To the river, brethren, and lay your burden down. 
The Question #1 is an issue of the series The Question (Volume 1) with a cover date of February, 1987.
Synopsis for "The Bad News"
The Question steals a scandalous tape of Hub City's Commissioner of Schools being used for blackmail, and airs it on television during his segment on the news as Vic Sage. While stealing it from a bunch of thugs, he also meets Lady Shiva, who does not intervene because her superiors had not paid her to, and merely relaxes and watches him fight.
In the Mayor's Mansion, we see that both the thugs and Shiva were on the mayor's payroll. The Mayor is a lush, and largely a puppet of his right-hand man, Reverend Jeremiah Hatch. We later see the consequences of the Question's actions, when his snitch is wasted by a childish hitman in an alleyway.
Vic, after spending the night with ex-girlfriend Myra and patching his wounds, pays a call on his friend Aristotle "Tot" Rodor. He complains about problems with his mask slipping, and asks Tot if he can fix them. Vic is revealed to have started smoking again, Tot guesses because his double life is getting to him.
While Vic pays a visit to another informant of his, former journalist turned drunken lush Moe Fredericks, a cop hassling the two of them is shot with a bullet meant for him. Vic chases down the gunman, who says he thought blowing away The Question's friend would redeem him in the eyes of his boss. He turns the man into the police, who he clearly doesn't respect either.
Hatch's thugs plant some false information with Fredericks, trying to lure Vic Sage into a trap. Upon hearing it from Moe, Vic is able to tell it's clearly a setup, but despite Myra's warnings goes anyway, as The Question. This time, having been paid to, Lady Shiva is waiting for him and beats him to the ground. Hatch insists on letting his thugs finish the job, who beat him severely with lead pipes, shoot him in the head with an air gun, and throw him into the river where he floats to the bottom and his mask peels off.
To be continued...
Appearing in "The Bad News"
Featured Characters:
Supporting Characters:
- Aristotle Rodor (First appearance)
- Myra Connelly (First appearance)
Antagonists:
- Reverend Jeremiah Hatch (First appearance)
- Lady Shiva
- Baby Gun
- Donny
- Jake
Other Characters:
- Mayor Wesley Fermin (First appearance)
- Moe Fredericks
- Milton "Milty" Cohen (Dies)
Locations:
- Hub City (First appearance)
- Jimmy's Bar
- Pier 26
Items:
- None
Vehicles:
- None
See Also