The Best DC Comic You've Never Heard Of
1. Why You Should Read It
The series' high point, arguably, came in its third volume.
Collected in 'Epitaph for a Hero', this period of O'Neil and Cowan's comic is chockfull with iconic moments, including the fabled sequence where Sage reads Watchmen, briefly admires Rorschach, and then gets his ass kicked while trying to imitate him. The set-piece is immortalised while Vic is held at gunpoint, as the faceless vigilante defiantly proclaims three eternal words: "Yeah, Rorschach sucks."
Truly words to live by, no matter the context. Either way, Epitaph's key achievement lies in its integration of Vic into the DC Universe proper. He'd already had visions of Batman by this stage, and indeed, he 'collaborates' with the Dark Knight in the lauded Fables annual too, but here he teams-up with Green Arrow. What makes this so interesting is the fact that Oliver Queen had recently undergone a journey of his own, as writer/artist Mike Grell looked to paint a more violent picture of Oliver Queen - something O'Neil had to bear in mind, having also transformed the character in a significant way during the seventies.
The dialogue shared between the two heroes is brilliant, and it's where O'Neil's talent truly shines through. Along with Batman, and the aforementioned Arrow and Question, the writer boasts influential stints on Daredevil, Iron Man and Spider-Man - his impact on the superhero genre cannot be overstated.
But, despite all these stints on all of these characters - each undoubtedly more famous than the last - it's the Question where I feel O'Neil did his best work. The creative triumvirate of himself, Cowan and colourist Rick Magyar was stupendously effective, and with six volumes' worth of comics to collect, there's plenty to digest.
Only, you'd be hard-pressed to find them now. The series was collected via six trade-paperbacks in 2007, but it's now out of print, making it genuinely difficult to collect.
Sadly, in this case, it seems as though O'Neil, Cowan and Magyar's run is destined to fall short of the renown it deserves - and has deserved, for years now. Here's hoping that changes sooner, rather than later.