The Question: Pipeline

The Question by Greg Rucka #2

by Greg Rucka (Writer), Cully Hamner (Illustrator)

Greg Rucka returns to write the adventures of Renee Montoya – the character he helped transform into The Question – as a gun-running scheme threatens Gotham City.

Features the art of Cully Hamner (Red)!

Collects: Detective Comics #854-865.

Genres: Comics, Graphic Novels, Dc Comics, Superheroes, Crime, Graphic Novels Comics, Fiction

128 pages, Paperback

First published February 1, 2011

About the author

Greg Rucka, is an American comic book writer and novelist, known for his work on such comics as Action Comics, Batwoman: Detective Comics, and the miniseries Superman: World of New Krypton for DC Comics, and for novels such as his Queen & Country series.

Reviews

[Jayson · Rating 3 out of 5]

(B) 75% | More than Satisfactory
Notes: Ending with a whimper, it's visually vanilla, nothing spicy in the mix: just punching-heavy action like it's Batman '66.

*Progress updates: Preamble ◦ Chapters 1.1-1.4 ◦ Chapters 1.5-2.1

[Alan · Rating 3 out of 5]

I liked the character of Renee Montoya before she was picked to be Vic Sage's successor as the Question. Greg Rucka writes women characters well, and a guest spot by Helena Bertinelli was welcomed. The base plot of tracking down and dismantling a multi-national crime ring to its sources was well executed. I even liked the fact Helena and Renee thought it made more sense to buy off the hitman sent to kill them instead of spending endless pages fighting. What I did not like was the introduction of Vandal Savage towards the end as the crime ring's head, and what I think was editorial's decision to introduce the whole Book of Cain story angel and to shove that onto Renee. It makes me wonder if this was part of the reason why Rucka split with the company.

[Lukasz · Rating 3 out of 5]

Starts great as down-to-earth crime story, still is nice when it becomes more of 'capes' caper but the ending feel rushed and unsatisfactory. I would blame either editiorial mandate how the story should end or, more probably, when because of the cancelation of then current Detective Comics and new52 reboot.
For the coda, if not exactly ending, of Renee's storyline read Detective Comics Annual #12 & Batman Annual #28. It is, if only slightly, more satisfactory than the one here.

[Steven · Rating 3 out of 5]

I enjoyed it a little more than Volume 1, but it still isn't quite hitting the spot for me in terms of a new superhero series to read. I'll move on to of the many other books on my To Read list.

[The Sapphic Nerd · Rating 3 out of 5]

This feels like an in-between book. I love having Renee Montoya and Helena Bertinelli working together, showing their friendship through banter and actions, and even the little bit of Barbara Gordon we get in there. The overall story, however, seems like it doesn't know where it's going, and then leaves you with an unsatisfying end. It doesn't help that the art isn't to my liking either. It would have been stronger with more focus on character interactions to even out the weak story.

[Mike · Rating 3 out of 5]

Story isn't bad but feels a little ... lightweight somehow (even despite the heavy subject matter of human trafficking). I'm inclined to think it's the cartoony-looking art - it's reminiscent of Jock's work on The Losers, which is a lot of fun and suits a bright, well-defined style. Here, I'd expect something with more shadows and gradations of grey, not this approach.

[Wolverina · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is what the ultimate action buddy-cop story is. Perfect plotting and excellent characterisation with appropriately silly action scenes.

Probably more my style than Elegy, but definitely not as pretty. <3 Renee.

[Shannon Appelcline · Rating 4 out of 5]

More good Question stories, though not quite as strong as what had come before.

[Rob McMonigal · Rating 2 out of 5]

Renee Montoya, now the Question, tries to live out the legacy by going after the people that might slip between the cracks, even in a world with so many crime fighters. When she starts going after a ring of slavers, the trail leads her to a very Savage turn, and even the Huntress might not be enough to help her survive.

