Watchmen #10: Two Riders Were Approaching

Watchmen #10

by Alan Moore (Writer), Dave Gibbons (Artist), John Higgins (Colorist)

Watchmen, Chapter X: Two Riders Were Approaching.

Genres: Comics, Graphic Novels, Fiction, Dc Comics, Superheroes, Graphic Novels Comics, Comic Book

35 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1987

About the author

Alan Moore is an English writer most famous for his influential work in comics, including the acclaimed graphic novels Watchmen, V for Vendetta and From Hell. He has also written a novel, Voice of the Fire, and performs "workings" (one-off performance art/spoken word pieces) with The Moon and Serpent Grand Egyptian Theatre of Marvels, some of which have been released on CD.

As a comics writer, Moore is notable for being one of the first writers to apply literary and formalist sensibilities to the mainstream of the medium. As well as including challenging subject matter and adult themes, he brings a wide range of influences to his work, from the literary–authors such as William S. Burroughs, Thomas Pynchon, Robert Anton Wilson and Iain Sinclair; New Wave science fiction writers such as Michael Moorcock; horror writers such as Clive Barker; to the cinematic–filmmakers such as Nicolas Roeg. Influences within comics include Will Eisner, Harvey Kurtzman, Jack Kirby and Bryan Talbot.

Reviews

[Rachel MacNaught · Rating 3 out of 5]

So painfully obvious I'm actually only bumping it up a star because Night Owl's winter clothing panel made me CACKLE.
Enjoyed the shipwreck background story, but beyond that, I'm dwindling on this one.

[Leon Enciso · Rating 4 out of 5]

4,5

[Briar's Reviews · Rating 4 out of 5]

Full review on The Watchmen #1-12.

The story is starting to heat up (well...cool down, literally) and trouble is brewing.

[Rodrigo · Rating 5 out of 5]

Muy interesante el avance en el caso del asesino de enmascarados y el principal sospechoso sorprendentemente es uno de ellos!!!.
El equipo formado por Rorschach y Nite owl va hacia su encuentro en su guarida en la Antartida.

[Juan Pablo · Rating 1 out of 5]

definitivamente no es para mí esta serie. No me puede importar menos la historia ni los personajes

[Aleksandar Janjic · Rating 4 out of 5]

Добро су се сјетили! Роршаху је коначно враћена маска и све је поново у реду са свијетом! У овој епизоди он заједно са ликом што га у филму глуми Патрик Вилсон након ШОКАНТНОГ открића у виду ПЛОТ ТВИСТА креће на Антарктик да се обрачуна са једним великим ђубретом.

[Alice · Rating 4 out of 5]

The epic masked-hero duo Rorschach & Nite Owl is back for business and they finally figure it all out!
Like all fellow readers I had been anticipating the final reveal for a while and am eager to see how it's going to unravel, nothing is set yet. I love the action that packs this issue, its the kind of Watchmen I enjoy reading and me here for.

P.S. Bubatis, you beautiful giant mutant Lynx, you are magnificent.

[Index Purga · Rating 4 out of 5]

Watchmen 10 of 12, Collector's Edition
pág. 0:
créditos #10
pág. 1:
TWO RIDERS WERE APPROACHING…
Pág. 29:
Appointment book by Adrian Veidt and others
Pág. 33:
créditos editoriales

[Sunny · Rating 4 out of 5]

Dude. That's messed up. All of it.

Full review HERE.

[Javier Lárraga · Rating 3 out of 5]

Que oscuro se esta volviendo todo y tambien que emocionante; la historia de los piratas esta siendo brutal y las desventuras de Rorschach y Nite Owl en el bajo mundo para descubrir la conspiración tambien me parecen de lo más interesantes.

Siendo honesto, creo que aunque el volúmen cerró muy bien, el resto del número fue algo lento y la verdad no habría podido sostenerse sin el cuento de los piratas de fondo.

La tensión esta en el aire y los 2 últimos numeros pintan a ser aún más impactantes.

Aunque este comic me gusto, creo que su función fue hacer una transición para el final más que tratar de entretener...

[adrianO C. · Rating 4 out of 5]

Se nota que se acerca el desenlace de la historia. Por fin se descubre a quien posiblemente esté detrás de todo.

[Shaneka Knight · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 another messy edition.

[Tommaso Beneforti · Rating 5 out of 5]

«Ho vissuto libero da ogni compromesso ed entro nell'ombra senza rimpianti. Diario di Rorschach, 1 novembre 1985.»

