorschach's shoulders as he pushes his arms through all the way up to the shoulders. His nose pushes through the bars and he says "Fat...? You lousy little *bastard*! I'll tear your goddamned *heart* out! You're *dead*, you unnerstand? *Dead!* We got a jail full of guys out here hate your *guts*. What in hell do *you* got?" Rorschach continues to look at the opposite wall, his face impassive and his shirt in his hands. His hands and the shirt are mostly cut off by the edge of the panel. Panel 6. Rorschach suddenly turns around, bringing his torn shirt near Lawrence's hands, which are still stuck through the bars near the lock. Lawrence is sweating and looks startled as Rorschach moves, and both Michael and Big Figure look taken aback as well. Rorschach answers, "Your hands. My perspective." The smoke from Big Figure's cigar drifts up and over Lawrence's head. Panel 7. A larger panel the size of three regular panels. The clouds part, and the Owlship flies towards the high walls of the prison. A couple of cars are driving toward the prison, and there are spotlights from guard towers mounted on the walls looking towards the prison buildings. There are several small figures lined up and walking around, and red smoke is coming from some of the windows of the inner buildings. Page 15. Panel 1. Rorschach has tied Lawrence's wrists together, the backs of the hands touching each other. He's in the process of tying a second knot around Lawrence's little fingers, his face impassive. Lawrence's large body is blocking the lock, and he's starting to cry, his eyes squeezed shut. From his side, Big Figure shakes his fist and says "You stupid, fat son of a *bitch!* Now we can't get at the *lock*! Michael! Reach *through* there! Cut what's *tyin'* him!" Michael tries to reach over Lawrence's shoulder towards his wrists to cut the material with a box cutter. Lawrence cries "Aww shit. My *fingers*. He broke my *fingers*..." Panel 2. Michael withdraws the box cutter, saying "Can't *reach*. Can we cut the *bars* instead of the *lock*?" Big Figure replies "Too *slow*. This riot won't *last*, and I mustn't be *interrupted* before I'm through. Unfortunately, Lawrence is in the way of my *revenge*. Kill him." Lawrence's eyes are wild and his face is covered with tears and sweat as his jaw hangs open and he looks down and to the side at Big Figure. Panel 3. Lawrence says "Boss, *Jesus*, you're *kidding*! You don't want him *that* bad! Mike, for Christ's *sake*..." Big Figure stands with his back to the cell, smoking his cigar, and Mike grabs Lawrence's head with one arm, tilting it backward and touching the tip of the box cutter to his exposed neck. He looks apologetic and says "Nothing personal, Larry." Rorschach stands in front of Michael, facing the three of them. Panel 4. Rorschach stands straight and faces the three men with a neutral expression as a thick arc of blood splashes onto his left side, covering most of the left of his white shirt, his left elbow and the waistband of his pants on the left side with blood. Michael's voice from offscreen says "*Kkuhh*..." The background is orange. Panel 5. Michael lets go of Lawrence's head, and the man's body starts to slump over, blood dripping from his neck onto the bars and floor, as he makes a "...*Hhuh-ghluh-h*hh..." noise. Michael gestures as he faces Big Figure and says "Shit, this is a mess. What do we do now?" Big Figure gestures with his cigar and points at Rorschach, saying "We *get* him is what we do! We're gonna cut through there and then that bastard's gonna find out what the *score* is!" Rorschach faces them as he moves backwards slowly towards the wall behind him, across from the bunk. Panel 6. Rorschach stands next to the wall without touching it, his back perfectly straight. Most of his left torso is stained with bright red blood. He says "One-nothing. Your move. Come and get me." Big Figure and Michael look angrily at him, and Lawrence's head is slumped down, his body held up only by the bars of Rorschach's cell. Panel 7. A large panel that takes up the space of three regular panels. From inside the cockpit of the Owlship, we see Dan piloting the ship over the walls of the prison, Laurie's hand on his shoulder. Guards point at the ship and duck out of the way as they descend. The cameras show the walls, the startled faces of two individual guards and two other images apparently showing some sort of tactical information. Page 16. Panel 1. A large panel taking up the space of six regular panels. The Owlship flies within the prison compound and Laurie and Dan look down at the guards. The spotlights converge on the ship, and several guards fire at its base, small flares showing where the bullets are hitting the hull of the ship. One guard puts his hand over his head to shield his eyes, and another guard holds his gun, ducking away from the ship and yelling instructions. Behind the Owlship, the sky is dark and the moon is full, and smoke from within the prison drifts out into the sky. Panel 2. Laurie puts her hand on Dan's wrist as he reaches for a button on the control panel, and points out the window, saying "Look... *Convicts*. We're in the *occupied* section. How did you talk me *into* this? This is getting *scary*..." Dan says "Don't worry. Put in your earplugs so we can hit the ground running. I'm turning on the screechers *now*..." Two men on the ground below them, standing in front of a large window and both holding what appear to be pipes, shield their eyes from the glare of the Owlship's lights. Panel 3. The glass breaks, and shards fly everywhere as the two men bend over, holding their ears and screaming. Panel 4. The men are crouched on the ground, one bent over and vomiting, as Dan runs past them towards the broken window. The Owlship is hovering in the air behind him, and Laurie is descending from a ladder that's hanging from its bottom portal. Page 17. Panel 1. Michael is pushing Lawrence's corpse out of the way and cutting through the metal lock with the arc welder tool. The metal where the tool is touching is white hot, and the scene is colored in bright yellows and dark green shadows. Michael says "Almost *in*... Jeez, this *smell*, it's pretty *obnoxious*... and do you hear that sorta *screaming*, like a *siren*?" Big Figure, standing behind Michael and the electrical cord attached to the arc welder, holds up his lit cigar and says "*Ignore* it! Just open the *door* so I can smell *this* son of a bitch cooking!" Seen up close, the protective covering over the electrical cord appears to be frayed and peeling off in several places, exposing the wire. Rorschach stands just inside the door, looking on impassively. Panel 2. As Michael works, he says "Oh *yeah*, for *sure*. Any *second*." Rorschach is climbing up on his bunk, and Michael comments "Aw, look, he's climbin' up on his *bunk*, like a little *kid*. Any time now he's gonna *cry*. Shit, I love it when they do that..." Big Figure says "Just hurry." Lawrence's corpse is colored in green, while Michael is colored in bright yellow from the welding tool. Big Figure is colored in red, while Rorschach is colored in shades of blue and purple. Panel 3. Michael breaks through the lock, and enters Rorschach's cell, holding the welding tool up in front of him menacingly as he says "*Ha!