I picked up this three-issue mini-series recently for two reasons: (1) back in the day Eclipse Comics put out some pretty good titles (after all, they were the first ones to publish
Ms. Tree); and (2) it is written by Chuck Dixon, who has written some great comics over the years (including
Evangeline and the initial
Birds of Prey stories for DC). Therefore, I figured this had to have two things going for it right off the bat! Plus, it was only three issues, at less than $2 per issue, so I figured even if it weren't the greatest comic ever written, I wouldn't be out much money. Now, having read it, I'd have to say I'm on the fence...
Mad Dogs is the tale of former police officers (and one former sheriff) who no longer serve due to their inability to adhere to the rules, their brutality, their fatal tactics, and their refusal to place procedure above justice. They have tried to settle into civilian life as much as possible, but when an Assistant District Attorney comes to Guy Brennan and offers him a chance to create a team of covert operatives that would operate outside the standard police force in an effort to clean up the city, Brennan jumps at the chance – as do the men and one woman that he chooses as a part of his “mad dog” team.
While the covers are full color, the interior pages are black and white, which probably works better for this story of urban violence and corruption. The art, by Victor Toppi, is in a lot of places a bit rough, and his faces sometimes come across rather cartoonish and comical. At this point in his career, he was clearly not proficient with facial expressions. I am unfamiliar with Toppi, and don’t believe I have ever seen any work by him before or after this series. Yet, despite his less-than-stellar faces, he does a pretty good job with the backgrounds and shadows, which set the mood for the story more often than not.
Dixon’s story focuses on the team trying to take down a drug dealer who is working overtime to take over the entire trade in the area, creating turf wars and fights with the local mobsters. The entire first issue is devoted to Brennan assembling his team, with each member getting a flashback “origin” story as to what they did that resulted in their removal from the force. In each instance, they sought justice, but the means they utilized were definitely not within the confines of the law. Dixon’s use of flashbacks and action sequences to introduce the characters, rather than extensive dialogue, draws the reader in and gives you a sense of who these people are – they aren’t necessarily bad cops, and in nearly all of the cases, their action appears justified. But it is rather surprising (for the time) that Dixon would devote the entire first issue to introducing the characters, with very little space given to the actual story that will encompass the next two issues. (Of course, that one issue is nothing compared to today’s stories – if this same comic were published today, it would likely be a 12-issue series, with one entire issue devoted to each of the character’s backstory…)
Once we get into the meat of the story with the second issue, Dixon doesn’t hold anything back. Brennan and his mad dogs will stop at nothing to bring down the drug dealer – and from this point forward, it is a standard tough-cops-versus-bad-guys story, with plenty of shooting, fighting, roughing-up, and even a couple of deaths – without giving away too much, not every member of the mad dog team makes it out of this mini-series alive. Dixon uses a number of storytelling clichés, as well as some typical stereotypes (this was the early ‘90s, so the whole politically correct phase hadn’t even begun yet), but they don’t overpower the story, and ultimately, the 3-issues are a fairly interesting read. Definitely not your standard superhero fare that was being vomited out by everyone and their kid brother back in the late ‘80s and early ‘90s, so in that aspect, it offers a somewhat fresh read.
Whether I would recommend this to other comic book fans, well, let’s say that if you love movies with the hard-nosed ex-cop who’s trying to redeem himself, then you’ll no doubt like this comic; otherwise, I’d probably say this one is a pass…
RATING: 5 two-bedroom condos on Locust out of 10 for experimenting with a different type of comic at a time when superheroes were all the rage!
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