[Jesus Velasco · Rating 4 out of 5]

Watchmen #10, Two Riders Were Approaching, es un capítulo que combina magistralmente las dinámicas personales con las tensiones globales. La apertura en el búnker de Nixon, con el DEFCON en 2, establece un ambiente de inminente catástrofe y subraya la carga del poder en tiempos de crisis.

La colaboración resurgente entre Dan Dreiberg y Rorschach destaca sus personalidades opuestas: Dan confía en la tecnología, mientras que Rorschach prefiere la acción directa. La evolución de su relación, marcada por un momento de vulnerabilidad cuando Rorschach reconoce a Dan como amigo, añade un peso emocional significativo.

La subtrama sobre el asesinato de Hollis Mason refuerza los peligros que enfrentan los vigilantes y eleva la tensión de su investigación. Además, la referencia a la canción de Bob Dylan, 'All Along the Watchtower', enriquece el relato, simbolizando el caos y la inminencia del conflicto.

[Jinx:The:Poet {the LiteraryWanderer & WordRoamer} · Rating 4 out of 5]

[REVIEW FOR THE SERIES...]

Watchmen (Vol. 1-12)

"Who watches the Watchmen?"

Watchmen was a very interesting read and I’m glad to have finally gotten around to it. While I really appreciated some aspected such as the gritty world and symbolic, satirical plot line, there were times when it really didn’t live up to the hype surrounding it, at least not in my opinion. When compared to V For Vendetta, one of Moore’s best in my opinion, it just didn’t cut it for me, nor strike me with anything really meaningful afterwards. This is going to be a really hard one to rate and review for me— but here it goes.

P.s. If haters wanna hate, please go hate elsewhere. ;)



"This Hugo Award-winning graphic novel chronicles the fall from grace of a group of super-heroes plagued by all-too-human failings. Along the way, the concept of the super-hero is dissected as the heroes are stalked by an unknown assassin.

One of the most influential graphic novels of all time and a perennial best-seller, Watchmen has been studied on college campuses across the nation and is considered a gateway title, leading readers to other graphic novels such as V for Vendetta, Batman: The Dark Knight Returns and The Sandman series." -Book Blurb



Because I’m reviewing the entire series, and want to avoid an overly long review as well as story spoilers, in this review I’m just going to cover a few things, some things that stood out, things I liked, things I didn’t etc.



In the beginning of Watchmen the readers are introduced to this dark world, an alternate history, and are initiated into the story through the mysterious and grim character of Rorschach, whom I instantly liked albeit his strange attitude and growingly apparent fact that he was lacking some amount of sanity. He operates outside the law, as superhero’s are outlawed by the government. The mystery was compelling enough, the world is very dark and interesting.



As the story goes on we are introduced to other ex-heroes like Nite Owl II, (who seemed ironically a parody of Batman), and Ozymandias, as well as heroes contracted by the government such as Doctor Manhattan (the only actually superhuman in the series), The Comedian and Silk Spectre II. While the characters were interesting at times, most notably Doctor Manhhattan and Rorschack, many of the others felt dull to me, like bland caricatures.



One aspect I disliked was the weird, and seemingly pointless romance between Silk Spectre II and Nite Owl II. It felt creepy and out of place, boring me and ultimately jarring me from the otherwise interesting plot. Why was it necessary to bog the plot down with their awkward affair, (including facts about his erectile dysfunction)? What was perhaps meant to flesh out the side characters, just ended up feeling like a lot of filler material. Bleh. It slowed the overall momentum for me.



Another irritant was the issue concerning the backstory of Silk Spectre I and The Comedian, and the flippant way her sexual assault/rape was dealt with. It felt only a cheap tactic used to give the readers a twist later on, which was obvious to me miles away, and ultimately felt an easy way to manipulate the reader and story. It did not have that effect on me. The matter was not handled very tastefully, in my opinion. Silk Spectre I’s response— or lack thereof—to the crime against her made the writing and overall story have a very misogynistic undertone, which continuously reared its head throughout the following issues.



That continuous feeling was highlighted and accentuated by the apparent uselessness of most of the female characters, who rarely if ever, contribute to the story in any meaningful way. Not to mention the fact that so few women were present at all, the story tiresome by their lack of contribution. One obvious exception being Silk Spectre II’s pleading with Doctor Manhattan on Earth’s behalf later on, even then he probably would have come to the decision on his own, given how his mind worked. So perhaps I’m reading between the lines here, but that’s how it struck me. It didn’t sit well, and I’m overly used to comics using women in the usual ways, to titillate as eye candy and fan service, serving no real purpose. I guess I expected more, too much, from something hailed as an innovative masterpiece.

