REVIEW: Dick Tracy #3

Noir Art

The first thing that jumps out at me about Dick Tracy #3 is Geraldo Borges’s amazing art and Mark Englert’s vibrant colours. The detective drama feel of old films and murder mystery comics is alive and well with the use of heavy shadowing to shade faces, obscure details, and highlight facial features; the palette of the book dances between heavy blacks and sharp colours to capture a noir feel despite not being rendered in black and white like the traditional detective films.

Some of the more detailed panels could make great crime covers themselves, such as page twelve depicting a car crashing into a warehouse with a line of mobsters lighting up the night with machinegun fire, lead goon chomping on his cigarette with an imposing scowl. The overall quality of the art is superb, really bringing Alex Segura and Michael Moreci’s script to life.

Narrative Noir

I don’t know much about Dick Tracy. I had some cassette tapes as a kid that I can’t recall much of other than Dick’s bright yellow coat on the cover and the hilarious Angry Video Game Nerd‘s review of the NES game that he tore to shreds due to the poor quality of movie licensed Nintendo games at the time. So, while I don’t have a huge knowledge of the character, this book did confirm my suspicions that he plays into the noir detective trope, with the twist being he lacks the self-destructive and cynical nature of other twisted tale detectives depicted in popular culture.

In fact, instead of being a rebel freelancer like in most detective stories, he’s an established member of the police force, even answering to a Captain who is hiding details from him. This is a nice twist where a good cop is getting in trouble for being too good instead of the usual case where the hero goes off the rails, making dangerous decisions and chasing down a lead. The dialogue is full of that thirties to fifties mob and slang speak that rolls off the tongue with a simultaneous dated and timeless quality to it. The women are feisty, and the men and hard, and the bad guys are ruthless and cold, making for an effective well, rounded cast.

Mystery & Murder

This issue contains its fair share of thrilling action and intriguing plot points. The core conflict revolves around a man who lost a brother intent on busting the mob alongside Tracy. The two are on a stakeout watching a warehouse, ready to launch a raid to uncover their drug ring, but they find nothing but building materials. All the while, the mob boss in charge is playing coy, acting like he’s untouchable, and mere moments later, the scene is lit up by gunfire in an assault between the police and a second mob party declaring open war. Overall, I enjoyed my time with this authentic slice of detective noir that is executed on point in all aspects. If Dick Tracy is this fun, I wonder why we haven’t had any new movies since the nineties.

“A Hopeful detective is operating in a cold and dark noir setting; a fun twist on an old genre.”

FINAL SCORE

4/5 STARS

PUBLISHER: Mad Cave Studios
WRITER: Alex Segura and Michael Moreci
ARTIST: Geraldo Borges
COLORS: Mark Englert