Created by Steve Ditko, the Question started as a back-up story in the Blue Beetle’s series at Charlton; the Question, much like BB but more prominently, was an Objectivist hero who fights crime and corruption in and out of his hero persona. When DC acquired the rights to Charlton’s characters, The Question briefly mimicked his first appearances at Charlton by appearing in the Blue Beetle’s new magazine before getting his own series written by Denny O’Neil with pencils by Denys Cowan. O’Neil wasn’t much of a fan of Objectivism, so he reworked Q a bit to have a more Zen-like philosophy, but the two series are compatible and equally-enjoyable. The Question has been one of my favorites for some time, but it’s unlikely that laypeople have heard of him. Outside of comic books, all the Question’s been seen in is the spectacular Justice League Unlimited animated series. The character of Rorschach from the Watchmen graphic novel and movie is sort of based on/inspired by The Question.
This post looks at the comics featuring the Question which were published by Charlton Comics; I’ll get to the DC Comics must-reads at a later date.
Blue Beetle
#1 – Vic Sage is a hard-hitting TV newscaster and investigative reporter for World-Wide Broadcasting Co. who expresses an individualistic viewpoint while exposing “respected” businessmen, politicians, and prominent members of society as the criminals they really are. During his free time, Sage uses a skinlike, featureless mask and another persona — The Question — to do what Sage cannot, namely making criminals talk.
#2 – An inventor is killed by his assistant, who steals the inventor’s work to aid him in his life of crime as the Banshee!
#3 – Corrupt businessmen who murdered a partner 10 years ago are all wondering the same thing — how can a man be drowned six stories above street level?
#4 – Revenge is the reason why a killer has been hired and the order given — kill Vic Sage!
#5 – In the first story, an art critic gives a disgusting appraisal of man, and his unthinking audience threatens violence to classical statues of man as a heroic figure before Ted Kord (aka the Blue Beetle) and Vic Sage intervene. In the second story, the same art critic seeks to revenge himself upon Sage..
Charlton Bullseye
#5 – The Banshee returns in this short fan magazine with great art by Alex Toth.
Mysterious Suspense
#1 – When Vic Sage loses one of his sponsors, he meets with his potential new sponsor, respected businessman and soda pop king Jason Ord — whom he’d seen the other day with one of the biggest racketeers in the state! Despite the threats with which Sage is faced, he refuses to compromise his moral principles and refuses Ord’s sponsorship.
Except for the Charlton Bullseye, all issues listed above were plotted and drawn by Steve Ditko.
