🎙 SHOW NOTES Steven and Chris take a roadtrip back in time, eventually arriving on the pothole-riddled streets of Hub City, and man do they have a lot to say -- almost 4 hours' worth of comic book chatter! Steve Ditko's urban vigilante, The Question, is boldly re-imagined by Denny O'Neil and Denys Cowan as a Zen crimefighter for the ages. Check it out; here we cover issues #1-#8 of THE QUESTION (DC Comics, 1987). 🧭 TIMESTAMPS 00:30 - Intro to Vic Sage a.k.a. The Question (covering SteveDitko and Ayn Rand, Denny O’Neil and Denys Cowan) 02:57 - THE QUESTION & SWAMP THING as “Proof of Concept” for Vertigo Comics 24:14 - Vic Sage’s relationship with “Tot” a.k.a. Aristotle Rodor 35:53 - Denys Cowan’s smart, efficient page compositions 1:27:30 - An urban vigilante story written by... a metaphysically-minded, left-leaning, zenned-out hippie?! 1:34:17 - Drawing Black characters in comic books 1:47:24 - Cowan’s skill at conjuring real-looking people who don’t all fit into cookie cutter visual molds 2:08:18 - Giving Denny O’Neil his flowers as a writer and noticing his evolution on THE QUESTION vs. GREEN LANTERN/GREEN ARROW; an exsmination of his intricate, multi-character storylines 2:40:05 - Cowan’s lively, kinetic, uniquely gestural linework 2:55:55 - The “generosity of content” of ‘80s comic books -- more story pages, denser stories, letter columns, editorials, etc. … COMICS ROT YOUR BRAIN! is a deep dive into ‘80s comic books (plus a few notable exceptions) in a weekly podcast format. Screenwriters Steven Bagatourian (AMERICAN GUN) and Chris Derrick (STAR TREK: PICARD) & discuss their favorite books, runs, and creators from the Bronze Age.
Oh my God, I love the 80s version of The Question so much!!! Another fantastic episode, guys. This is quickly becoming my favorite comics podcast out there.
Recently read through the question omnibuses (theres two that cover like issue #1-36 and the crossover with batman and green arrow plus some others from issues in the 90s that he makes an appearance in) and really enjoyed it and was so glad to see someone covering it so in depth, hope to see you both cover more of the issues
Hey, that’s awesome that you just read the whole run! Those omnibuses look beautiful. The only concern I would voice is that you probably missed out on the letter columns… which are AMAZING, as we discuss in the episode (if the QUESTION omnibuses actually include the lettercols, then I salute DC heartily - all collections ought to do this!). Glad you enjoyed hearing us cover the book in depth. Yeah, it is one that I would like to return to and discuss the rest of the run, even including those issues of THE QUESTION QUARTERLY where Cowan starts inking his own stuff and his linework becomes more loose and kinetic - I really dig it! So yes, stay tuned, more O’Neil/Cowan QUESTION coverage will be happening in the future. Thanks so much for the comment! - Steven
Hmm… “Neil?” I think you mean Denny O’Neil (but he’s the writer, not the artist). Either way, I agree with your general sentiment - both guys produced extraordinary work here! Thanks for commenting. - Steven
My favorite comic book character of all time and the one they keep trying to ruin. Just make a show and give him his own title again. This character deserves so much more love.
Totally agree. Such a brilliant character when handled right, as proved over and over in this run. The no-face mask remains a stroke of genius. - Steven
The colorist and inker both totally contribute to the atmosphere of the book with maybe Baxter paper. Also this Question started the same year as Dark Knight.
Yes, absolutely! Tatjana Wood and Rick Magyar are the unsung heroes of this book (along with Gaspar Saladino, the letterer). I wish we’d talked about them more in this episode but maybe then it would’ve been five hours lol! And technically, Dark Knight Returns (Feb. ‘96) predated O’Neil and Cowan’s The Question (Feb. ‘97) by exactly one year. I think Dark Knight helped create a climate that allowed for something as dark and quirky as this run of The Question to exist at DC. - Steven
Yeah, I can totally understand why you’d say that. But then, do you feel the same way about other corporate characters that get rebooted by creators who are not the original creators? Personally, I think that it’s actually one of the cooler things about mainstream comics that we can see a different version of these characters from time to time and see them through new eyes - like Moore, Bissette, and Totelben’s SWAMP THING or Morrison and Truog’s ANIMAL MAN, both of which were radically different than the original conceptions of those characters. Obviously, some versions of the characters get rejected wholesale by readers and for good reason. But, I would argue that O’Neil and Cowan’s iteration of the character is - at this point -part of the DC canon for good reason, so it is indeed THE QUESTION… it’s just not Ditko’s QUESTION. Regardless, glad you agree that the book was really good and thank you for commenting! - Steven
"...the year that 'Watchmen' debuted in trade paperback to little fanfare..." That does not mesh with my memory of the series at the time. I remember it being heavily hyped by DC before the first issue was ever published, with some very striking ads. According to an article I just looked up on the subject, half the individual issues of the series were in the top ten best-selling comics in the direct market of the months they were published, despite the cover price of Watchmen being double that of other comics at the time, and despite the comic featuring new characters with no preexisting fandom. Seems like it was getting plenty of attention before the trade paperback even debuted.