Moving on.



There were things I did really like, though the story was bogged down with politics, propaganda and misogyny. I really like the satirical take of the golden age superhero story, the way the story makes you think about things in a different light, albeit a very pessimistic—dare I say—nihilistic light. I like the jaded hero perspective. The art was very fitting and did a good job setting the overall tone, even though it wasn’t as pleasing on the eye. It conveyed the general vibe of the plot really well.



I loved the fact that the series read more like a mystery noir novel that a traditional action comic book. I really enjoyed the characterizations of Rorschach and Doctor Manhattan the most. I LOVED Doctor Manhattan’s backstory. It was so epic and philosophical; those chapters really made me think. While Rorschach’s background was very sad, it was also a bit underwhelming, considering how much I loved his character. He made an excellent anti-hero.



Overall, I really enjoyed it, but could not say I loved it by any means. I appreciate what it means to the world and legacy of comic books and graphic novels, I think it changed the industry in many ways, not all for the better, but in many ways it was good. I liked how original it was. I like the philosophical mindset it gets you in. Some of the characters were so memorable, but the bad somewhat equals the good for me. There was a lot of filler material that felt tedious to read through, dragging the story out. As much as I enjoyed it, I also felt annoyed by it. I felt it was lacking in some pivotal areas, where it could have done more. Many of the characters were so unlikeable and dull, like cardboard cutouts. Seeing how much depth Rorschach and Doctor Manhattan had, I think all of the characters had that potential as well.



So I guess I’m in a love-hate thing with Watchmen, no matter which way I slice it, I can’t seem to pick a definite stance. I was pretty disappointed with the ending. I would recommend reading it, to appreciate the leaps Watchmen gave the genre of graphic novels, and for the interesting plot and setting, but in my opinion V for Vendetta was better in most regards.

[VOLUMN RATING: 4 STARS]

[OFFICIAL RATING: 3.5 STARS]

[Gabriela · Rating 2 out of 5]

Messy and underwhelming.
After breaking Rorschach out of prison, Nite Owl teams up with him to look into the mystery of who is targeting and murdering former Minutemen.
The big reveal was quite obvious and dull.

[Tawfek · Rating 5 out of 5]

revelation
viedt is the one :D

[flaams · Rating 3 out of 5]

mew still have some thinking to do...

[Michael Sorbello · Rating 5 out of 5]

Set in an alternate history where costumed heroes have helped shape society since the beginning of time, the controversial yet prolific costumed hero Edward Blake (more commonly known by his alias The Comedian) is found dead and the perpetrator is nowhere to be found. Unable to solve such a bizarre murder by conventional means, the masked vigilante Rorschach who once served as a costumed hero alongside Comedian and four others takes matters into his own bloodstained hands to track down a mysterious assassin that's taking out costumed heroes one by one. Conspiracies abound, political tensions are through the roof, the threat of WWIII is lurking just around the corner and the gritty and depressive atmosphere of a rotting New York City during the 1980's sets the scene for a grim dissection and criticism of classic superhero archetypes.

Watchmen redefines the term superhero. With the exception of Dr. Manhattan, none of them have any notable powers. The Comedian is merely a grotesque reflection of American society and all its shameless faults, as well as how misguided patriotism can be used to justify mindless violence and prejudice. Rorschach is a vigilante who throws around the words good and evil to justify his brute force and questionable methods of solving problems. Silk Spectre is a normal woman struggling between following her own path in life and forever remaining trapped in the shadow of her mother's legacy. Nite Owl almost feels like a comedic parody of Batman, poking fun at the fact that he's an awkward old nerd that loves owl-themed gadgets and dressing up in what is essentially a big Halloween costume. Dr. Manhattan is the embodiment of how power, knowledge, wealth and limitless freedom to do anything imaginable can alienate and dehumanize a person from the rest of the world. All of the superheroes are extremely flawed everyday people with everyday issues and imperfections who hide behind masked personas to cope with the questionable acts they're performing and the faulty morals behind them.

