Rorschach #5
The investigator meets with Governor Turley in Rorschach #5 by writer Tom King, artist Jorge Fornes, colorist Dave Stewart, and letterer Clayton Cowles. This issue focuses on the would-be victim, as the investigator- and readers- learn more about Turley and who he is.
The investigator meets with Alan, the man who hired him. Turley wants to know what he's found out so far since he doesn't trust Redford's FBI report- he thinks that President Redford tried to have him killed. The investigator meets with Turley, who tells him two stories about his time in Vietnam and how he met the Comedian. After the meeting, Alan and the investigator meet up again. Alan tells him that Turley likes him and has given him access to campaign funds, anything he needs, to find out the truth.
King is doing a lot of interesting stuff in this issue. First off, the specters of Laura and Myerson are following the investigator, watching his every move. It's an interesting little rub- he's working to find out why they did what they did, and they haunt him as he looks for the truth, laughing at him at the end of the issue. The investigator is working for so many people now- is he also working for them in some little weird way? What truth do they want revealed? Secondly, one of the Secret Service men who killed Laura and Myerson is still watching Turley but hasn't responded to any of the investigator's inquiries about what happened. Is he working for Redford? Is Turley correct that Redford is watching him and tried to have him killed? Finally, Turley's stories about his time in Vietnam reveal a man who wanted medals and prestige, a man who respected the Comedian, which isn't exactly a good thing when it comes down to it. Is it just because the Comedian saved him 'Nam, or is it something more?
King raises all of these questions expertly. One of the most fun things about this book is that it raises mysteries, but not all of them are actually important to the central mystery. Its doubtful readers will ever get into more in-depth on Turley's character or why he's doing what he's doing. However, the man readers see firsthand is quite different from the expectation Alan's description of him raises from the beginning of this issue. Alan talks about him like he's some kind of American ideal, the perfect hero politician. Still, he's just as screwed up as anyone else, and that's entirely the point King is trying to make- deifying men is a road fraught with peril because they are just men. There are skeletons and atrocities waiting if one digs deep enough. Why include such a thing in a mystery comic? Watchmen was about the human side of being a costumed hero, and this book embraces that as well. This is a human story, and human things are complicated.
Jorge Fornes continues to do an amazing job with every panel he draws. This isn't an action-heavy book, relying more on what's happening between characters to mine for drama, and Fornes is an expert at that sort of thing. He brings an eye for detail to this book that really sets the scenes adroitly, giving King's script the sense of hyper-reality that it needs. Fornes puts it all on the page, and it's wonderful. King and certain artists gel perfectly, and Fornes is one of them.
Rorschach #5 takes a look at a "hero" and shows him for who he is, leaving readers to decide if he's good or bad and if he deserved what might have happened to him. It's really interesting that Laura targets the governor because of conspiracy theories, and Turley has his own about what happened, forming a strange parallel between the two of them. King says a lot in this book, and this is another little illustration of that- everyone has their little conspiracies, and in a crazy world, sometimes the crazy are the ones with the power. Fornes knocks it out of the park again with the art, making King's writing look all the better. Rorschach is a very interesting book, with layers upon layers.
