ACW #641 - Wild Dog

Action Comics Weekly #641 (Wild Dog)
"Crack Up, Chapter 6: Unfriendly Takeover!"
Writer - Max Collins
Pencils - Terry Beatty
Inks - John Nyberg
Colors - Carl Gafford
Letters - Tim Harkins
Editor - Brian Augustyn

Hey gang!  Today's the day!  The FINAL anthology chapter of Action Comics Weekly!  Looks like we'll be ending on a high note... and so, for the last time ever, lemme say T.G.I.W.: Thank Goodness it's Wild Dog!

--

We open in Chicago, where Wild Dog looks like he's on his way to a very important date.  It's funny, just like in our recent Speedy serial, our hero is out in broad daylight... in full costume!  The folks around him gawk a bit, but just assume he's out to promote a movie or something... cuz, ya know, hockey mask.  Meanwhile, there's a boardroom meeting going down at one of the biggest corporations in the city... and it looks as though business is going well.  Hmm, wonder what this might be all about...

Downstairs, Wild Dog enters into the lobby of their building... and informs the receptionist that he's there for an interview with WCKO Radio.  They have no problem letting him in, thinking he's just there to promote a movie... cuz, ya know, hockey mask.  As he hops into the elevator, we check back in with the bigwigs who, for whatever reason, are really bummed out about the crack/rock houses being busted up in the Quad Cities.  Hmm...

Well, ya see... this big corporation appears to have their hands in the cookie/crack jar, meaning if the operations keep getting busted up and burnt down, it affects their bottom line!  The bigwigs discuss cutting their losses with their "franchisees", and bringing the whole magilla back "in-house".  Just then, Wild Dog hops off the elevator.

Our hero whacks a couple of suits with his Halliburton...

... before setting it down, and retrieving some of his arsenal from it.

He then enters the board room, and informs them he's there to "collect" on a debt.  He talks about the unnecessary death of li'l Georgie Washington... and, well... empties his guns!

That's right, Wild Dog just murdered an entire boardroom full'a big wigs.  Our favorite reporter, Ms. Susan King refers to it as being the bloodiest day in Chicago since the St. Valentine's Day Massacre... and alludes to the fact that a certain hockey-masked individual was seen in the vicinity.

We wrap up back at the bar, where Lou and Andy tell Jack that he's officially "out of business" as Wild Dog.  If they ever see him in action again, they will come forward with all they know.  Jack's all "yeah, whatever... I'll hang it up... until you beg me to come back."

--

Ya know what?  I might be mistaken, but with this "review", I think I've covered every single Wild Dog story ever published here on the blog!  Sure, he's made a handful of guest-appearances in the years since, usually treated as a sort of unsubtle "funny, ha-ha" character (most recently seen in that Cave Carson series from DC's Young Animal)... but as far as "Wild Dog" stories... between his mini, his one-shot, and this ACW serial... I'm pretty sure that's all she wrote!  Well, there's something I can hang my hat on, huh?

I'm really going to miss this character.  Just knowing that not a whole heckuva lot happens with him after this is kind of a punch in the gut.  I think I've read somewhere that Max Collins and Terry Beatty were too busy with other obligations (including Ms. Tree) to pour more time and effort into ol' Jack... which, is kind of a shame.  Though, at the same time, I'm glad he didn't get pawned off on another writer.  If you're going to write Wild Dog, ya need to be... subtly unsubtle enough to do it in earnest.  Otherwise, you're just engaging in "low-hanging fruit" writing.

So... whatta we got here?  Jack decides to quit dilly-dallying around with the drug-peddling "grunts", and takes it straight to the top.  Big business, naturally, has their fingers in the pie... and are able to stay "clean" by pawning off the dirty work on street-hustlers and the like.  Sounds sorta like how the Quad-Cities P.D. keeps their hands clean by letting Wild Dog do everything they ain't allowed to do.  Hmm...

This was a pretty surreal chapter, all told.  Wild Dog straight up murders a dozen people.  Was everybody in that board room guilty?  Maybe someone was just there "recording minutes"... who can say?  I guess it doesn't really matter at this point, does it?  Guilt by association, and all that jazz.  I did appreciate people kinda being okay with Wild Dog walking around in broad daylight dressed like he ought to be haunting Camp Crystal Lake.  That was pretty funny... and a neat way of "lampshading" the Dog's makeshift costume.

