Mysterious Suspense #1

Review by courteous Steve Ditko fan Don Mangus. Reprinted with permission.

Mysterious Suspense #1, October, 1968, 12 cent cover price
Cover: Steve Ditko, pencils and inks
Splash page pinup, (story inventory code B-1740): Rocke Mastroserio, pencils, and inks

This story is considered by many to be the finest Charlton Comic book ever published. Others cite "Charlton Premiere" # 2 (11/ 67) , "The Children of Doom", by Denny O'Neil and Pat Boyette for that honor. This comic may have originally been slated for three back up features in Blue Beetle and then reformatted together as a stand alone comic book when the Blue Beetle title was canceled. There are virtually no credits given, no editor, writer or artist is listed, only Ditko's signature on the cover. The lettering is obviously by "A. Machine".

Previous "scripters" of Question stories were D.C. Glanzman (David Charles Glanzman, Sam Glanzman's younger brother and Steve Skeates, who wrote one story, under the psuedonym Warren Savin).
The art, themes and possibly, the dialogue are vintage Steve Ditko.

Plot summary:
Part 1: "What is the greatest battle an individual must fight? Is it against the mystic terrors of unknown dimensions? Is it against the hordes of alien beings from outer space, or against foreign armies or criminal conspiracies? No! The great battle you or any person must constantly fight is not any of those! What, then is man's greatest battle....THE QUESTION!"

Prowling the rainy city night as the Question, TV Commentator Vic Sage witnesses the "Soda Pop King" , respectable Jason Ord paying off mobster Max Kroe and celebrating as if the two were good friends. Syd Starr, son of Sam Starr, Vic Sage's boss at World Wide Broadcasting Company, is out to sabotage Vic's career. When Ord coincidentally wants to sponsor Sage's show, which is suffering from a lack of sponsors, and therby secure it in the proramming, Sage refuses Ord as a sponsor to everyone's stunned disbelief. Vic confides to Sam Starr about possible corruption and Sam decides to mull over Vic's controversial rejection of Ord's offer.

Part2: "What is a hero? Is he a man with super powers, who, when in costume, fearlessly seeks out dangers, daringly confronts all obstacles and performs great feats of bravery but then returns to his everyday life, living in helplessness and fear?...Afraid of what he says and how he acts for fear of revealing his secret identity, thus forcing himself to live unnaturally, stripped of the ability to face up to and act on the everyday problems of life? His response to them may not be one of fearlessness, daring, or bravery, but one of a constant brooding about his inability to cope with them successfully! Is it a power or a disguise that makes a hero or is a hero a man who faces up to the challenges and obstacles of life and acts on them in a manner thaat does credit to himself and the proper principles that have been proven to be true? WHAT MAKES A HERO?"

And so it is that an indignant Ord vows to humble Sage by turning on a viscious "smear" campaign. Pressure mounts on Sage to compromise and recant, but he refuses. Soon the public sentiment turns against Vic Sage and he is insulted even as he walks the streets. His loyal staff gamely stands by him. However, soon one of them, Al Kert, is accused of murdering Joe Elp, a witness to Ord and Kroe's association. Vic goes "on air" to announce he is standing by Al and the pressure continues to bear down on Sage's reputation. Meanwhile, Syd Starr starts to chum up to Ord as Sage is their mutually despised target. Sage spots Lippy, a police informant, at the station where Al is being held. Sage changes into the Question and uses his harmless "transfoming gas" to terrify Lippy into confessing that it was Kroe's hitman, Bo Bene, who really killed Joe Elp. Max Kroe sends out yet another enforcer who "whacks out" Bo. As Syd and his cronies are toasting Sage's eminent career demise, Ord gets a smoking business card from "The Question" who claims to have photos and recordings of Ord and Kroe together, in short, evidence of their collaborations. Panic stricken the respectable Ord phones Kroe and they agree to meet. At the ready, Sage tails Kroe to an old warehouse. where he is soon captured and escapes by breaking out with the fisticuffs and fancy footwork. Sage transforms into The Question and back into Sage as he is brawling with the thugs to create the illusion of being two men. Meanwhile, at WWBC Syd begins to gloat and demands his father fire Sage. Nora, Sage's secretary/ girlfriend slaps Syd silly. Sam Starr is still undecided as what to do. Al Kert is finally cleared of murder by a hair sample on the murder weapon which turned out to be Bo Bene's. Back in the warehouse, Ord and Kroe quarrel and Sage manages to actually record their confessions with a tape player he has brought. The cops arrive on the scene and Ord kills Kroe and wounds Sage with a grazing gunshot to the head. The whole mis en scene is captured on TV with a mobile unit and Sage records Kroe's final, dying confession with the recorder. Sam Starr happily restores Sage's job security and now Syd and his lackeys are humiliated and shamed by Sage' s triumph in the face of adversity. In true "spin doctor" fashion Syd begins to hog the credit and acts as if he were aware of Ord's corruption all along and merely stringing him along as to reveal his true corrupt nature. He fools most people but he is filled with self loathing and rage as Sage strides confidently by him.

"When does a man achieve victory? When after he has honestly applied himself to the task facing him and overcome it..is secure in the knowedge that whatever he has accomplished, the fruits of that goal belong to him! He will know... no one else matters"