DC loves me, gives me a birthday present

[kingrockwell]

I guess DC heard that my birthday is Friday, because they delayed Question #37 for this week (you can tell because it still has last week's DC Nation).

We open, as the Blackest Night tie-ins have been wont, with a short look back at the deceased's life. One panel in particular caught my eye.


yessss

Cut to the lighthouse, where Tot has some very funny ideas about how to take advantage of this event.

I guess they cremated Vic or something? I don't get why else the ring'd zero in on those three hairs otherwise.

Anyway, Shiva shows up and tells Renee she wants to fight her, because that's what she does. It goes about how you'd expect until they're interrupted.



And then Tot shoots Shiva in the shoulder. Why the hell would he do that? We'll let him explain.



hahaha never been shot before, i loooove Lady Shiva
Shiva knows no way to beat a Black Lantern, but she does know how to escape one.
Also, Tot realizes Vic isn't going to tell him anything, he'll just try to kill him. Avarice turns to fear.



Now this is a little weird. We know Shiva and Renee are well-versed in the ways of Zen, but Tot? The closest he over got was snarking about any time Vic "went inside".

Nevertheless,


I could go on and on about what that "son" comment could mean, whether it's a summation of the relationship Vic and Tot had or an on-page confirmation that Tot was Vic's father, but I'd end up just going in circles. I will say that baiting a Black Lantern and shooting Shiva prolly kills the moral high ground he got
Either way, Renee puts her mask on and goes to track the Black Lantern down as the issue closes. Maybe we'll see her in one of the upcoming issues on the core mini?

Also, I was glad to see my fears toward how Cowan's art has aged assuaged. This is definitely not as awful as Lovers and Madmen, prolly more reminiscent of his work on Steel. The coloring's a little weird, though.

Comments

[theanswer]

A Black Lantern ressurection title that actually had the title character(s) in it? I am shocked. This was also really good. Very in keeping with the Question.

[kingrockwell]

Certainly doesn't hurt that it involved both the past and current creative teams on the character!

[shadowpsykie]

awe i hope Renee at least held her own against Shiva.

[thandrak]

There is no way in hell she should be able to.

[yaseen101]

While I do think Renee is a qualified badass, I think there should be a select few people who can truly hold their own against Shiva.

[shadowpsykie]

Ok let me rephrase that, I think she is badass too, but realistically she is still a neophyte. I hope Renee got a few good shots In there :)

[kingrockwell]

Let's put it this way: She did a lot better than Vic did the first time he fought her!

[yaseen101]

Well, a few good shots is fine with me. I just don't like the idea of too many people being able to go toe to toe with Shiva. :)

[kingrockwell]

Well, Renee may be Rucka's pet character, but Shiva is Denny's, and Rucka adores Denny, so there wasn't much threat of that.

[yaseen101]

Well, I'm cool with that.

[shadowpsykie]

I would love there to be a scene
Shiva: Perhaps next time, this will be real.

And/or a flashback
Charlie: If you ever have to fight Shiva, run. But if you can't here's how you not get killed

[yaseen101]

That would be awesome.

[bluefall]

It's pretty well implied by her statement about being there for Vic that she was basically toying with Renee, IMO. She doesn't particularly hurt Renee, but she doesn't seem to be working all that hard in the fight either.

[icon_uk]

So Shiva has never been shot before? Really? Given the number of fights she's surely been in? Seems hardly likely.

And slightly annoyed to see that she used the technique that I wanted to see Batman use to become blind to a Blank Lantern, but such is life.

[thehefner]

I think that's meant to be the point. She's been in tons of fights, and is so badass that while she's been shot at, she's never actually been hit before.

[icon_uk]

I get that that's the point, but given the fact she's been picking fights pretty much her entire life it just doesn't work for me that she hasn't been.

[espanolbot]

Well, maybe she learned Cass' "get out the way!" method before she was in a situation where people'd be shooting at her?

[thehefner]

Also, I was glad to see my fears toward how Cowan's art has aged assuaged. This is definitely not as awful as Lovers and Madmen, prolly more reminiscent of his work on Steel. The coloring's a little weird, though.

Pretty much *exactly* the comment I was going to make, save for the color. I find the muted palate works much better than the neon-garish one of, say, LOVERS AND MADMEN.

I think we have Sienkiewicz to thank for that. He's one of those few inkers who regularly seems to improve pencil work (I'm also thinking about how beautifully he worked with Dan Jurgens in that Poison Ivy/Clayface story in NO MAN'S LAND).

