Dead Eyes # 2
Image Comics
Writer: Gerry Duggan
Artist: John McCrea & Mike Spicer
I had been a fan of this comic since it was originally released last year as Dead Rabbit so you can imagine I was quite disappointed when they announced its cancellation because of a trademark dispute relating to the title. But thankfully, after one year of impatiently waiting, it made its return to shelves last month so we can finally continue the story as intended.
Like the titular character himself, Dead Eyes moves at a pretty frantic pace. The lead (whose real name is Martin Dobbs) is constantly on the move, never staying in one place too long. While I don’t mind this too much, I do hope we get some variety in its speed soon. So far we haven’t had much downtime to settle down with the characters and get to know them a little more. In this issue, we do find out, however, that the reason why Martin originally gave up his life of crime was to be with his wife. And interestingly enough, the reason why he’s back to his old tricks is because of rising costs associated with her medical care. These two major life decisions to stop and continue in this lifestyle show just how much he loves her and that he will do whatever it takes for her.
We are also introduced to ‘Wheels’ (his real name is unknown so far) an old work colleague of Martin’s. We aren’t given much backstory about him yet but, as his name suggests, he was the getaway driver back in his heyday of crime. An interesting thing to note about this relationship is that even though they worked together, Wheels does not know Dead Eyes’ real identity. That we know of so far, his wife is the only one who does. In fact, judging from Wheels’ explicit reaction to Dead Eyes showing up at his doorstep, it is safe to assume that – up until now – they hadn’t spoken in decades.
John McCrea’s artwork does a great job of translating the series’ quick pace visually with interesting angles and sharp linework, and Mike Spicer’s dark color palette sets the appropriate noir-like mood throughout. The artwork reminds me a lot of that found in Tim Sale or Lee Weeks’ work on Batman. I also like how they switch between Martin’s regular dialogue (normal white bubbles) to those spoken from Dead Eyes’ perspective (black squares with the two red x’s on the upper left and right corners) to clearly differentiate between the two. Small details like this give it a really polished look.
In conclusion, I wouldn’t consider this comic to have a strong universal appeal for many, but for fans of crime dramas, I would definitely recommend checking out this series. Now that certain plot pieces have been established, it should get even better.
Dead Eyes #2
An entertaining read featuring great art and writing, all I can hope for is that it makes use of its full potential as it progresses.
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