The Rocketeer/The Spirit: Pulp Friction #2
Writer: Mark Waid
Penciller: Loston Wallace
Inker: Bob Wiacek
Colorist: Hi-Fi
Publisher: IDW
Action. Adventure. Beautiful women with dimples on their cheeks. Rocketeer/Spirit #2 is stuffed full of nostalgia and clearly draws from the comics and film serials of the 1930s while adding deeper characterization and an interesting, if highly unlikely plot. Mark Waid loves pulp heroes and Golden Age crime fighters as evidenced by his work on IDW’s Rocketeer: Cargo of Doom and Dynamite’s Green Hornet so his dialogue and characterization are sharp. Loston Wallace’s art boasts clean lines courtesy of veteran inker Bob Wiacek (Uncanny X-Men, Iron Man), and his figure drawings are emotive and beautiful. His action scenes pack a punch too and are better choreographed versions of the Republic’s action serial movies.
Rocketeer/Spirit #2 begins and ends with nostalgia. The miniseries follows the Spirit as he goes to California to investigate the murder of public television advocate Cunningham with his ally Police Commissioner Dolan and his daughter Ellen. He bumps into jet pack wearing hero The Rocketeer (Cliff Secord) whose girlfriend Betty happened to be the first person to find Cunningham’s dead body. The nostalgic elements are found in the plot and character. The plot begins with the Spirit interrogating Betty as she exchanges innuendo. This scene reads like one between the Spirit and femme fatale P’Gell from the 1940s comic strip. There is a lot of sexual tension between the Spirit and Betty along with some concealed motivations on her part. The character’s reaction and dialogue would be at home in the romance comics of the 1940s and 1950s, such as Jack Kirby’s Young Romance. Mark Waid draws from both superhero and romance comics to create a compelling story. This combination was also used by Stan Lee, Kirby, Steve Ditko, and John Romita in the great Marvel comics of the 1960s. Spider-Man was a successful (sometimes) crime fighter, but Peter Parker had make more “mundane” choices like either dating Gwen Stacy or Mary-Jane Watson. There is action in Rocketeer/Spirit #2, but Waid chooses to focus on The Spirit and Rocketeer’s relationship with people in their lives. This complicates things for the Spirit, who demonstrates that he has a death wish and never removes his costume. His alter-ego Denny Colt is nowhere to be seen in this comic.
Loston Wallace’s art continues to build on Waid’s nostalgia driven script. His women are beautiful and resemble Bettie Page and the pin-up models of the 1950s. This resemblance finds its way into a major plot point as well. Bob Wiacek add emotion to the characters’ facial expression, which are bit exaggerated to say the least. However, the biggest strength of Wallace’s art is its dynamism. There are speed lines added to the cars and planes. The punches are big and emphatic with plenty of smaller inset panels for character reactions. There is one big leap in plot progression between panels, but Wallace’s pencils on Rocketeer/Spirit is solid and respectful to these character roots in the stories and comics of the 1930s. His art is very similar to Darwyn Cooke’s work, but is rawer and less refined. This make sense because both artists worked with Bruce Timm on the Batman and Superman cartoons in some capacity.
For fans of old-timey superheroes, action adventure yarns, or pin-up gals, Rocketeer/Spirit #2 is quite a treat. Its female characters are underdeveloped, and there is a huge plot contrivance (even for a 1940s comic) that keep it from being a perfect comic. However, Waid and Wallace bring a slice of the Golden Age to the dark and gloomy 21st century and show that fun can still be a part of comics.