[kingrockwell]

Better easily, but I still don't know if it's quite right. Though looking back through it, I guess it's mostly the Black Lantern vision panels that feel a little off. I know they're meant to be drastically changed, but I can't help but feel there could've been a better way to do it.

Also, the very last two panels (not posted) with the lens flare and the modern shade-blending that just doesn't look good on older styles.

[shadowpsykie]

I loved the art, it was like GOOD late 80's early 90's art. Like back to the era of the first Robin mini series.

[kingrockwell]

Have you read Denny and Cowan's Question series from that period? It's done by the same artist with a different inker. Though Sienkiewicz would ink the covers in such a way I couldn't help but wonder how it'd look if he also did the interiors, and I dunno if #37 here counts given how much time's passed since.

You can check some of the posts I've made of it here.

[the_eleven]

I noticed Sienkiewicz in the credits at the end too...I have to say his inks were the thing that really made this issue for me.

[bluefall]

I think we have Sienkiewicz to thank for that.

That was my thought as well; his influence is clearly really strong here, and I think we're seeing as much or more of him as we are Cowan.

[thebigapricot]

They did not have this at my comic shop! Arghh.

But happy birthday, you!

[kingrockwell]

Thank you!
also sorry, i hate when LCSes do that

[stig]

...Wouldn't focusing on clearing your head of emotions take a lot of...willpower?

[bluejaybirdie]

I think it's less focusing and more letting go than anything else. Feeling absolutely nothing at all, like you don't even exist anymore.

[kingrockwell]

And that is exactly the difference between Zen and what Vril tried.

[aaron_bourque]

Not really. Total emptiness, in the Zen sense, doesn't take will, just unfocused concentration. It's simply a way of thinking.

But willpower is fed by emotion. Even if it boils down to "stubbornness," there's still a major emotion going on.

[stig]

I suppose I was thrown off by the background of Vic's vision being mainly green.

[leikomgwtfbbq]

Neat! Now we just need to see some of the Phantom Stranger issue and I shall be a very happy girl indeed.

I am SO loving Blackest Night. I was all set to hate it, but it's turned out awesome (small quibbles like "I think Diana should've been Indigo" aside).

[kingrockwell]

Oh, I got that one too! I'm surprised no one's posted it yet, I'll see if I have time to throw a few pages up later.

[leikomgwtfbbq]

Hooray! I shall love you forever. XD

Also, happy birthday!

[darkknightjrk]

Question--pun not intended, I assure you--was there any scenes in the original title that makes people think Tot is Charlie's father, and if so, are they on here?

[kingrockwell]

Not posted yet, at least. My series kinda stalled out after issue 14, but I do intend to get it running again.

[bluefall]

Rucka isn't known for his humor, but I gotta say Renee's "I guess I need to go get beat up now" had me rolling.

Her and Shiva officially need to hang more. Repression and dispassion, wisdom and curiosity, two competing schools of deadpan snarking, it's a match made in someplace where they really like making me happy.

[kingrockwell]

Yeah, I really wanted to include that panel, but when I actually started scanning I didn't have room.

And I wouldn't say Rucka's not known for his humor (his jokes at least, just look at Blackest Night: Wonder Woman! har har har ;_;). But seriously, it was the sagely snark in Cry For Blood that turned me on to both Vic and Rucka originally. Plus there's ditz!Bruce from his first 'Tec run and anything Ferdinand ever said. All that said, I think it's pretty clear Vic's dialogue here was all Denny.

And I would love to see more Shiva hanging with Nee, though I'd love to see more Shiva period, so...

[koschei]

How long before this hits the kink meme?

[psychopathicus_rex]

While this is pretty cool, all right, I'm holding out for when Vic gets resurrected for real. It'll happen, dammit.

[jlbarnett]

he died of a real life condition. That'll probably make it stick

[psychopathicus_rex]

You would think, but characters have been COMPLETELY OBLITERATED before, and they still came back. I mean, in War Games, we actually saw Steph's heart stop and Leslie declare her dead, yet look how easily that was handwaved away. Hell, I can think of two or three ways that he could be resurrected right off the top of my head. There has been growing interest in the Question since the JLU cartoon - that version of him is still a major fan-favorite, and the current Question was a major Batman supporting character for years and is currently ensconced in 'Detective Comics'. If this keeps up, someone is going to do some sort of 'Question' project, a movie or a cartoon or something, and when they do, they'll resurrect Vic, you watch.

[scottyquick]

Heehehe, I love Lady Shiva. She's not my favorite character or anything, but whenever she's in a comic with someone my eyes just dart to her.