Comics / Comic Reviews / DC Comics

Caper # 1

By Koppy McFad
November 2, 2003 - 10:30

Mainstream DC is trying crime comics again with the release of this miniseries. The first arc deals with the turn-of-the-century Jewish mafia in San Francisco, specifically, two brothers, Izzy and Jacob, who work as mob enforcers. Until their mob bosses start going too far. It is a novel tale of a world that few people were aware ever existed.

The atmosphere of the Jewish community is emphasized but so too is the coarseness and greed that dominate the mobsters' lives. Every other sentence contains either some Yiddish terms or an obscenity. Winick may be pouring it on a little too thick. The casual reader could mistake the story for an anti-Semitic screed. Dalrymple's scratchy art makes this world even more sordid.

Unfortunately the art and writing don't succeed in making the story compelling. Unlike the protagonists of "Road to Perdition", Izzy and Jacob aren't the least bit likable, even if they do have a sense of honor of sorts. And for all the local color, it is hard to say what makes this story different from say, Irish mobsters in the 1920s or the Italian mob in the 1960s. Perhaps the later issues will see some improvement but for now, it looks like "Caper" will be another one of DC's failed experiments.

Last Updated: November 29, 2025 - 16:51