* There it *is*! There she *goes*! I *got* you, you runty little bastard." The frayed cord of the arc welder curls behind him as he enters the cell, and Big Figure taps the ash off the end of his cigar. Rorschach is squatting on his bunk, with his foot hovering above the toilet bowl as he looks stoically at Michael and the searing hot welding tool. Panel 4. Michael glares at Rorschach, approaching him with one hand curled into a fist and the other grasping the welding tool. He says "You're gonna be *hamburger*! You're gonna be *smoked meat*, you stinking, lousy..." Behind him, Big Figure watches with excitement on his face, chomping down on the end of his cigar and pumping his fists. Rorschach kicks out his foot, the heel of his boot an inch away from the edge of the toilet bowl. Panel 5. Rorschach's kick shatters the toilet bowl, and Michael, still holding the welding tool, takes a step back as water pours out of the cracked bowl and pours onto the floor, saying "...Little..." The water runs toward the part of the wire that's resting on the ground. Panel 6. Michael is electrocuted when water touches the exposed electrical wires. His head jerks backward and his arm flails out, white-hot electricity sizzling up the cord and all over his body. Rorschach watches impassively from the safety of the bunk, bringing his leg back underneath him. The panel is colored in blues and purples, in sharp contrast to the bright yellows produced by the welding tool in the earlier panels. Panel 7. Rorschach squats on the bunk as Michael's corpse falls on its back, his head and the welding tool hitting the toilet water with a splash. Michael's eyes are open, and tiny licks of white flame and blue smoke come from his arm and chest. Behind him, Big Figure looks down on the scene, his mouth open and his eyes wide as he holds his cigar out in front of him. The scene has suddenly gone dark, and Rorschach and Michael's corpse are colored in dark purples, while Big Figure is colored in vibrant red. Panel 8. From offscreen, Rorschach says "Hurrm. Never disposed of sewage with toilet before. Obvious, really. Two-nothing. Your move." Big Figure starts backing away from the cell door, dropping his lit cigar on the floor next to the blood and water that are pooling around Michael's foot. The frayed electrical cord snakes out the door, and Lawrence's bound hands are still visible hanging from the bars. Panel 9. Big Figure runs away, glancing back behind him at the cell. The red smoke from Big Figure's cigar trails toward the ceiling as the water spreads past the cell door, engulfing it. Page 18. Panel 1. Laurie and Dan are making their way through the broken window into the prison cafeteria. The bright lights of the Owlship are shining into the building, but they are walking into darkness. Laurie looks around, saying "...*Extinguished*! All the *lights*, they just went *out*..." Dan, standing several feet in front of her, says "Speak *up*, I can hardly *hear* you. It's some sort of *power failure*, obviously. Emergency lights should kick in soon, providing nobody's been too rough with the *electricals*." Dan has produced a small flashlight and is turning it on, looking ahead of him through his goggles. Panel 2. Rorschach is squatting on his bunk. He's retrieved the arc welding tool and is gathering up the electrical cord, winding it up and pulling on it so that it unplugs from the main machine several feet away. Michael's corpse lies at his feet, while Lawrence's charred body leans over the door, his hands still tied on the opposite side. The scene is colored with dark shadows and unnatural shades of light blue. Panel 3. Laurie walks behind Dan, looking around nervously and saying "Dan, this is *horrible*. When we heard about the *riot*, I thought it would just provide *cover* for the *escape*. I hadn't imagined *this*..." Dan answers "Old *grudges* get worked out in these things. Old *grudges* and bad *blood*." They are walking past the body of a man lying face down on the ground. His hands have been bound behind his back, and there's a large bloodstain spreading under his head. The hallway is strewn with dishes and tables, and there's trails of smoke threading through the hallway. Down the hallway, two men are blocking the door to the cells, waving bottles around cheerfully. The scene is colored in vibrant shades of orange, red and yellow. Panel 4. Rorschach walks out of his cell through the puddle of blood and water that now covers the floor, stepping on Big Figure's cigar as he leaves. Panel 5. As Dan and Laurie approach the two men, Laurie says "But this is *pandemonium*! Even assuming that nobody killed him *already*, that he's still *alive*; how are we supposed to *find* him?" Dan faces the two men, his head held high, as he answers "He's supposedly in the *solitary section*. He shouldn't be too difficult to track *down*..." The two men, both wearing prisoner's uniforms, look in alarm at Dan and Laurie. They're both holding bottles, and one is smoking a cigarette while the other is wearing a guard's cap. Panel 6. Rorschach walks down the hallway, leaving the two corpses and a trail of bloody footprints behind him. His posture is straight, and his hands are in his pockets. Panel 7. Laurie grabs one of the men by his shirt and knees him in the crotch, pushing him backwards and knocking the bottle out of his hand. She looks over at Dan, saying "I still don't see you *need* him. What did he do for *you* lately?" Dan decks the other man, who falls backward, his hat flying off his head. He says "Nothing. But *meeting* him recently, it's like he *wants* to make friends without knowing *how*. As if the gap between us were *narrowing*." Smoke trails at their feet and behind them. Panel 8. Rorschach is walking through the hall, several feet behind Big Figure, who is running away. A tall cup has been knocked over and is lying on the ground in a puddle next to a toothbrush, with the top of a set of dentures lying on the ground nearby. The background, and Rorschach, is colored in bright shades of red, while Big Figure is colored in bright purple. Panel 9. The two men are lying on the ground, one doubled over in pain and the other laid out flat on his back. Dan and Laurie walk side by side past them further down the hallway, and Dan gestures as he looks at Laurie and says "It's just so *hard*, *reaching* him. I mean, all this *stuff*, this *horror* and *madness*, he *attracts* it. It's his *world*. This is where he *lives*... In this sordid, violent *twilight zone*. Under this *shadow*." Page 19. Panel 1. Rorschach walks down the hallway, his hands in his pockets and his gaze straight out in front of him. The shading on his face and body is dramatic, and the blood stain covering his left side is colored in a dull shade of red that stands out against the lurid tone used for his body and clothes. Panel 2. Laurie, standing behind Dan right outside the cell door, peers inside and says "*Well*? Did we find the right *cell*? Is he *there*? From the *smell*, this whole *place* has his stamp on it." Dan looks into the cell, grimacing, his hands on the bars of the open door and on the side of the cell. Lawrence's bound hands dangle from the door. Dan and Laurie are colored in shades of yellow where the light hits them and in purple where they're in shadow. Panel 3. Rorschach tramples the toothbrush on the ground as he continues walking after the sprinting Big Figure. There's a trashed mattress slumped on the wall in front of him, and a dead man's head pokes out of the open door of a nearby cell. The scene is colored in vibrant reds, with Big Figure's retreating body in orange. Panel 4. Dan walks away from the cell, turning back and saying "No. No, he isn't here... But I think he's *been* here. Come on. If we don't find him *soon*, our whole *plan* is in the *toilet*." Laurie steps closer to the cell, looking through the open door at Michael's corpse and the broken toilet bowl. Michael's eyes are still wide open, and his clothes seem to have been burnt away in places. Panel 5. Big Figure pushes in the door to the men's room, looking behind him with a fearful expression. Rorschach is nowhere to be seen in the hallway behind him, and there's papers and a roll of toilet paper on the floor. Panel 6. Laurie touches Dan's shoulder and gestures with one thumb behind her, saying "Along *here*, maybe?" Dan looks around as he walks, saying "I don't know. If only there was some *sign*..." Panel 7. The door to the men's room is swinging out slightly. A shadow falls on the ground in front of it, and lines of yellow smoke drift along the ground. The door is colored bright red, while the area around it is orange. Panel 8. Laurie points at a figure standing