The Question: Welcome to Oz
The Question #19
Cover Date: August 1988
Subtitle: The Plastic Dilemma
Writer(s): Dennis O'Neil
Artists(s): Denys Cowan, Rick Magyar
Storyline:
Alexander Polys visited with Myra Fermin. He offered to back her campaign with a generous donation and move a plant into Hub City - if she promised not intervention once he was in business. Vic warned her against it - Polys' plants created the plastic guns which had been recently utilized in the Butch Cassidy and Sundance Kid crimes.
A limo driver contacted KBEL and Vic Sage - he could connect Polys and the would-be Butch Cassidy. A gunman went after the driver, but Vic was there to save him. The Question delivered the gunman to his old cellmate and partner. Told them both to get out of town.
Myra decided not to take Polys up on his offer.
The Question #20
Cover Date: October 1988
Subtitle: Send in the Clowns
Writer(s): Dennis O'Neil
Artists(s): Rick Magyar
Storyline:
A clown freaked out on tv and flashed his audience. He was taken into custody and referred to a mental health professional.
Vic Sage hosted a mayoral debate at KBEL.
Boston's Traveling Circus, a failing show, made a last-ditch effort in Hub City. They sent their clown into town to drum up some audience. A group of men thinking he was the one from tv beat and killed him.
Myra told Vic the clown's outburst was their fault. He'd been living in the motel where they'd stayed recently. He saw them.
The clown was freed and he went to the circus to join. The group who'd killed the wrong clown previously showed up to kill him. The Question intervened and stopped them, but the "living skeleton" (one of the few remaining performers) was killed in the process.
The Question spent the rest of the night defacing campaign posters of the right-wing Christian candidate who'd been behind the clown crimes.
The Question #21
Cover Date: November 1988
Subtitle: Rejects
Writer(s): Dennis O'Neil
Artists(s): Denys Cowan, Dick Giordano
Storyline:
Musto, the man who'd been shot by his son had been in a coma for a year. He needed a heart. His son, still wanting the love of his father, stole one and held surgeons, etc. hostage to put it in him.
After covering his high school reunion, Vic's station manager told him about the situation and that the troubled killer had asked for the "no face man." The question went in. The father's body rejected the transplant and he died. The kid began firing, but was taken down after only one person was hit.
The Question #22
Cover Date: December 1988
Subtitle: Election Day: The Fix
Writer(s): Dennis O'Neil
Artists(s): Denys Cowan, Malcolm Jones III
Storyline:
Myra stopped her husband, Mayor Fermin, from shooting himself in the head. He didn't even know he was doing it. She called a press conference to tell everyone he was an alcoholic and she'd been running the city for over a year.
Vic was meeting a contact at a bus station. The contact was attacked and killed. He was Yakuza and was killed by a Hun. The Question went out and followed some leads. He learned that candidate Dinsmore was involved with the Yakuza and the voting machines may have been tampered with. Vic made some calls to have the machines investigated. His home was attacked by a motorcycle gang.
The Question #23
Cover Date: Winter
Subtitle: Election Day
Writer(s): Dennis O'Neil
Artists(s): Denys Cowan, Malcolm Jones III
Storyline:
Dinsmore hired a group of Hun bikers to "enforce" voting. His people gave out baseball caps to anyone who was voting for him. The bikers were to take down anyone not wearing a hat. Tot was attacked. Vic took down two of the bikers, sending them to the hospital. He broadcast that the two men had taken bad drugs. The Huns turned on Dinsmore.
Bad weather and the reported violence kept the voters away. The Question felt guilty and went in to help Dinsmore against the bikers. They were both knocked out. The bikers prepared a "barbecue" and poured gasoline on them both.
The Question #24
Cover Date: January 1989
Subtitle: Election Day: The Dark
Writer(s): Dennis O'Neil
Artists(s): Denys Cowan, Malcolm Jones III
Storyline:
A tornado struck Hub City. The Question was freed and helped one of his captors escape the falling building. Once they were in the clear, the man turned on him. Charlie took him down and left him.
Back home, he learned that Dinsmore won the election by one vote - he didn't get a chance to make it to the polls. Soon after, Dinsmore's car was fished from the river. His body was still inside. Local law - if an election winner dies before being sworn in, the next highest vote getter wins.
At Myra's acceptance speech, her husband shot her.