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tranimation-art — Rorschach in Gotham: Intro
Published: 2008-11-27 13:24:32 +0000 UTC; Views: 17138; Favourites: 330; Downloads: 14
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"You are part of the night, just like me. We're not afraid of the dark — we come alive in it — we're thrilled by it..."I have severe night terrors and, as a result, I have very few dreams (and nightmares) that I will actually remember when I awake the next day. My dreams always have this strange film-like quality. And I had the weirdest dream last night and woke up on the wrong side of the bed, with a terrible back pain and stomach craps, and yet, like most of my intense dreams, it will nag and eat away at me until I draw them out! The product was Rorschach in Gotham. It's a working title, but it really says it all.
Taking place during the passing of Keene Act to illegalise costumed crime-fighting, Nite Owl II has been missing for three days. The Crimebusters (...uh, Watchmen) have broken up and carried on a lacklustre search for their comrade, so Rorschach takes his own line of investigation to find his only true friend and the clues lead him to Gotham City, perhaps with a little help from a costumed cat burglar. (This is a conceptual plot and it's subject to change.)
For those who don't know, I'm a huge Batman fan and Watchmen fan. I may do a short comic on this, a short story, or a full-on fiction; or it could be a collection of vignettes of him fighting Gotham Rogues' Gallery — or Batman himself. I really haven't decided yet. Nonetheless, I certainly love how this drawing came, so I'm going to fix the proportions (majorly!), draw some word balloons (maybe!), sketch in a background (gasp!), clean it up, and colour it — and we'll see how it goes from there. (I'm trying to do this by incorporating the 90s Batman: The Animated Series "dark noir" style, but I don't think I'm succeeding at all. It still looks too much like my own overtly cartoony style.)
Medium - HB and 2B mechanical pencil.
Rorschach in Gotham © Diane N. Tran.
Rorschach and Catwoman © DC Comics.
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Comments: 423
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Why do I see Rorschach saying something like "Go away, whore"?
Probably be his last words, too...
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He would be 50 shades of awkward with catwoman and ivy
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A bit? Even being around women's cloths makes him awkward
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I think people exaggerate female phobias. He was able to work fine around Silk Spectre. Yes, he called her a whore and stuff, but at the end of the day, they were working together for almost a decade. Nite Owl's worked with him longer and doesn't even know his real name! He just doesn't get along with PEOPLE, not just women, but just PEOPLE in general!
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Walter is a sociopath.
For him its more than just a simple fear, its a phobia. Which can result in panic attacks, or even fainting if he has to deal with his phobia for to long. He doesn't fear women, he fears sex and any form of sexual contact.
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WANT. Preferably in full fic series form, rather than anything brief.
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I only have snippets so far, but I'm working on it: tranimation-art.deviantart.com…
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Okay, now I see it. I thought the circle in the middle was a part of a belt or something.
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That's the compartment where the spindle is, which hides the rope/wire of the grappling hook: [link]
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Oh, I know that. It's just with the sketchy style, I didn't see that it was a grapple gun.
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I hope you like the rest of my Watchmen-related works here, particularly my Rorschach in Gotham series: [link] , [link]
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Sounds like an amazing idea. I think even Rorschach would have bitten off more than he could chew with The Joker.
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Thanks! I hope you check out the rest of my Rorschach in Gotham works here: [link]
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Thanks! It's the drawing that started it all. I should shake my fist at it.
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You're very welcome 
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I'm working on it. I'm still writing the episodes. Check out the rest of my Rorschach in Gotham works here: [link]
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You're very talented w/ a pencil!
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My pleasure, great work. Keep it up.
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Oh please do make a comic! It would be awesome!!
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Awwwww, I'm so glad you like it. However, I'm not making a comic of it, although I might make a few pieces. Generally, it will be a written pastiche/fanfic format.
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Sounds good to me!