in the doorway, saying "*Hey*! Is *that* him along *there*? There was that *picture* in the papers, him without his *mask*..." Dan looks down the hallway at the figure, saying "I-- I'm not *sure*. It looks like his *posture*..." He cups his hand to his mouth, calling "*Hey, Rorschach*?" He and Laurie are colored in shades of yellow and orange, while Rorschach is in bright red. Panel 9. The two of them catch up to Rorschach, and Dan says "Rorschach? Is that...? Yes. Yes, it's you. Come on, man. We came to bust you *out* and we better *hurry* before, uh..." Rorschach continues to walk toward the men's room, his hands in his pockets. Dan asks "Uh, we're not *interrupting* anything?" Page 20. Panel 1. Rorschach continues walking towards the door, his hands in his pockets. Without looking back or changing his expression, Rorschach answers "No. Excuse me. Have to visit men's room." Dan and Laurie stand a few feet behind him, their expressions dismayed. Panel 2. Laurie raises one hand and curls it into a fist behind him, saying "Oh, for Christ's *sake*..." Dan faces her, gesturing with one hand and saying "Uh, look, it's *okay*. I mean, it happens to *everybody*, right? I remember once I lost a big *arrest* like that..." Between them, Rorschach pushes in the door to the men's room and enters. Laurie and Dan are cropped such that all we see is the right half of Laurie's body from her shoulder to her thigh, and the front of Dan's body from his shoulders to his thighs, with the door to the men's room in the background between them. The panels are composed in this way until panel 6. Panel 3. Dan gestures as if he's explaining something, saying "I was closing on this *dope dealer* and I needed to take a leak. By the time I'd got in and out of my *costume*, he'd *vanished*. I *redesigned* it since then." Laurie gestures with her palm out in a conciliatory gesture, saying "Oh, *sure*. *Everybody's* done *that*..." Panel 4. Laurie gestures, pointing her index finger down towards the ground. She says "What pisses *me* off, we came to *rescue* him, he doesn't even *thank* us! Doesn't even say *hello*! Hell, what's he *doing* in there? That *bumping*..." Dan gestures toward the door with his thumb, saying "It's okay... I think he just heard him *flush*. Panel 5. Laurie, her hand curled into a fist and resting on her hip, says "At *last*!" as Rorschach leaves the men's room. Dan touches her arm lightly and raises a finger to his lips, saying "Shhh." Behind Rorschach's feet, water seems to be pooling on the floor in the men's room. Rorschach and the door are both colored in shades of red. Panel 6. Rorschach comes up to the two of them, standing in front of them and saying "There. Did what had to be done. Can leave now." Laurie, her hand still on her hip but no longer curled into a fist, says "*Really*? I mean, are you *sure*? We don't want to get to *reckless* and go diving head-first *into* things!" Dan is removing the Owlship's remote control from one of the pockets of his utility belt. Rorschach is now colored mostly in orange like Dan and Laurie, although the splash of blood on his shirt remains a dull red. The water coming from the men's room is starting to spread into the hallway behind him. Panel 7. Rorschach walks along down the hallway, his hands in his pockets, saying "Hurm. Good advice. Sure there are many who'd agree with you." Dan and Laurie walk a few paces behind him, side by side. Dan has the remote control in one hand and is looking over at Laurie, while she walks with her hands balled in fists, her expression annoyed as she watches Rorschach. Behind them, the water coming from the men's room is spreading into a long, thin puddle into the hallway. Page 21. Panel 1. As Rorschach walks up a flight of stairs, he says "Incidentally, good seeing you in uniform, Daniel. Like old times. And Miss Juspeczyk. Although never liked your uniform. Nothing personal." Laurie follows him up the stairs, glaring at him. Dan, walking next to Laurie, hits a button on the remote control, saying "Uh, maybe I better kill the *screechers* so Archie doesn't *deafen* you when I bring him *up*." Panel 2. At the top of the stairs, next to a door leading outside, Rorschach turns toward Dan and Laurie, saying "Hurrm. Owlship. Screechers. Belt console. All the old toys. I remember. What brought you out of retirement? Taking mask killer seriously at last?" Dan, still holding the remote control, answers "Well..." Laurie, coming up the last steps behind Dan, continues to glare at Rorschach, saying "No. Leastways, *I'm* not." Panel 3. Rorschach walks out the door onto the roof of the building, his posture straight and his hands in his pockets. He doesn't look behind him at Dan and Laurie as he says "No? But then you haven't been attacked yet. Funny most everyone else has." Behind him, Dan gestures at Rorschach, saying "Rorschach, for God's *sake*, man, don't you *ever* let up? She just *rescued* you..." Laurie throws her arms up in exasperation, saying "What's he *implying*? I just don't buy this *conspiracy* is all!" They're all colored in shades of blue and purple, with red smoke billowing behind them and yellow spotlights scanning the dark skies. Panel 4. Laurie stands in front of Rorschach, pointing at him as she says "I mean, to me, this whole *situation's* grotesque. Dan thought springing you might help; I played along. Frankly, I wish I *hadn't*. I wish *Jon* was here to *straighten* everything and..." She looks toward Dan, who is kneeling on the edge of the roof, and says "Oh, *Dan*, I'm *sorry*." Dan is pressing buttons on his remote control as he answers "Forget it. Here's *Archie*." Panel 5. Dan is climbing through the portal on the top of the Owlship as he says "*Hurry*. Without the *screechers* keeping folk *away* we'll soon start drawing *fire*. Also, I want to visit my place one last time before *this* caper brings the *police* down on it. There's *equipment* to collect." Laurie jumps from the edge of the roof onto the top of the ship, while Rorschach prepares to follow. People in the courtyard four floors underneath look up at them, pointing and shading their eyes. Panel 6. Laurie climbs down the ladder into the Owlship, looking back at Dan and saying "Y'know, this is getting *heavy*. As Dan *Dreiberg*, you'll be *wanted*." Dan, sitting in the driver's seat, touches some panels near his head and answers "The world should *last* so long. No, it's okay. I set up *emergency* identities *years* ago. *They'll* conceal us. Hold *tight*. We're going home to *roost*..." Panel 7. A large panel the size of three regular panels. Rorschach is half inside the fleeing Owlship, turning to look at the prison complex far below him as it burns. Smoke is coming from the windows, and the people below are little more than lines as they point at the Owlship. An NYPD blimp is floating above the complex, its searchlights reaching out to either side of it. The Owlship is zooming into the clouds far above the prison. Page 22. Panel 1. Laurie's manicured hands are pushing the calendar page for October up, showing November's image of the hawk diving to catch a smaller bird in front of a mountain range. Panel 2. Dan is still wearing his uniform, but he's pushed his hood back and has his goggles around his neck. He's carrying some items in his arms and looks back at Laurie, saying "Okay, that's everything from up *here*, but I have some stuff to load down in the *basement*, so... Uh, *Laurie*? What are you *doing*?" Laurie's expression is melancholy as she answers "Changing your *calendar*. Another *hour*, it'll be *November*." Behind them, Rorschach is looking at the green bag of sugar cubes, his expression impassive. Panel 3. Dan says "You sound *upset*. Is everything *okay*?" Laurie, turning to him, looks troubled as she says "Yeah. It's just stuff catching *up* with me... The *jailbreak*, this *war* thing... Everything's just so shitty. Guess I want somebody to wave a *wand* and make it all *better*, y'know?" In the foreground, Rorschach is holding open one of the pockets on his pants, pushing several sugar cubes into it. Panel 4. Laurie leaves the kitchen and steps into the hallway, calling back to Dan "...But there's nobody who can do that, is there? Listen, I have to collect some junk from the *living room*... Stuff my *mother* insisted I have, personal effects and like that... Be right with you." Her coat and Dan's coat hang on hooks in the dark hallway. Panel 5. Laurie steps into the living room, her posture and expression dejected. There's a bag in the foreground next to the T.V. Panel 6. Laurie stands in front of the fireplace, looking at a bottle of Nostalgia perfume. The bag is on the mantel in front of her, and she's pulling on one of the straps. There's a large mirror mounted over the fireplace, which reflects her and the couch behind her in blue tones. The couch appears to be empty, but part of a blue knee can be seen in the very edge of the mirror. Panel 7. Laurie looks more closely at the blue knee in the mirror, her own shocked expression reflected in cool tones in the mirror. Panel 8. Laurie turns around quickly, holding the bag by one strap and clutching onto the mantel for support. Her expression is startled as she looks at Jon, whose thigh and hands are visible as he holds a magazine in front of him. Panel 9. Jon is sitting on the couch, lowering the magazine onto his lap and saying "Hello." The bottle of perfume rests on the mantel by Laurie's hand. Page 23. Panel 1. Laurie, holding the bag in one hand, looks surprised and slightly dismayed as she gestures with her thumb and says "*Jon*? Oh Jesus, I... I, I mean they said you'd *gone*. They said you were on *Mars*..." The back of her head is reflected in the mirror, and the bottle of perfume rests on the mantel. Jon closes the magazine, showing the cover, which has the Nova Express logo and the heading "Super-Heroes in the News." It shows Jon's face, as well as Rorschach and Ozymandias, the faces of both of which are mostly covered by Jon's hand. Panel 2. Jon's face looks grave as he replies "I *am* on Mars. Now, I believe we have a *conversation* scheduled. You want to *talk* to me." The background is hot pink. Panel 3. Laurie answers "God, *yes*. Yes, I was just thinking... But Jon, how did you *know*? I need to *see* you, you *appear*... I mean, it's all so *deus ex machina*..." Laurie's arm hangs limply at her side, and she gestures with her other hand, her expression dismayed. Jon stands up, answering "quote The god out of the machine unquote. Yes, yes, I suppose it is..." Panel 4. Dan pokes his head out of the kitchen into the dark hallway, looking down the hall past the two coats. Jon and Laurie continue talking offscreen, their speech bubbles trailing from the open living room door into the hallway. Jon continues, saying "...But the rules are *different* for me. Please try to understand. An hour into my *future*, we're on *Mars*, talking. I thought I'd *collect* you in *readiness*." Laurie answers "*Mars*? *Oh* no! You're *kidding*! Why *Mars*?" Dan looks worried as he says "Laurie? Who...?" Panel 5. Jon and Laurie are facing each other, and Jon is saying "Because that's where I *am*. Because that's where our *conversation* is going to take place. You're going to try to convince me to save the *world*." Laurie gestures with one hand as she says "To save...? I have to *convince* you? Jon, this is *insane*..." Everything but their torsos and hands are cropped out, and between them, Dan opens the door, looking at the two of them in shock. Panel 6. Dan gestures towards Laurie and says "*Jon*? *Laurie*? What's *happening*? I..." Laurie turns to Dan, her expression worried and apologetic, and says "*Dan*? He just *appeared*. He wants me to *go* with him. I-- I think i better do as he *says*. I *know* him! He doesn't change his *mind*." Jon turns toward Dan, looking at him with a grave expression. Rorschach's voice from the hallway says "Daniel? Doorbell ringing..." Panel 7. Dan raises his hands, gesturing at Laurie and says "Laurie, *wait*! What *is* this? What are you going to *do*?" Laurie looks back at Jon, taking his hand. She says "W-We're going to *talk*. Maybe we'll find some way *out* of this mess. It'll be okay, Dan. Really. You take *care*." Jon looks down at her, his face impassive. Rorschach continues from the hallway, saying "People outside, Daniel. Police." Panel 8. Rorschach is shown standing in the hallway, the yellow light from the kitchen illuminating his back as he gestures toward the front door with his thumb. He says "Hammering now. Best hurry. We..." Dan says "*Laurie!* Don't..." He throws his arm over his eyes to shield himself from the blinding white light streaming from the living room. Panel 9. Rorschach stands behind Dan, looking into the living room and saying "Daniel, door won't hold long. Must go now before... Where is Miss Juspeczyk?" Dan looks down at the ground sadly, his posture dejected, as he says "She... She won't be traveling with us. Let's go." On the ground is the issue of Nova Express, its pages burning and white smoke trailing toward the ceiling. Page 24. Panel 1. A sturdy boot kicks in Dan's door, breaking the gleaming lock imprinted with the words "Gordian Knot Lock Company." It flies to the side as the wood splinters. A man holding a machine gun is standing behind the door, and Detective Fine is standing a few feet behind him, gesturing toward the door with his thumb and yelling "Come *on*, the place is lit *up*, they could still be *here*..." Detective Bourquin is standing behind him. The panel is colored in vivid oranges and yellows. Panel 2. Dan replaces his hood on his head as he hurries down the steps to the basement. Rorschach, standing at the top of the stairs, turns to look behind him, his hands curled into fists. Panel 3. Bourquin, standing in the doorframe between the hallway and the kitchen, holds his hand to the side of his head and gestures with his other hand, looking dismayed as he says "They *better* be! Steve, you're telling me you *knew* Dreiberg was this *owl-man* and you never..." Fine, walking into the kitchen with a lit cigarette and looking angry, says "I made a *mistake*. I thought a *warning* would be enough. Hell, *I* didn't know he was planning his pal's *escape*..." The two policemen with guns go ahead of them into the kitchen, their expressions intense. One of them knocks over the bag of sugar cubes from the table, and cubes spill onto the ground. Panel 4. Rorschach climbs through the portal on the bottom of the Owlship into the main cabin. Dan is already seated in the driver's seat, touching the panel and raising one hand to push a lever mounted above his head. The items they've taken with them are strewn around the cabin, such as a box filled with rolled up sheets of paper, a suitcase and some cans of beans. Panel 5. The two policemen with guns start to go down the stairs to the basement. Fine points at the open door and says "Down those *stairs*! I *knew* he had something *hidden* back there from his *attitude*..." Fine, standing next to him, says "Steve, if those guys aren't *down* there, you better start thinking about the *captain's* attitude. It ain't gonna be *sweetness* and *light*." The sugar cubes bounce down to the floor, and both Fine and Bourquin crunch a couple of them underfoot. Panel 6. The Owlship zooms down the tunnel, its lights illuminating the space in front of it. There are puddles and some pieces of paper on the ground. Panel 7. A large panel that takes the space of three regular panels. Fine and Bourquin step into the basement, looking around with startled expressions. Fine says "I'll be damned." Bourquin replies "Oh sure. At the very *least*." One of the two police officers who preceded them is shooting down the dark tunnel, but the Owlship is already at the end of the tunnel, far out of range. Another one of the officers is checking the closet where the Nite Owl costume used to hang, and a third is following the two detectives down the stairs. The machine on which the Owlship was parked is empty, the toolbox next to it, and Dan's robotic exoskeleton lays crumpled on the floor nearby. The trophy cabinet has been ransacked, and one of the doors swings open. A diving helmet lies on the floor next to a gleaming puddle. Page 25. Panel 1. The comic book text reads: "Our *damnation*: it obsessed the sodden dead, dominating their bubbling *dialogues*." One of the panels from the comic book, showing a rotting, disintegrating corpse staring down into the depths of the water, the planks and knotted rope forming the raft on its back. A few fishes swim around its face. From offscreen, a voice says "Fuh-*First*, there'll be this big *flash*..." "Another voice says "*Yeah!