Losing face:

Even though I have a few more homemade posts than usual done, I'm a bit behind right now; just dealing with some assorted real-life stuff and swamped at work. Still, I have been re-reading, once again, the Dennis O'Neil/Denys Cowan (and others) run of the Question. It's a series I love to death, even if I really discovered it only in recent years, getting most of it in one chunk from the quarter bins.

I wouldn't have got to read it at the time, although I was interested from a preview with a Batman guest-spot. The only issue I read when it was published--1987 or so--was the Question #6; "...That Small Rain Down Can Rain..." Written by Dennis O'Neil, pencils by Denys Cowan, inks by Rick Magyar. As the Question tracks down the terrorist/gangster Benno Musto (which ties into a failed arms deal and a dioxin-contaminated real estate deal) Benno is more disappointed than usual at his son Junior. Benno sees Junior as a "sissy," a wimp, and now a failure; the Question stopped Junior from blowing up a school bus in issue #3.

Ignoring his failure, Junior jumps to the conclusion that maybe his dad would love him if he looked tough, instead of like a mama's boy; and proceeds to pour acid on his own face. To his credit, Junior takes his disfiguring injuries stolically; wrapping his face in bandages and rushing off to see his dad. This leads to a bit of confusion later with both the "No-face" Question and Junior out to stop Benno from murdering an old man.

Although this issue came out in 1987, I associate it with 1991's Alice in Chains classic "Man in the Box." Although some of the lyrics could easily apply to Junior--the "dog who gets beat" for example--it's geographically related, in my mind: I remember seeing the video, on some daytime talk show complaining about it? The same place I kept this comic. And the song, the video, and the comic all end with a sudden, sharp shock.

This wasn't the end of Junior and Benno's story, either; and to the Question's credit, he feels pity for Junior. I saw the preview cover for Trinity War with the Question; sight unseen, I'll tell you this issue is better...