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Both Watchmen and Batman are DC Comics; even if Watchmen is an alternate universe, Gotham actually fits really well in this world. If the Keene Act (which illegalized superheroing) was passed, Gotham City, with the amount of masked heroes and villains they have, would be the very, very WORSE place to be in 1977; it would be "Hell on Earth" and I liked that idea. We know nothing about what Rorschach did between 1977 (after the Keene Act passed and the dissoluteness of the Crimebusters/Watchmen) to 1985 (the main events of the novel/film) other than the fact that he was still crimefighting. Gotham has always been described as "New York from 14th Street down -- the older buildings, more brick-and-mortar as opposed to steel-and-glass -- at eleven minutes past midnight on the coldest night in November." The Keene Act was passed to stop the police strike and anti-vigilante riots and, for the most part, it did; but Batman would never hang up the cape-and-cowl, so Gotham (because of what it represents) would most likely still have these riots and still have officers out on strike. Not only that, but the events of Death in the Family and The Killing Joke have happened. Robin (Jason Todd) is dead; Batgirl (Barbara Gordon) is raped and crippled; Gordon is out of commission; the mayor is out for Batman's head; the new district attorney is anti-Batman and brings the city council with him; the media is against him; the public is against him; crime goes on the rise when the major gangs/mobsters unify; the Joker is still at large; Batman's relationship with Nightwing (Dick Grayson), due to the death of Todd, becomes estranged; and it's not helped when Rorschach (who is #1 target for the FBI) hitches a ride on a train and enters Gotham and partners up with Catwoman. Poor Batsy's got his hands full. Of course, this is just the background. The core of "Rorschach in Gotham" is meant for something different:
Alan Moore created him as a "Batman" enigma. If Batman lived in the real world, he would be Rorschach! Rorschach IS "Batman WITHOUT ONE RULE." Also, each Bat-villain represents Batman in some way. I thought it would be interesting to see Rorschach in Batman's world, not only against Batman, but his villains primarily. Therefore, seeing him being pitted against some of Gotham's Rogues is an exploration of his character. Each character, from Catwoman to Joker, peels the layers of his personality, his psyche, his wants, his desires, and yes -- his fears! Rorschach in Gotham, at its heart, is a "character study," pure and simple. For example, with the Joker, he's about insanity; with Mad Hatter, it's dreams (with emphasis on his fantasies); with Scarecrow, fear (with emphasis on his childhood); with Catwoman, sexuality; Two-Face, duality; Riddler, pride; Poison Ivy, control, etc.
The reason I chose Catwoman as a partner-in-crime/justice is because Batman and Rorschach partnering up wouldn't work out; they would be at each other's throats in no time! Catwoman was the only one of the Batman Family that could tolerate Rorschach and his constant bullshit. She is antithesis of Batman and yet also his complete equal and, thus, Rorschach's as well. Catwoman represents a gray area in Batman's and, thus, Rorschach's otherwise black-and-white life, where the line between good and evil blurs, which I feel Rorschach needs to explore more (whether he likes it or not). She's kind of a female version of himself -- another dark creature that prowls the night. I like the strange but delicious sexual tension that rises between an ultra-sexual, flippantly playful Catwoman and a virginal, all-too-serious Rorschach. These two....they just made sense!
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I loved the movie...
Well Done!
Looks like a 'Storyboard' mock up
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Thank you1 It's more a mock-up for a story series idea: [link]
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Breathe taking!
Woohoo!
If I ca help
please contact me
My writing skills are perfect
and so is y mind!
Team Joker
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Thanks for the offer. I'll keep it in mind, but a little modesty would help. Unfortunately, I'm a slow writer, but when it comes out finally, I think I do well enough. You can see a brief fic teaser in the artist comments here: [link]
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Any opinions and comments would be appreciated.
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I am trying to but The link wont work.
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Try it now: [link]
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Yeah it works Ill read it when my eyes let me
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Hee! I could just imagine that. well-drawn and awesome all around.
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Awwwww, thank you! I really appreciate that! It really means a lot! Also, please check out the Rorschach in Gotham piece of "Cause Here Comes Trouble". It has a little fic teaser in the artist's description: [link]
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Interesting concept! Though Catwoman's gonna have to try pretty hard if she's gonna seduce Rorschach without breaking a few limbs in the process.