Of course the single issues were groundbreaking; however, the original sales numbers that we looked at on the trade were lackluster. Remember that trades weren’t nearly as popular then as they are now (as evidenced by the deal that Moore & Gibbons made with DC where the rights would revert back to them when the book went out of print; you’d make that deal only if you anticipated the book going out of print within a few years). No one foresaw the coming wild success. The Watchmen trade would begin to set and break sales records, yet that clearly wasn’t anticipated, at first. - Chris
The question was better in charleston, ditko when he was in charge of charleston it was brilliant. He would create tons of one off characters. The 80s question was too preachy.
Well, obviously I love the ‘80s iteration of THE QUESTION and did not find him to be “too preachy” at all, but I genuinely appreciate your passion for Ditko’s version. We encourage a multiplicity of opinions here at CRYB! Central. 😊 Thanks for listening and commenting! - Steven
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🎙 SHOW NOTES
Steven and Chris take a roadtrip back in time, eventually arriving on the pothole-riddled streets of Hub City, and man do they have a lot to say -- almost 4 hours' worth of comic book chatter! Steve Ditko's urban vigilante, The Question, is boldly re-imagined by Denny O'Neil and Denys Cowan as a Zen crimefighter for the ages. Check it out; here we cover issues #1-#8 of THE QUESTION (DC Comics, 1987).
🧭 TIMESTAMPS
00:30 - Intro to Vic Sage a.k.a. The Question (covering SteveDitko and Ayn Rand, Denny O’Neil and Denys Cowan)
02:57 - THE QUESTION & SWAMP THING as “Proof of Concept” for Vertigo Comics
24:14 - Vic Sage’s relationship with “Tot” a.k.a. Aristotle Rodor
35:53 - Denys Cowan’s smart, efficient page compositions
1:27:30 - An urban vigilante story written by... a metaphysically-minded, left-leaning, zenned-out hippie?!
1:34:17 - Drawing Black characters in comic books
1:47:24 - Cowan’s skill at conjuring real-looking people who don’t all fit into cookie cutter visual molds
2:08:18 - Giving Denny O’Neil his flowers as a writer and noticing his evolution on THE QUESTION vs. GREEN LANTERN/GREEN ARROW; an exsmination of his intricate, multi-character storylines
2:40:05 - Cowan’s lively, kinetic, uniquely gestural linework
2:55:55 - The “generosity of content” of ‘80s comic books -- more story pages, denser stories, letter columns, editorials, etc.
…
COMICS ROT YOUR BRAIN! is a deep dive into ‘80s comic books (plus a few notable exceptions) in a weekly podcast format. Screenwriters Steven Bagatourian (AMERICAN GUN) and Chris Derrick (STAR TREK: PICARD) & discuss their favorite books, runs, and creators from the Bronze Age.
Oh my God, I love the 80s version of The Question so much!!! Another fantastic episode, guys. This is quickly becoming my favorite comics podcast out there.
Thank you! Yeah, this Question run is SO GOOD. Glad you’re digging the show!
-Steven
Recently read through the question omnibuses (theres two that cover like issue #1-36 and the crossover with batman and green arrow plus some others from issues in the 90s that he makes an appearance in) and really enjoyed it and was so glad to see someone covering it so in depth, hope to see you both cover more of the issues
Hey, that’s awesome that you just read the whole run! Those omnibuses look beautiful. The only concern I would voice is that you probably missed out on the letter columns… which are AMAZING, as we discuss in the episode (if the QUESTION omnibuses actually include the lettercols, then I salute DC heartily - all collections ought to do this!).
Glad you enjoyed hearing us cover the book in depth. Yeah, it is one that I would like to return to and discuss the rest of the run, even including those issues of THE QUESTION QUARTERLY where Cowan starts inking his own stuff and his linework becomes more loose and kinetic - I really dig it! So yes, stay tuned, more O’Neil/Cowan QUESTION coverage will be happening in the future. Thanks so much for the comment!
