Searching For Answers — Reviewing ‘The Question: All Along The Watchtower’ #1

The DC Universe’s myriad of heroes have gone All-In to bring back the hopeful beacon that is the Justice League. Unfortunately for them, someone else has a bloody destructive mission to tear it all down before it even begins.

As a murder occurs, Renee Montoya is on the case and ready to follow all the clues in The Question: All Along The Watchtower #1. A question-mark-filled debut issue from Alex Segura, Cian Tormey, Romulo Fajardo Jr., and Willie Schubert. It’s a mystery wrapped in an enigma set upon the Justice League’s floating city headquarters. As a concept, this sounds like something might be off; a bit out of its proverbial league (sorry not sorry). Happy to report this is very much not the case.

Just as expected, this issue slaps (as the kids would say).

Segura creates such a perfect blend of a noir detective atmosphere and the bright, open heroic sensibilities of superhero books. Watching Renee’s journey from losing her job, to solitude, to accepting the job, to finding her place within the Watchtower is compelling. Taking the slower route to really ramp up the mission, suspects, and even some of the environmental tension, was a smart choice. Not only does it give us a firm foundation from which to begin this journey, but also builds the dramatics to a ripe level.

I’ve been a Renee Montoya fan for a long time, so seeing her get her due once again and playing amongst the big characters is quite something. Being the one tapped to ‘save’ the League thanks to her questioning and bold personality — that’s the stuff right there.

A place like the Watchtower, especially in this decked-out state, provides ample opportunities visually. Something which Tormey takes full advantage of, and then some. Plenty of heavier strokes that play into the darker noir aesthetic while going lighter and bolder with other elements. Tormey easily creates a grand sense of weight and spectacle on every page, even the quieter ones. As all the set pieces have emphasis and uniqueness to them.

Amongst that is also a touch of a rougher texture; angular faces mixed with softer, more rounded features. An almost whimsical style of energy is always present within the pages, reminding us of the inherent fun that comes with comic books no matter what route the story might be taking. Coupled with this are dynamic, living, breathing moments, where the heroes do epic things in the most mundane-yet-still-inspiring way (like seeing a floating Superman outside your window).

Part of that is also from the color choices that Fajardo Jr. employs. Heavier on many pages, really playing into the shadows element, with cooler tones on other pages. They all blend together so well to create a very authentic feeling world and space. A healthy amount of shadows are sprinkled throughout to not only provide a highlight of sorts, but also grow the ominous energies of the story.

Even when the brighter colors I mentioned come into play, they can be muted compared to what we might see in other books. Again, it’s a solid move to speak to the tone of the story without having to fully spell it out. This is a story that weaves among the shadows that are cast by the brightest stars in the universe.

Voices. They are important both for dialogue/exposition reasons but also in building characters.

I’m not familiar with Schubert, I haven’t encountered their lettering work before, but a solid job is done to capture the voices here. Together, Segura and Schubert really hone in on who each character is and let their feelings and thoughts ring true. I really liked the way the captions are used for Montoya here: quick, succinct, and direct. The style punctuates her thoughts and gets to the meat right away rather than dancing around.

That is the Question in a nutshell.

Some of the lettering font seemed to get a bit wonky in a few spaces, feeling a bit more silly than serious, but nothing that really distracted all that much. Choosing to go for a bigger, more animated, font for dialogue was a very interesting choice.

I’m seated, strapped in, and ready to go wherever this title chooses to take me.

The Question: All Along The Watchtower #1 is now available from DC Comics.