Dick Tracy was always one of those IPs that in the back of my mind I was interested in. It’s a 1940 detective with a slew of gadgets to play with and a brilliant mind for solving cases, sounds like a series I would like. I never got around to reading any of his titles or seeing the movies that was made back in 1990. When it came up I always thought it was something I should dig deeper into. Fast forward to about 4 months ago when Mad Cave Studios came out and said they were introducing a line of IP driven comics that included a new ongoing Dick Tracy title. Of course I was immediately on board with checking the first issue out, and thankfully Mad Cave was nice enough to send me an early copy for review.
The first thing that stood out to me about this issue was the brutality of the events. When we think back on this time we don’t tend to think of mass murder or gunning down civilians but that is how Dick Tracy opens up the first issue. Now that is about as far as I will go with any kind of spoiler, as I’ve seen the official preview pages and know that this is out in the world. The shocking intro is followed by events that are more typical of a classic detective story but take some turns along the way. When you read through Dick Tracy #1 you get a heavy dose of Detective scenes, mob violence, and introductions to characters that we will be seeing throughout the series, at least the first story arc.
Now with any comic when you start to read the story it is always the art that makes it’s first impression on you. For any kind of crime/noir or detective story the art needs to add some ambience to the world, and be able to shift on a dime. For this I want to shout out Mark Englart’s work on this title. You can see how he uses the colors throughout to impact how you perceive the moment. During a scene of mass carnage he turns the world a dark red that adds to the impact of what’s happening. When the next day comes and the detectives are on the scene we switch to a clear lighting as people go to work, and later during a knight scene black and dark blue that give us a feeling of bad things about to happen.
While Mark’s work shines most in the issue it is an extension of Geraldo Borges’ fantastic line work. Each panel has it’s own feel, and throughout the title we see characters moods shift as the events unfold. Some panels will show a character with clean lines as they are introduced in bright light, then later more intricate lines and emotions to give the read a feel for the moment. The team all around in this issue delivered some top of the industry work.
But what about the story? We were told that this was “not your father’s Dick Tracy”, and well I can’t comment too much on that as I am a newbie to the IP. I will say the issue follows a very good detective story arc that introduces all the characters, leaving plenty of mystery for you to come back for, and shows us a world post World War 2 that seems to still have plenty of violence left in it. My only problem with the first issue is where are all those wonderful toys I was told about? That really is a me problem as I’m sure that Alex Segura and Michael Moreci were using their time in this issue to really suck us into the world of Dick Tracy. I can say for sure that it worked on me.
All of these pieces together, along with great lettering and sound effects from Jim Campbell, create a first issue of a comic series that did what it needed to do. I will be back for issue 2 without a doubt, and feel that everyone out there should put aside any bias they may have of the character and give it a try. My recommendation is for everyone to pick up the first issue for themselves, but if you are a fan a crime comics like myself I’d say it is a must buy!
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Comic Review!: Dick Tracy #1
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Writers-Alex Seguar & Michael Moreci
Artist-Geraldo Borges
Creative Consultant-Chantelle Aimee Osman
Colorist-Mark Englert
Letterer-Jim Campbell
Editor-Chas! Pangburn
Dick Tracy was always one of those IPs that in the back of my mind I was interested in. It’s a 1940 detective with a slew of gadgets to play with and a brilliant mind for solving cases, sounds like a series I would like. I never got around to reading any of his titles or seeing the movies that was made back in 1990. When it came up I always thought it was something I should dig deeper into. Fast forward to about 4 months ago when Mad Cave Studios came out and said they were introducing a line of IP driven comics that included a new ongoing Dick Tracy title. Of course I was immediately on board with checking the first issue out, and thankfully Mad Cave was nice enough to send me an early copy for review.
The first thing that stood out to me about this issue was the brutality of the events. When we think back on this time we don’t tend to think of mass murder or gunning down civilians but that is how Dick Tracy opens up the first issue. Now that is about as far as I will go with any kind of spoiler, as I’ve seen the official preview pages and know that this is out in the world. The shocking intro is followed by events that are more typical of a classic detective story but take some turns along the way. When you read through Dick Tracy #1 you get a heavy dose of Detective scenes, mob violence, and introductions to characters that we will be seeing throughout the series, at least the first story arc.
Now with any comic when you start to read the story it is always the art that makes it’s first impression on you. For any kind of crime/noir or detective story the art needs to add some ambience to the world, and be able to shift on a dime. For this I want to shout out Mark Englart’s work on this title. You can see how he uses the colors throughout to impact how you perceive the moment. During a scene of mass carnage he turns the world a dark red that adds to the impact of what’s happening. When the next day comes and the detectives are on the scene we switch to a clear lighting as people go to work, and later during a knight scene black and dark blue that give us a feeling of bad things about to happen.
While Mark’s work shines most in the issue it is an extension of Geraldo Borges’ fantastic line work. Each panel has it’s own feel, and throughout the title we see characters moods shift as the events unfold. Some panels will show a character with clean lines as they are introduced in bright light, then later more intricate lines and emotions to give the read a feel for the moment. The team all around in this issue delivered some top of the industry work.
But what about the story? We were told that this was “not your father’s Dick Tracy”, and well I can’t comment too much on that as I am a newbie to the IP. I will say the issue follows a very good detective story arc that introduces all the characters, leaving plenty of mystery for you to come back for, and shows us a world post World War 2 that seems to still have plenty of violence left in it. My only problem with the first issue is where are all those wonderful toys I was told about? That really is a me problem as I’m sure that Alex Segura and Michael Moreci were using their time in this issue to really suck us into the world of Dick Tracy. I can say for sure that it worked on me.
All of these pieces together, along with great lettering and sound effects from Jim Campbell, create a first issue of a comic series that did what it needed to do. I will be back for issue 2 without a doubt, and feel that everyone out there should put aside any bias they may have of the character and give it a try. My recommendation is for everyone to pick up the first issue for themselves, but if you are a fan a crime comics like myself I’d say it is a must buy!
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