By Stephen Pytak 

     I don't recall any major terrorist attacks on 
American soil in the 1980s.
     But there were a heck of a lot of them in movies 
and comic books back during that age of excess.
     In "Invasion U.S.A (1985)," Chuck Norris battled 
foreign mercenaries who started a reign of terror in 
the South.
     In "Cobra (1986)," Sylvester Stallone blew away 
psychos who invaded supermarkets in California.
     In "Wild Dog (1987)," a comic book by DC, a 
vigilante wearing a hockey mask shot holes in 
brainless, suicidal terrorists in the nation's heartland.
     The latter had adventures in a four-issue limited 
series. Then he disappeared. I guess the character 
ran out of ammunition. 
     Today, Wild Dog lives on in obscure comic book 
collections and in the memories of the demented. 
     If you happen to pick up an issue of his book and 
flip through it, you'll agree Wild Dog was a 
representative of that decade's action genre.
     He was a mystery man who wore a bullet-proof 
suit under a "Red Dog" state university T-shirt and 
camouflage pants. He also wore a "stun glove." If 
he grabbed a hold of you, he could shock you 
senseless with 45,000 volts. 
     His target was an organization called "The 
Committee For Social Change," a group of balding, 
middle-aged screw heads who were out to destroy 
society with bombs and bullets.
     "What do these people want?" asked an auto 
mechanic character named Jack.
     "To start over, start from scratch…level 
everything," said a criminal investigator named 
Graham.
     Obviously, the writers who fueled this genre didn't 
get much inspiration from the headlines at the time.
     Back then I think our federal government was 
sponsoring terrorism in other countries. Remember 
the Contras?
     But that's another story.
     My brother uncovered these Wild Dog books in his 
private stash, brought them to my attention and asked 
for my opinion.
     Are they good?
     Not really.
     Are they bad?
     Depends on your sense of humor.
     Are they fun?
     Hell yes!
     The first two issues are anyway.
     They're plot simple. Terrorists take groups of 
individuals hostage in the nation's heartland and 
Wild Dog comes and saves the day with big guns.
     Personally, I like the terrorist plot in issue two. A 
balding nut job straps a belt of dynamite around his 
middle and threatens to blow up a group of honor 
students at a school.
     The third and fourth books try to establish some 
kind of origin story for this guy. It's not too engaging. 
In fact it's not unlike the origin of Marvel Comics' 
"The Punisher" or Don Pendleton's "The 
Executioner."
     Should I ruin it for you, or make you find these 
treasures on ebay?
     What the hell.
     Turns out Jack the mechanic is our man. His 
girlfriend was murdered by the mob. He inherited a 
hell of a lot of blood money. And he decided to buy 
some gear and a hockey mask and start raising Cain.
     So what's the verdict on Wild Dog?
     The art isn't great, but I love the covers for issues 
2 and 4. They're classic.
     The story doesn't stir the soul. But I liked the 
reference to the "Friday the 13th" series in issue 1.
     Aside from that, there is something about the 
whole thing that appeals to my id. Sometimes 
senseless violence in fiction is just wonderful. It's even 
funnier when the Comics Code Authority approves it.