Ascension of the Watcher narrates upon the wastes of war through a sequence illustrating the element's of mankind's downfall as he is tempted by sin and driven to conflict. Skulking within the scenario of each panel, whether physically or symbolically, is the leering pose of a black crow, historically an icon of cunning and contempt, marveling at the capability of destruction in man's character.
The progression of panels emphasizes the escalation of conflict. Outbursts of sinful drive fighting in the first panels: a child bullied for a prize possession and a victim jeered in a bar fight. Overlooking both scenes are crows, silently scheming in the background. Humanity submits to forces of envy, malice and greed.
Violence ramps up in the next panels as mere squabbles turn into full-fledged war. The rush of movement in the style illustrates the plight of the soldiers, committed to savagery over an unseen cause. Dehumanization begins as humans start to lose track of their enemies, their vision blinded by a hail of metal and chaos. The original conflict may be all but forgotten in the struggle for survival.
Terror reigns as humans lose their rationality. Machines of war, suited for no other purpose, replace people in the humans' delirious attempt to win, rather than resolve the conflict. The crows are ironically unaffected as they make a mockery of the carnage.
The style of the comic sequence was chosen to reflect the festering mood. Each panel is black and white to drain the spirit out of illustration, with grays added to show movement. Some panels are augmented with blurs for a sense of capturing a specific moment in time, such as the bar fight right before the killing punch landed, or the rocket explosion rocking the core of the victims. The gritty lines and boundaries that compose the figures are put into place to show turmoil and instability.
The final panel completes the "survival of the fittest" theme. Mankind has been so hell-bent on achieving dominance that they overlooked the cost that it took. The panel shows the rotting carcass of a once prosperous city, derelict and plagued by destruction. It matters not if the city was part of the winning side or the losing side, it is simply uninhabitable. The crows converge, blocking out the sky, their ascension to this abandoned kingdom apparent.
Image/Inspiration source credits go towards:
(sun, last page) Damnation, credited to Kevin Walker, licensed to Wizards of the Coast
(city, last page)Ginza Chuo Dori, credited to Hisaharu Motoda, "neo-ruins" collection
http://hisaharu-motoda.petit.cc/0engine/tokyo_bbs.cgi
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