Dangerous Neighborhood

“Look down your backstairs buddy, somebody’s living there an’ they don’t really feel the weather” (Chapter 1, Page 10, Panel 1).

Here, Moore incorporates lyrics from the song “Neighborhood Threat” by Iggy Pop. The song is directed to a man who has someone living on his backstairs, most likely a homeless person. The idea of a homeless person living on someone’s backstairs implies a feeling of danger or threat. In Watchmen, the song appears in the foreground of a panel, coming from a boombox. In the background of the panel, Dan Dreiberg (Nite Owl) can be seen walking home late one night. The lyrics in the panel suggest that Dreiberg is in an unsafe neighborhood and also foreshadow the break-in that Dreiberg is about to discover. By using a song like “Neighborhood Threat”, Moore sets the mood as dark and gloomy, and hints at what the rest of the novel might be about.

Neighborhood Threat - Iggy Pop