DC Black Label 2019
Written by Jeff Lemire
Pencilled by Denys Cowan
Inked by Bill Sienkiewicz
Coloured by Chris Sotomayor
Lettered by Willie Schubert
For years, Vic Sage has worn the faceless mask of the Question to clean up the streets of Hub City by sheer force of will. He knows right from wrong. He knows black from white. But what happens when he is drawn into a conspiracy that reaches from the heights of Hub City power to the depths of its underground tunnels? What happens when things stop being black-and-white and start getting a little grey? And what happens when, in a secret chamber deep beneath the city, Vic Sage meets his own end...and his new beginning?
There are few characters from Charlton that still bear any resemblance to their former incarnations. This book epitomises what that character was like and by all that we hold dear they honour the creation of Steve Ditko beautifully. I wasn't alive in the 60's so I didn't get to see the character debut but when I fell in love with the past and sought out those books and characters that would be classified as obscure nowadays so I became familiar with the Question. This is true to that cold harsh version of the character and I have to say it's about damn time too.
This is my first Black Label oversized book too and I couldn't have chosen a better one to start with either. Jeff did the research and he's got one hell of art team on this title all of whom are long-time veterans who know exactly what needs to be done. The opening here is brilliant as we jump right into the thick of The Question in action. No set-up just thrown in and it's glorious and even more so because how we see why he's there. Oh seriously this is why he's harsh and cold and why this just hits that nerve, like air on a deep cavity, and you go off-script almost immediately. This is so beautifully written and I feel like a kid again marvelling at the idea that a “hero” could act like this, this is the character that expanded my idea of what a costumed hero was.
I like seeing Myra here and Denys is one of the men who created her so it's nice to see him getting a chance to revisit his creation. So the blend of Charlton, attitude, and DC, Myra and his enemies in Hub City, is nicely done. While I kind of wanted his old enemy Max Bine to make an appearance but we can't have it all now can we? Though I love seeing Tot and the one other person to help him through this.
What can I say about the interiors? Denys and Bill have still got it and they've got it in spades because the work on the interiors is bloody brilliant! From the linework to how we see the colour work, that highlighting looking like computer erasing of till the lights hit just right are complete wow moments as is the ginger hair, to the scratchy old school style everything looks incredible. They create this whole mood, tone and feel to the book that suits the story to a “T” and it almost feels like a dream come true. The utilisation of the page layouts and how we see the angles and perspective in the panels show a masters eye for storytelling. The way backgrounds are utilised is nicely done as well, when we see them in play they do wonders in enhancing the moments and bringing a sense of size and scope to the book.
I absolutely adore the fact that so much of his past not just at DC is being utilised within these pages. Seeing the hard hitting, no-nonsense Vic Sage just makes me crave more. The industry needs more of this, heroes with an edge to them, who don't have gadgets and gizmos or powers to fall back on but just average men and women who through frustration take matters into their own hands.