Review-- Question #37

While the dead have been rising as Black Lanterns in DC's Blackest Night for the past several months, it has been a gimmick more than anything else, something to shock and awe the audience more than anything. For the compulsive fan, it's been fun to play a weird version of "Where's Waldo" with DC's dead characters, trying to find the Black Lantern version of Vibe buried in a background somewhere as if his inclusion in the series would be Geoff Johns and Ivan Reis's blessing on the character. The Black Lanterns have been running around but used in kind of tawdry ways as the villain du jour of the DC universe. In Question #37, a long defunct title that gets one more issue thanks to Blackest Night, current Question writer Greg Rucka is joined by the writer of the classic 1980s Question series Dennis O'Neil to give us a story about people who are seeking out the Black Lanterns; the people looking for answers to their own questions about life and death.In this issue, two of O'Neil's mainstay characters from his series, Aristotle Rodor and Lady Shiva, have their own questions that need answering by Vic Sage, the original Question who slowly and painfully died of lung cancer in 52. Both want to know what is there beyond this mortal life we all share. What exists beyond life is a natural question and with the dead rising, it seems like a perfectly good chance to find answers to that question. With the resurrection of Vic Sage as a Black Lantern, Rucka and O'Neil don't even really try to provide an answer for that question. Instead, they explore the people who are asking it. Much like O'Neil's classic run on The Question, the story ends up being a more spiritual journey than a physical one. Of course with this being a superhero comic book, there's the prerequisite fight but it is not just another iteration of the living versus the dead that we've seen over and over again. The fights help highlight the internal struggle of Rodor and Shiva, becoming much more metaphoric and poetic. Both characters are seeking out a resurrected Vic Sage because they have their own questions and doubts that they hope he can answer for them. They need Vic because they believe that he will finally be able to provide answers to their questions.While Rucka and O'Neil provide all the metaphors and philosophy in the script, penciler Denys Cowan and inker Bill Sienkiewicz provide the action and the fighting. The story is told through a rain-drenched fight between the dead Vic Sage, Renee Montoya and Lady Shiva. Cowan has always been great at drawing people fighting. He gives his characters a grace and poise, capturing the perfect moment of a punch or a kick. Sienkiewicz adds great texture to Cowan's pencils, perfectly embellishing Cowan's artwork. The Question #37 is a great example of how a penciler and inker should work together, which the distinct style of both clearly showing through but never conflicting with each other. Even though Victor Sage died a couple of years ago in the pages of 52, The Question #37 feels like the real send off to the character. In this issue, we get to see Rodor and Shiva let go of Victor and maybe finally come to some kind of peace but we also get to see the two key creators of The Question, Dennis O'Neil and Denys Cowan, along with Rucka and Sienkiewicz, have their final say on Vic Sage and The Question. The Question #37
"One More Question"
Written by: Dennis O'Neil & Greg Rucka
Penciled by: Denys Cowan
Inked by: Bill Sienkiewicz & John Stanisci
Colored by: David Baron
Lettered by: John J. Hill