The ending was pretty great as well.  Lou and Andy "finally having enough" of Wild Dog's antics came across as pretty forced... like, something they said because it felt like something they had to say.  Given the situation, I can't fault them for that.  Jack's response, however, was gold.  He knows that, no matter how righteous his buddies are trying to come across, the next time there's trouble... they'll come a'knockin'.  Really good stuff, all around.

And that... my friends, wraps up the anthological portion of Action Comics Weekly!  Forty-one weeks... Two-Hundred Eighty-Something Days... Tens of Thousands of Words... Hundreds of Pictures... that's a pretty impressive body of work, for a blog very few people know or care about, innit?  Tomorrow, we'll wrap this issue up... then, the day after that... we begin our look at the FINAL issue of Action Comics Weekly!  Hopefully, by the time we're done with that... I'll have some sort of idea what (if anything) comes next!

ACW #640 - Wild Dog

Action Comics Weekly #640 (Wild Dog)
"Crack Up, Chapter 5: 'Tween a Rock and a Hard Place"
Writer - Max Collins
Pencils - Terry Beatty
Inks - John Nyberg
Colors - Carl Gafford
Letters - Tim Harkins
Editor - Brian Augustyn

Today I was hoping to bring some exclusive news and pictures to the ol' blogstead... but, it just wasn't to be.

Ya see, yesterday there was something called "Old Man Con", which... yeah, hate the name... but, love the concept.  The way it was described, it reminded me of the old Mall Cons I used to frequent as a kid.  It would just be a whole slew of local dealers setting up shop on folding tables throughout the mall.  From the ad, it looked as though that was more or less what this was going to be... so, I was pretty psyched.

Also, the artist of the very story we're about to look at, Terry Beatty, was going to be there!  Today's editor, Brian Augustyn (who I believe lives nearby) too!  I thought it would be cool to chat them up, take a few pictures, hell maybe even shill the site... even if it's to get a few "pity hits"... when traffic's as bad as it has been, I'll take anything!

So, I take the drive into south Scottsdale... probably around 45 minutes from the house.  It was being held at an American Legion Outpost tucked behind a slew of trendy restaurants.  I learned that south Scottsdale is a pretty happ'nin' place on a Sunday afternoon... and, unfortunately couldn't find a parking spot to save my life!  I made no less than five passes of the area... and there wasn't diddly-squat insofar as parking.  Not sure if it was all convention patrons, or if it was overflow from the mob of humanity that was hustling and bustling through trend-town.

Slump-shouldered and defeated, I decided to just head out.  It wasn't a total loss, however... I swung by a record store, and managed to find the second issue of Street Poet Ray... which, up until then, I'd assumed was just a myth!

Anyhoo, I said all of that, in hopes that I could say this... today we're looking at the penultimate chapter of Wild Dog, here's a picture of me and his co-creator, Terry Beatty.  Oh well, I hope you enjoy the comic anyway!

--

We open with... could it be?  Is it her?  Oh boy, it is!  Ms. Susan King!  Finally!  She's at the corner of Crack and Eightball, reporting the news of the fire Wild Dog set a couple chapters back.  Man, just check out at how happy she looks!  She's lovin' every second of this.  Anyhoo, she reports that the fire was set... though, she's not sure if it was a "crack" house or "rock" house.  I don't quite get the lingo, so I'll assume they actually are two different things... or are different enough.  At the same ol' bar, Lt. Andy and Lou Godder confront Jack.  They've got sneaking suspicions... and they want answers.

Andy invites Jack into "his office" (the toilet), so they can all get on the same page.  He and Lou start ripping into our man for his recklessness... and, outta nowhere, Lou brings race back into the equation.  He just won't let this go!  Was he accusing Wild Dog of "going after" white people during the earlier arcs of this feature?  I don't think he was.  This is really off-putting.

Jack throws it back in their faces... he says he's doing exactly what the both of them want him to do... what they wish they could do themselves, if they weren't cowards.  He's getting his hands dirty, so Lou and Andy... and those they work for (the Press, and the Police respectively) can stay "clean".  He also kinda kicks it back on Lou... saying he knew, as the crack/rock house was burning, he would call the Fire Department... only after he snapped some pictures for his newspaper article.  Great stuff from Jack!

We shift scenes to a hotel, where a couple of teen-age metal-heads are making their way toward a particular guest's room.  A dude with dreadlocks answers their knock, and it's pretty safe to assume this is going to be one of Jack's next targets.

Before the deal can go down... they're there to buy drugs, just in case that wasn't abundantly clear... Wild Dog bursts in the window, postures, and spouts a few really great/cheesy lines.

