The Ruff & Reddy Show #4 – Howard Chaykin, Writer; Mac Rey, Artist
Ratings:
Ray – 7/10
Two-thirds of the way through The Ruff & Reddy Show, a Hollywood satire, it’s clear that while it’s an interesting concept, it’s not quite coming together as a full narrative in The Ruff & Reddy Show #4. The titular characters, while back together as a comedy team, are far from friends again, as they take every opportunity to snipe at each other and blame each other for their failings. The last issue saw them dump their young female agent to replace her with an old, shark-like agent who gets them more gigs. There’s some decent commentary on the way Hollywood quickly throws people aside once they’re no longer useful, but too much of this segment is devoted to Ruff and Reddy failing auditions and yelling at each other.
The story takes a timely turn when Ruff and Reddy start to supposedly post comments online trashing each other, turning them on each other further. However, their agent manages to prove that neither of them was responsible – but rather it was a third party hacker. This allows for the introduction of a surprising character – Detective Chimp, here a shady private eye who deals in Hollywood-related cases. It’s an interesting choice to add a DC character to the narrative, but the reveal of the culprit seems…suspicious. She’s a major character who up until now seemed like one of the few ethical voices in a series full of Hollywood predators. And I suspect she’s being framed. At this point, this series works somewhat as a Hollywood satire, but as a stand-alone story it feels way too thin for a six-issue miniseries.
To find reviews of all the DC issues, visit DC This Week.
Disclaimer: GeekDad received this comic for review purposes.
