So DC is doing this big project, “Before Watchmen,” where they’re publishing mini-series prequels about all the major characters in Alan Moore’s Watchmen. They’re doing this against Moore’s wishes, which is tacky, but they do own the rights, so they’re doing it.

So far, most of them (that I’ve read; I’m a couple of weeks behind) have been pretty good. But today I read Rorschach #1.

I’m okay with the plot. The art is entirely adequate. But the writer does not have Rorschach’s voice right.

I’m surprised. The writer is Brian Azzarello, who is generally a very good writer with a good ear for dialogue, and Rorschach’s voice in Watchmen, both the original comics and the movie, is distinctive and not that hard to imitate, so why did Azzarello screw it up so badly?

Rorschach doesn’t normally use unnecessary words. He drops pronouns and articles unless they’re essential. Azzarello’s narration gets this wrong. The only time the “real” Rorschach uses words he doesn’t need is when he’s ranting about the moral degeneracy of the world he lives in.

Also, Rorschach doesn’t ordinarily use profanity; that’s part of his attempt to rise above what he sees as the filth around him. Azzarello has him calling drugs “shit,” which he would only do when berating a criminal, and only if the criminal had used the word first.

So as one example, Azzarello’s “I’ve spent days wading through garbage looking for shit” should be, “Spent days in garbage, looking for poison.” Azzarello’s version just isn’t Moore’s character’s voice.

Which is too bad.

Meanwhile, I thought J. Michael Straczynski pretty much nailed Dr. Manhattan in Dr. Manhattan #1.