Of the three dealers (who the Dog refers to as "Archie, Jughead, and Reggae") two are immediately shot dead.  The teen-age metal-heads b-line it toward the door, leaving our man alone with the last surviving dope-pusher.  To be... concluded!

--

Man, another bang-up chapter for Wild Dog.  Just some excellent stuff.  I'm not sure where "popular opinion" falls on the Dog, but... I gotta say, getting to experience this feature (along with Blackhawk), might just make this entire endeavor worthwhile.

Let's get into the story itself.  Lou Godder, what happened to you?  He's gone from being the lone sane voice in this series to... a dude who accuses everyone of being a racist?  As I said during the synopsis, Lou has never pointed out the race of any of Wild Dog's targets before... but now, it seems it's all he can do.  It really doesn't help his cause or his character.  It doesn't shift Wild Dog's constitution any further into the "shades of gray"... because, dude's already a vigilante... he kills people (of all kinds!).  He's already "gray" enough without entering race into the equation.

Jack had some great comebacks to Lou and Andy's interrogation.  He rightly points out that he's doing everything they would love to do, if not for all the red tape and consequence.  He points out the hypocrisy of Lou... only calling the Fire Department after he snapped a few pictures for his story.

Jack/Wild Dog has long been used as a pawn and a tool for the Quad Cities P.D., and Lt. Andy Flint in particular... to be told to "stand down" now seems silly... irresponsible, even!  I mean, he's already gone past the Rubicon at this point... if he were to just stop, than everything he'd done will have been for nothing.  Li'l Georgie Washington's death would be for nothing... torching the crack/rock house... would be for nothing.  All it would do is tick off some very dangerous people... and show them that Quad-Cities' Finest and Wild Dog don't have it in them to "stick the landing"... which, you gotta imagine would embolden them all the more.

Overall... really enjoyed this, though the attempt at giving Lou and Andy "layers" isn't exactly working for me.  I can't tell if they're being used as strawmen, or as a form of conscience for Jack?  Either way, this one is worth reading.

Tomorrow: Wrapping up Penultimatum... before the actual penultimate issue!

ACW #639 - Wild Dog

Action Comics Weekly #639 (Wild Dog)
"Crack Up, Chapter 4: Rung by Rung!"
Writer - Max Collins
Pencils - Terry Beatty
Inks - John Nyberg
Colors - Carl Gafford
Letters - Tim Harkins
Editor - Brian Augustyn

I remember, oh so long ago, when I used to start off my pre-ramble for our ACW "anchor" with #TGIB: Thank Goodness it's Blackhawk.  Well, it's a new day (yes, it is) and still, it's the "anchor" that I'm most looking forward to.  So, with only a couple weeks to go, #TGIW: Thank Goodness it's Wild Dog.

--

We pick up... pretty much right where we left off... only it's a bit more fiery.  Lou Godder stands outside the burning crackhouse... and isn't quite sure what to make of the situation.  Part of him wants to let it all play out (while snapping as many pictures as he can), but another part of him realizes that, if he doesn't call this one in, the fire is likely to spread and cause even more damage.  Just then, Wild Dog emerges with one of the junior crackheads (or junior crack-peddlers) in tow.  After shaking the stuffing out of the lad, the Dog finds out there whereabouts of wee Willie Wallace!

Speak of the devil, our next scene takes us to wee Willie's love shack.  He's in bed with a girl who looks as though she could be anywhere from 12 to 45 years old.  She leaves, because she has a curfew... and doesn't wanna get grounded.  Okay, so she's just a rough-looking teen then?  So yeah, she leaves... Willie lights up a smoke and digs into the latest issue of Players Magazine.

Next thing we know, this poor gal is bound and gagged outside Willie's pad.  He refers to her as "jailbait" which further assists in narrowing down her age.

So, who bounded and gagged the gal?  I'm so glad you asked... it's the same person who just loaded Michael Jackson's Bad into the CD Player... don'tcha just love it when a fight scene has a soundtrack?

Naturally, this home invader is our very own Wild Dog.  He confronts Willie... both about the crack, and the age of his latest "conquest".  Man, is it just me... or does this girl look quite a bit older than she's supposed to be?  Rough livin', I tell ya what.  Anyhoo... Willie ain't about to spill the beans... and so, Wild Dog proceeds to empty his pistol into Willie's waterbed!

Willie still ain't talking... and so, Wild Dog gets even rougher.  He slams the little dealer's face into the water... and holds it down underwater in hopes that it loosens his lips a bit!

