The Good: Nice renderings of faces from Edwin David. Story is a self-contained one-shot. Dialogue is refreshingly "dude"-free.
The Bad: Too much long-winded blather slows down the action; too many cliches.
The story:We begin with Mark on shore leave, flying in his plane and telling us about his relationship with his father. Said reverie is interrupted by attacking aircraft. Mark evades, transmutes, and discovers the offending aircraft belong to the Red Impulse Squadron, which is normally commanded by his hero, Colonel Cronus. Forced to land and take part in an obligatory fight with a big bruiser of a pilot to establish alpha male dominance, Mark receives an explanation: Cronus is missing, presumed dead, and Mark is to take the command position. Once he determines Cronus is alive, Mark decides to track him down using the last agent to see him.
All told, the story is self-contained and decently paced. I could almost forgive the cliches--the obligatory brawl with an oversized, overmuscled bully and Mark's awkward meeting with the sexy blonde in the revealing dresses--if not for the excessive wordiness of the panels. Like Issue #8, the word balloons were stuffed so tightly with extraneous information, it bogged down the story. It's as if the writer is trying too hard to convince you: "Mark is cool. No, really, he is! And he has all this cool tech, and to prove it, I'm gonna list it all!" Here's a sample of the dialogue from the battle cliche with the big brawler: "I recognize your style. Plucked from the darkest corners of feudal Japan and used by lethal shadow warriors. However, against me it's as effective as attempting to chop down the great oak with a pocketknife." Hurry up and hit him in the mouth, Mark, so we won't have to hear more of this drek. Mark matches this monologue by wasting several panels explaining the dubious advantages of an uppercut, and it ruined the effectiveness of his punch line (by the way, what exactly are "altered nerve clusters?"). That punch line, "I guarantee you're gonna feel this," would have been spectacular if it had been the only thing delivered with said uppercut.
Another spot I found myself shaking my head was where Cronus was depicted in peril, his memories being probed by a "memorivore" ("Memorivore?") alien creature called the Lagara. Although it makes perfect sense for Spectra to utilize creatures from worlds they had conquered, the monster jars with the usual Spectra technique of using all sorts of really formidable mechanical equipment. Besides that, the "memorivore" shows no signs of eating Cronus's memories or robbing him of his mental faculties--where's the peril in that? And why would a memory eater have a big mouth full of sharp, pointy teeth if it only eats memories? It would have been more plausible to use an electronic memory probe where Cronus ran the risk of brain damage.
And another thing: The Spectrans are presumably taking Cronus's memories in order to synthesize what makes Cronus such a phenomenal pilot. How will this help? Memories of training won't help--the things that make up a great pilot are exceptional motor skills, instinct and common sense. The Lagara isn't picking up motor skills from Cronus. And common sense? He never had it. That's why he has "ice water in his veins." Yes, I'm thinking too much. Where's a "memorivore" when you need one?
The characters: Wordiness aside, Mark is treated well enough, but I weep for the lost dignity of Red Impulse. In the TV series, Red Impulse (as likewise, BotP's Red Rangers) acted more as a parental figure--the grown-ups who occasionally pulled our heroes' tailfeathers out of the flames and administered discipline when the team became too much of a handful for their mentor. Instead, we have a bunch of "highly talented aviators" with silly names and no sense of discipline. Sounds romantic, all right, but these characters, who could have had potential, are sold short.
The art: Edwin David does a nice job with this story. He handles faces well, and Mark's expressions are perfect. Kudos for the cameo of the entire cast of characters from Slam Dunk. However, his mechanics are a little off--the aircraft look awkward and Mark's beak visor seems far too long. There are also a couple of awkward split-legged poses, when Mark is in the cockpit of his plane, and later in the Jason one-shot preview--both look pretty darn uncomfortable.
The bottom line: A mixed bag. Don't think too much while reading.
The Good: Nice renderings of faces from Edwin David. Story is a self-contained one-shot. Dialogue is refreshingly "dude"-free.