Comic Book Review - Dick Tracy #3

Gang war looms as Dick Tracy faces a potential mole in the police force…

Mad Cave Studio’s reimagined Dick Tracy series has so far been a real hit. Alex Segura, Micheal Moreci, and the rest of the creative team have come together to create an  impeccable storytelling experience that’s wrapped up in a taught detective noir. Whether yYou’re a long-time fan, only watched the Warren Beattie movie, or you’re coming in blind, Dick Tracy has something for everyone. And if that isn’t a good thing, I don’t know what is.

Last time out and we were introduced to a new player in the form of Pat Patton. With Patton. Segura and Moreci wasted no time in filling us in on the hard-boiled civilians reasons for being in “The City”, which all involves his need in finding out the cause of his brother disappearance. Of course, with “The City” everything is connected to the mob and Patton’s sibling was last seen working for Pruneface. This then leads to Patton into teaming up with Dick Tracy and Tess Trueheart as the trio’s own investigations entwine. Meanwhile, Flattop’s attacks intensify as the mobster takes aim at crook - and police informant - Mumbles. 

For Dick Tracy #3 we’re thrown straight back into the thick of it as the trio run surveillance on a warehouse run by Itchy. Due to Patton’s own experience on this particular warehouse, he’s deputised by Tracy who’s also arranged for a raid on the premises. As they await their back-up Patton gives Tracy some backstory as to how Pruneface earned his name. This furthermore brings some unpleasant memories of Dick Tracy’s own experiences in the war to come bubbling to the surface. 

Meanwhile, Tess is sent to the police safe house to assist in Mumbles’ interrogation. Arriving on the scene she heads straight into trouble as she comes across the aftermath of the gang hit as seen in the previous issue. With the warehouse raid being a bust, and Mumbles murder happening in protective custody, Tracy deduces that someone has quite an investment in making the inevitable gang war happen. While this individual (or organisation) is still unclear, they have a mole inside the police force. 

Writing comes thick and fast as Moreci and Segura tackle the here and now whilst simultaneously building Dick Tracy’s own past. The opening flashback to the war is quite poignant as it shows how similar both Dick Tracy's and Pruneface’s experiences were, yet they’ve come out the other end entirely different people. It also shows that trauma can be both physical and mental. 

Back in the present and things do get a little convoluted when it comes to who’s on whose side. With quite the rogues gallery to choose from it was natural that we would see plenty of them in this comic. While it’s becoming more clear that Pruneface (for now) is the main antagonist for Tracy, the inclusion of this shadowy figure controlling it a set to add another layer to this swamp of characters. 

It’s not all bad though, the hints towards some corrupted elements within the police force do provide the writers a lot of room to hit us with misdirections and red herrings. I’m not entirely convinced that the Chief of Police is in on it, although Moreci and Segura are throwing a lot of hints. If anything my money would be on Patton, but that’s for another time…

Geraldo Borges’ artwork continues to shine as we get yet another issue packed full of solid artwork. Each scene has a certain cinematic quality as Borges utilises various ratios, view points, and angles to paint this detective noir. Action scenes also become a blistering display of bullets and gore as Borges - alongside colourist Mark Englert and letter Jim Campbell - use plenty of tricks to heighten the tension of each fight. 

Overall, Dick Tracy #3 continues to up the ante of a city on the eve of war. Segura and Moreci are crafting a superb hard-boiled detective story that certainly keeps you gripped from cover to cover. While this reimagining has lost the somewhat camp nature of the classic adventures, it’s made up for it with page after page of gorgeous artwork by Borges and Englert. 

With Lips Manlis and Pruneface gearing up for all-out war, and with Dick Tracy caught in the middle, will anyone come out of this unscathed? 

Rating: 8/10

Rob Lake - For more comic book and video game chat why not follow us on X/Facebook @GeekCultureRev, TikTok/YouTube @Geekculturereviews, and BlueSky @geekculturereviews.bsky.social