Thanks Star! ...although I'm not so crazy about the word obsolete in this particular instance (although you are technically correct as he has been replaced by a newer and younger female version). It's just that the word also implies "out of date" and I think the Question was actually well ahead of his time. The Question was dark and gritty with no qualms about killing. This was an incredibly bold move back in '67 when all the major publishers and editors were still quaking in their boots over fears of upsetting the much vaunted "comics code authority". This is part of the reason that Ditko was developing the Question (and Blue Beetle and Captain Atom) for such a minor company as Charlton. He was willing to forgo the cash just to get his innovative ideas out there. I think it might bear noting that major characters like Punisher, Daredevil, Wolverine and Batman have all taken a turn toward that direction but it was Ditko who blazed the trail for everyone to follow. Of course, eventually DC gobbled up the character rights and immediately started screwing things up!
First, the Watchmen were supposed to be a revival of those Charlton characters (Rorschach=Question, Dr. Manhattan=Captain Atom, Nite Owl=Blue Beetle) but DC forced writer Alan Moore to reinvent them into (slightly) new characters. So rather than ACTUALLY have the Question portrayed as Ditko intended, they made Moore change it. Next they handed it off to Denny O'Neil (whose work with Neal Adams on Batman and Green Lantern/Green Arrow I hold in the highest regard). O'Neil decides he doesn't agree with the politics or philosophy of Ditko's character so makes him have a near death experience in the very 1st issue and reborn as a Zen Buddhist. Personally, I find that lazy writing and I think his editor should have given him a good slap in the head. None the less, it wasn't a badly written series overall (beyond the shoddily explained personality transplant) tho a bit overly intellectualized and philosophical. Still, I rather enjoyed the little I'd read of Rick Veitch's oddball 2005 Question mini-series where the gas which adheres his mask to his face is a hallucinogen and he's a tripped out shaman warrior
Check out his run-ins with Superman from the series here:
http://scans-daily.dreamwidth.org/3604376.htmlAs far as the critique, well... you know me... always trying new things.
Part of the experiment here was to attempt to imply what was going on offscreen. I was attempting to show the baddie turning, slightly annoyed by being interrupted from his violent work. I was hoping the bloody clothes, hand and wrench might imply that though perhaps I'm being too subtle. So you think adding a battered woman might help, eh? Interesting.