And Willie still ain't talking... still.  Wild Dog promises that if he doesn't start squawking... he will drown him in his own bed.  At this point, Willie realizes the Dog ain't screwing around... and starts stoolin' out his suppliers.  It was all the Jamaicans, ya see... and it just so happens that there's going to be a big meet-up the following night!

--

Same as it ever was... I love this feature!

High-intensity street-level fun.  A main character that gives "no effs" so long as he can deal out some justice.  It goes "over the top" in all the right ways.  I mean, popping a CD into the player, so the next scene can have a soundtrack?  We've seen that sort of thing done ironically... but, this is legit... and it's awesome.

I like the opening scene, with Lou Godder kinda just gobsmacked that Wild Dog literally torched the crackhouse.  You gotta wonder if he feels a measure of responsibility for it... considering all the static he'd been giving Lt. Flint about Quad-Cities Finest's inability to neutralize this threat.  I know I'd feel responsible if I raised a ruckus, and some dude in a hockey mask burnt down a building for me!

I think if I were to have any quibbles about this chapter, it would be the design of Wee Willie's "jailbait".  When I first saw her, I assumed she was an older woman... I'd have never guessed that she was a child.  I think if that were made clearer in the art, it'd be easier to have even more contempt for Willie.

Overall... another super-fun chapter!  Can't wait for the next one!

Tomorrow: We close out the six-thirties!

ACW #638 - Wild Dog

Action Comics Weekly #638 (Wild Dog)
"Crack Up, Chapter Three: Burning Down the House"
Writer - Max Allan Collins
Pencils - Terry Beatty
Inks - John Nyberg
Colors - Carl Gafford
Letters - Tim Harkins
Editor - Brian Augustyn

Y'all get that iPhone update?  Man, I thought I turned off automatic updates... but, I guess I didn't... because I woke up to the brand-new IOS 13-point-whateverthehell... and boy howdy, did it shuffle up the stuff on my phone!

One one hand, I suppose I should be happy that Apple is still supporting my five-year old phone, but at the same time... man, why mess with things that don't need messin'?  The only thing that really affects me is the camera and picture interactability... and that's only because of this here site.  But, dangit... it's all weird now!

This is my way of saying... if the pictures over the next few days/weeks/whatever aren't up to my usual "standards" (heh), it's not that I've gotten even worse... it's all the phone's fault!

All the greatest artists and craftsman blame their tools when things don't go quite as well as they'd like... right?

--

We open at that bar where Jack, Andy, and Lou hang out and chat from time to time.  Ya know, I didn't even realize this would be a recurring scene until now.  I really like it as a means of "working through" some of the story beats.  As you might imagine, today's topic of conversation is the death of li'l Georgie Washington last chapter.  Lt. Andy is pretty upset about the whole thing, and says that the officer who actually shot the lad is pretty shaken up as well.  From here, Lou Godder jumps head-first into a racial rant... claiming that the cops don't care about killing black kids.  This really feels forced, ya know?  Really doesn't seem "in character" for what we know about Lou... he always seemed so even-keeled.  I get that this is a horrendous (and avoidable) situation, but... he's really ripping into Andy here.  What's more, while he's reading him the riot act, he isn't exactly making any suggestions for what the police ought to have done.

This is just a rotten situation, no matter how you slice it.  A poor (relatively) innocent kid, who was in the wrong place at the wrong time... with the wrong people, wound up dying.  Andy stammers for a bit... he's at a loss for words.  After all, he was just doing his job!  The problem is, when you clear one group out of a condemned crackhouse, it doesn't take long for another to move in.  So, not only was Georgie's death avoidable... it also won't do much of anything to stop the drugs from being trafficked.  After Lou leaves, Jack tells Andy not to take anything he had said personally.

We follow Lou to... hey look, it's the crackhouse!  He watches as a (white) kid drops a delivery through the slot.  I don't think it's a big deal that the kid's white... but, who knows?  Anyhoo, as Lou watches... he is joined by, believe it or not... Wild Dog!  Feels like we haven't seen him in weeks!  They chat for a bit... and it's kinda contentious.  The Dog tells Lou to get in position to snap a few pics, because he's about to make some news.

And so, Wild Dog heads up to the crackhouse... with a gas can in hand.  Y'all smell where this is headed?

Naturally, the kids inside ain't keen on letting him in... but, that's okay... Jack's got himself a master key to the joint.  Once inside, he even drops some bad-ass action movie line about being the "fire inspector".  Really good stuff!

