Hello, Mr. A. – Mr. A.: Right to Kill!

Sometimes you buy a book just for its import to comics geneology.  Such was the case this past weekend when I picked up this little number:

I was aware of this creation of Steve Ditko mainly from the great Jonathan Ross documentary, In Search of Steve Ditko.  The comics geneology comes into play with Alan Moore’s use of Mr. A.’s stark morality in the creation of Rorschach from Watchmen, when he sort of glommed that stark ethos onto Charlton’s The Question.  Rather than plagiarize what smarter men than I have to say about Mr. A., why not let you listen to them?  Here’s where the Ross ducumentary starts talking about Mr. A.  – the relevant discussion comes about halfway through the video:

And the rest comes here, including a funny little story from Alan Moore about Ditko’s take on Rorschach:

As for my take on Mr. A., I kind of agree with Gaiman – as “stories” they don’t work very well since there isn’t much of an arc to them.  They simply act as vehicles for the presentation of Ditko’s Objectivist views.  The art itself is, like all of Ditko’s work, quite attractive, and I liked how Mr. A.’s unmasked alter-ego, journalist Rex Graine, looked a lot like what I’d imagine a Ditko-rendered grown up version of Peter Parker to be.  But you feel like you’re listening to a sandwich board carrying loony the entire time you’re reading Mr. A.’s ramblings.  I guess my indifference makes me a weak-kneed moral relativist, destined to succumb to the darkness of overwhelming evil.  So be it.  When I’m bored, I’m bored.