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ACW #605 – Wild Dog



Action Comics Weekly #605 (Wild Dog)
“Moral Stand, Chapter Five: Sleeping Dogs Lie…”
Writer – Max Collins
Pencils – Terry Beatty
Letters – Gaspar
Colors – Michele Wolfman
Editor – Mike Gold

Waitasec… a Wild Dog chapter?  Thought he died last week?






We open with the Moral Militia standing over what they assume to be Wild Dog’s corpse.  Turns out, however, he’s still got some fight in him after all.  They look over at the crispy critter who was their third member… before the Dog fills them all full’a lead!  Like for real… he just unloads right in their faces!




Wild Dog pulls himself up and checks in with the Trucker with the Weird Beard.  The flat-ironed Terry Long is shocked to see his attackers dead on the ground… Wild Dog basically tells him to “roll with it”, and also to “roll on outta here”, because there are likely more baddies on their way.  Speaking of which… at that very moment, Dr. Layman is wondering where “Unit A” might be.




We shift ahead, and the Trucker is talking to Lt. Flint about what he’d just experienced.  Together, they head back to the scene of the crime, where they find some blood spatters and shell casings… but, no bodies.  Flint knows he’s gotta check in with his buddy, Jack about all this mess.




Wheeler clarifies for Andy that he didn’t take the bodies, and it was likely Layman attempting to cover his tracks.  He also insists that he didn’t fire the first shot… which, I suppose makes it all seem like self-defense, dunnit?  Jack tells Andy that he knew about the attempted hijack because he planted a bug in Layman’s living room… which is prrrrretty sneaky.




Andy’s still ticked off… which, I mean… I dig this character, and his repartee with Jack… but this wishy-washy attitude is really beginning to grate on me.  Seems it’s bugging Wheeler too, as he snaps back at Flint to stop being so emotional and start acting like a Detective again.  He then shows him an ad running in Soldier For Glory magazine, which features the Legion of Morality’s logo… and a call to arms!




This ad also featured a Washington, D.C. address… just like the Legion of Morality.  Flint realizes he’s going to have to call in a favor with another buddy (and the fourth of our “potential Wild Dogs” from the miniseries), Graham Gault of the I.S.A.!




We wrap up with Jack Wheeler meeting with Layman in a back alley… where he is instructed to refer to him as “Commander”.  Layman reads off Jack’s military accomplishments, and welcomes him to the team.  It’s time to train, because there is something big on the horizon for the Legion!






Another good time with the Dog!


During the synopsis I mentioned being tired of Lt. Flint’s mood swings.  He goes from “unleashing” Wild Dog to regretting it over and over again… I mean, I get that it’s not exactly a black-and-white situation, but… c’mon, pick a lane, buddy.  Genies very seldom go back in the bottle.


Jack proves himself a more well-rounded strategist this time out.  He plants a bug in Layman’s place (which sorta makes Legion of Morality security seem a bit lacking), and also takes special note of the “call to arms” in the Soldier of Glory mag.  This makes him more than just a “weapon” to be pointed, and adds a fair amount of depth to the character.  Really like that.


I also liked the reintroduction of our final “potential Wild Dog” from the mini, Graham Gault.  I was wondering if he’d ever show up again.  In fact, I actually looked at the miniseries again a couple weeks back, just to make sure he didn’t die during it!


Overall… we’re now at the halfway point of our first Wild Dog feature, and I feel like this has been very well done, in both storytelling and pacing.  Art is still solid, with the Dog looking less like a poorly articulated action figure than he did back in the mini!


Tomorrow: Superman… recaps the previous eight pages?!  That can’t be right…

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