Captain America #9, by Rick Remender (writer), John Romita Jr. (breakdowns), Klaus Janson w/Scott Hanna and Tom Palmer (finishes), Dean White (colorist), Joe Caramagna (letterer) - Sharon Carter, having caught up to Cap, insists he hasn't been gone for ten years. Also, she wired Zola's floating city to explode. Cap pulls it together, determined that even if he couldn't save Ian, he'll save Jet, who is fighting her father on behalf of the Phrox. "Saving" her translates to hitting Zola a lot, who says he doesn't care what happened to Ian. He does however, still care for Jet, and as his city moves back into Earth's dimension, he asks her to kill him. She says she can't, because she loves him, so he pushes her out of the way before the mutates drop a rock on her. So it lands on him instead. So much for Omni-Senses. It's funny, usually it's other writers who come along and nerf the really powerful new character, but Remender beat them to the punch. It's nice for Zola to save Jet, to show he does care for her, in his own way. It bothers me that all Cap did was hit Zola, though. He didn't shield or protect anyone, he just hit someone. Which doesn't really refute the statements Ian made about Cap's alleged hypocrisy last issue.
It's a 3-man team on the finishes, and some parts look distinctly less finished than others. Jet's nose changed shape - actually almost vanished - between panels 2 and 3 on page 18. The shape of her face shifted considerably between panels 4 and 5 of page 17. When the panel consists of a close-up on one character, or it's a full-page splash, it can look pretty good. But most of the panels lack detail, shading, and sense of depth. On a positive note, Steve's shield didn't change size. In earlier issues, it had gone from it's usually manhole size, down to a standard dinner plate. Sometimes it covered everything from his hand to beyond the elbow, and others it didn't cover his forearm. More consistency is appreciated.
Rocketeer & Spirit: Pulp Friction #1, by Mark Waid (writer), Paul Smith (artist), Jordie Bellaire (colorist), Tom B. Long (letterer) - Oh Betty, that masked man's no good for you. Then again, the same could be said of Cliff.An alderman in Central City protests allowing businesses to control TV. He turns up in L.A. dead the next morning, discovered by Betty. This is apparently a geographic impossibility, which is how the Spirit, Commissioner Dolan, and his daughter Ellen wind up on a flight to L.A. At the airfield, Peevy overhears their plans, and is understandably worried that a masked guy wants to ask Betty about a murder. Cliff zooms in, and gets in a mid-air tussle with the Spirit, while Peevy realizes the Commish is an old war buddy. Fighting ceases, Ellen flirts a little with Cliff, they all go to visit Betty, who deliberately falls into the Spirit's arm, much to Ellen and Cliff's consternation.
I wasn't happy with how Waid portrayed Betty in Cargo of Doom, so I'm gonna be watching this whole thing with the Spirit. I wondered what Waid would do about Ebony White, and his response was to leave him behind in Central City. I think he gave the reader enough info about the Spirit to understand what's happening. Unless I was supposed to recognize Trask. I think Smith draws hands too small. Especially in the panel where the Spirit leaps onto the Rocketeer, Cliff's right hand looks tiny. Maybe it's just the angle.
Smith does some excellent faces, though. The last panel, where everyone else reacts to Betty's tumble, is a good example. Cliff and Dolan are stunned, Ellen's furious, Peevy's amused. The page in general is laid out well. It follows that "Z" pattern the typical comic reader follows on the page, but he does smartly. Betty's faint in the first panel pitches her forward into the center of the page, where she lands in Denny Colt's arms. From there, her legs guide the eye down to the close-up on the two of them, and the direction of the Spirit's gaze takes us to betty's face, and then on to that last panel. Also - and part of this is Bellaire's colors - I love how well they depict snow. Just a little bit of black and it's the perfect suggestion of a footprint.
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