The Question | Vic Sage | Renee Montoya

Just emailed to me by Rucka:

Beginning with Detective Comics #854 The Question will return to the character’s beginnings and star in a series of back-up stories.

Revealed in DC Comics June 2009 Solicitations on Monday:

DETECTIVE COMICS #854
Written by Greg Rucka
Art by JH Williams and Cully Hamner
Cover by JH Williams
Variant cover by JG Jones
“Elegy” part 1 of 4! A new …blah, blah, blah… Batwoman …blah, blah, blah… Greg Rucka …blah, blah…  JH Williams III …blah, blah, blah!
Featuring the debut of a new co-feature starring The Question written by Rucka! Odds against you? Alone and nowhere to turn? Willing to fight, but you don’t know how? When you’re searching everywhere for an answer, sometimes all you need to do is ask the right Question. Renee Montoya again dons the faceless mask to help those in need, all the while searching for her own answers in this new adventure with art by Cully Hamner (BLUE BEETLE).
Retailers please note: Blah, blah, Blah… Standard Edition (with a cover by JH Williams III ), …blah, blah… Variant Edition (with a cover by JG Jones). …blah, blah, blah.
On sale June 24 • 40 pg, FC, $3.99 US

This was followed by Newsarama’s interview with Cully Hamner.

A couple of fun things to report!:

The Question is dead, long live the Question!

From a recent question / answer session at Newsarama with Dan Didio:

3. That said, how does that apply to someone like The Question? Full disclosure here – I still don’t believe Vic Sage is dead. He “died” too close to a city where people never die for him to be over and done with. But yet, Greg has developed Renee as the new version as The Question which flows organically from Vic, and there seems to be a push to further establish her, rather than start the questions of “When is Vic coming back?”

DD: You’re absolutely correct. Again, one of the problems even with these interviews is that when I make a statement, it gets interpreted as a definitive statement that has to be applied across the board to every single character and every situation forever, and it gets held against us. The reality is, when I say something about wanting to get back to the iconic versions, that is an overall direction for the line. It’s a mission statement for what we’re trying to accomplish, but it’s not something that’s all-encompassing for every single character and for everything that we’re doing. We do approach things case-by-case, we look for what has the best potential for story, and we look for what has the greatest opportunity to expand the scope and standing and breadth of the line, and that’s where we go. In some cases, it’s looking back, and in other cases, it’s looking forward.

People ask why we seem cagey or never, in their opinion, give a clear answer. We do give clear answers, but the problem is that there are always options and choices. I don’t want to say that we have a blanket option and a blanket answer for everything we do. We can’t do that. One of the things we try to avoid is the homogenous feel of the DC Universe, and what we’re trying to do is approach every character from the standpoint of what has the most potential. At this particular moment, Renee Montoya as The Question has, we believe, more potential for story and more opportunity to enhance the DC Universe than Vic Sage did. We told a great story with Vic Sage in 52. We had a great ending for that story, a great passing of the mantle, and a great platform in 52 for telling that story. There’s no reason to go running backwards from it so quickly, because it’s a story that we fully embrace.

Therefore, Renee Montoya, as we’re presenting her, will be The Question for the foreseeable future, because there are so many stories with her as The Question that are completely untapped, and are waiting to be told. And for you, personally Matt, I understand that Vic Sage will always be your Question, and that’s what’s wonderful about our trade paperback program. [laughs] Everybody has their favorite. Honestly, I’ve ended up going against my own favorites in some cases, but that’s just the way it works.

But again, with Barry Allen – and I’m sure there are people who will say, “What you just said about The Question should apply to The Flash,” and it did – for over 20 years. And now, we’re deciding to explore Barry Allen again. So, in twenty years, or somewhere down the road, you and I, or whoever’s in these chairs may be about Vic Sage, and if the excitement is still there, you might end up with a Return of Vic Sage storyline. If that’s the case, I’d be happy to read it from my rocking chair at the Old Age Home for Comic Book People.

The Question to appear on the Brave & The Bold!

Bob Tilley recently sent us a link to his site, where he provides a sneak preview of the Question on an upcoming episode of the Cartoon Network show The Brave & The Bold!

See more at Bob’s site. Thanks, Bob!

The Watchmen as Charlton Heroes

Mike Dominic offers this fantastic reimagining of the Watchmen as the original Charlton heroes that inspired their creation: