Rorschach’s ability to find order in chaos is further represented in the relationship between his speech and the images shown in the panel. The text-to-image relationship can be used create an implied, synthesized message between the image and text. This meaning is crucial for understanding how Rorschach’s actions are heroic rather than psychotic. After Rorschach has burned the murderer he describes the thoughts that occur to him as he stares at the flames. Behind the large box of text is a wall of flame and smoke for three or four (I forget) panels. The simplicity of the image makes the text-heavy panel easier to read and this could be described as a word-dependent panel but there is also a relationship between Rorschach’s eloquence and the chaos around him. He is able to articulate his thoughts best at this moment because the destructive, indiscriminate nature of fire makes sense to him. The kind of order that Dr. Long subscribes to and works to instill in his patients is founded on the idea that chaos can be overcome. However, as Dr. Long’s marriage crumbles and his wife reveals that she has been cheating on him after he has been consumed by working with Rorschach, he realizes that all of his attempts to live a decent life have led him to misery. This is an ever-present idea in the entire Watchmen novel. From Ozymandias, to the Tales of the Black Freighter, to the Minutemen, all attempts to act with best intentions and deliver the world from evil only further the problems they set out to solve. Only Rorschach and the Comedian are able to act honestly. They fight evil but never under the context of achieving good. They destroy because to act in any other way would inevitably breed more corruption and injustice under false pretenses. The honesty with which Rorschach can view disorder is conveyed in his speech about the flames delivered over the flames.
In conclusion, a graphic novel is not a textual novel with pictures included to aid in reading. Reading a graphic novel requires understanding how images, color, panels, and text relate to one another to create larger ideas. The conflict between Dr. Long and Walter Kovacs, between order and chaos, between authority and subversion, is continuously evident both in the devices that make up the chapter and the larger work of which it is a part. Formal terms for conventions aid in focusing the reader’s attention. The crucial skill all readers must develop is analyzing how patterns in the work’s elements create meaning. Like Kovacs says, the world only has the meanings we choose to impose on it. What at first appears to be a nihilist statement can also be seen as a call for active participation. Armed with the tools to understand how graphic novels are created, the reader completes their interaction with the text by recreating the story. Each element discussed demands the involvement of the reader. Cartooning asks the reader to place themselves within iconic characters. Transitions ask the reader to complete the hidden story between panels. The text and images are placed together for the reader to decide how they must be read in conjunction. Without a hero, without someone who responds to the world and text, the story cannot exist.
In conclusion, a graphic novel is not a textual novel with pictures included to aid in reading. Reading a graphic novel requires understanding how images, color, panels, and text relate to one another to create larger ideas. The conflict between Dr. Long and Walter Kovacs, between order and chaos, between authority and subversion, is continuously evident both in the devices that make up the chapter and the larger work of which it is a part. Formal terms for conventions aid in focusing the reader’s attention. The crucial skill all readers must develop is analyzing how patterns in the work’s elements create meaning. Like Kovacs says, the world only has the meanings we choose to impose on it. What at first appears to be a nihilist statement can also be seen as a call for active participation. Armed with the tools to understand how graphic novels are created, the reader completes their interaction with the text by recreating the story. Each element discussed demands the involvement of the reader. Cartooning asks the reader to place themselves within iconic characters. Transitions ask the reader to complete the hidden story between panels. The text and images are placed together for the reader to decide how they must be read in conjunction. Without a hero, without someone who responds to the world and text, the story cannot exist.
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