At Midnight, All the Agents… (1986)
At Midnight, All the Agents… Review
At Midnight, All the Agents… is the first issue in the twelve-issue series Watchmen, written by Alan Moore and drawn by Dave Gibbons.
This will be my very first time embarking on the voyage of reading what is regarded as the best graphic novel of all time. And just from this first issue I can see all the importance and the appeal. I will analyze the characters later, but let’s first focus on the artistry behind this comic, which in its first issue was instantly iconic and apparent.
What is particularly impressive in this comic is its use of nonlinear narrative and repeated imagery, the latter being particularly potent in this first issue where the first and the last image are repeated but from different angles, lending an epic feel to the proceedings. There is a supplemental fictional document at the end of each issue, here focusing on the character of Hollis Mason. That document basically functions as an autobiographical novel within a comic, which was highly interesting and different. It was also superbly written and giving great insight into this character in particular.
The nine-panel grid layout made for a very memorable look to this comic. The larger panels were perfectly chosen to either elevate the action or highlight an important plot moment. It worked flawlessly as a storytelling device. The color palette is suitably dark and the use of the blood-stained smiley made for instantly memorable iconography.
Set in a world where costumed vigilantes are illegal and WWIII is imminent, it follows a protagonist who must investigate the murder of another superhero. When it comes to the characters, this particular issue focuses on Rorschach the most and he was from the first moment highly memorable and intriguing as this sort of brooding antihero. His lines of dialogue are almost self-parodic and quite effective, though at times the descriptions of the debauchery of the city felt too edgy and dark for the sake of being edgy and dark.
But the character worked and was a terrific choice for a protagonist. Of the other characters, Dr. Manhattan is here the most intriguing of the bunch. He is this huge blue-colored guy who walks around naked, making him undeniably visually memorable. The sequence with him in a lab was the most interesting of the bunch with some sporadic humor included as well. The murder mystery is so intriguing from the get-go and the detective tone to the story worked wonders in making me hooked right from the start.
