The Question: Pipeline (Review)

Writer: Greg Rucka

Artist: Cully Hammer

Publisher: DC Comics

Collects: Detective Comics #854-865 (back-up material)

Ever since Renee Montoya took over the role of the Question from Vic Sage there's been a general feeling of uneasiness. Was she right for the job? This uneasiness was part of her character, as she constantly questioned her own identity and future, so it played quite nicely.

Renee's involvement in her first two major stories, The Five Books of Blood and Final Crisis: Revelations, continued this theme. Renee was starting to accept herself as the Question, but these mystical tales hardly seemed fitting to such a character.

With Pipeline, any and all uneasiness in both Renee and the reader is eliminated. Like Vic (or Charlie to his friends) before her, Renee has shed her former destructive self and embraced a more productive and positive lifestyle. It is rare that one takes pleasure in seeing a character mature like this, especially in mainstream comics where one is dreading the return to status quo.

WARNING: SPOILERS AHEAD!

Greg Rucka weaves a compelling detective tale, the likes of which he's known for, which could easily be stand-alone, and separate from DC continuity. Having said that, the visits from Huntress, Zeiss, Veronica Cale and big bad Vandal Savage are far from unwelcome.

In fact, those little guest appearances serve to enhance the exciting twists and turns as Renee follows her missing person case from the streets, to Oolong Island, to secret corporations and so on. Although Rucka writes his characters so well, and each uniquely, there's plenty to grasp your attention beyond the main players. Each level of the ever-ascending investigation brings its own delights and surprises; delving into some hard-hitting true crime matters.

Cully Hammer's art (he has a very detective noir name, by the way) is solid and beautiful, complimented superbly by Dave McCaig and Laura Martin's muted colours. Not only are his designs very clear-cut and his faces easily recognisable, but he does some damn good action sequences. He knows how to pace fight scenes, and is helped by the silent pages, telling the story purely through motion.

There are a few things that drag on the otherwise explosive plot, such as the chain of "false bosses" who actually work for someone higher up (which gets tedious after the Nth time), but in all honesty, if you were to read this immediately after Denny O'Neil's classic run on The Question, it would fit right in.

Rating: 4/5