I want to look at the scene at the end of chapter 3 and the
beginning of chapter 4, where Dr. Manhattan teleports himself to Mars. This
series of panels interests me for two reasons: the striking way Mars is
depicted, and the metaphor Mars holds in relation to one of the subplots of the
narrative.
The artwork in these panels is what captured my attention
first. The pink land against the black sky creates a striking contrast,
especially in relation to the crowded, mundane artwork that surrounds these
panels. This is really the only time I stopped to admire the artwork while
reading this series. The bottom panel on page 104 is particularly attractive.
Dr. Manhattan somberly sits on a rock, his body dwarfed by the sweeping,
desolate land. The only sign of life, Dr. Manhattan’s presence against the pink
and black of Mars creates a feeling of true loneliness.
The placement of these panels cleverly follows a panel on
page 101, in which a newspaper article reads, “Russians Invade Afghanistan.”
Nuclear war is now a possibility. Mars’ desolate landscape, and the lack of
life on it, symbolizes what could become of the world given Russia’s invasion. The
loneliness of Dr. Manhattan sitting in the desolate land, staring at the old,
crumpled photograph brings me back to the first comic of Good-Bye, where the only thing remaining after the Hiroshima bomb
was the torched outline of a man “comforting” his mother. The gloomy scenes in
both comics create a powerful image suggestive of needless violence and
killing. On page 112, the scene zooms out, magnifying the barren, lifeless land. The
scene creates a sense of quietness, save the narrative box. It says, “I am trying
to give a name to the force that set [the stars] in motion.” This whole
sequence is oddly picturesque and creates a moment of reflection in the violent comic.
Great post, Jasper! I was also drawn to the solemn, oddly calming artistic depiction of this scene when reading through Watchmen. I would agree that it definitely parallels the potential fate of the planet in this comic given the preceding panels about the Russian invasion of Afghanistan and echoes the overall artistic aesthetic of Tatsumi's Good-Bye. I think, additionally, the use of light blue and pink (light red) as complementary colors (Dr. Manhattan and the desolate Mars landscape), especially when juxtaposed with the contrasting black sky with white stars in the background, adds a sense of poetic symmetry to the scene. Additionally, the transition from this scene into Dr. Manhattan's days as a watchmaker by visually comparing the stars to the watch components he is working on adds to the sense of calm and quietness you were referring to.
ReplyDeleteI think one of Watchmen's largest assets, in addition to its incredibly complex and intricate plot, is the highly symbolic and moving artistic depiction of scenes. The art in this scene is used in a way that communicates emotions and information in a way that simple dialogue or narration are incapable of.