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The Question Reading Order (Vic Sage, Renee Montoya)

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Like the Peacemaker, the Question was not a DC Comics character as he originated at Charlton Comics, making his first appearance in Blue Beetle #1 (1967), in a backup feature. Created by writer-artist Steve Ditko, the Question is Vic Sage, a television investigative journalist who wages a private war on crime. He conceals his identity behind a featureless mask made of “Pseudoderm,” an artificial skin invented by his former professor, the scientist Aristotle Rodor. When applied, the mask renders Sage a man without a face. He possesses no superhuman abilities, relying instead on physical conditioning, investigative skills, and an absolute, black-and-white moral code.

The Question was closely related to Ditko’s independently created character “Mr. A,” who embodied the creator’s Objectivist moral philosophy. While Mr. A was an uncompromising, overtly ideological figure, the Question was conceived as a more accessible, if still unusually severe, superhero for a mainstream comics audience.

His first run was short. After a handful of appearances in Blue Beetle, he disappeared, only to reappear briefly in the anthology Charlton Bullseye years later, before joining DC Comics in the 1980s. He officially joined the DC Universe during Crisis on Infinite Earths, before joining the new Blue Beetle solo series. The Question gained a clear identity within DC continuity in 1987, when he received an ongoing solo title written by Dennis O’Neil and primarily illustrated by Denys Cowan. This series fundamentally redefined Vic Sage.

As it happened with other crimefighters in the world of comics, there will be more than one person wearing the costume of The Question. Notably, Gotham City cop Renee Montoya will eventually take on the role, and while Vic died and came back, she still fights crime, hidden under the faceless mask today. But let’s explore the long history of The Question, in order, naturally.

The Question Reading Order

Previously in the Charlton Comics universe… The original version of The Question by Steve Ditko has been collected in Action Heroes Archives Vol. 2.

Vic Sage is The Question

Vic Sage made his debut in the DC Universe during the Crisis on Infinite Earths. It was more of a cameo (two small panels in issue #6) and is not required reading for the character only. His true introduction came in the first post-Crisis Blue Beetle series, in issues #4-6. Those issues are available in Digital or in the following collection:

The Question by Dennis O’Neil & Denys Cowan

If you only had one book to read, The Question by Dennis O’Neil and Denys Cowan is still the ultimate series about the character. In it, Vic Sage is still a television journalist working for KBEL in the crime-ridden Hub City, but his worldview evolved. After suffering a near-fatal beating, he is trained by Richard Dragon in martial arts and Eastern philosophy. Under the continued guidance of Aristotle Rodor, the Question abandoned rigid moral absolutism in favor of a more introspective, socially conscious approach. The series explored themes of political corruption, urban decay, ethical ambiguity, and international affairs.

Concluding in 1990, the series ran for 36 issues and has been collected in two omnibuses, along with later appearances. This is the easiest way to find those stories in print today.

The Question: Vic Sage during the Modern Age

And now for a more detailed reading order of the Modern Age era of DC Comics. Everything worth reading is The Question by Dennis O’Neil & Denys Cowan, but Vic did continue to appear throughout the 1990s in other comics, less and less, though. During the 2000s, he had a short second solo series and a few notable appearances, including his goodbyes.

The Question by Dennis O’Neil and Denys Cowan: The Trade Paperbacks

Those books collect the main issues of the series.

Once The Question solo series concluded, Vic Sage occasionally appeared here and there. He got a short 5-issue miniseries in 1990, The Question Quarterly, once again by Dennis O’Neil and Denys Cowan. It’s hard to find, though, outside the Omnibus collection.

Next, he was also in 1992’s Brave and the Bold Vol. 2 with Green Arrow. In this is a team-up between Vic, Ollie, and a Native American called Butcher as they deal with a terrorism plot. Not easy to find it collected outside of the following omnibus:

After that, The Question made some guest appearances. The more notable ones are in bold:

In 2005, Vic Sage got a new short solo series written by Rick Veitch with art by Tommy Lee Edwards. It’s not consistent with the previous characterisation of The Question, from the fact that it’s set in Chicago, the way the mask works, and the exploration of mysticism.

