Rorschach #8 – Tom King, Writer; Jorge Fornes, Artist; Dave Stewart, Colorist
Ray – 10/10
Ray: Reading this book is less like reading a comic and more like unwrapping a new puzzle box every month. Last issue’s twisted rewrite of comic book history starring Frank Miller was one of the most buzz-worthy books of 2021, but King and Fornes don’t waste any time in coming back with something even more out-there. This whole issue is one narrative and three at the same time, as our anonymous detective investigates a new break in the case of the attempted Turley assassination. Three men, all of whom Myerson and his partner in crime had a bond with in the months before the attack. Samuel Faider, a high-powered lawyer who represented Myerson’s business interests. Jamie Nowles, a kind psychologist who had been having regular sessions with the old man for years. And Daniel Shapiro, a young educator who had become friends with Myerson while doing odd jobs for him. All of them were summoned by Myerson and Laura to a mysterious farm that started to look a lot more like a cult compound.
While King’s brilliant writing is always the spine of this series, Fornes seems to find new ways to blow me away every issue. This issue layers each page with three different narratives, each one color-coded. Their experiences parallel each other, but each takes its own turns, and they’re bookended by a trio of brutal interrogations. These three men all seem incredibly normal, like friendly guys who just stumbled into something they weren’t prepared for while trying to help what they thought was a harmless old man. But that narrative isn’t what it appears to be, and as the story draws to a close, we get one more brilliant twist as we see just how far Myerson’s tentacles have spread out. We’re two thirds into this brilliant story, and I still have no idea whether I’m reading a crime story, a sci-fi story, or something else entirely. This is the work of two masters, and it may go down as one of the best DC stories of the modern day.
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GeekDad received this comic for review purposes.