This was a whole bunch of "just okay" and that's the problem. Instead of letting the Question have her own space, Rucka brings in Huntress, Oracle, and Vandal Savage, along with a horrible idea that Savage is actually Cain (as in Cain and Abel) in a world in which the Cain and Abel from Vertigo already exist in-cannon, due to the linking of Sandman to the wider DCU. Vertigo Cain is a lot better than Vandal-as-Cain. If this had been a Question-only story, with maybe a DCU cameo or two, I'd have liked it better. As is, it's shoved into larger storylines and loses its appeal for me.

I do like Cully Hammer's art, though. I just wish he'd been given more to do, as this doesn't really give him a chance to sing. I don't think I'd read more Rucka Question, sadly.

[Aidan]

While I liked this more than Five Books of Blood and Final Crisis: Revelations, and this had a great ending, I still found myself wishing that Rucka's sequence of Renee Question minis amounted to something a bit more impactful. Throughout all these books I felt that too much time was spent on rather bland superhero fighting or crime solving, and not enough committed to those juicy and specific character morsels that pop up later in the book. I did like the second half of this, but I can't help but feel that Rucka's Renee was more fun to read before she got her life together and became the Question.

[Jason Holtzman · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a fun, on-the-ground crime drama that utilized many characters that make up The Question mythos. I enjoyed it and am glad I came across a copy of this (it is hard to find).

I will say, the ending is a little less-that-satisfactory if you don't what happens next or *where* it happens next. Renee Montoya's tenure as the Question, primarily penned by Greg Rucka, is split across various different books over various different years. Thankfully, I've read what comes before and after this, and I think reading it as a sequence that is part of a wider story makes it more enjoyable. Nonetheless, it is still a fun read on its own.

[Matt Sautman · Rating 4 out of 5]

I snagged this book for only around $15, but I usually see it listed online for around $5o despite this being a relatively thin volume. While I enjoy this story-arc, the story does not seem to be doing much on a larger symbolic level. It is much better than Five Books of Blood, but Rucka never seems to integrate the complex philosophy often associated with the 1980s version of the Question into Renee Montoya's characterization. I am aesthetically drawn to the Question as a character, but I wish there was more to the story here, even if this story is enjoyable.

[Sean · Rating 3 out of 5]

Renee Montoya's version of The Question is collected here and at was pretty mundane. Whether she has powers or not, Montoya's personality has always been the star. Here, Greg Rucks seems to dial it back some. Maybe its because of the format, originally being backup stories, or something else, but it didn't seem like the Renee we've grown to love. The plot was by the numbers. The art by Cully Hamner was good but not spectacular. Overall, nothing to make you tune in. A letdown.

[RND · Rating 2 out of 5]

Nice, smooth art by Cully as usual, though the plot seems a little too basic, moving pieces around for Mark of Cain shenanigans. What comes through, though, is Rucka's handle on these characters he knows so well.

[Rylan · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was a solid read but nothing too special happens until the end. My favorite part of this was the Renee and Huntress friendship, seriously I need more of those two in my life they make a great team. If you’re like me and a fan of Renee, Huntress, and Ruck this is definitely worth a read

[Anthony · Rating 4 out of 5]

A great yarn starring the new Question. Watch Renee Montoya work with the Huntress to kick the crap out of modern-day slavers. Decent artwork and a fantastic story.

[Mik Cervera · Rating 3 out of 5]

This made me wish we had more The Question stories. And I like Greg Rucka, but I'd like to see the character handled by other writers. Best part of the story: Huntress and Question's partnership.

[Kereesa · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5

I liked this one a fair bit, but it truly has nothing on Rucka's other works.

[Ming · Rating 3 out of 5]

A relative breath of fresh air after some incomprehensible books I recently read. However, it's still subpar Rucka

[Burton Olivier · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fun little crime book. Hammer's art is great and really works for this story. Would love to read a whole series of Rucka penned Renee and Helena stories but maybe with a more serious tone.

[Tim]

I read this as individual issues.

[Erick Romero · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was a lot of fun.

I'm not familiar with a whole lot of comic books or graphic novels, so pardon my ignorance and idiocy, but this was pretty exciting for me.

