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Meet Mr. A!

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Clawg

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Well, I just discovered it (the comic is from the 70s, maybe some of you know it already) and wanted to share it: :)

http://www.dialbforblog.com/archives/296/

http://www.dialbforblog.com/archives/297/

http://www.dialbforblog.com/archives/298/

He was created as an heroic personification of Objectivism (i.e. a hero with principles, hard to find these days) and was the predecessor of "The Question" (DC).

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The bits I've read are pretty darn good, though I felt a little uncomfortable every time the author of the article used the word "Randian". Are these comics available anywhere, or are they still in syndication?

And man, one of those ads on that page has really stirred up a desire in me to watch Duck Tales.

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I think it's kind of corny. Far too explicit with it's philosophy. That can be good for a novel, but not for a comic book. It's good to have a backing philosophy. I think Frank Miller's Batman is a decent example of this.

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Wow! I'm a big fan of Mr. Ditko. This is excellent material, thank you very much for posting.

These comics are very difficult to get nowadays. If you enjoyed these, I recommend getting Mysterious Suspense 1 starring The Question, which was reprinted by DC Comics a few years ago. It's just as good, and less "bloodthirsty".

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The first link, titled "1966: the question is..."

To my knowledge -- that's the knowledge of me, Robby Reed, the author of this article and creator of this blog -- this incarnation of The Question rarely appeared without his featureless mask. Now THAT'S lack of ego for you! These big, egomaniacal Hollywood stars usually love to ruin comic book movies by refusing to wear a character's mask if it covers their face, but not The Question. Obviously, just as a true Randian Objectivist should, this Steve Ditko superhero has made every effort to destroy his own poisonous ego.

Is this supposed to be sarcastic? In any case, it is nonsense to me.

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The first link, titled "1966: the question is..."

Is this supposed to be sarcastic? In any case, it is nonsense to me.

I don't think it's sarcastic, I think it arises from a misunderstanding.

The Question's faceless mask, as far as I know, was intended to represent ultimate Objectivity. Truth and justice without any interfering subjectivity. Probably this guy interpreted that as "suppression of ego", though of course that is not a happy thing to say when talking about Ayn Rand.

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The Question, from what I have seen, is not as silly as Mr. A. It's a better comic, because it doesn't get all caught up in itself with philosophy. Philosophy is good in most things, but not so explicitly all the time.

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I don't think it's sarcastic, I think it arises from a misunderstanding.

A very deep missunderstanding.

The Question's faceless mask, as far as I know, was intended to represent ultimate Objectivity. Truth and justice without any interfering subjectivity.

Really? I thought it was a means to intimidate his opponents. People are intimidated when they can't read someone elses's expression, because such facial cues are an important part of communication. That's why it's diferent to talk with someone over the phone than in person. Arnold Schwarzenegger(sp?) has that effect in the original Terminator.

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See if you can find the video "The Masters of Comic Book Art" from 1987, hosted by the smirking ass-hat Harlan Ellison.

Ditko has a approx. 5 min monologue on Mr. A, Ditko's motivation as an artist, and pretty thorough condemnation of the modern anti-hero in comics.

This is a snippet from the IMDB page for the program from a clueless reviewer.

"The video is limited by what material could be licensed for the feature, which does not include the Marvel work of Kirby, Ditko, Adams, or Miller. Ditko does not appear on screen; but, rather reads a statement while images from his Mr A comic appear on screen. His devotion to the works of Ayn Rand continue to mar what was once a great body of work."

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Really? I thought it was a means to intimidate his opponents. People are intimidated when they can't read someone elses's expression, because such facial cues are an important part of communication. That's why it's diferent to talk with someone over the phone than in person. Arnold Schwarzenegger(sp?) has that effect in the original Terminator.

It also works that way, but probably Ditko's original motivation was what I mentioned earlier.

I agree with what Featherwall said. A modern Mr. A comic, taking into account the innovations that the genre has undergone but with the philosophical message intact, would be mind-blowing.

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It also works that way, but probably Ditko's original motivation was what I mentioned earlier.

I agree with what Featherwall said. A modern Mr. A comic, taking into account the innovations that the genre has undergone but with the philosophical message intact, would be mind-blowing.

Yeah, if only it were totally different, it'd be great :D

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