The Dog proceeds to pour gasoline all over the place... I mean, this gas can is deceptively deep.  He then presses the kids up against a wall, and dangles a lit match in front of them.  They give up the name of their boss (that's that Willie guy we met last time).  He lets them leave, but decides... what the heck, might as well burn this place down anyway!

The kids run through the kitchen, where a third is smokin' on that crack.  This goofball runs into the front room to confront Wild Dog, and winds up getting a gasoline bath for his troubles!  Our man is still rattling on about being the "fire inspector", which... isn't as funny the third and fourth time.

We wrap up with Jack pouring even more gasoline all around this kid... including onto his crack pipe!

--

A very solid and entertaining chapter!  Wild Dog doing what he does best... raising hell!  I feel like it's been a minute since we've seen him "in action", but boy-o-boy, this installment makes up for that in spades.  I mean, here he is... burning down a crackhouse!

As has been my normal complaint for this arc, I'm not a big fan of how Lou Godder is depicted.  I always looked at him as the most analytical of our Wild Dog "inner circle", but here he's just angry and ranting without taking any explanation into consideration.  Sure, this is a heavy subject... and it's being treated as such.  Lou's rant kind of cheapens the whole thing by reducing it to race.  It almost robs Georgie of his humanity... to Lou, it seems he's just a "black kid".  Maybe that's heading somewhere... maybe it's just a means to an end to get Wild Dog to burn the crackhouse down... I dunno.  Whatever it is, it's uncomfortable.

The Fire Marshall Jack scene, though?  Man... so silly, but so great.  Him spouting off tough guy lines and pouring from a seemingly never-ending gas can... that's some weird stuff.  I mean, dude actually ended the chapter by telling one of the druggies that "smoking is hazardous to his health".  Corny, but great!

Overall... looks like we're ending this issue of Action Comics Weekly on a high point.  Had a lot of fun with this feature, as I normally do... it's still so weird to me that Wild Dog never got a shot at his own ongoing title!

Tomorrow: Tick-Tock, we draw ever closer to the end of the project!

ACW #637 - Wild Dog

Action Comics Weekly #637 (Wild Dog)
"Crack Up, Chapter Two: Easy M$ney"
Writer - Max Collins
Pencils - Terry Beatty
Inks - John Nyberg
Colors - Carl Gafford
Letters - Tim Harkins
Editor - Brain Augustyn

I come to you today from the comfort of my own home.  It's great to be back from my brief stint back in New York City.  It was a neat trip, but I tell ya what... there's something to be said about the relative quietness of my normal suburban existence.  Never saw myself as a "suburbanite", but damned if I'm not!

Figure I'll take this opportunity to share some pictures from the trip.  This is normally something you'd figure I'd just bore my friends with... but, joke's on you!  I don't have any of those!  So, here we go... my quick 'n dirty day walking around Midtown Manhattan...

The view from the 12th Floor

We stayed by Grand Central Station, and so I was just a short walk away from Midtown Comics.  Actually, before that... our hotel was just a few doors down from the WPIX Offices.  For a New York kid, it was neat to see where Channel 11 is.  Especially during Shocktober!... which sadly, I don't think is even a thing anymore.

From here, I stopped into my favorite hole-in-the-wall coffee shop.  You've probably never heard of it, it's called Starbucks.  I was hoping to find a bagel shop or something, but Starbucks was all I could find!  Well, Starbucks and Subway... and, I don't wanna drink Subway coffee.  Then, onto Midtown Comics...

Annnnd, well... it's a comic shop.  Which is to say, half the store is Funko POPs! and toys... and half of the rest is variant covers!  Nothing special, and we've actually got a better selection in most Phoenix area shops... nice fellas working there though!

After leaving the shop (empty-handed), I realized that I was only a short walk away from the Nintendo NYC store... so, I kept on walkin'.  I don't talk much about video games here, or anywhere... but, I'm a big fan.  Actually finally played through a bunch of Breath of the Wild on the Switch on the flights.

I headed inside, and was pretty much wowed by all the cool stuff they had.

Probably the coolest stuff was their displays of old consoles and what-not.  Had to snap a picture of these.  I sadly neglected to take any pictures of the hand-held consoles on the other side of the wall.  I was sure I had... but, I guess not!

Then, I saw something I never thought I'd ever see.  Heck, it's actually something I'd forgotten all about!  From issue 26 of Nintendo Power (July, 1991):

I was pretty shocked to come walking up the steps to see this thing!  Still on and playing Tetris, no less!