The first time I had ever heard of "The Question" was through watching the Justice League Unlimited cartoons on a DVD that a friend had. He immediately became my favorite DC comic character (though The Flash was my favorite growing up). In fact, he may be my overall favorite comic book character (with all due respect to my top two from Marvel: the Incredible Hulk and Wolverine). Why? Because he is a "conspiracy theorist" (as I have been dismissed as once or twice), is the greatest detective in the history of comics, and has the distinction of having no face.... a spooky characteristic that blends perfectly with the fashion of a fedora hat and trench coat. Being a world class martial artist is cool, too.

So when I find out that now he is a she, I'm even more intrigued. The female version, aided by a well-read and computer-wiz professor, is most everything I pictured The Question to be... just with a little more cleavage. On that note, I'm glad they didn't oversexualize her. I felt myself very proud of her, and of her surprise guest in this book, for being strong women that can take down any group of thugs or professional assassins.

And I'll admit that making her a Latina appealed to my sense of fairness in superhero representation. Since most comic book superheroes are white male, for obvious historical reasons, it's nice to see that misrepresentation gradually be corrected. All while the believability of the story and characters stay intact.

This particular story itself, "Pipeline," was good enough for me to keep the pages turning. I finished this publication in minutes. It was also great that two other characters and/or places that were involved in this happened to come from a couple of DC television shows I'm watching right now, so I wasn't as lost as I could have been. Even the ending was satisfying, something that I can't say about many good stories I encounter.

I'm eager to read as much of The Question as I can, preferably starting from the beginning and working my way to present day.

[Tiara · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Question, Renee Montoya, is contacted by a man who is desperately looking for his sister. After doing some investigation, Renee finds that the girl has been kidnapped by traffickers. Once Renee recovers the man's sister along with some other women who had been kidnapped, she makes it her mission to find out who runs the trafficking ring and bring them down. Along the way, she teams up with Huntress whose money and skills come in handy for Renee's operation.

I loved this story. I thought it was well-crafted with just enough action and just enough storytelling to keep me engaged. Renee is such an interesting character, and it's great to see her getting the exposure she needs by giving her a role that highly suits her. The story takes a bit of an unexpected twist toward the end. I expected many things to happen, but it went the last place that would've come to my mind, and the ending had me holding my breath a little and wondering what comic I needed to read to get the answer to the question (no pun intended) it ended with.

[Lindsey Stock · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was an entertaining read, with a nice story. Huntress and the Question have good chemistry together as partners. I really would have loved to see this storyline continue longer. Renee Montoya has long been one of my favorite secondary characters in the entire DC universe, underused as she was, and she was shaping up to be an awesome superhero, so it really pisses me off that DC decided to erase her completely in their "new 52" reboot. The character deserved so much better. But, you know, they have Maggie Sawyer and Kate Kane, so I guess having three whole out lesbians in the entire DC universe was just too much diversity. Better to only have two. And then make them a couple so we only have to mention them in one title and then point to it as an example of inclusiveness.
Although DC is still far ahead of Marvel in terms of diversity.

[Ruth]

I'd read the first issue of this volume through a friend and before I knew anything about Question. That wasn't a good context for it, since I didn't know anything about the preceding Final Crisis storyline. We hadn't gotten to Cain yet, but I would've been even more confused, the more I read. In context, however, I enjoyed it very much.

[Matt Sabonis · Rating 3 out of 5]

Rucka does a great job handling the Montoya character, and this volume's no exception. And Hamner's a fantastic artist, who can handle action and character with aplomb. It's too bad that this volume's still just so slight. But hey, not bad. Just not great.

[Danie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Ooh, Barbara Gordon is in this one. And then Renee's reaction to Barbara Gordon is even better. I am bummed though, that they didn't have more The Question (Renee) issues/trade paperbacks. She was such an interesting and complicated character.

[Mark Adams · Rating 5 out of 5]

These are the back up stories from Rucka's Batwoman run on Detective Comics and they final got an excellent design look for Renee. Very very good.

[Jordan · Rating 3 out of 5]

The Question and Huntress pairing up was pretty enjoyable, but the story wasn't anything that spectacular and I wasn't that big a fan of the artwork. So kind of average overall.

[Anelis · Rating 2 out of 5]

Man, the whole Syria factor kinda ruined it for me. Bad timing I guess.