The Question: The Five Books of Blood SC [Paperback]

Greg Rucka (Author), Various (Illustrator)

Book Description

Series: The Question | Publication Date: June 23, 2009

The Crime Bible, introduced in the pages of the hit series 52, is a near-mythical text passed on behind the scenes from master criminal to master criminal in the DC Universe. This trade paperback explores a subset of the Crime Bible known as the Five Lessons: the lesson of deceit, the lesson of lust, the lesson of greed, the lesson of murder, and the fifth part, entitled "The Parable of the Faceless." Only three copies of the Crime Bible exist, and two are in the possession of The Question, an anti-hero with no face. Can she track down the final copy?

Editorial Reviews

From School Library Journal

Grade 8 Up—A series of interconnected stories relating to the so-called Religion of Crime, The Question is gory, dark, and creepy. Half of the stories are set in a modern city with secretive, behind-the-scenes deals, affairs, and underhanded activities. The other half feature fantastic elements such as a stunning young woman who lacks all facial features and an intergalactic ghost ship. The artwork is varied, sometimes featuring overly muscled men and hourglass women, sometimes more lifelike figures, all in computer-enhanced rich colors. A lengthy essay explicating and expanding the story line follows at the end—either a sign of a deep story or one that is poorly edited. While this title might have some appeal to horror fans, most libraries can skip it.—John Leighton, Brooklyn Public Library, NY
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

About the Author

Greg Rucka is a novelist and comics writer. His comic credits include his creator-owned series Whiteout and Queen and Country (both of which won Eisner awards) and Elektra for Marvel Comics. The bulk of his comics work is with DC Comics, for whom he has also written Batman, Gotham Central, 52 and more. His novels, largely featuring Atticus Kodiak, have also won acclaim. He is currently writing DC's Checkmate series. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Product Details

• Paperback: 128 pages
• Publisher: DC Comics (June 23, 2009)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1401223354
• ISBN-13: 978-1401223359
• Product Dimensions: 6.6 x 0.2 x 10.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 6.4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #704,953 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

The author of four novels about professional bodyguard Atticus Kodiak -- Keeper (nominated for a Shamus Award by the Private Eye Writers of America), Finder, Smoker, and Shooting at Midnight, Greg Rucka has been writing since he was eight years old, and hopefully is improving with age. A longtime comics fan, his first graphic novel series was the suspense thriller Whiteout, published by Oni Press and nominated for three Eisner Awards in 1999. Since that time he has been a contributing writer for DC Comics and an active participant in the Batman series of titles.
Born and raised in California, he earned his undergraduate degree at Vassar College and his MFA at the University of Southern California. He currently resides in Portland, Oregon. Mr. Rucka has two tattoos, and rides a motorcycle.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

8 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A new Question for a new era, July 21, 2008

By 

N. Durham "Big Evil" (Philadelphia, PA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: The Question: Five Books of Blood (Hardcover)

In the aftermath of 52, the legacy of Vic "Charlie" Sage, AKA The Question, was passed on to burned out cop Renee Montoya, and the Crime Bible was introduced to readers as well. Five Books of Blood collects the five issue mini-series from Greg Rucka (Checkmate, OMAC Project, 52) and a host of artists, where Renee treks after a Monk of the Dark Faith who is spreading evil in his wake. Through these Five Lessons of Blood, Renee and many others are tested, tempted, and even converted over to this Religion of Crime. These lessons lead to many confrontations, from a crooked colonel, to the Penguin, to even a showdown with Batwoman. Without a doubt, Five Books of Blood is a dark and gritty tale that features Rucka's skills at his near best. Most of all, this mini is reminiscent of Denny O'Neil's Question series from the 80's; something which Rucka manages to pay great homage to as well as draw from. The five segments each consist of a different artist, including Tom Mandrake, Jesus Saiz, Matthew Clark, Diego Olmos, and Manuel Garcia; all of which turn in great work. The only real problem with Five Books of Blood is that it's just too short. The story really gets going early on, and it's over before you know it. That aside, if you're a fan of The Question, Rucka, or just enjoyed the Question-starring segments of 52, you should definitely check out Five Books of Blood. It's innovative delivery and Rucka's storytelling techniques make it quite the worthwhile trip.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Renee Montoya Continues to Evolve, August 17, 2008

By 

Andrew Shaffer "Author, Blogger" (Iowa) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: The Question: Five Books of Blood (Hardcover)

Renee Montoya, fresh off of her co-starring role in "52", stars in the "Five Books of Blood" mini-series. Greg Rucka has always had a great handle on the character--he created her, after all, for the Batman books. As the new Question, Montoya now operates outside of the Batman universe (save for Batwoman, who guest stars here). Montoya is a complex character. In "Five Books of Blood," she struggles with, and possibly succumbs to, her dark side.

A note for collectors: The story was, inexplicably, first marketed as "The Crime Bible" when it was released in comic book form. DC stepped up the marketing and re-titled the book for this collected edition. If you already own the original mini-series, the only additional material here is a reproduction of a faux-journal that Rucka created for Montoya.

5.0 out of 5 stars Fascinating Book and Excellent Service, October 10, 2011

By 

E. Jones (Illinois) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: The Question: The Five Books of Blood SC (Paperback)

A new incarnation of the Question (the hero Rorschach is based on in 'Watchmen'!) finds herself fighting a cult of crime and murder - but for some reason, they don't seem to be fighting back.
This is a very interesting storyline from DC Comics, and a challenging one. It is poses the idea of a 'religion of crime' based on the life of Cain, rather than on Jesus. The 'Five Books' are an inversion of the Pentateuch of the Bible (the first five books of the Old Testament). They form the core of the 'Crime Bible' - guidelines and prophecies based on cruelty, bloodshed and selfishness. There have been enough real religions like this in the world (the Thuggee in India, the cult of Huitzilopochtli in ancient Mexico) to make the idea truly chilling.
The story collected here was part of a much larger arc. so it doesn't really stand up well on its own. Still, it is definitely involving, thought-provoking and well worth reading.
I strongly recommend BuyMyCollectibles - my experience ordering this used book from them was top-notch. The condition was as good, or maybe better, than they advertised; it was very reasonably priced, well-packed, and delivered promptly.