* An' it's *his* fault, Dr. Blue Ass *Manhattan!*" A third person says "*Ay!* *Derf!*" Panel 2. The comic book text continues, "They spoke of a *heaven*, where once we all *lived* and *died*, sentenced for our sins to this *pandemonium* we call the *world*." The woman with the swastika tattoo is holding on to the newsvendor's coat lapel, gesturing pleadingly with the other hand as she continues "...And then there's this terrible *noise*..." The newsvendor looks down at her, frowning. Derf is standing next to her, turning to see another two men approaching the newsvendor's stall. The men are dressed in the same style Derf is and are both white. One man is holding a boombox on his shoulder, and the other is holding what looks like a glass tube with some smoke trailing out the end. The man with the boombox says "Ay, *Derf*, on the *radio*, you hear what went *down*?" In the foreground, the boy with the comic book continues to sit and read. Panel 3. From offscreen, Derf answers "I heard about the *riot*..." The man with the boombox says "Old *news*. Some *super dupers* sprung that *blot-face* guy." The woman with the swastika tattoo continues "...And, *oh*, the *fastest* wind..." The comic book text continues, "Truly, life is hell and death's rough hand our only deliverance." The sailor is lying belly down on his raft, clutching at the hand of one of the corpses that keep it afloat with a haunted expression on his face. The corpse of the shark is on the raft behind him. Panel 4. Derf balls his hands into fists and looks angry, saying "*Sprung* him? Those *bastards*, they do whatever they *like!*" The man with the boombox, who's wearing a leather jacket and his hair in a high ponytail, says "Yeah, some *owl* character did it..." The man with the glass tube looks angry, shaking his fist and saying "*Nite* Owl? My *dad* knows him... Lives over some *garage* near here. We ought go kick his *ass*!" The woman with the swastika tattoo is still cornering the newsvendor in conversation, and he looks chagrined as she continues "...And then the *shockwave*..." The comic-book reading boy turns the page. Another knot-top is visible in the background. Panel 5. From offscreen, Derf answers "*Yeah*! Kick ass! Great *concept*. I say run with it, give him *hell*..." The woman continues, saying "...The sky, burning..." The comic book text continues, "I could endure no more. Though dreading such a black, breathless end, I *leapt*, feet first into *horror*..." The sailor is leaping off the side of his raft into the water. The shark, lashed to the raft, hangs slightly off the side. In the background, the sky is colored in bright oranges and reds with yellow streaks of clouds, while the sailor himself is colored in red. Panel 6. The comic book continues, "Feet first into cold and dank *mortality*." The gang is leaving the newsvendor's stall. Derf is pulling the woman along, a frightened expression on her face, and the other two men are yelling and shaking their fists. The comic-book reading boy puts a hand up as they leave, as if he's shielding himself. The newsvendor gestures with his thumb, scowling as the gang leaves. He says "Yeah, that's right, take it some place *else*, you goddamn *katie heads*. Who *needs* it? Mobs in the street, guys runnin' and yellin'... Just like old times." Panel 7. A large panel three times the size of a normal panel. The gang runs down the sidewalk past a car dealership as the rain starts to fall. Derf, out in front, is shaking his fists in the air, while the one with the boom box is holding it behind him, with a length of pipe in his other hand. The third man is holding a length of chain out above his head, and the woman is standing behind them, calling to them. A man walking on the other side of the street and smoking a long cigarette holder puts a protective arm around the woman he's with as they watch the gang. Another man looks suspiciously at them as he prepares to open his umbrella. The sign on the card dealership reads "Now! 86 Buicks! Now!" In smaller text underneath is the word "Here!" Above it is a billboard for Nostalgia perfume. The legs of a woman adjusting her stocking are visible, and the text "Oh, how the ghost of you clings" is written above the words "Nostalgia by Veidt." The Veidt part is the Veidt logo. To the right, above the woman with the swastika tattoo, is an advertisement for mmeltdowns. In the foreground is a newspaper dispenser, and the headline reads "Sing Sing Erupts: Captured Vigilante Sparks Riot: Five Dead." Page 26. Panel 1. The comic book text reads, "...But the water's surface seemed as *stone* beneath my timber-blistered soles, and the ocean's depths refused to swallow me." Derf's boots splash through a puddle as he runs down the sidewalk, followed by the boots of the other two men. Panel 2. The comic book text continues, "What new torture was this? I stood upon the calm sea, a charnel messiah, unable to sink beneath it to the oblivion I craved." The sailor is standing on the surface of the water, ripples on the water around his feet. His raft, with the monstrous shark lashed to it, floats behind him, and the sun is sinking over the horizon far beyond him. Some birds fly in the sky. Panel 3. The comic book text continues, "When would my suffering cease? When would Death deign to call upon me? Had his terrible shadow passed me by?" The shadows of the three gang members fall on a tall wooden fence with one slat missing. The fence is covered with graffiti, including part of the word Krystalnacht, and a torn poster for a concert in Madison Square Garden. The comic book text continues, "I lifted my uncomprehending eyes to the heavens..." Panel 4. The comic book text reads, "...And saw instead the Earth. Accustomed to a miserable, shifting landscape of iron green, my mind could not at first grasp the *meaning* of this sandbar, blond and solid." The sailor is shown still standing on the water with his raft and the setting sun behind him; about six feet in front of him is a sandy beach. Panel 5. The comic book text reads, "It meant that my lurching journey through darkness was ended. It meant that I had reached my *destination*." The three gang members run through the trash-strewn alley next to Mason's garage, pelted by rain. In the foreground is Mason's sign, which has a cartoony mechanic holding an oversized wrench, winking and giving thumbs up as he says "We fix 'em!" Underneath him are the words "Obsolete models a specialty." On top of this sign is a second sign that reads "Closed." Panel 6. The comic book text continues, "They'd left me for dead, the fiends who'd doubtless butchered my kin, but now I was *returned*, upon my *corpse boat*... A terror they'd imagined themselves *safe* from... A spectre of *revenge*, riding the flow tide *home*." The sailor is kneeling in the water by his boat, his eyes murderous and his face contorted in a grimace. His hair hangs limply over his forehead and he has grown a thick beard during his ordeal. He lifts his hands into fists in front of him. The reader sees him as if we're looking at him from inside the shark's open mouth, and he's framed by rows of sharp teeth. Panel 7. One of the gang members runs up the stairs, followed by the one with the boombox, while the one with the chain knocks