RENEE MONTOYA'S NOTEBOOK FOUND?

[MattBrady]

Earlier today, Caleb pointed out how the Marvel Atlas #1 reads like (with a few tweaks) an artifact from the Marvel Universe that one might expect to find in the library of Midtown High while Mr. Parker is mysterious absent from his classroom, and Spider-Man just happens to be fighting the Sandman on the basketball court.

And you know, Grant Morrison has always made a case for the walls separating “our” universe from the “fictional” one of our imagination being, if not thin, remarkably easily moved through. Sometimes – just sometimes maybe…something comes out.

Such may be the case (or hey, it may just be along the lines of J.K. Rowling’s The Tales of Beedle the Bard , but we’re not questioning) with a notebook that was delivered via FedEx to the Newsarama office Tuesday. There was no return address on the mailer – only a city – Portland, OR. A stamp inside the front cover reads simply: “Property of R. Montoya.”

That would, of course be Renee Montoya, former Gotham City Detective, currently the Question, and currently, starring in 52 Aftermath: Crime Bible – Five Lessons of Blood from DC Comics.

The notebook is well-used – dozens of pages are filled with handwritten notes from Montoya’s investigation into the Dark Faith behind the Crime Bible, while it’s also stuffed to overflowing with other items from her investigation including:

- a page from a 1938 translation of the Crime Bible by Professor Malcolm Fitzgerald, University of Metropolis, with Renee’s handwritten notes about discovering a key for a cipher at the bottom. Most likely, the cipher is related to the code that serves as the border for the first page of Crime Bible #1 - which itself reprints a page from the Bible.

- on the back of the Crime Bible page...a collection of symbols important to the Dark faith, as well as a mockup of the “Magical Knife” used in ceremonies and sacrifices.



- what appears to be a security photo of The Question.



- a concert poster for the band “Darkseid’s Bitch” – what you’d think was a fictional band, but has, as it turns out, their own MySpace page. Their page has a Japanese bootleg of “Ashes All Fall Down,” with a message from the creator of the page which reads:

This is not an official band site. I decided to start a MySpace page for DB after I heard that their record label might finally be putting out the last album they recorded before Serration died and the band broke up. The band had offered pre-master MP3s from the album for free on their website, but it came out right before Serration died, and if you didn't get it in that month that it was on the site, you were S.O.L. because the site shut down. I got a Japanese bootleg of the pre-mixed versions of songs from the album off of E-Bay, and I thought that if there were other people like me who didn't get to download the album, that I could rip the songs and put them up on here. Or, I think you can get them from Soulseek or something, but my school has torrents and file sharing programs blocked. DB is my favorite band of all time. They were the first album that I bought when I was in junior high school, and they were the first band that I saw play live, . I was there in the front of the pit when they sprayed blood everywhere. I was like 13 or something, and freaked out when the cops busted up the show. Anyway, RIP Serration. Though your candle has been extinguished, your light still shines on. (According to the notebook, “Mintassa” died on August 5th, and the “tour was suspended.”

- A hand-written lyrics sheet for “Ashes All Fall Down,” written on stationary from Hotel Monarch in Coast City by singer/guitarist Serration.

- A ticket for a Coast City concert for Darkseid’s Bitch



- A set list for Darkseid’s Bitch with notes by Montoya.

- A coroner’s report for Walter Mintassa, aka “Serration”, who died due to an overdose

- A toe tag for Walter Mintassa



- Two shell casings from handgun ammunition.

- A small envelope with what appear to be pills – Renee’s notes suggest that there are discrepancies in regards to the cause of death: “Was he shot or did he overdose?” Montoya’s notes suggest dissention in the band.

- An airline ticket for Renee Montoya on Ferris Global Airways (with notes that Renee went to Barcelona)



- A picture of the Dark Faith’s Barcelona HQ

- An entry after a fight with drops of what appear to be blood

- A clipping from the Gotham Gazette highlighting a fire in a hotel in Barcelona.

- A telegram from “Tot” Rodor



- A screen grab of a chat between “???” and “Thinking Man” i.e. Renee and Tot.

All told, it’s…well, creepy, both given its realism and the amount of work that went into it. Oddly, and deepening the mystery, at least one other copy of the notebook has surfaced and is currently in the possession of Douglas Wolk.

Oddly, there seem to be inconsistencies between some of the information contained in the two notebooks.

Developing…

52 Aftermath: Crime Bible – Five Lessons of Blood #2 – “Lust” hit comic shops this week from DC.

[Brian Langlois]

That is pretty freaking awesome!

[Blackbeard]

Advertising genius. Whoever put this together should get a big fat raise.

[OG_vg_warrio]

is this viral marketing for a Question movie from warner bros?

Or did Grant Morrison have five minutes of free time?

