Archive for the ‘Dave Stevens’ Category
Look! Up in the sky! It’s a bird! It’s a plane! It’s a guy with a jetpack and goofy helmet! No, it’s… well, yeah, OK, you got it right the third time. The Rocketeer, based on the short-lived comic created by Dave Stevens, was one of my first forays into comic books and film. I honestly can’t remember if I actually had seen it in the theater (I was 5, after all. And now I’ve made some of you feel old. Sorry about that.), but I do remember the various advertising, toys, commercials, and even a cartoon (which may have well been a figment of my young imagination, since I can’t find a trace of it now), and I clearly remember wanting to BE The Rocketeer. As years went by, I eventually forgot about The Rocketeer little by little(hence my spotty memory), but always got a little excited whenever someone mentioned the be-helmeted hero.
In the mid-to-late 1980’s I stumbled across Dave Steven’s Rocketeer comics. Not only did it feature a guy flying around fighting Nazi’s it also had some sweet Bettie Page pin-up art too. Granted, The Rocketeer isn’t really a true pulp hero, but the spirit is there and I include him in the genre… Hey, it’s my site, I’ll do what I want (wink).
Instead of featuring Dave Stevens’ art, I figured I’d showcase other artists inspired by the late great one. This piece was done by Joel Ojeda Lopez, and looks really great in the composition and design.
(click for larger)
To really appreciate the piece, take the jump to see the finished image.
One of my favorite finds from the 1980’s was Dave Stevens’ The Rocketeer. Since it wasn’t published by one of the big two at the time, I had a devil of a time tracking down the individual issues. Each comic book convention I’ve attended in the recent years, have either not had the missing issues I needed, or had the price jacked up beyond having a nice reader copy.
Fortunately, this October (2009), IDW will release the complete collected Rocketeer series in a nice hardcover edition featuring a cover remastered from Dave Stevens original work.
After more than a decade out of print, The Rocketeer makes a triumphant return to stores this October with a comprehensive hardcover edition featuring artwork digitally re-mastered from Stevens’ own lovingly maintained collection of originals, and all-new coloring by Laura Martin, the Eisner-Award-winning colorist handpicked by Stevens himself.
The Rocketeer, a rollicking tribute to pulp novels and Saturday morning matinee serials, follows the high-flying adventures of stunt pilot Cliff Secord and his girlfriend Betty, after Cliff finds a mysterious jet pack and takes to the sky. The graphic novel went on to become a much-loved major motion picture directed by Joe Johnston.
In addition to the mass-market hardcover, a very special deluxe edition is planned. Presented in a larger format, the deluxe edition will be filled with behind-the-scenes material, a treasure of additional pages featuring previously unpublished Rocketeer designs, preliminaries, and sketches by Dave Stevens, many taken from his personal sketchbooks.
“It is an honor to work on The Rocketeer,” said IDW Special Projects editor Scott Dunbier, “I’ve been a fan of Dave Stevens and The Rocketeer since I first read it in the early 80s. It was a dream of Dave’s to see his creation return to the shelves in a complete collection. We are dedicated to making this the definitive edition, a book Dave would have been proud of.” This October The Rocketeer will fly once more.
One deluxe hardcover for me, please!
For those looking for a super gigantic version of the above image, I can be persuaded bribed.
via IDW Publishing
Notorious pin-up babe from the 1950s Bettie Page passed away yesterday at the age of 85. She’d been in a coma for about a week after suffering a heart attack. Page got a resurgence in popularity following Dave Stevens The Rocketeer comic that had Page’s likeness appear inside. The two were friends for years, and it is interesting/strange the two died so close together.
Another great shot of Page from Stevens book after the jump.
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