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THE CALL OF DUTY: THE PRECINCT #3
Neutral (3/10)
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Marvel Comics
Writer: Bruce Jones
Artist: Tom Mandrake
Colors: Transparency Digital
Letters: Randy Gentile
Editor: Ralph Macchio
Price: $2.25 US/$3.75 CAN |
I was hoping that with a return to an urban setting, this story would strengthen and begin to focus on a realistic portrayal of life as a cop. Instead, Jones offers up a forced melodrama that's a hard pill to swallow, and the storytelling is scattered. Mandrake's art is as strong as ever, but it doesn't seem suited to this material, as his exaggerated, stylistic approach is a poor match for the supposedly down-to-earth tone of the characters and plot.
Gunz returns to work, just days from his promotion to the rank -- and duties -- of detective, and he sets out to keep Checkers from making another attempt on his life and the lives of his loved ones. Meanwhile, while he's busy with that dangerous task, he asks his wife, Matty, to check in on his brother Joey, despite the fact that she fears he's in love with her, right at a time when their marriage is at its shakiest.
Mandrake's most important contribution here is the dark, mature and foreboding atmosphere he brings to the story. His inky, fluid style brings the streets of New York and the action of the showdown in Checkers's penthouse to life. I never noticed it before, but here, I see a strong Dick Giordano influence in his work as well. Mandrake a job job of the visuals overall, but again, I think his stuff fits better with more extreme characters and circumstances.
There are awkward moments in the script that just don't make all that much sense. Why is Matty so surprised to learn that Joey has left the priesthood when Gunz sent her to see him because he was thinking of leaving the priesthood? Why is Gunz so incredibly dismissive of Matty's concerns about Joey's feelings for her? What is driving Gunz here? The mystery of the ghostly little girl? Concern for his loved ones? I was left scratching my head a number of times as I read this issue.
Ultimately, though, I think the problem with this series is that I honestly don't know what the core story is. Is it about Gunz's determination to stop Checkers and his dealings at the Knox Building? Is it about the love triangle that's forming among him, his wife and his brother? Or is it about the ghostly little girl who's warning of a coming tragedy? In the end, these plotlines are in conflict, vying for the reader's attention, and they all end up failing.
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