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That's not necessarily true. If you look in the novel, he has never once harmed a woman. He funnels women into two catogeries -- whores and virgins. Rorschach's main prowling ground is New York City's East End, which is just VICE CITY -- drugs, drink, sex, murder -- so majority of the women he happens to see are "whores". However, he does encounter the occasional "virgin", like Blair Roche, Kitty Gevonse, and the woman he saved from a murderer/rapist/mugger. With Laurie, he congratulates her for returning to action, but insults her (in a polite way) about her costume making her "look like a whore." He doesn't seem to associate her as a "whore", but merely that she LOOKS like one. Of course, one should probably listen to Rorschach's opinions about women's fashion -- he was a dressmaker, after all. Yet, even then, he worked with Laurie, despite being a "whore", within the Crimebusters/Watchmen for over eleven years. But, to be technically, he associates women as objects, not of objects of desire, but more like livestock to be fenced in and protected, as they can't seem to defend themselves. They don't know what to eat unless you stick it in front of their face, or what an enemy is until it are victimised.
I personally don't blame him for disliking and distrusting women as every time he felt anything akin to love, sexual attraction, and intimacy, it was swatted away from him painfully. Yet Rorschach does give away that he seems to long for closeness and yearn for intimacy. For example, there's a scene where he watches a nude woman at a window and just STARES at her until her lover enters in and closes the curtains. He mourns that "American love" no longer exists. He actually has "talked" to the parents of Blair Roche and ensured them that he would find their missing daughter. Strangely, the only people Rorschach spares are women! He only "punishes" men, all his victims are men. He never lifts a finger to prostitutes. Prostitution is illegal, it's a crime, and yet he simply ignores them. He suspects hsi landlady for being a prostitute and cheating on welfare. Again, he doesn't to anything, never investigates her to prove his suspicions, and yet takes time to search through Moloch's apartment for a gun license? Rorschach may be a sexist, he's certainly a POLITE one. Particularly since one prostitute gave him the middle finger. Rorschach surely noticed that and one would think he would have jumped her and broke it off, but nope, he ignored her completely.
There is a certain medieval, underhanded sexism that drives this. He does not respect them as people able to make their own decisions and assert their own freewill, whether they need or want to be rescued in the first place. He think he knows what's best for the women in their lives and work to free from the "evils" that are keeping them apart. They supplant people's judgments and decisions with their own, because they think they know better, which is a big part of what Watchmen is all about: "We're society's only protection." "From what?" "From themselves."
Rorschach and Catwoman do have very similar backgrounds, although they went in completely different directions. They both came from broken families, born in poverty at the worst possible area in the city, were unloved and neglected, eventually orphaned, and thrown into the streets and forced to survived by their wits. They are both crimefighter and thief, patroling the East End districts of their respectful cities. He, however, became anti-sexual; she became ultra-sexual. He lives in poverty, while she lives in luxury. They are both morally ambiguous, stubborn, independent, emotionally hurt, but they have good, well-meaning hearts, living by their own life code and not by the one society enforces — Rorschach, in his relentlessly brutal vindication of justice, and Catwoman in principled defiance against it. They are a kind of "kindred spirits". They from two different worlds and yet they exist in the same one — two halves of worldly discontent. They....just made sense. I feel they're KINDRED SPIRITS! Out of all the characters in the Bat-verse, Catwoman made the most sense.
Rorschach in Gotham is really a "character study" at heart. Alan Moore created Rorschach as a "Batman" enigma. If Batman lived in the real world, he would be Rorschach! Rorschach IS Batman WITHOUT ONE RULE. Catwoman is the female equivalent to Batman. Also, each Bat-villain represents Batman in some way. I thought it would be interesting to see Rorschach in Batman's world, not only against Batman, but his villains primarily. Therefore, seeing him being pitted against some of Gotham's Rogues is an exploration of his character. Each character, from Catwoman to Joker, peels the layers of his personality, his psyche, his wants, his desires, and yes -- his fears! For example, with the Joker, he's about insanity; with Mad Hatter, it's dreams (with emphasis on his fantasies); with Scarecrow, fear (with emphasis on his childhood origins); Two-Face, duality; Riddler, pride; Poison Ivy, control, etc. With Catwoman, it explores one of Rorschach's greatest fears, and that's sexuality and intimacy.
