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The Question (1986)
The Question, Vol. 3: Epitaph for a Hero
The Question's 1980s adventures continue in this new title collecting issues #13-18. In this volume, The Question is captured while on the trail of paramilitary fanatics!
176 pages, Paperback
Published November 11, 2008
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134 people want to read
About the author
Dennis O'Neil
1,757 books276 followers
Dennis "Denny" O'Neil
was a comic book writer and editor best known for his work for Marvel Comics and DC Comics from the 1960s through the 1990s, and Group Editor for the Batman family of titles until his retirement.
His best-known works include Green Lantern/Green Arrow and Batman with Neal Adams, The Shadow with Michael Kaluta and The Question with Denys Cowan. As an editor, he is principally known for editing the various Batman titles. From 2013 unti his death, he sat on the board of directors of the charity The Hero Initiative and served on its Disbursement Committee.
His best-known works include Green Lantern/Green Arrow and Batman with Neal Adams, The Shadow with Michael Kaluta and The Question with Denys Cowan. As an editor, he is principally known for editing the various Batman titles. From 2013 unti his death, he sat on the board of directors of the charity The Hero Initiative and served on its Disbursement Committee.
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Displaying 1 - 17 of 17 reviews
October 14, 2018
While Myra Fermin runs for the mayor of Hub City, Vic Sage takes on a racist killer, a para-millitary group, and gun runners Butch and Sundance as The Question!
The Question continues his quest to clean up Hub City but he might as well be using a spoon to drain the Atlantic Ocean. While Vic Sage battles a wide range of foes, his true enemy is the apathy that let corruption infest Hub City. Myra Fermin's campaign for mayor has a lot of parallels with recent politics. People will do whatever they can to drag her name through the mud. Meanwhile, Vic Sage may be the last good man in town.
This book had a "Suggested for Mature Readers" label slapped on it when it was published and it's easy to see why. There is cursing, but more importantly, the threats The Question takes on are way more real than the things Batman goes after. Whereas Batman hauls the bad guys off to jail, the Question has to deal with the root of the disease rather than the symptoms. It's not nearly as escapist as most comics and the good guys don't always win.
The last story in the book was my favorite, a team-up with Green Arrow during the time period when he was also Suggested for Mature Readers. The Question reads Watchmen and wonders about Rorschach, funny since the Charlton version of The Question was the character who inspired him.
Something that I've never mentioned before about The Question is how smooth the transitions are between scenes. Also, Denys Cowan's art has improved quite a bit since the first volume. Vic Sage's mullet is thankfully gone.
While a lot of comics have been grim and gritty since Watchmen, The Question did it in an intelligent way. Dennis O'Neil and Denys Cowan crafted a groundbreaking series in 1988 that still holds up today. Four out of five stars.
The Question continues his quest to clean up Hub City but he might as well be using a spoon to drain the Atlantic Ocean. While Vic Sage battles a wide range of foes, his true enemy is the apathy that let corruption infest Hub City. Myra Fermin's campaign for mayor has a lot of parallels with recent politics. People will do whatever they can to drag her name through the mud. Meanwhile, Vic Sage may be the last good man in town.
This book had a "Suggested for Mature Readers" label slapped on it when it was published and it's easy to see why. There is cursing, but more importantly, the threats The Question takes on are way more real than the things Batman goes after. Whereas Batman hauls the bad guys off to jail, the Question has to deal with the root of the disease rather than the symptoms. It's not nearly as escapist as most comics and the good guys don't always win.
The last story in the book was my favorite, a team-up with Green Arrow during the time period when he was also Suggested for Mature Readers. The Question reads Watchmen and wonders about Rorschach, funny since the Charlton version of The Question was the character who inspired him.
Something that I've never mentioned before about The Question is how smooth the transitions are between scenes. Also, Denys Cowan's art has improved quite a bit since the first volume. Vic Sage's mullet is thankfully gone.
While a lot of comics have been grim and gritty since Watchmen, The Question did it in an intelligent way. Dennis O'Neil and Denys Cowan crafted a groundbreaking series in 1988 that still holds up today. Four out of five stars.
February 20, 2013
More amazingly good stories for any time period. The first two have a strong noir sense to them, while the team-up with Green Arrow really goes to the moral and philosophical heart of that character and makes me wish O’Neil had written a Green Arrow comic.
October 5, 2024
Vol. 3 of “The Question” (which collects #13-18) features our faceless vigilante . . . um, facing off (?) against a para-military group, a racist detective, and a Butch Cassidy re-enactor.
Toward the end there’s some fan service as we see The Question reading a copy of The Watchmen then having a dream about being Rorschach (comics fans will laugh at the inside joke because they know that Moore’s Rorschach is very much based on The Question). We also get an issue with Green Arrow (which is one of my favorite issues in the run).
That being said, there is still some corniness. It’s overly wordy. I also sort of have a problem with authors using really horrible, traumatic things from the real world merely as a plot device (instead of dealing with those same issues in a more thoughtful, nuanced way). In the previous volume there was a rape and in this volume there’s a lynching. I don’t think either event is handled well.
Toward the end there’s some fan service as we see The Question reading a copy of The Watchmen then having a dream about being Rorschach (comics fans will laugh at the inside joke because they know that Moore’s Rorschach is very much based on The Question). We also get an issue with Green Arrow (which is one of my favorite issues in the run).
That being said, there is still some corniness. It’s overly wordy. I also sort of have a problem with authors using really horrible, traumatic things from the real world merely as a plot device (instead of dealing with those same issues in a more thoughtful, nuanced way). In the previous volume there was a rape and in this volume there’s a lynching. I don’t think either event is handled well.
