By d. emerson eddy — In 2018, Image Comics had launched a new crime thriller about a thief who just up and disappeared one day, after supposedly making a big score. That book was called Dead Rabbit, and it was unfortunately cancelled due to problems with the trademark. Thankfully, it was tweaked and renamed, and for the past few months we've seen it returned as Dead Eyes. The first two issues are already on the stands, reprinting a slightly modified version of the first two installments of the first book. Here in Dead Eyes #3 is where the brand new material hits and, man, it was worth the wait.

Gerry Duggan, John McCrea, Mike Spicer, and Joe Sabino have created something unique out of the world of Dead Eyes, bringing humor and humanity to the sheer, brutal violence of this criminal world. It plays on the convention of a legendary criminal/hero coming out of retirement in order to do what they do best, like a John Wick, not because he's dragged back into it by the life itself, but because his wife gets sick. It's as much an exploration and condemnation of the horrible state of America's medical system as it is the ravages of age, specifically how the type of crime that Dead Eyes was once known for is more of a young man's game.

This issue gets heavier into the huge score that Dead Eyes is believed to have made, stealing from the mafia, before his retirement as goons are dispatched to “question” Dead Eyes' wheelman, who suffered an unfortunate accident the previous issue and is now in the hospital. It's a fairly straight forward set-up for a confrontation, but there's some fairly inventive take downs, furthering the character development for Martin Dobbs, as he's shown repeatedly making some good moral decisions for the people around him, even as he continues his violent ways as Dead Eyes. That heart is one of the more compelling elements of the series. It's very nicely put on display through Duggan's use of first person narration in Dobbs' voice. It gives us further insight into Dobbs' character and helps replicate some of that gritty noir patois.

The other thoroughly captivating element is the art from McCrea and Spicer. I swear that McCrea is doing some of the best art of his career on this series. He was always great, delivering beautiful dark and exaggerated artwork that fit the dark humor of books like The Demon and Hitman  or the moody and strange atmosphere of The Monarchy, but this is a different direction. It's dark and moody, yes, but it's restrained. Refined. The shadows and scratchy linework are perfect for this kind of visceral crime thriller. Especially as it results in some very nice silhouette work. The design on Dead Eyes himself continues to be haunting. 

McCrea is aided by Spicer's colors to really achieve that moody atmosphere. There's an interesting mottling effect that he's utilizing that yields a darker, hazy feel without the colors themselves always being dark. 

Sabino rounds out the creative team providing letters. His choice here looks like a smaller font than many other books, tighter word balloons. Part of that is certainly functional, since there are some sequences with a lot of dialogue, but it also appears to be a design choice overall.

Overall, Dead Eyes #3 continues a great crime thriller coming at the game from a different angle. Duggan, McCrea, Spicer, and Sabino give us a protagonist in Martin Dobbs that we care about, that we want to see succeed in order to help his wife, even as he's immersed in a world of crime and over-the-top violent acts.

Dead Eyes #3
Writer: Gerry Duggan
Artist: John McCrea
Colorist: Mike Spicer
Letterer: Joe Sabino
Publisher: Image Comics
Price: $3.99

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d. emerson eddy is a student and writer of things. He fell in love with comics during Moore, Bissette, & Totleben's run on Swamp Thing and it has been a torrid affair ever since. His madness typically manifests itself on Twitter @93418.