Mr. A

Mr. A
Mr. A, in a panel from Witzend #3. Art by Steve Ditko.
Publication information
Publisher	various
First appearance	Witzend #3 (1967)
Created by	Steve Ditko
In-story information
Alter ego	Rex Graine
Abilities	None. Wears armored gloves and full-head armored mask for protection

Mr. A is a fictional comic book hero created by Steve Ditko. Unlike most of his work, the character of Mr. A and the Mr. A stories remain the property of Ditko, all of which were written and illustrated by himself. The character first appeared in Witzend #3, 1967. Mr. A's name comes from "A is A", a reference to the law of identity in Aristotelian logic. It is also in poetic reference to Ditko's other, similar character, The Question, as in "question and answer" (i.e. often shortened in American English to "Q and A").

Synopsis

Rex Graine is a newspaper reporter for the Daily Crusader. He is known for his uncompromising principles and incorruptibility. In order to fight crime Graine wears metal gloves and a steel mask that resembles a placid face, thus becoming Mr. A. In keeping with the hardboiled detective theme, both personae typically wear suits and fedora hats; Mr. A's outfit is completely white. There is no origin story for the character, thus the only discernible reason why Graine sometimes disguises himself (both his identities are equally threatened by criminals and sometimes hated by the general public) is due to his choice to become a vigilante. Mr. A uses half white-half black business cards to signify his arrival, as well as to represent his belief that there can only be good and evil, and no moral grey area.

Ideology behind Mr. A

Mr. A is one of the clearest examples of Ditko's conviction in Objectivism. Typical stories will have one character convince him or herself that doing just a few illegal acts to get ahead in life will not make him or her a bad person. This character's crimes escalate when they must either take action to cover their previous misdeeds or are now too closely tied to more dangerous criminals to simply walk away. The stories invariably end with Mr. A confronting the criminals and telling them that they are all guilty, including the character who had wished to remain good. A staple for most stories involves this character trying to justify his or her immoral actions to both others and him or herself, blaming things such as environment and society rather than taking responsibility.

In some of the stories characters speak about the reasoning behind their actions in every panel, thus showing that the adventure story is not meant to be just entertainment, but is to show a deeper, philosophical dialogue.

Not all of Mr. A's stories are crime adventures. Some are allegorical representations of the guilty trying to explain why they compromised their values. Mr. A, on a white platform, denounces their explanations. These stories typically end with the guilty falling into an abyss off of their black platform. This representation often occurs at the end of the adventure stories as well. Mr. A says that he feels only for the innocent and victimized. People who commit "just one crime", such as accepting dirty money, are turned over to authorities to stand trial for what they have done. Mr. A refuses to overlook their transgressions, even if they profess they will be good from then on. Killers and would-be-killers generally find themselves in situations where they need Mr. A's assistance to save them, but since they had no respect for innocent lives then he offers no aid for their guilty ones. It is only when an innocent life is directly threatened that Mr. A will kill, and when he does so it is without remorse.

Similar work by Ditko

The Question, originally a Charlton Comics character and currently owned by DC Comics, is a hero very similar to Mr. A. Both men are uncompromising reporters who operate as vigilantes when wearing masks. Both characters also follow Objectivism, and it is often believed that the Question is a softer, more marketable version of Mr. A.

Ditko’s H Series and J Series (standing for "hero" and "justice" respectively) tell the stories of men who never compromise their beliefs, even when their futures or lives are at stake. At the end of H Series, the hero’s brother is distraught because he is disgusted by himself when compared to someone like his brother who never bends to the will of others and never does wrong. This is another common theme with Mr. A.

Frederick Foswell, a reporter for the Daily Bugle, led a double life behind a mask as The Big Man, head of New York's crime and the boss of the notorious Enforcers. Although he did not possess any actual superpowers, he was a slippery opponent. However, Spider-Man eventually revealed his identity and brought him in. This being a 180 from Mr. A and The Question as his character donned in familiar Fedora hat and over-coat coupled with being an Investigative Reporter was instead the bad guy. Continues the trend of Ditko characters with the letter K in the name.

