Taking On Healthcare And The Mob In Dead Eyes #3

Dead Eyes just wanted to put on a mask, steal from the rich, and give to himself. But now his wife and his wheelman are in the hospital, and the mafia is closing in. This issue contains ALL-NEW MATERIAL!
Martin Dobbs can’t catch a break. In Dead Eyes #3, Dobbs is settling up with the hospital, in ill-gotten cash, for his wife’s complex (read expensive) care. He also decides to pop in on Wheels to see how his favorite driver is healing up. Bad news on that front. Mafia made the connection between Dead Eyes’ latest heist, and the banged up chauffeur lying helpless in hospital. They want their cash back. Dobbs doesn’t have it, and he’s dangerously close to being made.

In addition to some especially creative and violent action sequences, Gerry Duggan writes some beautiful relationship moments in the third installment of this vigilante/mafia/stick-up book.
It’s abundantly clear why Dobbs hung up the mask in the first place, and why he put the blasted thing back on after his lengthy retirement. Deb is his world. She wanted him to hang it up. No question. Done. But then her exacerbation required he get back on it. Again, it’s a no-brainer.

I love the art of Dead Eyes. John McCrea’s action sequences are something else. What does it look like when a goon who’s high on nitrous gets kicked in the stones? That one facial contortion shows both the euphoric effects of the drug, and the excruciating pain of blunt testicular trauma, right before half the guy’s teeth are laid out across the floor with a little help from an oxygen tank. Hospitals are fun places to stage fights.
Everything about hospital lighting is odd. The light is harsh and artificial. Somehow, hospital darkness even feels hollow and forced. Mike Spicer nails the lighting, with the weird hospital shadows and too bright flourescents.

This is the first chapter of Dead Eyes with new material. The previous two installments were reissues of Dead Rabbit #1 and #2, with “Dead Rabbit” scrubbed and replaced with “Dead Eyes.” That whole copyright issue is finally in the rear view, and now we get to see where Duggan and Co. are taking this thing.
Dead Eyes is a violent, pulpy noir that leans heavily into mafia and antihero tropes, sure. It’s also a love story, and a buddy picture. Things have taken a turn, and we’re probably headed further South before it evens back out. If you’re looking for an intense, character driven series, this one’ll do. (Buy this book.)

Dead Eyes #3, Image Comics, 04 December 2019. Written by Gerry Duggan, art by John McCrea, color by Mike Spicer, letters by Joe Sabino, edited by Will Dennis, covers by John McCrea & Gerardo Zaffino, logo by Drew Gill.