The Rocketeer at War

At the risk of sounding repetitive or obsessed, this week’s entry is once again about the Rocketeer. I had intended on writing a series of posts as I worked my way through the various IDW comics series reviving the character after Dave Stevens’ tragic passing. However, this week, I’m going to skip ahead to the most recent entry, The Rocketeer at War, because the collected edition has just come out, and I just read it the other night.

Fannish Speculation: The Rocketeer and the Shadow

This week, instead of enthusing about something I love, I'm going to dive even deeper into the geek pool. I don't usually indulge in fannish what-iffing and speculation, but I got a thought in my head the other night, and it won't shake loose. I've been rereading my Rocketeer comics lately, and I've also been trying to get caught up on the reprints of the classic pulp adventures of the Shadow we've got in the house. So I started to realize how badly I would love to see a Rocketeer/Shadow team-up story.

(Spoilers after the jump for Dave Stevens’ Rocketeer stories.)

Rocketeer Adventures Volume 1

When IDW originally published their first Rocketeer Adventures series, featuring new stories based on the late Dave Stevens’ creation, I was pretty excited. While in a perfect world, we would have seen new stories by Stevens himself, this was an acceptable substitute, for two reasons. First, obviously, Stevens’ passing at a far too young age precludes any new material from him at all. Second, I was well aware how much of the second volume of the Rocketeer was actually created by other people, although very much in line with Stevens’ vision and sensibilities. Regardless, I had been waiting most of my comics-reading life for new Rocketeer stories, so there was no way I was not going to be excited about their imminent arrival.

What's in the Box?!?: Subscription Box Round-Up: July Nerd Block and Firefly Cargo Crate

Just a couple of weeks after I republished my “I Love the Rocketeer” blog, this news of a new movie came out. Needless to say, I’m pretty excited by the prospect of a new Rocketeer movie. And I am fine with it being a reboot/sequel, with a new person wearing the helmet and rocket pack. I feel like that may be the best way to honor the original movie, rather than redo/recast the original characters. I also think that if Dave Stevens is no longer around to chart the course of the characters he created, maybe the best way to respect his memory is to move the series on with new characters, while still being faithful to the spirit of the original. (How do I square this attitude with the Rocketeer comics created after Stevens’ death, featuring Cliff Secord, Peevy and Betty? Stay tuned to a future blog to find out.)

Oh, and I am fine with the new Rocketeer being a black woman. I haven’t looked at any comments on any of the news articles about this new movie, and the idea that the new Rocketeer is neither white nor male, but I am sure that fandom is being completely reasonable, adult, and respectful of this, and not acting like a bunch of racist, sexist whiny boys. What other reasonable response could there possibly be?

On to July’s Nerd Block. Once again, the outside of the box is exactly the same as it is every month. Feel free to refer back to earlier Nerd Block blogs to see what that looks like.

The Rocketeer by Dave Stevens

Since we are just past the 25th anniversary of one of my favorite films, The Rocketeer, I want to revisit the character and the comics and stories about him. Back in 2011, on an older blog of mine, I wrote an entry about the original comics by creator Dave Stevens. I was pretty happy with that blog at the time, and still am. So, rather than reinvent the wheel, I present it here again.

As a kid, I loved the Rocketeer. The creation of taken-too-soon Dave Stevens, the 1930s hero first appeared in comics a few months after I entered comics fandom myself. Only a relatively few stories appeared over the next decade or so, but I eagerly devoured every one. And when the movie came out in 1991, I was in heaven. Last weekend, a number of things led to me wanting to watch the movie again, and that led to me rereading the comics. I’m pleased to say they all held up exactly as I remembered them.