Certain notes are true for each issue.

This issue's title is from Job 30:29

Cover: Dreiberg's ship, "Archie," reflected in his goggles. The smear in the dust is reminiscent of the smiley-face motif.

ISSUE MOTIF: Reflection in the oval
COVER CLOCK: 5 min. to midnight

Page 1, panel 1: The reflection in the oval.

Panel 7: The smear Laurie is making mirrors the one in the first panel.

Page 3, panel 1: Dan is replacing the Sweet Chariot sugar Rorschach took.

Panels 2, 4, 6: Flashback to issue #1 and issue #3. Panel 4 is seen in a mirror. (All three panels are from Dan's POV.)

Panel 7: On the right are Dan's trophies.

Page 4, panel 5: While Laurie's judgement is harsh, it is true that Rorschach is very suspicious.

Panel 9: A reflection in an oval.

Page 5, panel 1: Another reflection in an oval.

Page 7, panels 2-4: Not quite a reflection in an oval, but close.

Panel 5: The Sword in the Stone is a book by T.H. White, concerning the childhood of King Arthur.

Page 9, panel 2: Big Figure appears in the next issue.

Page 10, panels 2-3: Devo is a real band.

Panel 9: Reflection in an oval.

Page 11, panel 3: Clearly Laurie has no problem with her Polish background, unlike her mother.

Panel 4: Confirming the theory that the cancer list is a setup; if Dr. Manhattan were carcinogenic enough to affect Moloch, he would certainly have afftected Laurie by now.

Page 12, panel 1: Godfrey and his assistant reappear later.

Panel 3: This places the date as the 25th. "This afternoon?" Since they're watching the six o'clock news (look at the clock in 7:13:5 and 7:15:3), this is an odd way to phrase it--it should probably be past tense.

Panel 8: Hiroshima week (the 40th anniversary) was only two months before the start of the series, so naturally it would be close to Dan's mind.

Pages 13-15: These pages have one of the best examples in the series of ironic background dialogue, commenting on the foreground. Read the stuff from the TV as commentary on what Dan and Laurie are doing.

Page 13, panel 1: This is a reference to the real-world group "Manhattan Transfer."

Panels 4-7: The background information here is important setup for later events.

Panels 8-9: The background is a commercial for Nostalgia. This may be Nat King Cole's song "Unforgettable."

Pages 14-15: This is the event all the Ozymandias Famine Relief posters are a reference to. (Famine in India is a common thread in the series, since there was another benefit for it in the early '50s. This may be intended to replace the real-world famine in eastern Africa occurring around this time.)

Page 15: Though it may be a little unkind to point this out, look at the times in panels 3-6 and look at how long they keep trying: 6:40, nearly 11:00, sometime after midnight, 1:59 AM...

Panel 4: Benny Anger returns. Note that Red D'Eath has a knot top and leather jacket; he seems to be the one popularizing the style, since Aline, a Pale Horse fan but not a gang member, wears it in issue #11.

Red D'Eath's name refers, probably, to Edgar Allen Poe's short story "The Masque of the Red Death."

Panel 5: A Mmeltdowns ad.

Panel 9: A reflection in an oval.

Page 17, panel 6: The "Hiroshima Lovers" imagery again.

Page 18, panel 2: The Chrysler Building is in the background. This whole page is Dan's POV.

Panel 3: The finger streak in the mist hearkens back to the cover; the streak, the two raindrops, and the cloud form the spattered smiley-face image.

Panel 9: Another reflection.

Page 21, panel 1: Another reflection. Page 25, panel 7: As identified later, this is Billy Holliday's "You're My Thrill."

Page 26, panel 7: A reflection in an oval.

Page 27, panel 13: The street view here demonstrates that there are at least three geodesic domes in the city.

Page 28, panel 4: Another reflection. "Come out of the closet" is a common phrase for revealing one's homosexuality; others writers have commented that some superhero comics may be seen as a metaphor for the homosexual lifestyle. (We will note that out of 13 costumed characters in the series, three are known homosexuals, although two of them seem to be unhealthy about it.)

Panel 9: Archie, with the smoke and the moon behind him, makes another smiley-face.

Pages 29-32: An excerpt from the Journal of the American Ornithological Society. Note that this is the least informative backup feature in the series, telling us nothing new.

Watchmen is a trademark of DC Comics Inc., © 1999. These annotations © 1995 by Doug Atkinson. They may be freely copied and distributed, provided the text is not altered.
The annotations are maintained at this location by R.J. White.