- Steven
My god words cannot describe just how much i love neil's artwork here! Arguably some of his best work!
Hmm… “Neil?” I think you mean Denny O’Neil (but he’s the writer, not the artist). Either way, I agree with your general sentiment - both guys produced extraordinary work here! Thanks for commenting.
- Steven
@@ComicsRotYourBrain oh yeah 😅 my bad, i meant Denys Cowan. I wrote the original comment right before falling asleep.
My favorite comic book character of all time and the one they keep trying to ruin. Just make a show and give him his own title again. This character deserves so much more love.
Totally agree. Such a brilliant character when handled right, as proved over and over in this run. The no-face mask remains a stroke of genius.
- Steven
@@ComicsRotYourBrain Also thanks for becoming my new favorite podcast or show.
Thank you, much appreciated! That’s so great to hear!
- Steven
The colorist and inker both totally contribute to the atmosphere of the book with maybe Baxter paper. Also this Question started the same year as Dark Knight.
Yes, absolutely! Tatjana Wood and Rick Magyar are the unsung heroes of this book (along with Gaspar Saladino, the letterer). I wish we’d talked about them more in this episode but maybe then it would’ve been five hours lol! And technically, Dark Knight Returns (Feb. ‘96) predated O’Neil and Cowan’s The Question (Feb. ‘97) by exactly one year. I think Dark Knight helped create a climate that allowed for something as dark and quirky as this run of The Question to exist at DC.
- Steven
@@ComicsRotYourBrainI should add that Rorschach was probably influenced by Ditko's Mr. A which is an edited form of the Question.
@@theafronaut4131 Yes, totally agree with you re: Mr. A’s likely influence on Rorschach. That makes a lot of sense.
- Steven
This book was a lot of things. But one thing it WASN'T was The Question. It was really good though.
Yeah, I can totally understand why you’d say that. But then, do you feel the same way about other corporate characters that get rebooted by creators who are not the original creators? Personally, I think that it’s actually one of the cooler things about mainstream comics that we can see a different version of these characters from time to time and see them through new eyes - like Moore, Bissette, and Totelben’s SWAMP THING or Morrison and Truog’s ANIMAL MAN, both of which were radically different than the original conceptions of those characters. Obviously, some versions of the characters get rejected wholesale by readers and for good reason. But, I would argue that O’Neil and Cowan’s iteration of the character is - at this point -part of the DC canon for good reason, so it is indeed THE QUESTION… it’s just not Ditko’s QUESTION. Regardless, glad you agree that the book was really good and thank you for commenting!
- Steven
"...the year that 'Watchmen' debuted in trade paperback to little fanfare..." That does not mesh with my memory of the series at the time. I remember it being heavily hyped by DC before the first issue was ever published, with some very striking ads. According to an article I just looked up on the subject, half the individual issues of the series were in the top ten best-selling comics in the direct market of the months they were published, despite the cover price of Watchmen being double that of other comics at the time, and despite the comic featuring new characters with no preexisting fandom. Seems like it was getting plenty of attention before the trade paperback even debuted.
Of course the single issues were groundbreaking; however, the original sales numbers that we looked at on the trade were lackluster.
Remember that trades weren’t nearly as popular then as they are now (as evidenced by the deal that Moore & Gibbons made with DC where the rights would revert back to them when the book went out of print; you’d make that deal only if you anticipated the book going out of print within a few years). No one foresaw the coming wild success.
The Watchmen trade would begin to set and break sales records, yet that clearly wasn’t anticipated, at first.
- Chris
💬 TELL US
❓Steve Ditko created The Question, Spider-Man, Dr. Strange, and The Creeper, among others. Which Ditko oddball is your favorite?
The Creeper. That red feather boa… or luxuriant back hair. 👀 What’s with that look?! 😅
@@_Ag-Lol! 😂 Yes, you’re right, the Creeper’s look was an uncommonly bold fashion choice, even for the world of comics!
- Steven
The question was better in charleston, ditko when he was in charge of charleston it was brilliant. He would create tons of one off characters.
The 80s question was too preachy.
Well, obviously I love the ‘80s iteration of THE QUESTION and did not find him to be “too preachy” at all, but I genuinely appreciate your passion for Ditko’s version. We encourage a multiplicity of opinions here at CRYB! Central. 😊 Thanks for listening and commenting!
- Steven