Dave Stevens' Rocketeer: The Complete Adventures - Page 3

protector2814 · 12-31-2009, 10:01 AM

I agree with you Sledge. The Rocketeer did have almost limitless potential as a periodic, ongoing character Stevens could have occasionally created new stories for. I dream about the potential of Doc Savage, The Shadow. a 30's Tarzan or The Phantom meeting him in a great adventure. Seems to me the only way the character could be resurrected and drawn again would be if a writer artist on Dave Stevens same level tackled him, and that creator would have to be equally passionate about the era or at least open to study.

Frank Cho comes to mind. He dabbles a lot with Tarzan, Burroughs properties, pulp styles and intense detail. Other than him, I'm stumped as to who could draw and write a new Rocketeer adventure.

Sledge Hammer! · 12-31-2009, 11:20 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Royd

Sledge - a fellow Aussie Stevens/Rocketeer fan!

Yeah, I picked up all the individual issues (including the movie adaptation) at the time of their release so I didn't bother with the early collections but this one with every Dave Stevens book plus the 100+ pages of additional material and was too good to pass up.

As mentioned earlier, I also picked up a copy of the exclusive version of "Brush with Passion: The Art and Life of Dave Stevens" from Minotaur Books last week and it's an amazing compilation of Dave's work including background to the making of the Rocketeer movie - fascinating stuff! Best,

Royd

Hey Royd, yeah I've been thinking about picking up that Dave Stevens book myself for a while now, but as I no longer have any comic stores within 200 k's of me I was waiting until I next take a trip to to melbourne or somewhere to see if I could find and look at it in person and decide if it was worth picking up, but sounds like it is indeed worth a purchase, which is good to hear. Might get a copy delivered from one of my usual online haunts sometime soon then.

And protector, I know exactly what you mean. The problem with most of todays creators, both artists and writers, is their tendency to make everything darker and edgier, and while that works fine for a lot of characters, it really doesn't fit The Rocketeer, who, in Stevens own words, was always about fun and adventure first and foremost. I don't know many of the current crop who could deliver the tone right for a Rocketeer revival, but Cho is actually a pretty good call, he has the talent and the right kind of sensibilities at least...

protector2814 · 12-31-2009, 01:39 PM

So, it's been years, probably since the early 80's since I read my Rocketeers, but all this talk on this thread caused me to pull 'em and re-read. I'm sure I picked up on this then, but I must have plum-forgot - That's Monk and Ham (2 of Doc Savages faithful assistants) and finally the legs of Doc Savage himself who show up in the 2nd issue of the Pacific Presents' Rocketeer story! Dod Savage himself created Cliff's Rocket Pac.

Holy Hamana!, I'd forgotten that Doc Savage and The Rocketeer were connected. When I tried to follow this story with a 3rd part, I couldn't find one. The other Rocketeer mags (Adventure Mag. 1,2&3, and Special Edition 1) are different stories. Did the Doc Savage storyline ever finish? You guys with the Complete Adventures can answer this. Please...Somebody, do we get to see a Rocketeer/Doc Savage team-up?

Sledge Hammer! · 12-31-2009, 04:45 PM

I only have the collected edition of the first Rocketeer storyline from back in the day, not the individual issues themselves, but yes, that story that you speak of was completed in chapter 5, which began with the very Doc Savage like 'Stranger' ordering "Out of the car, Secord!", which I always thought was originally released as a Rocketeer special by Eclipse comics...

protector2814 · 12-31-2009, 05:03 PM

Thanks Sledge, you were right. Upon closer examination, the story does indeed pick up in Special Edition #1. While never actually named, Doc, Ham and Monk are all there as plain as day. Very cool, I'd forgotten.

Sledge Hammer! · 12-31-2009, 05:55 PM

No worries, glad I could help.

And yeah, it's definitely them, just not officially, legally, rights infringmentally them...

Royd · 12-31-2009, 09:04 PM

My only Rocketeer-related piece of artwork - it's not Dave Stevens but it is Mark Schultz and Mark told me that it had actually been intended as a pin-up for the Rocketeer Adventure Magazine but didn't make the deadline in time -

Wrothy · 12-31-2009, 10:12 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Royd

My only Rocketeer-related piece of artwork - it's not Dave Stevens but it is Mark Schultz and Mark told me that it had actually been intended as a pin-up for the Rocketeer Adventure Magazine but didn't make the deadline in time -

Great piece Royd!

JM28Cardiff · 12-31-2009, 10:40 PM

I wonder who owns the rights to the character.

joy_division · 01-01-2010, 12:50 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by JM28Cardiff

I wonder who owns the rights to the character.

IMO, I think that the passing away of Dave Stevens is the reason why we have suddenly seen such an amount of rocketeer material recently(bust, statue, the rocketeer collection, PF)

My dream sketch was always the rocketeer by Dave stevens. Closest I got was a birthday present from Dave Dorman

http://www.comicartfans.com/GalleryP...361&GSub=61717