A while ago on this blog I listed my favorite characters from Justice League Unlimited, and at the top of that list was The Question. Jeffrey Combs’ portrayal of the faceless vigilante captured my attention from his first appearance on the show. The depiction of the character on JLU was that of a detail-oriented, conspiracy obsessed, seeker of truth. Dismissed by his colleagues as crazy or paranoid, The Question’s observations were almost always proven correct in the end. And when it came down to it, he was willing to put everything on the line for what he believed in. Visually speaking, the idea of a man without a face intrigued me. You couldn’t read his facial expressions, so you couldn’t tell what he was thinking. He was an enigma. I promised myself that I would go back to the comics to read about this character and learn more about him, and I’ve finally done exactly that.
The Question was created in 1967 by Steve Ditko for Charlton Comics. In 1983 Charlton was acquired by DC, The Question was then revamped by Dennis O’Neil (writer) and Denys Cowan (artist). “Zen and Violence” collects the first six issues of the acclaimed DC series that ran from 1986 to 1990.
The Question is Vic Sage, investigative reporter for KBEL in Hub City. When we’re first introduced to our hero, he’s taking apart a room full of thugs, looking for a video tape. He gets what he’s after and leaves, while the mysterious Lady Shiva stands by and watches, doing nothing. The tape contains evidence of corruption in the city government, leading all the way up to the mayor himself. He plays it on the evening news that night, where it catches the attention of Reverend Jeremiah Hatch, the mayor’s ‘pet sky pilot’ as Vic calls him. Hatch is the one who is really running the show, and his agenda is far more twisted then anyone knows.
Vic is a bulldog, fighting the tide of crime and corruption that has taken over Hub City with no regard for his own personal safety. As both Vic Sage and The Question, he’s searching for the same thing, the truth. He’s fearless and dogged in his pursuit of it. But his determination has made him over-confident, reckless. He shows up at a meeting that he knows is a trap, and he pays the ultimate price. He’s severely beaten by Lady Shiva, then shot in the head Hatch’s goons and dumped in the river, left for dead.
When Vic wakes up, he doesn’t remember much, but he knows that he should be dead. He learns that Lady Shiva pulled him out of the water and saved his life, but why? He receives a visit from Batman, who admonishes him for risking his life so foolishly. He tells him “You can’t half do what you were doing. It has to be full time. It has to be who you are.” Shiva leaves instructions for Vic, which lead him to the doorstep of Richard Dragon, who agrees to train him. Vic spends a year with Dragon, training his mind and body both. At the end of his training, Shiva shows up again. She tells Vic that he has a warrior’s passion, but her motives for saving his life are still a mystery.
Vic returns to Hub City as The Question and goes after Hatch. But things have become more complicated in his absence, and he finds an old flame involved with the mayor. Her and her daughter’s lives are at risk. Hub City is descending into chaos, and The Question is the only one who can stem the tide.
It’s hard to read The Question and not think about Rorschach from Watchmen. Alan Moore originally wanted to use the Charlton Comics characters for his book but was unable to, so he patterned the characters after them. Rorschach was based on Question, and subsequent portrayals of Question have been influenced by Rorschach, so the two characters have been intertwined. The Question even makes mention of his Watchmen equivalent in a later issue of this very series, and even attempts to emulate him. There’s a determination and a moral absolutism in the character, which Rorschach of course takes to the extreme, but it’s in this book as well. The Question comes to embrace a Zen philosophy from his training with Richard Dragon, and he seems to take Batman’s advice to heart. In the beginning of this book, The Question was just a mask that Vic Sage wore to further his own agenda. But by the end, The Question becomes who he is, and Vic Sage becomes the mask.
There is one small nit that I’d like to pick however. The gas that the Question uses to bond his mask to his face is also supposed to change the color of his clothes (and in some versions of the character, his hair as well) to further his disguise. The idea being that Vic Sage is a public figure and would be easily recognized on the street. But early in this book, his clothes don’t change at all. In the beginning of the story he goes right from beating up thugs to on the air wearing the exact same suit, with the exact same hair, and yet no one ever figures out that he’s The Question. Later in the book his clothes do change color slightly, so maybe this was just a coloring mistake in the early issues.
