Since by Bahlactus' high command we're doing black and white this fight, we should pay tribute to one of the more film noir mainstream comics of recent decades: The Question!
Denny O'Neil and Denys Cowan (with cover by Bill Sienkiewicz!) took off with the recently acquired Charlton character, creating an odd but enjoyable melange of violence, philosophy, and masked adventure...think Rorschach done noir. Hub City was a seething cesspool of corruption--think Sin City a decade early and done by DC, and you've got the idea
I always felt the series should have been done in B & W, especially as it was a "deluxe" book, and in those days it often seemed as if the colorists hadn't yet adjusted properly to the new paper/printing process, as the colors often looked muted and washed out. Well, here's our chance...
The Question has come into conflict with baddies who have hired Lady Shiva to protect their interests.
At this point in his career, Charlie is pretty much just a thug with a trick mask, not the kick-ass fighter he would become later. So, as they battle in the snowstorm, we know what to expect:
Finally Shiva backs off, and let's the goombas take over:
Note how Cowan switched to white panel breaks here. Before, they were black (and effectively invisible), as Shiva's attacks were one continuous ballet of violence...with the goombas, it's a crude, formless beatdown...
Anyway, the "fight" ends with the Question being shot in the head and drowned in the river. Quite a way to end the first issue, eh?
Probably the least effective debut for any hero took place in Question #1, 1986
Denny O'Neil and Denys Cowan (with cover by Bill Sienkiewicz!) took off with the recently acquired Charlton character, creating an odd but enjoyable melange of violence, philosophy, and masked adventure...think Rorschach done noir. Hub City was a seething cesspool of corruption--think Sin City a decade early and done by DC, and you've got the ideaI always felt the series should have been done in B & W, especially as it was a "deluxe" book, and in those days it often seemed as if the colorists hadn't yet adjusted properly to the new paper/printing process, as the colors often looked muted and washed out. Well, here's our chance...
The Question has come into conflict with baddies who have hired Lady Shiva to protect their interests.
At this point in his career, Charlie is pretty much just a thug with a trick mask, not the kick-ass fighter he would become later. So, as they battle in the snowstorm, we know what to expect:
Finally Shiva backs off, and let's the goombas take over:
Note how Cowan switched to white panel breaks here. Before, they were black (and effectively invisible), as Shiva's attacks were one continuous ballet of violence...with the goombas, it's a crude, formless beatdown...Anyway, the "fight" ends with the Question being shot in the head and drowned in the river. Quite a way to end the first issue, eh?
Probably the least effective debut for any hero took place in Question #1, 1986 
1 comment:
Damn, that is hardcore. Now I kinda think I am going to have to seek that out and see what the hell the deal is!! I only have one Question comic, the first or second annual from that series, and it was pretty good. Not sure why I haven't gotten more. Hmm...
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