(Comments contain spoilers.)
The Pulse has gotten off to a bit of a slow start, introducing its cast and establishing its premise in the first five-part arc, “Thin Air.” This issue’s conclusion is a rewarding wrap-up, though, blending action and character development with a promising focus on the book’s newspaper setting.
Jessica Jones, failed super-hero and private investigator, has joined the staff of the Daily Bugle as a consultant for its new special section on super-heroes. Jones and Bugle reporters Kat Farrell and Ben Urich are investigating the murder of one of their colleagues, following leads on the victim’s last story.
It’s a fraught situation, not simply because a co-worker has died violently. The trio’s inquiries lead back to Norman Osborne, a powerful corporate figure and the psychotic Green Goblin. Previous investigations of Osborne, including Urich’s expose of his villainous secret, have led to a serious reversal of fortune for the Bugle. The stakes are high, both personally and professionally.
Most of the issue is devoted to Osborne’s deadly meltdown. With his secrets exposed, he goes on the offensive, forcing Spider-Man to intervene. Jessica, believing the attack has caused her a terrible personal loss, goes on a bit of a rampage of her own. Her lover, Luke Cage, picks up where she left off. It’s a sequence of action set pieces, and it plays to artist Mark Bagley’s strengths.
As solid as all that is, the meat of the issue is the closing sequence at the Bugle. Having worked as a reporter and editor at daily and weekly newspapers, I’ve been eager to see how that setting plays out in The Pulse. Its role in the title is satisfyingly complex and reflects contemporary issues in a satisfying way.
Conceived as a muckraking thorn in Spider-Man’s side, Bugle publisher J. Jonah Jameson gets a much more layered portrayal here. He’s still a bit of a dinosaur, but he’s clearly portrayed as having the public’s interests in mind. It galls him to pander to public fascination with super-heroes by creating the special section, but a changing business landscape for dailies forces him to adapt or fail. And the sting of Osborne’s crippling lawsuit against the paper lingers, especially since he knows the Bugle got the story right.
As the newsroom gathers to watch television coverage of Osborne’s capture, Jameson springs into action. He reminds his staff (and readers) of the things that a daily newspaper can still do in the face of twenty-four-hour cable networks and Internet outlets. Hopefully, the commitment to depth and complexity of coverage that Jameson espouses here will continue to be a part of the fabric of the tile; it could open up a whole range of interesting stories, much in the way Alias did with private investigation and Gotham Central does with the police procedural.
Writer Brian Michael Bendis does a very nice job of creating individual voices for his characters. Jameson has his trademark bluster but without some of his traditional excesses. Spider-Man’s customary quips fly, and Cage is suitably tough and taciturn. Supporting characters like Jessica’s doctor and Osborne’s lawyers get vivid, personalized dialogue. The variety gives great texture to the storytelling.
I’m still not entirely sold on Bagley’s pencils. His action sequences are terrific, as I said, but the quieter moments can seem a little static. I’m glad to see that his rendering of Jessica is matching up a bit better with Michael Gaydos’s design from Alias. She’s getting some of her rougher edges back and losing some of the pretty princess sheen she had in earlier issues.
If The Pulse continues to fold the challenges and complexities of contemporary journalism into its stories, this could become one of my favorite titles. With the carefully established Bugle setting, it can give an interesting perspective on the Marvel Universe.