Most of the elements that first attracted me to the character on JLU are here as well, this visual look of the character of course as well as his tenacity and determination. So I think I’ll be picking up volume two soon enough to see where this goes, so look for more reviews in the future. Same Question time, same Question channel!
The Question was created in 1967 by Steve Ditko for Charlton Comics. In 1983 Charlton was acquired by DC, The Question was then revamped by Dennis O’Neil (writer) and Denys Cowan (artist). “Zen and Violence” collects the first six issues of the acclaimed DC series that ran from 1986 to 1990.
The Question is Vic Sage, investigative reporter for KBEL in Hub City. When we’re first introduced to our hero, he’s taking apart a room full of thugs, looking for a video tape. He gets what he’s after and leaves, while the mysterious Lady Shiva stands by and watches, doing nothing. The tape contains evidence of corruption in the city government, leading all the way up to the mayor himself. He plays it on the evening news that night, where it catches the attention of Reverend Jeremiah Hatch, the mayor’s ‘pet sky pilot’ as Vic calls him. Hatch is the one who is really running the show, and his agenda is far more twisted then anyone knows.
Vic is a bulldog, fighting the tide of crime and corruption that has taken over Hub City with no regard for his own personal safety. As both Vic Sage and The Question, he’s searching for the same thing, the truth. He’s fearless and dogged in his pursuit of it. But his determination has made him over-confident, reckless. He shows up at a meeting that he knows is a trap, and he pays the ultimate price. He’s severely beaten by Lady Shiva, then shot in the head Hatch’s goons and dumped in the river, left for dead.
When Vic wakes up, he doesn’t remember much, but he knows that he should be dead. He learns that Lady Shiva pulled him out of the water and saved his life, but why? He receives a visit from Batman, who admonishes him for risking his life so foolishly. He tells him “You can’t half do what you were doing. It has to be full time. It has to be who you are.” Shiva leaves instructions for Vic, which lead him to the doorstep of Richard Dragon, who agrees to train him. Vic spends a year with Dragon, training his mind and body both. At the end of his training, Shiva shows up again. She tells Vic that he has a warrior’s passion, but her motives for saving his life are still a mystery.
Vic returns to Hub City as The Question and goes after Hatch. But things have become more complicated in his absence, and he finds an old flame involved with the mayor. Her and her daughter’s lives are at risk. Hub City is descending into chaos, and The Question is the only one who can stem the tide.
It’s hard to read The Question and not think about Rorschach from Watchmen. Alan Moore originally wanted to use the Charlton Comics characters for his book but was unable to, so he patterned the characters after them. Rorschach was based on Question, and subsequent portrayals of Question have been influenced by Rorschach, so the two characters have been intertwined. The Question even makes mention of his Watchmen equivalent in a later issue of this very series, and even attempts to emulate him. There’s a determination and a moral absolutism in the character, which Rorschach of course takes to the extreme, but it’s in this book as well. The Question comes to embrace a Zen philosophy from his training with Richard Dragon, and he seems to take Batman’s advice to heart. In the beginning of this book, The Question was just a mask that Vic Sage wore to further his own agenda. But by the end, The Question becomes who he is, and Vic Sage becomes the mask.
There is one small nit that I’d like to pick however. The gas that the Question uses to bond his mask to his face is also supposed to change the color of his clothes (and in some versions of the character, his hair as well) to further his disguise. The idea being that Vic Sage is a public figure and would be easily recognized on the street. But early in this book, his clothes don’t change at all. In the beginning of the story he goes right from beating up thugs to on the air wearing the exact same suit, with the exact same hair, and yet no one ever figures out that he’s The Question. Later in the book his clothes do change color slightly, so maybe this was just a coloring mistake in the early issues.
Most of the elements that first attracted me to the character on JLU are here as well, this visual look of the character of course as well as his tenacity and determination. So I think I’ll be picking up volume two soon enough to see where this goes, so look for more reviews in the future. Same Question time, same Question channel!
Thanks for the review! I fisrt heard of the Question while investigating Ditko's pre and post Marvel work, and I found one full story on the internet from a Charlton comic. I watched his appearances in JLU sometime afterwards, but I wasn't sure if I wanted to read his series due to my little knowledge of the DC Universe in the comics. This has definitely convinced me to pick up any issues or volumes of this I can find!
ReplyDeleteP.S. My name isn't really Chris Giarusso lol, this account is an old spare one.