After this, I spent the better part of an hour waiting on line to buy a couple of bagels at Essa Bagel... which they toasted, despite my asking them not to.  By the time I realized, I was already a couple of blocks away... but wasn't about to head back.  As I say, eating my now kinda squishy... kinda melty bagel, I thought to myself that I wanted to find something here that I couldn't find back home.  I feel like the world has gotten so small over the past couple decades, that outside of views and sights, there really isn't much "exclusivity" to different places anymore.  Anything I saw at Midtown or the Nintendo store, I could get anywhere... or online.  Which kinda sucks... but, it's a sign of the times... really can't do much about it.

And so, I headed back to the hotel... but, not before popping into Grand Central Station for a look around.  Inside a friggin' Rite Aid of all places, I saw something that completely brightened my day...

Entenmann's Chocolate Chip cookies.  Holy cow, I hadn't seen these in twenty years.  I broke my diet, ate the whole box... and had hellacious heartburn the rest of the day.

Worth it.

When the wife wrapped up with her meetings, we did the touristy thing, and had a really good time.  I'm happy to be home, but also, happy that we went.

Thanks for suffering through my story... now, let's wrap this issue of Action Comics Weekly up with Wild Dog!

--

Picking up where we left off last time, li'l Georgie Washington is being sold on working as a look-out for slick Willie.  Well, perhaps I'm selling him short, this balding teen-ager is being offered the opportunity not only to act as a look-out, but also to go on food runs!  Movin' on up!  Georgie is a bit hesitant, but can't turn down the "big dough"... fifty bucks a day!  He agrees to come aboard, but first, he'll have to quit his job at the Wheeler Garage... in person.  Big Willie understands, and even tosses him some advance cash to buy a new bike!  Jack is cool with Georgie quitting the gig... though voices his opinion that he hopes the "better job" he's leaving for is on the up-and-up.

We jump ahead, and join Quad Cities Finest as they patrol the neighborhood where Big Willie's drug den resides.  Ya see, they know there's some shady going's on... going on in this neck'a the woods, and are already assembling a SWAT team to raid the joint.

The next day, Georgie (and his receding hairline) has arrived for his first day of making the "big dough".  He knocks on the drop-house door, and has a few bucks tossed at him from the mail slot.  The fellas inside want some burgers and fries.  As Georgie gleefully rides off toward the nearest Big Mac dispensary, Lt. Andy Flint and his team are suiting up to begin the bust.

George returns with the goods, and despite his best efforts, is unable to slide the burgers and fries's's's through the little mail slot.  And so, the fella inside opens up... just as the Police make their way onto the property!

One of the drug-denners grabs for his... I dunno, do we call this a "semi-automatic"?  I know less than nothing about guns.  At first blush it looks kind of like a child-size Uzi.  Anyhoo, he opens fire through the walls... and so, the police return that fire.  Well, fair is fair?

The drug-denners pretty much immediately surrender... none'a them really wanna die.  There's just one problem though... this raid didn't go without casualty.  Anybody wanna guess who took a bullet to the chest?  Anyone?  C'mon... it's a gimme!  Okay, okay... li'l Georgie Washington is dead.

--

Well, it's taken awhile, but finally... there's a dead kid in the pages of Wild Dog.  Smart money was on this happening in the previous arc, what with Wild Pup running around, but I feel like there will be a greater impact here.

Georgie Washington wasn't so much a "bad kid"... he was just a kid who got wrapped up in bad things.  He's trying to (I assume) help his family... so, we get that altruistic-y/moral-ethical conundrum sort of dynamic here.  Doing bad things for all the right reasons.  Just in all the wrong places at all the wrong times.

I'm very interested to see where this is headed.  After Lou Godder's weird racial-rant last week, I wonder if he's going to try and make something out of this with the Quad Cities P.D.?  I wonder how Jack's going to react to learning that his former employee was killed?  I think there are plenty of interesting directions this might go... only, there aren't all that many chapters of this story left ahead of us.  Hopefully we can get to a satisfying conclusion in the next four weeks.

Overall, a great... though, moderately cliche, outing.  The art here... and this isn't something I normally notice, was quite lacking in backgrounds.  A lot of characters on plain white backgrounds this time out.  Maybe this is normal for Beatty, and I've just never noticed it?  But, here... for whatever reason, it really stood out to me.

Tomorrow: Wrappin' it up.