It's Not About The Answers: Behind The Mask Of Vic Sage, pt 10

[kingrockwell]

Intermission: "Al Kufr" - The Infidel

So I'm kinda fallen off the horse on this series trying to figure out the best way to approach Question #15, so in order to get myself back in the hang of things, I'm gonna try posting a few individual shorts, mainly non-continuity.

Today, it nets you a story from Solo #5, Darwyn Cooke's issue.
It's a small one, clocking in at only four pages, but I'll share with you what I can.


is that optic camo? well, that's pretty rad

Cooke makes gorgeous work with black, white and cyan here.
The story, on the other hand, is pure Ditko, in spirit at least, featuring full-on Vic-the-Strongarm (though with some of Vic-the-Sage's more globe-trotting superspy sensibilities) in the middle of Afghanistan post-9/11.



Sabotaging Al-Qaeda compounds. ...Yeah.



A curious exercise, at least, but I certainly would've been more into it were it my Vic in a less unsavory political application. I don't even know, you bring up terrorism in a modern story these days and I just have an adverse reaction. The fact that it's prefaced by a scene in the bar with Slam Bradley discussing the myth of "acceptable losses" almost feels like a pre-emptive apology, like Cooke's saying "I am telling you this story where the Question blows up terrorists, but just so you know, I totally don't support the war!" It's just a little jarring.
I didn't include any of it due to the story's minuscule length, but pages two through four are packed in the middle with a collage of neologisms, some played straight while others are subverted ("weapons of crass reduction" was particularly notable).

Anyway, leaves a weird taste in my mouth, but is still gorgeous. I especially like the line-shading.
We'll, uh, see what we post next when it comes to that. It'll either (finally) be Q #15, or maybe Vic's bit in DK2.

Comments

[psychopathicus_rex]

Oh, yeah, I remember this one. I think it's been posted before, way back when before all the posting limits.