over Hollis' sign. Derf is holding the woman by her upper arm and gesturing with his thumb towards the staircase, and she looks fearful. Two of Mason's windows are closed, while the third one is open, showing his jack-o-lantern, statuette and books. Under the sign on the building reading "Mason's Auto Repairs" is the closed shutter of the garage, on which has been spraypainted "Who Watches The Watchmen?" The words are partially blocked by an old car and by the gang member's body. Page 27. Panel 1. Hollis is sitting in his chair next to the fire smoking a cigarette, his dog lying at his feet. He looks behind him and prepares to stand up, saying "Heh. Okay, okay, I *hear* ya... You can quit *banging*." The statuette is visible on the shelf in the foreground, next to the jack-o-lantern and the books, and there are little sacks of candy on a table nearby. The clock in front of him reads 11:55. Panel 2. Hollis stands in front of the table with the treats, saying "Just give a *moment* here... Lemme see... Apples, candy... That's it, I guess. *Alright, alright*. I *hear* ya. I'm *coming*." His dog raises its head, looking toward the door. Hollis' TV, near the sweets on the table, is branded with the Veidt logo. Panel 3. Hollis opens his door, smiling as he holds the bags of treats in one hand. He says "There. Happy *Halloween*, kids. I..." Two of the gang members are standing outside the door, one holding a length of pipe, the other holding a chain. Panel 4. The gang members burst through the door, knocking Hollis backwards and scattering his bags of treats. Hollis' dog stands behind him, looking up at the two men. The gang members are colored in lurid shades of red and purple, while Hollis and his dog are colored in yellows and oranges. Panel 5. From offscreen, one of the gang members says "*Aak*! You old son of a *bitch*, you *hit* me! You..." Another one says "Get the *dog*! Somebody get the *dog!* A third says "Watch *out*, he's trying to get *up*..." Hollis is shown as a young man in sepia tones, wearing his Nite Owl uniform. He's standing in the middle of a gang of at least seven men, grinning as he throws a right hook, knocking one of them backward. The man he punched is wearing a helmet, a torn cloak and a medal around his neck that swings out as he falls backward. Hollis' dog is standing at his back, a mask over its head. He's biting the arm of a cigar-smoking man in a pinstriped suit that looks like a younger Big Figure, forcing the man to drop his gun. In the foreground is a man in a cape and a skull mask, shaking his fist threateningly at Hollis, and a second man with a futuristic helmet, a raygun and a jetpack strapped to his back. In the background are two men who are mostly covered by the dialogue boxes. Panel 6. Hollis is lying face down on the ground, struggling to move as the gang members kick him. One of them is pushing over the TV on his dog. The scene is colored in vibrant shades of red and orange, in contrast to the muted sepia tones used in the previous panel. Panel 7. From offscreen, one of the gang members says "Derf, Jesus, look, this is an *old* guy. We oughtta split before..." Derf replies "Split? Whatsa matter, can't you jerks do anythin' without I show you how? Gimme somethin' *heavy*..." A smiling, young Hollis in his Nite Owl costume throws a left hook at the man in the skull mask, knocking him backward and pushing his hood off, revealing the man's ear and black hair underneath the mask. Behind him, a man in a tuxedo who resembles a young Moloch prepares to punch Hollis, and another man in a military uniform emblazoned with a swastika presses in on him. The scene is colored in muted sepia tones. Panel 8. Derf's hand picks up the statuette from the shelf, knocking Hollis' books down. His copies of "Under The Hood" and "Gladiator" go flying. In the background, one of the gang members looks taken aback as Hollis punches his chest from the ground as he struggles to get to his feet. Panel 9. A young Hollis punches the man with the jetpack, snapping his head back. Behind him, the young Moloch and the man in the Nazi uniform, who has a pencil mustache and a monocle, are pressing in close to him. Hollis looks up and smiles, his expression confident and daring. A voice from offscreen says "*Hey!* Hey, *Granpa*! Heads *up*! Try an' put a brave face on *this*..." Page 28. Panel 1. Hollis looks up, his eyes wide and his mouth open. Blood is spurting from his nose and covering his chin. The shadow of the statuette rises over his face. In the background, the jack-o-lantern is starting to fall off the shelf. Panel 2. Derf raises the statuette above his head. He is colored in shades of lurid red and purple, and the background is bright white. Panel 3. From offscreen, Hollis says "Hhuugghh." The jack-o-lantern falls to the floor, splitting in two as books start to pile on top of it. Panel 4. The gang members look down at Hollis' body. Only Hollis' arm is shown, his sweater spattered with blood and his hand posed pointing up with the fingers lightly curled. The woman with the swastika tattoo clings to Derf's arm, her expression horrified as she says "*Derf*? Derf, what did you *do*? These *katies*, I can't..." Derf, holding the bloody statuette, looks down at Hollis and, gesturing with his thumb toward the door, says "Shut up. We're finished here." One of the gang members looks down at Hollis, saying "But *Derf*, I mean, shit, man, *look* at the guy! You..." Derf interrupts, saying "I said we're *finished* here. Let's *go*." Panel 5. The four of them run back down the stairs, looking to the sides furtively. Across the street, the group of three costumed boys heads for Hollis' apartment. Panel 6. They run up the stairs, and the boy in the ghost outfit, the first to the door, says "Mr. *Mason*? It's *us*, same as *last* year. Were those guys who just left *friends* of yours? Mr. *Mason*?" There's a pause, and the boy continues, "Hey, *c'mon*. Trick or *treat*?" Panel 7. A large panel, taking the space of two and a half regular panels. The boys stand at the front door, and the one in the ghost outfit says "Mr. Mason?" as he looks at the wreckage inside the room. Mason's plaid slippers are stained with blood, his toes pointing up. By his foot lays the Nite Owl statuette, covered with blood. A drop of blood covers up the space between the words In Gratitude. The picture of the eight original Minutemen lies on the floor next to the statuette, its glass broken. Mason's smiling face is visible, and there is a drop of blood over it. The shelf has fallen over the jack-o-lantern, and the books are scattered haphazardly, including Under the Hood. A trail of smoke drifts from the floor, heading out the open door. Panel 8. A half panel with a black background and white text that reads "On Hallowe'en the old ghosts come about us, and they speak to some, to others they are dumb. Halowe'en, Eleanor Farjeon." Underneath the quote is a round clock with no numbers or other indications of time on it. The minute and hour hands indicate that it is 11:56. Supplementary Material Page 1. A page of the New Frontiersman. It is laid out as if it is still being prepared for publication, with the margins around it marked up. There's an arrow pointing to the margins on the top left hand side, a caption reading "Trim on Left Spread" and an arrow pointing to the margins on the top right hand side, a caption reading "Safety." On the left side of the page is an arrow pointing to a set of two dotted lines, reading "Banner." Someone has handwritten in the margin on the bottom right side, pointing to the text with an arrow and writing "Cont. on page 2." The words "New Frontiersman" are written on the margin on the base of the page. The magazine text itself is in the middle of the margin guidelines. The name of the magazine is written in bold, plain text, and underneath it is a banner with four stars and two black stripes. On top of the title on the left hand side are the words Thursday, October 31st, 1985, and on the