DICK TRACY #3 – New Comic Review

DICK TRACY #3, by Mad Cave Studios on 7/24/24, opens Dick Tracy’s eyes to the threat of a potential gang war, thanks to a new player who may have a mole inside the police force.

Credits:

• Writer: Alex Segura, Michael Moreci
• Artist: Geraldo Borges
• Colorist: Mark Englert
• Letterer: Jim Campbell
• Cover Artist: Geraldo Borges, Mark Englert
• Publisher: Mad Cave Studios
• Release Date: July 24, 2024
• Comic Rating: Teen
• Cover Price: $4.99
• Page Count: 34
• Format: Single Issue

Covers:

No Caption

No Caption

Analysis of DICK TRACY #3:

First Impressions:

Alex Segura and Michael Moreci expand the number of Tracy’s rogues gallery cameos and broaden the potential conspiracy connected to Tess Trueheart’s father’s death. That said, the complexity of the conspiracy frequently dips into confusion in an issue that’s interesting but tries to do too much.

Plot Analysis:

When last we left Dick Tracy in issue #2, readers were introduced to Pat Patton, a hard-nosed civilian determined to find out how his brother died while working in one of Pruneface’s “legitimate” operations. The issue ended with Patton joining forces with Tracy and Trueheart. Meanwhile, Flattop ventilated Mumbles before he could divulge more secrets while in a police safehouse.

In Dick Tracy #3, our heroes stake out another Pruneface warehouse operation managed by Itchy. Pat witnessed several drug shipments come in and out of the building, so Tracy deputized Patton and arranged for a police raid on the building. When Patton gives Tracy the backstory on the scars Pruneface earned in the war, Tracy’s traumatic memories of the war, including unpleasant run-ins with Flattop, come flooding back.

Segura and Moreci use the first act of this issue to lay out how men returning from WWII, regardless of what side of the lay they’re on, all have traumas and scars they bear. Sometimes those scars are psychological instead of physical, but nobody returns unaffected. Arguably, Moreci and Segura slather on the “everyone in this comic is damaged by war” aspects a bit thick, resulting in character development that’s meant to be defining but winds up as distracting.

Tracy, Pat, and a police squad raid the warehouse while Tess is sent to interrogate Mumbles for more information. The raid is a failure when the police only find everyday construction materials. Before everyone departs, Shoulders shows up with armed men and opens fire as payback to Pruneface’s men for the attack on Lips Manlis in the previous issue. When Tess arrives at the police safehouse, she finds Mumbles dead.

The tangled web of misdirection and double-crosses starts to get thick at this point. Because there are so many characters and competing forces on the move, it took a bit of research and scrutiny to recall who Shoulders works for and why he would open fire on a crowd of police and Pruneface’s men. A mystery surrounding a conspiracy needs to have a few red herrings to keep readers on their toes, but the mystery is going in so many different directions, that it’s hard to keep track.

Later, everyone converges on the police station to regroup. Suddenly, the police chief tells Tracy that two small-time crooks were arrested for the shooting at the Green Eye Diner where Tess’s father was killed. The arrest doesn’t add up. When you add up the pieces of Mumbles’s death, the botched raid, the arrest of two men for a crime outside their league, and the brewing war between Prunecface and Lips Manlis, Tracy is forced to conclude a new player is working behind the scenes and has men in the police force.

Despite the volume of confusing parts, the scene at the police station brings stronger focus back to Dick Tracy and his allies as they chart a new path under the assumption that they can’t trust anyone.

The issue concludes with a new plan, a new victim for Flattop.

Overall, the issue starts rough but ends on a high note. It’s clear Moreci and Segura are attempting to bring in as many Dick Tracy characters as possible while reshaping Dick Tracy’s comic strip adventures into a hard-boiled detective story. That said, the conspiracy may be too complex for its own good when subplots about the war, red herrings, and cameos frequently rob focus from the issue.

Artwork and Presentation:

Geraldo Borges’s artwork is solid on the whole. Borges masterfully uses deep shadows and cinematic camera angles to play up the detective noir tone of the story. That said, the same criticism brought up in the reviews of the previous issues still applies. Borges loses the distinctive flair and personality of a Dick Tracy story by forgoing the exaggerated character designs in favor of a more grounded appearance. Visually, the story is a grim detective story, but it lacks the distinctive Dick Tracy style.

Art Samples:

No Caption

No Caption

No Caption

Final Thoughts:

(Click this link 👇 to order this comic)

DICK TRACY #3 increases the scale and complexity of a criminal conspiracy that threatens to set off a citywide gang war. Segura and Moreci pull out all the stops to give Dick Tracy a case that he can’t handle alone, and Borges’s artwork successfully leans into the detective noir aesthetic. That said, the script tries to do too much in too few pages, and the grounded artwork loses almost all trace of that quintessential Dick Tracy style.

As an Amazon Associate, we earn revenue from qualifying purchases to help fund this site. Links to Blu-Rays, DVDs, Books, Movies, and more contained in this article are affiliate links. Please consider purchasing if you find something interesting, and thank you for your support.