May 20, 2015
Es tiempo de elecciones en Hub City y la carrera a la alcaldía se matiza con la distribución de letales armas de plástico, la alianza entre Vic Sage con un conocido arquero enmascarado y una inusual visita al circo. Entre todo aquello, un bello homenaje a Watchmen con "Un Sueño de Rorschach".
May 16, 2021
Better than Poisoned Ground but not quite as good as Zen and Violence, Epitaph for a Hero allocates space for Vic Sage to question his identity and reflect on his growth as a character from Steve Ditko's original conceptualization of the Question as an Objectivist hero. While I wish I saw more zen influence throughout Vic's adventures, O'Neil elevates the character in this volume into a meditation on what is a hero.
December 9, 2016
Vic Sage's saga as the Question in Hub City continues. In this volume, he fights against a group of uber-American patriots, in a story that sounds eerily contemporary in Trump's America, even though these comics were written 30 years ago. There's a story about a strange duo modeled after Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid, as they try to take out the one honest cop in Hub City, then the Question tracks these same characters to Seattle and teams up with Green Arrow to bring them down.
The sub-plot of the mayor, his wife (and Sage's ex-girlfriend), and the upcoming election keeps rolling on. Additionally, the philosophical dialog between Sage and his friend Tot is always interesting, as is the exchange between Sage and Green Arrow, referencing Sun Tzu and The Art of War.
Denny O'Neil has the character down pat, and Cowan's art, while looking dated, isn't all that bad, but still not entirely my favorite. The covers by Cowan and Bill Sienkiewicz are fantastic, though.
The sub-plot of the mayor, his wife (and Sage's ex-girlfriend), and the upcoming election keeps rolling on. Additionally, the philosophical dialog between Sage and his friend Tot is always interesting, as is the exchange between Sage and Green Arrow, referencing Sun Tzu and The Art of War.
Denny O'Neil has the character down pat, and Cowan's art, while looking dated, isn't all that bad, but still not entirely my favorite. The covers by Cowan and Bill Sienkiewicz are fantastic, though.
February 2, 2018
The Question continues to fight crime, and the moral grays in Hub City are as prominent as ever: youth that blindly (or passionately?) follow a corrupt leader, a racist with a heart of gold (an oxymoron I never wanted to consider), and a reformed cop who can't catch a break, all leading up to a satisfying team-up with a popular DC character. Vol. 3 is definitely closer to the quality of Vol. 1. To be honest, the team-up at the end doesn't compare to the rest of this vol. That's not to say the team-up was bad; the rest of the vol. was just so good!
October 23, 2021
- You have a plan?
- I drive up and hope they recognize the truck. Once inside, I see what kind of Hell I can raise.
- Subtle. Clever. Almost... Machiavellian!
- Are all faceless guys this sarcastic?
- Except when we're being bitterly ironic.
- I drive up and hope they recognize the truck. Once inside, I see what kind of Hell I can raise.
- Subtle. Clever. Almost... Machiavellian!
- Are all faceless guys this sarcastic?
- Except when we're being bitterly ironic.
November 23, 2022
Still really solid. The best issues dealing with US soldiers who are just too far gone. Lost in a dream. Another is dealing with a pos racist but handled mostly well. Last two issues are solid but a bit weak with Green Arrow on the finish.
June 3, 2022
I guess this is better than Vol. 2? This book tries to get political, but the story is over the top and cartoonish (not in the good way).
September 12, 2022
Love this series so far. Just the 80s DC I'm always looking for.
October 20, 2025
What if the real racist was inside us all along? This book convinced me Ollie’s more interesting as a support character than a hero.
August 22, 2020
I’ve been re-reading the original comics from the late 80s. I don’t know if the collected edition contains any bonus material, but you more than get your money’s worth with the story.
Denny O’Neil chide the eight character for his return to writing comics. His version of the Question raises many questions for the reader to ponder. Sometimes the answers are in the text. Other times you must look inward to find the answer.
While not for everyone (this title earns its Suggested For Mature Readers warning through realistic but not graphic depictions is violence and occasional sex) it is something any fan of Mr. O’Neil’s will enjoy.
The are by Denys Cowan and Rick Magyar is incredible, and is perfectly suited for this title. Highly recommended.
Denny O’Neil chide the eight character for his return to writing comics. His version of the Question raises many questions for the reader to ponder. Sometimes the answers are in the text. Other times you must look inward to find the answer.
While not for everyone (this title earns its Suggested For Mature Readers warning through realistic but not graphic depictions is violence and occasional sex) it is something any fan of Mr. O’Neil’s will enjoy.
The are by Denys Cowan and Rick Magyar is incredible, and is perfectly suited for this title. Highly recommended.
January 8, 2009
The 3rd of DC's reprint of an essential 1990's series. Even keeping Batman and Green Arrow/Green Lantern in mind, this is probably Denny O'neil's greatest comics work. He honors Steve Ditko's conception of the character as a prickly outsider, replacing Ditko's Objectivism with an interest in Eastern religion. In a little joke that I'd completely forgotten, one issue features Vic Sage reading Watchmen on a plane and daydreaming about Roschach--a character (of course based on Ditko's original Charlton Question).
November 6, 2014
Being a fan of the Question from the Justice League animated series, I was very excited to read a Question arch for the first time. Though it was very different from the animated series, I really enjoyed the philosophical aspect of the character. As tradition continues with me, I don't start the story at the beginning, but in volume 3. This did cause me to be lost in certain aspects of the story, but nevertheless it didn't damper my reading experience.
January 12, 2024
Incluye los #13-18, que leí en la edición española en tacos. Supongo que eventualmente les tocará relectura o bien en esa edición o bien en el omnibus yanki si algún día lo tengo.
Displaying 1 - 17 of 17 reviews