The heroes of this tale defy the image of flawless paragons of justice that can do no wrong. They are just as capable of being selfish, abusing their powers and doing evil things out of spite and unchecked negative emotions as everyone else. This critiques the very idea of putting idols on a pedestal in the first place. This can be compared to the famous actors, pop stars and politicians of today. It's easy for people to treat the words and actions of their idols like the words of God himself, forgetting that they're ordinary people with many imperfections just like everyone else. Again, most of the Watchmen have selfish reasons for hiding behind their costumed personas, because they feel powerless, guilty and ordinary without them. What does it say about who you are when you can't even show yourself in public without hiding behind a carefully crafted disguise? Why wear a mask if you're in the right and have nothing to hide?

All of this deception and abuse of authority is where the popular slogan (Who watches the Watchmen?) comes from. The people in power are constantly watching and judging the actions of the average person, but who are watching and judging the actions of the people in power? The people in power punish us for our wrongdoings but who punishes the people in power for theirs? Dismantling the infallible images that figures of authority try to maintain, dissecting issues of confused morals and identities hiding behind literal and figurative masks, tearing the veil from the one-dimensional definition of superheroes, all of these things are masterfully challenged in the shape of a dark psychological crime-thriller with many timeless themes that go harsh on politics and society.

Our heroes and leaders are never the flawless, perfect beings we romanticize them to be.

***

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[Simbasible Comics · Rating 4 out of 5]

Two Riders Were Approaching… is the tenth issue in the twelve-issue series Watchmen, written by Alan Moore and drawn by Dave Gibbons.

This issue served pretty much the same purpose as ‘Old Ghosts’ did – it is a transitional story that continues it, but not enough important things happen here, thus making it seem almost like filler. The first half was particularly underwhelming as the story came to an abrupt halt. Rorschach is always intriguing, but Dan continues to be the most uninteresting character of the bunch.

There is this hilarious moment where Nite Owl dons a winter costume that looks like, well, an owl. It was ludicrous and stupid, but that was presumably the point, so ultimately I found those panels delightful. Whereas the first half was too slow and unimportant in the bigger scope of things with the mystery stalling a bit and being stretched too thin, the second half picked up momentum and this is where the meat of the story lies.

The two superheroes going down the mountain made for instantly memorable imagery. The illustrations in this issue are gorgeous and frequently even stunning, especially in those snowy landscapes. The revelation that Adrian Veidt is behind it all worked and the cliffhanger with Ozymandias appearing ominously made for one of the best endings of any Watchmen issue.

I just wish that they discarded those pirate comics that came as an afterthought in most issues. Here, it was particularly uninteresting and it halted the progress of an already slower issue significantly. But at least those panels were very well illustrated and the final supplement was quite solid, if not great.

Two Riders Were Approaching… is a slower issue at first, but it picked up momentum in the second half, ending with a particularly effective cliffhanger.

[peenit · Rating 4 out of 5]

The veidt supplementals at the end alone make the entire issue soooo worthwhile. Don’t really care about the obvious so called twisty twist of who was behind the whole thing but I love the world created by the extra documents for veidts action figure line, Etc. provides such a cool insight into the watchmen universe and adrians big fat brain

Plus!!! I really rly like the winter night owl suit it’s so cutesy tehe

[Jacob Helberg · Rating 4 out of 5]

I like this. We're back to the mystery and detective work that I loved early on in this story. I love Rorschach and honestly I enjoy him and Nite Owl as a duo. Also, I called the whole villain twist so I'm excited about that!

[tlacoyo bandicoot · Rating 4 out of 5]

me está gustando esto del team up chach-owl y la labor "de detective", me encanta la amistad que tienen ambos
aunque el plot twist era de esperarse, me emociona saber más, qué sucederá y por qué se hicieron ciertas cosas

[Pedro · Rating 3 out of 5]

“Algunos vivimos siempre al borde del precipicio, Daniel. Es posible sobrevivir si observas las reglas.
Agarrarte con las uñas... y nunca mirar abajo.”

3.5/5

[Eslem Ouederni · Rating 4 out of 5]

Ohhhh

[Isra · Rating 5 out of 5]

Los misterios se van resolviendo, ahora queda esperar a ver qué es lo que ocurrirá

[Atikaa Rhmwt · Rating 5 out of 5]

rorschach's journal better be safe for the sake of humanity

[Joseph Knecht · Rating 3 out of 5]

The face of the masked killers is unmasked.

What will be his destiny?

The two riders should reveal.

[Sanil · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book picks up pace investigating all incidents that have occurred and takes up closer to the climax.

[Roshnara Mohamed · Rating 4 out of 5]

Yep. Now we know who is behind it all. The big reveal is interesting, and the next book sheds more light on the why and the how. But in terms of pure shock value, well done Alan Moore!