Rocketeer/The Spirit: Pulp Fiction by Mark Waid
This is exactly what the title implies, Pulp Fiction. This was a lot of fun to read. I remeber when the movie The Rocketeer was first released. I watched that movie almost a hundred times before our VHS copy wore out. I loved the idea of being able to strap a rocket to my back and fly around without a care in the world, although as an adult I tend to wonder if I would have burnt my pants right off turning that jet pack on for the first time. Seventeen years later The Spirit was brought to the big screen in the same style of Sin City. As bad as The Spirit was, I loved that movie. It is still one I watch from time to time when I'm in the mood for a cheesy comic book movie.
When I was browsing the graphic novels on NetGalley I was really excited to see these two characters paired together. I jumped at the chance to read and review this title. After I downloaded it I realized that this was writen by Mark Waid. He has written some huge story lines in the past, most notibly the Kingdom Come series for DC Comics. One of my all time favorite stories in comics is Kingdom Come, so I figured this book had to at least be decent.
I liked this book, but then again I didn't take this too seriously when I began. The story is fun. Television is just starting to become a thing of the present, and the crime bosses want to use it for their own profit. A mysterious murder shows up on the west coast right in the Rocketeer's back yard, but the victim was just across the country an hour prior. How could this be you might ask. Read it and find out how they explained it. It's not very realistic but fun in the sci-fi sort of way that kids television shows just expect their audience to accept without question. I'm not kidding that you can't take this story seriously. It is Pulp. It is Noir, and it is just goofy. If you can look past all of that then this is a pretty entertaining story.
The artwork isn't bad for the most part. It has that classic comic book feel as well as the Rocketeer's girlfriend always looking like somehting out of a pin-up magazine. I have definitely seen better, but it suits the feel and style of this book perfectly. That is until the very last issue. The last issue has someone else doing the art work, and it looks like a children's cartoon. There isn't as much detail, and the characters go from comic life like to round cherub like people. Here is an example of the awkward change the artwork took. The picture on the left is how most of the book looks. The one on the right is the artwork of the last issue in this collection.
This was a fun read and short enough that I was able to kill a little time at work and at least enjoy myself. I would give this 3 out of 5 stars. I did really enjoy this, but I wish there was better artwork throughout, and the story could have been a little stronger. Still, if you are a fan of the Rocketeer or the Spirit, I would at least give this a read. Take it in stride, and just enjoy the read.
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