It is written that one can't go home again. Luckily, one can still go to the apartment next door.

There was a time when pulp magazines like The Shadow, Weird Tales and Doc Savage filled news stands. That time is gone. Thank God for Captain Gravity.

Joshua Jones works as a director's assistant on Captain Gravity movies in the 1930s, which is appropriate since he is Captain Gravity. He got that way by touching a mysterious element in a Mayan temple in Mexico. It gave him the ability to control gravity and to enter the hallowed halls of pulpdom.

What it did not give Joshua was tightly scripted stories and dynamic art. That was supplied by the creative team on Captain Gravity & the Power of the Vril and, in a nutshell, this title is just plain fun.

The fun starts with a tightly packed plot, strong characterization, believable dialogue, lots of action and added little cameos by folks who actually lived then and events that really happened in the '30s. These make older readers (like me) smile.

The fun continues with art that jumps off of the page when it should and takes a break from action when it is appropriate to do so. Pacing is perfect, anatomy is consistent and accurate, buildings and cars and plants look like building and cars and plants, and, most importantly, art serves the story.

Hurrah for Captain Gravity!! It will remind you of an Indiana Jones movie, and of course, Indiana Jones movies remind you of pulp magazines.

And we are back where we began, at an apartment next door to home. It feels really good to be there, doesn't it? Captain Gravity & the Power of the Vril is highly recommended.

- Rambles
written by Michael Vance
published 5 March 2005