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Wow, when put THAT way, it's a very impressive choice! I'm glad you chose something that would make logical sense, rather than making a 2-dimensional slash pairing like a good portion of fangirls do.
Is "Rorschach In Gotham" a fanfiction of yours that I can find typed up somewhere? I'd love to read it.
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The reason I chose Catwoman as a partner-in-crime/justice is because Batman and Rorschach partnering up wouldn't work out! They're both disturbed, apathetic, revenge-fueled, single-minded, right-wing, black-and-white crusaders of justice. However, Batman would consider Rorschach's method's too harsh, while Rorschach would consider Batman's too soft. They're far too stubborn, too arrogant, too set-in-their ways, and too much of slaves to their own sense of morality. They would be at each other's throats in no time! They would hate each other! Catwoman was the only one of the Batman Family that could tolerate Rorschach and his constant bullshit. She is antithesis of Batman and yet also his complete equal and, thus, Rorschach's as well. Catwoman represents a "grey area" in Batman's and, thus, Rorschach's otherwise black-and-white life, where the line between good and evil blurs, which I personally feel Rorschach needs to explore more (whether he likes it or not). She's kind of a female version of himself -- another dark creature that prowls the night. I like the strange but delicious sexual tension that rises between an ultra-sexual, flippantly playful Catwoman and a virginal, all-too-serious Rorschach. And, somehow, these two work together as partners.
The explanation of why I created Rorschach in Gotham came from an odd dream. If the Keene Act (which illegalized superheroing) was passed, Gotham City, with the amount of masked heroes and villains they have, would be the very, very WORSE place to be in 1977; it would be "Hell on Earth" and I liked that idea. We know nothing about what Rorschach did between 1977 (after the Keene Act passed and the dissoluteness of the Crimebusters/Watchmen) to 1985 (the main events of the novel/film) other than the fact that he was still crimefighting. Gotham has always been described as "New York from 14th Street down -- the older buildings, more brick-and-mortar as opposed to steel-and-glass -- at eleven minutes past midnight on the coldest night in November." The Keene Act was passed to stop the police strike and anti-vigilante riots and, for the most part, it did; but Batman would never hang up the cape-and-cowl, so Gotham (because of what it represents) would most likely still have these riots and still have officers out on strike. Not only that, but the events of Death in the Family and The Killing Joke have happened. Robin (Jason Todd) is dead; Batgirl (Barbara Gordon) is raped and crippled; Gordon is out of commission; the mayor is out for Batman's head; the new district attorney is anti-Batman and brings the city council with him; the media is against him; the public is against him; crime goes on the rise when the major gangs/mobsters unify; the Joker is still at large; Batman's relationship with Nightwing (Dick Grayson), due to the death of Todd, becomes estranged; and it's not helped when Rorschach (who is #1 target for the FBI) hitches a ride on a train and enters Gotham and fraternizes with Catwoman. Poor Batsy's got his hands full. Of course, this is all just set up. Whenever, usually, it's very, very intricate and complex, but I wouldn't have it any other way...
I never been a fan of a slash at all. I'm a canonist by choice. I believe that if you love something, don't change it to suit your needs and don't make them unrecognizable because it's disrespectful. You work with what's established because that's being respectful to the content, that's canon. It requires more thought, requires research, requires more creativity, and requires a lot of love, blood, sweat, and tears. Rorschach in Gotham has taken a good chunk of my life because it took a lot of thought, research, creativity, and love to make it all work. I don't do anything without a reason. Everything I do has an essay attached to it. I'm a 10-year fan of Watchmen and I'm a 27+-fan of Batman, and combined two of my loves.
Is there a fanfiction? I'm currently working on them. All the episodes are in outline format on notes and other things, but it's constructing it all together that's difficult -- a nd it doesn't help that I'm a perfectionist. 
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