How is Steve Ditko, Charlton Comics Question (i.e. Mysterious Suspense)? I want to read it (more for historical value than anything else) and I’m wondering if it’s worth the trouble to find. I love Denny O’Neil’s Question, as well as the Greg Rucka stuff from 52 (even though I haven’t read it in awhile; side note - DC should put out a trade of just the Question stuff from 52), and so I’d like to check it out. If anyone can help, I’d much appreciate it!
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I have a feeling you’ll get an answer to this question, but from where?
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Where indeed…
The Ditko era Question stories are quite interesting in their own right. If you’ve read Watchmen, Rorschach is far more similar in his staunch idealism to the Question in these stories than the holistic zen truth seeker reborn in O’Neil’s run. Hopefully those stories make it onto DCU someday. They’re admittedly a little dry by today’s standards, but they present some interesting moral and ethical quandaries, and set up Q as a character who doesn’t believe in gray areas.
For instance: in the first Question story, Q captures evidence of an illegal gambling ring… which unfortunately may also incriminate his boss at the news station as a patron, jeopardizing the very medium he uses to deliver the truth. Refusing to compromise, Vic decides to run the tape anyway. This simple decision sets a lot of the tone for the Charlton Question stories to come, few as they are. (I count 8, in total.)
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@HubCityQuestion
Thanks for the response. That’s kind of what I’ve heard about them. I definitely prefer a more O’Neil Question figure to somebody like Rorschach (who is a good character, but not one to like or sympathize with).
I think I’ll check them out; I was already leaning in that direction but I wanted to make sure that nobody just gave a flat-out “NO, you most certainly should NOT read those.”
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As a larger part of his narrative arc, Ditko’s Question stories are important to understanding who he was BEFORE he met Richard Dragon. It’s his pupal stage.
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@HCQ
Sounds interesting enough. Like I said, O’Neil’s Question is wonderful, and I’d love to get the full effect of the run on a re-read after these Charlton issues. Plus, Steve Ditko, no matter how you feel about him as a person, draws one heck of a page.
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