'It's an angry work': DC’s plan for ‘Watchmen’ sequel ‘Rorschach’ met with unease

Some critics online questioned whether the masked vigilante should be the primary focus of the limited comic series

This cover image provided by DC shows 'Rorschach' by writer Tom King. DC via AP

DC is releasing a new Watchmen spin off based on the Rorschach character, but the unveiling of the limited comic series has been met with mixed reactions.

Some critics online questioned whether the masked vigilante should be the primary focus after DC announced the sequel Rorschach on Wednesday, July 15. Others have slammed the decision to bring on Batman writer Tom King to write the 12-issue series, which will debut in October.

King's approach to the Dark Knight's comic book story line he's written has been divisive. With Rorschach, he said the new series will take a compelling look at politics similar to that of HBO's Watchmen and the original comic in 1986. The comic will also be worked on by artist Jorge Fornes, colourist Dave Stewart and letterer Clayton Cowles.

The HBO series earned acclaim for delivering a story about race relations in America. But some are concerned about whether the story about the anti-hero Rorschach, who wears a trenchcoat, fedora and white mask with morphing inkblots, will be as relevant today.

King believes it will be.

"This is a very political work." he said in a statement. "It's an angry work. We're so angry all the time now. We have to do something with that anger. It's called Rorschach not because of the character Rorschach, but because what you see in these characters tells you more about yourself than about them."

The sequel is set 35 years after the Watchmen comic series when Dr Manhattan turned Rorschach into dust.

A plot summary released on DC's website asks: "So what does it mean when Rorschach reappears as part of a pair of assassins trying to kill the first candidate to oppose President Robert Redford in decades? Follow one determined detective as he walks backward in time, uncovering the identities and motives of the would-be killers, taking him deep into a dark conspiracy of alien invasions, disgraced do-gooders, mystical visions, and yes, comic books."