Influence

• Both Steve Ditko and Mr. A are referenced in the song "New Broom" by British band XTC, on the album Take Away/The Lure of Salvage: "Mr. Ditko was right / Mr. A so near".
• Famed comics creator Alan Moore was once a member of a band called The Emperors of Ice Cream (a name derived from the poem by Wallace Stevens) which performed a Moore-penned song entitled "Mr. A.", criticizing Steve Ditko's political ideology.^[1] The song is written to the tune of The Velvet Underground's song "Sister Ray".
• The Watchmen character Rorschach has been compared to Mr. A. Watchmen writer Alan Moore has related a story about an acquaintance (not specified who) who said he asked Ditko about whether he was familiar with Rorschach. Reportedly, Ditko acknowledged, describing Rorschach as being "like Mr. A except insane".^[1]
• Q from Street Fighter III: Third Strike resembles Mr. A, and has a "Q" for "question". ^[2]
• The song "Goodbye Mr. A" by the band "The Hoosiers" is likely referring to the superhero, Mr. A, especially since the song's music video features a superhero named Mr. A.

Publication history

• "Mr. A." (5 pages) (witzend #3, 1967)
• "Mr. A." (10 pages) (witzend #4, 1968)
• Eon #3 zine by Gustaveson (1968/9) back cover Mr. A by Steve Ditko
• "Middle of the Road?" (5 pages) (Graphic Illusions #1, 1971) (Considered Eon #4)
  • Also 2 color back cover of Graphic Illusions #1 Mr. A. by Steve Ditko (Summer 1971)

See also Guts, the Magazine with Intestinal Fortitude.

• • Above reprinted in The Ditko Collection #1, by Fantagraphics without permission 2/85
• "When Is A Man To Be Judged Evil?" (6 pages) (THE COLLECTOR #26, Sum/72)
• wrap-around cover to THE COLLECTOR #26, Sum/72
• "What Happens To A Man When He Refuses To Uphold The Good" (8 pages) (COMIC CRUSADER #6, Sum/69 and #7, Fal/69)
• "Mr. A. : Chapterplay" (8 pages) (COMIC CRUSADER #13, 1972)
• "Right to Kill" (9 pages)
  • Above published as Mr. A. #1 by Comic Art Publishers, 1973
  • Above reprinted in The Ditko Collection #1, by Fantagraphics 2/85

• "Count Rogue" (16 pages)
• "Brotherhood Of The Collective" (16 pages)
  • Above published in Mr. A. #2 by Bruce Hershenson, 1975 (labelled "D.4" on the cover, other 2 were the Ditko comics Avenging World and Wha!?! published by Hershenson)
• "Death vs. Love-Song" (10 pages) (COMIC CRUSADER STORYBOOK, 1978)
  • Above reprinted in The Ditko Collection #2, by Fantagraphics 8/86

[Bruce Hershenson promoted "Mr. A. vs. the Polluters" on the backcover of #2, but it never appeared. A new series was advertised by Mort Todd's AAA around 1991 but never published and only a few images have been seen publicly, in addition to a sticker set and a t-shirt]

• "Mr. A. Faces The Knifer" (30 pages). (Steve Ditko's 176-Page, Heroes Package, Robin Snyder & Steve Ditko, 2000)
• "Mr. A." (8 pages) (DITKO CONTINUED, Robin Snyder & Steve Ditko, 2009 and OH, NO! NOT AGAIN, DITKO!, Robin Snyder & Steve Ditko, 2009)

A new edition of the 1973 Mr. A. #1 comic was published by Snyder and Ditko in late 2009 (dated January 2010). This edition has all the story contents of the original, though with a different story order, the covers and centerfold printed in black and white and the splash page to "Right to Kill!" restored to Ditko's original intent.

In addition, Ditko drew numerous single page Mr. A images for fanzines in the 1960s and 1970s.

References

1. ^ ^{a b} In Search of Steve Ditko. BBC. 2007.
2. ^ http://streetfighter.wikia.com/wiki/Q

Bibliography

• Mr. A, part 1 Dial B For Blog #296.
• Mr. A, part 2 Dial B For Blog #297.
• Mr. A, part 3 Dial B For Blog #298.
• Comics Book DB Character page
• Steve Ditko's Mr. A - The Question / Vic Sage Site