Comic Review: The Question: The Deaths of Vic Sage (2019-) #3

The Question: The Deaths of Vic Sage (2019-) #3

DC Comics

Writer: Jeff Lemire

Artists: Denys Cowan, Bill Sienkiewicz, Chris Sotomayor, Willie Schubert

The Deaths of Vic Sage #3 catapults The Question into a violent, hard-boiled detective story for the penultimate chapter of the DC Black Label series. Book 3 of Jeff Lemire’s miniseries continues to build on its time and genre-hopping central conceit, as Vic Sage continues his journey through past lives to prepare for another confrontation with the supernatural Man with a Thousand Faces. 

In this issue, we see the Vic Sage of the 1940s, the private investigator Charlie Sage, struggle to reconcile 19th-century memories of Viktor Szasz with visions of the current Sage. At the same time, Charlie is hired to solve a missing persons case with ties to protests and riots that mirror those happening in The Question’s 21st-century present, as well as to the Man with a Thousand Faces encountered by the past and future Sages. 

Most of this issue’s merit, at least in terms of its story, is in the way it builds on the narrative threads of the previous issue. The noir setting is interesting on the surface, and Charlie’s job as a private eye presents a clear parallel with The Question’s present-day detective work, but the setting doesn’t feel particularly important beyond that. Lemire this time leans slightly more into the concept of synchronicity, as Charlie calls it, with elements of Szasz’s and The Question’s lives (and even Richard Dragon and The Question themselves) manifesting in Charlie’s mind over the course of his investigation. These visions provide Charlie with greater insight into his history, his purpose, and the actions he needs to take to defeat the Man with a Thousand Faces. By the end of this second cycle, the lives and deaths of Vic Sage almost evoke Bill Murray in Groundhog Day, though the stakes are much higher for Sage. It’s an entertaining substory that sets up the final chapter, though the characters aren’t especially memorable and we don’t spend enough time in 1940s Hub City to truly enjoy it.

As with the previous two issues, Denys Cowan’s pencils and Bill Sienkiewicz’s inks do much to enhance the mood of the story. The book maintains the rough, sketchy linework of the series thus far, with heavy black ink and an abundance of shadows to suit the seedy, grimy setting. Chris Sotomayor’s color work is also appealing (though as a matter of personal preference, I would have liked to see most of this issue colored in black and white like a 1940s film noir). As with Sienkiewicz’s inks, Sotomayor’s primarily cold and drab color palette works well with the story’s setting. Occasional interruptions of brighter vibrant colors in flashbacks and flashforwards provide a jarring visual experience that simulates Charlie’s disorientation at his mismatched memories and visions. 

Willie Schubert’s letters also deserve mention here. Schubert switches between a standard handwritten font for the issue’s dialogue and an old-fashioned type-written font for Charlie’s internal narration. The change in font and the partially faded, patchy look of the lettering itself contrast with the clean black of the dialogue and with the blue used for The Question’s narration as seen in issue 1. It’s a cool visual touch that helps sell the setting and in retrospect was missing from the last issue.

In this issue, Jeff Lemire capitalizes on the multiple lives of Vic Sage in a subplot that doesn’t feel drastically different from issue 2’s western but is overall an entertaining detective story/psychological mystery. The issue truly excels in its visuals, with lettering that provides a crucial bit of authenticity for the noir setting and fantastic art that enhances the dreary mood. The Deaths of Vic Sage #3 does enough story-wise to keep you entertained, more than enough visually to satisfy fans of Cowan, Sienkiewicz, or the crime genre in general, and builds a decent amount of anticipation for the series’ final chapter, releasing in August.