right hand side are the words 50 cents, Issue IVII, No. 21. Underneath the banner is the headline: "Honor Is Like The Hawk: Sometimes It Must Go Hooded." There is a piece of tape on the side of the page. There are three pictures underneath this, from right to left, the Comedian in his leather hood, Rorschach in his black and white mask and Nite Owl in his hood and goggles. Under this is the byline, Hector Godfrey, Editor. There is a piece of tape on the side of the page. The paragraph heading reads "Red Armageddon!" The text says, "In this, the eleventh hour, with the world poised on the brink of Red Armageddon, it is vital that we, as a nation, should rally around those symbols that are closest to the great, warm, red-white-and-blue beating heart of this beleaguered country. They are our hope and our inspiration, the legends that urge our people onward even in times of deepest crisis. Would our sense of national identity, our pride, our sense of honor; would these things be so enduring were it not for such great symbols of freedom as Paul Revere's midnight ride, or the Alamo, or the Gettysburg address? I think not. And yet, it seems there are those who, even in the dire adversity that besets us, see fit to ridicule and deride the very notions that have made America what she is today!" There is a piece of tape over the base of the page. Page 2. The title and date of the magazine are printed at the top of the page. The text continues with the title, "Honor is like... (cont.) There is a razor blade lying over the text, and another piece of tape over the title and paragraph heading. The paragraph heading reads, "Who The Hell Do They Think They Are?" The paragraph continues, "For any citizen who has been watching the newsstands over this last, unbearable month, there can be little doubt who I am referring to. In the current edition of pseudo-intellectual Marxist-brat rock-star monthly Nova Express, cocaine-advocating editor Douglas Roth makes a vitriolic and unfounded attack upon the tradition of the masked lawman in our culture and attempts to stir up old prejudices and hatreds into a bloody wave of civil disorder. It is hardly necessary for me to remind readers that in a previous edition of his inflammatory publication, Roth had spearheaded the cancer-smear character assassination of Dr. Manhattan. This wild and hysterical attack led to our country's greatest tactical asset leaving this world for self-imposed exile upon another. Ultimately, it may lead to searing nuclear apocalypse or our subjugation as a nation beneath the cossack boot of the U.S.S.R. Nova Express, heaping libel upon libel, has followed up this potentially catastrophic feature with an article in its current edition that attempts to draw tenuous links between recent news items involving former masked adventurers and work them into some wild-eyed conspiracy theory, apparently forgetting that most of the quote "news items" unquote involved were generated as a direct result of Nova Express and its irresponsible scaremongering! Roth refers gloatingly in his article to the fact that back copies of the New Frontiersman were found in the rented apartment of captured vigilante Rorschach after his arrest, citing this as quote "proof" unquote of the aforementioned hero's poor character. He seems to suggest, with typical pothead disregard for logic, that Rorschach must be bad if he reads the New Frontiersman, while simultaneously implying that the New Frontiersman must be slightly disreputable if someone like Rorschach reads it! The overall effect of the piece is that of a snotty-nosed and unsubstantiated attack not only upon this paper and upon the individual costumed adventurers themselves, but also upon a whole American institution! Who the hell do Roth and his cringing staff of pinko sycophants think they are???" Godfrey has punctuated his question with three question marks. The paragraph title is "Ripped Out Guts." A piece of tape holds it in place. The article continues, "The institution that Roth and his cronies are so casually ripping the guts out of is that of hooded justice, of a force for righteousness that dares to tread where the wimpy and useless laws laid down by the spineless dupes and fellow travellers in our judiciary forbid it to. What about the Boston Tea Party? What about the spirit of the Lone Ranger? What about all those occasions when men have found it necessary to go masked in order to preserve justice above the letter of the law? Nova Express makes many sneering references to costumed heroes as direct descendants of the Klu Klux Klan, but might I point out that despite what some might view as their later excesses, the Klan originally came into being because decent people had perfectly reasonable fears for the safety of their persons and belongings when forced into proximity with people from a culture far less morally advanced. No, the Klan were not strictly legal, but they did work voluntarily to preserve American culture in areas where there were very real dangers of that culture being overrun and mongrelized. Similarly, during our perfectly justified retaliatory bombing of Beirut in 1979, there were many of our so-called fair-weather-friend European allies who were bleating about supposed infringements of international law. Yet what are laws made for, if not to serve mankind? And if those laws through unforeseen circumstance become no longer applicable, is it not more noble to follow the course of right and justice; to serve the spirit of the law rather than its every dot and comma? In my book, anyone answering that question in the negative is someone without the moral backbone necessary to call himself an American. In the case of the Nova Express articles and their perpetrators, I would go so far as to call such a denial of time-tested patriotic virtues as being most definitely ANTI-American." Anti is written in all caps. The paragraph heading reads "Coked-Out Commie Cowards" and is partially covered with a piece of tape. The article continues, "I've had it up to here with those coked-out commie cowards, and I think it's time we started to ask ourselves just who stands to benefit most from Nova Express' ridiculing of American legends and the subsequent subversion and undermining of our national morale? Can there be any doubt that the only beneficiary is the cause of international communism? Should we not perhaps call upon our authorities to take a closer look at who exactly is funding this pernicious piece of propaganda in pop star's. A hand-written note on the edge of the page points to the end of the sentence and reads "Cont. on page 3." A second hand-written note reads "Open up para. #." Page 3. The title and date of the magazine are printed at the top of the page. The article continues with the title, Honor is like... (cont.) The text continues "clothing that finds its way onto our newsstands each week? Regular readers will know that I have already voiced my suspicions concerning a red hand in the denunciation and subsequent exile of Dr. Manhattan (see N.F., Sunday 20th October: "Our country's protector smeared by the Kremlin), and will no doubt join me in perceiving this renewed assault by Nova Express upon our traditions and values as further proof of where that magazine's interest lie: Due East, and don't you forget it. Hector Godfrey, editor. Next to the final paragraph is a large space with an X through it, with the words "Photo to come" written by hand. On top of this paragraph is a large editorial cartoon paperclipped to the page, about as big as six regular panels of the comic. Above the cartoon are the words "As we see it..." It depicts a masked hero in a boxing ring, arrayed against several personifications of society's evils. The hero is wearing a cape and a bodysuit decorated with stripes, stars and the word USA. He is white, blonde, muscular and handsome. His hands are chained behind his back and locked with a padlock. A caricature of Doug Roth is standing behind him, holding the key to