In 2006, DC Comics published the weekly series “52” over the course of one year. It was written by Geoff Johns, Grant Morrison, Greg Rucka, and Mark Waid, with art by a rotating team led by Keith Giffen. Set in the aftermath of Infinite Crisis, the series chronicles events occurring during a missing year in the DC Universe, shifting focus away from its most prominent heroes to explore the lives and transformations of secondary characters, including Vic Sage and Renee Montoya.

This is the story of how Vic Sage died and how Renee Montoya became The Question. The way the series worked, their story was not developed in every issue, only in part, but it’s recommended to read everything (it is very good).

Renee Montoya is The Question

Renee Montoya has been a familiar face in the DC Universe for a long time before she became The Question. If you want to familiarize yourself with her past and everything she did in recent years while not wearing The Question’s “face,” I invite you to check out our Renee Montoya reading guide.

But for Renee’s career as The Question, here is what you need to read, starting with The Question: Five Books of Blood, a follow-up to 52 written by Greg Rucka in which she’s looking into the mythic Crime Bible. Then, during the Final Crisis event by Grant Morrison, Greg Rucka wrote the tie-in miniseries Final Crisis: Revelations.

Rucka was really the writer who included Renee in his writing. So, it’s no surprise that he introduced her relationship in Detective Comics #859-860, collected in Batwoman by Greg Rucka and JH Williams III. He also wrote (with art by Cully Hamner) the ongoing backup feature that was published in Detective Comics. In it, Renee and Huntress investigate a gun-running scheme that threatens Gotham City:

Then, Harvey Bullock discovered Renee was behind The Question’s mask when she worked with Batman in Detective Comics Annual #11, which is part of the Azrael: Death’s Dark Knight storyline. During the Blackest Night event, Vic Sage came back to life and attacked Renee and Lady Shiva in The Question #37, collected in Blackest Night: Rise of the Black Lanterns. And following the establishment of Batman, Inc. by Bruce Wayne during Grant Morrison’s run on Batman, Batman sent Renee to France to infiltrate a cult, a two-part story published in Detective Comics Annual #12 & Batman Annual #28 that were reprinted in Batman: Gates of Gotham.

During the out-of-continuity event Convergence, Greg Rucka and Cully Hamner came back to write a new Renee Montoya/The Question story, while Vic appeared in a Blue Beetle story set in the Charlton comics continuity.

With the New-52 reboot, Renee Montoya came back to being a cop, and a new supernatural/biblical spin on the Question was introduced during the Trinity War/Trinity of Sin storylines. This version of the Question was short-lived as Vic Sage made his return (but not under the faceless mask) in the New Suicide Squad. This take is different from before, as Sage is a corrupt and amoral government agent.

During the DC Rebirth era, Renee Montoya was back as a cop for a while, but she eventually appeared as The Question with the Lois Lane series by Greg Rucka and Mike Perkins, and played a minor part in the Event Leviathan (read the event between Lois Lane #5 and #6). Vic Sage is also back as The Question, first in Action Comics #1005, in a short story in DC’s Crimes Of Passion #1, and for Event Leviathan and its follow-up, Checkmate (Vol. 3), but the two Questions reunited in Lois Lane (2019) #3.

The Infinite Frontier era was another one light on apparitions from The Question. Renee was mostly the commissioner of the GCPD. Still, she used her secret identity for short stories, like in DC Pride (2023) #1, or in the I Am Batman series. During that time, Vic is still affiliated with Checkmate and makes cameos, like in Batman: Urban Legends #14.

With the Lazarus Planet event that introduces the Dawn of DC line, Renee Montoya as The Question is going after magic monsters, but we are seeing her more often than not out of her costume, doing her work as the GCPD commissioner. And after a short story in Detective Comics #1076, Renee Montoya started wearing her costume for a new investigation as The Question in issues #1081-1084 as part of the Gotham Nocturne storyline (better read everything, not just the issues featuring The Question).

With the All-In era, Renee Montoya is joining the Justice League, as she was fired from her job as commissioner of the GCPD. And she even got a miniseries in which, as the Question, she is now in charge of the security at the Justice League’s Watchtower (as you can see in Justice League Unlimited #3). But then, there’s a murder mystery to solve. There’s also a robbery to stop in the second half of the Cheetah and Cheshire Rob the Justice League series.

More to come…

Alternate Version of The Question

There are other versions of The Question in the DC Universe. The most notable story is the following:

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