[TellarHK]

Rucka and his conspirators are frigging geniuses. I just can't get over how cool this is, just like Gideon II.

[dantebk]

All these elaborate alternate marketing things (like Lost's "alternate reality games" they sometimes do) are neat, but when you think about the time and thought and expense put into them vs. the amount of people who will ever see them... it seems silly.

For the few journalists and comics notables who get these package, it's like awesome day in fun other universe land, but for us merely reading about it, they'd get just as much of our mindshare if they'd done an interview about The Question or something.

[Jake1823]

Come to Comicbloc for more. Rucka's forums are pretty cool stuff, and we're playing the game there.

[Spy_Smasher]

You know what ... very cool.

[vbartilucci]

I say put it up for auction to raise money for the Hero initiative.

Coolest little campaign since the gideonII website put up by mysterious individuals that track back to the writers

[New Warrior]

This is pretty cool. Strange... but cool. Props to whomever came up with this idea.

[ultraaman]

Originally Posted by vbartilucci

I say put it up for auction to raise money for the Hero initiative.

Coolest little campaign since the gideonII website put up by mysterious individuals that track back to the writers

That is a freaking AWESOME idea!!

[NoFace]

Guess what turned up on my doorstep?

That's right...another copy. Two copies actually.

http://www.vicsage.com/wp/montoyas-journal/

I'll be adding more scans throughout the evening.

[LEMargolis]

Hope the story is as interesting as the PR

[J.M.De la Torre]

WOW! I'll only say three words:

TLÖN, UQBAR, ORBIS TERTIUS.

...'kay. It's FOUR words.

[RonnieThunderbolts]

Originally Posted by OG_vg_warrio

is this viral marketing for a Question movie from warner bros?

Or did Grant Morrison have five minutes of free time?

This is about the Crime Bible, it is marketing for that, clearly. Also, since Greg Rucka is writing the mini, and the package came from Portland, Oregon, of COURSE this must be Scottish author Grant Morrison's handiwork, because that makes ANY sense. *sarcasm off*

[FlyCoJoe]

Anyone in the Concord CA area that'd like to see this curious notebook (with artifacts) first-hand, it's here at:

Flying Colors Comics & Other Cool Stuff
2980 Treat Blvd (at Oak Grove Rd)
Concord CA

Like the saying goes--- "We've got your cool stuff right here in Flying Colors!"

Joe Field
http://FlyingColorsComics.com

[ziza9]

That's pretty cool. Reminds me of all the cool stuff that helped create the Blair Witch "reality." Darkseid's Bitch.......nice.

[Mezzrow]

Originally Posted by dantebk

All these elaborate alternate marketing things (like Lost's "alternate reality games" they sometimes do) are neat, but when you think about the time and thought and expense put into them vs. the amount of people who will ever see them... it seems silly.

For the few journalists and comics notables who get these package, it's like awesome day in fun other universe land, but for us merely reading about it, they'd get just as much of our mindshare if they'd done an interview about The Question or something.

i disagree. with both sentiments. it's not silly to the people who got to enjoy it. and reading about the experience was almost as good. it's good marketing for those who prefer some subtlety as opposed to a blunt object.

i appreciate the creativity and effort.

[E Rock]

Any one notice that if you look at the friends section on Darkseid's Bitch's web site, The Question is one of their friends, and her picture is the security photo... and the profile is set to private? wonder if their are some clues there...

[JLAJRC]

Is this supposed to be another puzzle/riddle/mystery thing we're supposed to solve, like WWE's recent SAVEUS:Y2J code thing or x-entertainment.com current December 23 box mystery? If so, cool. We all need a little mystery in our lives.

Has the Riddler hijacked the web?

[AC Rempt]

First of all, that photo makes me very happy. She looks great!

DC has to let Rucka do a Question series. Montoya is one of the most genuine and intelligent and moving characters in comics (if you haven't read Gotham Central, you have to!)

And Question fans, don't forget the first TPB collection of the Denny O'Neil/Denys Cowan run is out! Buy tons of them, so they'll finish the series!

[President Kang]

All online reality games end the same: "Buy the (insert product here)"

[The Mirrorball Man]

Originally Posted by J.M.De la Torre

WOW! I'll only say three words:

TLÖN, UQBAR, ORBIS TERTIUS.

...'kay. It's FOUR words.

None of which are nouns.

[DDX99]

Originally Posted by President Kang

All online reality games end the same: "Buy the (insert product here)"

I don't know, this has the feeling of something bigger in scope. Sure, on one level its an awesome marketing tool, BUT, what if it were an attempt to bring the DCU to life?

Maybe I've read the invisibles too much, but if more items like these start popping up, how do we really know what if the fake marketing tool and the authentic?

[Kent Horton]

This is pretty cool.

And I've enjoyed the Crime Bible mini so far. I'd love a Renee ongoing by Rucka.