his chains in one hand and whipping off the hero's mask with the other hand as he looks triumphant and yells "Now, I want a fair fight!" Roth is carrying a purse labeled Nova Express with a book written by Marx peeking up from it, along with two flowers, and is wearing high heels. Behind him, three balloons float in the air, one reading "Media," one reading "Hot" and one reading "Air." Standing right in front of the hero is a black woman wearing cats-eye glasses, revealing lingerie and stockings, holding a tray filled with drug paraphernalia that hangs from a strap looped around her neck and sits at her waist. The tray is labeled "Reefers!" and "KT-26." She leers at the hero and presses a joint in his face, and her other hand is on her hip, holding a gleaming syringe. Next to her is a figure of a young white man wearing a leather jacket, with a rolled up comic sticking out of a pocket on each side, one labeled "Pirate" and the other labeled "Comics." Under the jacket he wears a long shirt labeled "Juvenile Delinquency" that is decorated with small skulls. The J and D are written in larger letters over the man's chest, with the two words trailing down the shirt. The man is wearing a bandana tied over his mouth, and has his hair tied into a knot at the top of his head. He is aiming a slingshot at the hero. These two figures are drawn life-size, but there are three figures behind them that are drawn looming over the boxing ring, much larger than life. A white man with a heavy face and a large nose points at the hero, saying "Oyvey! I know vhere you life!" He is wearing sunglasses with dollar signs on them, several rings and a necktie with a Star of David on it, and smoking a large cigar. The lapels of his suit are labeled "Big Biz." Behind him is a man in a military style coat, holding his arm over his mouth. He's wearing a fur coat with a star on it. To the left of the star are the letters CC, and to the right are the letters CP. He's holding a lit bomb in his other hand, which is decorated with a hammer and sickle. He says "Da! And zit's his vife and kids in ze front row!" In front of this man, next to the man labeled Big Biz, is a third white man in a pinstriped suit holding a machine gun in his large, hairy hands and pointing it at the hero. He wears a large hat with the brim hiding his eyes, and the hat band is labeled "Crime." He has a mustache, an unshaven chin and several missing teeth. He wears a carnation in his lapel, and on his necktie is a black hand logo. He says "Si! Theya ara next!" Outside the ring, behind the hero and Doug Roth, a middle aged white man in a suit with a combover is bent over and sleeping, comical Zzzzs coming from his head. The back of his suit is labeled "John Q. Public." A policeman next to him holds up a small flag labeled Keene, and another policeman is in the crowd shaking his fist, his hat labeled NYPD. Someone is holding up a sign that reads "Final Round." A woman is standing next to the ropes, watching the hero with a worried expression on her face. She's white, has short blonde hair flipped up at the ends and wears a neat shirt dress with a grid pattern, white cuffs and a white collar. She has her arms around a young boy wearing a baseball cap and a catcher's mitt, and a young girl with a ponytail carrying a teddy bear. Behind the woman, the Statue of Liberty is sitting slumped over, her hand over her forehead as a tear rolls down her cheek. In her other hand, she holds a torch labeled "Liberty" which has gone out, smoke rising from it and drifting to the side of the drawing. There's a small F on the bottom left hand side of the cartoon. Page 4. The title and date of the magazine are printed at the top of the page. Another article is titled "Missing Writer" and the subtitle is "Vanished Persons List Grows as Hunt Called Off." The title and subtitle are taped to the page. The article reads: Earlier this week, police called off their inquiry into the mysterious disappearance of author Max Shea, citing lack of evidence as a principal contributing factor in their decision. New Frontiersman would like to remind both the authorities concerned and our readers of the overwhelming evidence already tabulated by this paper to suggest that Shea's disappearance was part of a carefully orchestrated conspiracy, the roots of which may yet be traced back to sinister Cuban interests. Although it is true to say that Shea did indeed vanish without trace, leaving no clue whatsoever as to his destination, by considering the extraordinary amount of similar disappearances reported at approximately the same time, it is possible to glimpse a larger and more frightening picture as it emerges. In the two months leading up to Shea's disappearance, no less than four prominent creative figures also seemingly dropped from the face of the earth. These included radical architect Norman Leith, surrealist painter Hira Manish, and respected quote hard unquote science fiction author James Trafford March. Admittedly, the circumstances in each case are wildly different and seem to allow for a simple, meaningless coincidence of human destinies... Manish was apparently suffering profound difficulties with her marriage, making her apparent abandonment of her husband and two sons somewhat less than surprising. March owed massive debts to the IRS, who had frozen his earnings. Leith was reportedly depressed and even suicidal during the run-up to his disappearance, as was fellow missing person, avant-garde composer Linette Paley. As reasons for disappearance, these each seem individually credible enough to make any notion of conspiracy unnecessary, and yet a doubt still remains: Can *four* such prominent people simply dematerialize in the space of half as many months, leaving such bright and promising careers and reputations behind them? Added to this, we must consider those prominent people in other fields, who, although less prominent and thus less easy to gauge numerically, have also apparently melted into thin air during this period. I have on record an unusually high number of disappearances from amongst the scientific community, which, although consisting largely of semi-skilled menial workers, does include such notable names as that of Dr. Whittaker Furnesse, the brilliant eugenics specialist who according to his wife left the family home one evening to walk the family dog and quite simply never returned. Odder still, and quite probably entirely unconnected, there is the disappearance of *part* of a person after his death, recorded on the same week Shea's vanishing act reached the public awareness. Parents and relatives of so-called psychic and clairvoyant Robert Deschaines, attending his funeral following the young medium's fatal stroke, were horrified to learn that ghoulish vandals or practical jokers had stolen the corpse's head from its body while it lay unattended upon a mortuary slab. Police voiced a few tenuous opinions concerning possible involvement by black magic cultists, but since then no further evidence has come to light. Even discounting this last curiosity, is there nobody who is prepared to look into this bizarre glut of disappearances and see what emerges? Can it be that our increasingly shrill and nervous judiciary are actually afraid to look too far under this particular rug for fear of what they might find hidden there? The New Frontiersman repeats its warning: Talented and prominent Americans are being spirited away from under our noses. Isn't it time somebody found out just where they are going? At the bottom of the second column is a Post-It note with a handwritten note reading "Photo To Come." A pencil is laying on the page next to the article. The page opposite the last article is black. At the very bottom is half of a clock, with a red, white and black edge and Roman numerals. The time is 11:56. Blood has entirely covered the top third of the page, and it continues to slowly drip down over the increasingly small field of black that separates it and the clock.