DC Comics announces new Watchmen sequel series 'Rorschach,' written by Tom King

Tom King, the writer behind high-profile runs on titles like Batman and Mister Miracle, has another major comics project on the way. DC Comics announced Wednesday that King has teamed with artist Jorge Fornés (Batman), colorist Dave Stewart, and letterer Clayton Cowles for Rorschach, a 12-issue maxiseries coming this fall that takes place 35 years after Alan Moore and Dave Gibbons' seminal comic Watchmen. 

If you're familiar with Watchmen, you know that Rorschach — the uncompromising and unpleasant vigilante at the heart of the story — doesn't survive the book. Doctor Manhattan turns him to dust when he refuses to accept the secrets other costumed heroes might be willing to keep for the good of humanity. So, where does this series pick up? Well, much like the 2019 Watchmen HBO series, this story exists in a world where Rorschach has become a cultural icon of sorts, so much so that someone co-opted his famous trenchcoat and fedora look and tried to assassinate the first major opponent to challenge President Robert Redford in decades. 

Rorschach's cultural clout isn't the only connection we can draw with the recent TV series from Damon Lindelof. Though they're separate stories, King noted that they'll carry similar thematic concerns. 

"Like the HBO Watchmen show and very much like the original ‘86 Watchmen, this is a very political work.” King 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.”

Check out a preview of the new series below, featuring a few panels that bear a very striking similarity to certain shots from the Robert Redford-starring classic All The President's Men. 

Rorschach #1 will arrive on October 13 via DC's Black Label line for readers ages 17 and up. It joins other major King projects including the ongoing maxiseries Strange Adventures and the delayed-but-still-highly anticipated Batman/Catwoman follow-up to his Batman run.