And Then I Read: ROCKETEER ADVENTURES 1

Images © The Rocketeer Trust.

This new series put together by editor Scott Dunbier, a Stevens friend and fan, is a fun return to the world Dave Stevens created in all-too-few pages, and is clearly a product of the love many have for the characters and the Stevens art and stories. While some of it comes reasonably close to the original, any new Rocketeer work will always be in the shadow of Dave's unique and brilliant personal vision, and thus will never be able to escape comparison with it. There are three short stories and a few pinups here. The lead story by John Cassaday comes closest to Stevens' style:

Cassaday does a good job, but I was never able to put aside comparing it to Stevens' work and just enjoy the story and art for its own sake, and because of that it did not completely succeed for me. The other stories by Mike Allred and Kurt Busiek/Michael Kaluta were each fine in their own way. Allred has his own unique vision that doesn't really mesh well with that of Stevens. Kaluta, another close friend of Stevens, does better, but again his own style dominates, making this effort an homage rather than something fresh. Busiek's script is, for me, the freshest thing in this book, and I enjoyed it a lot. The focus is on Betty in New York, performing in a Broadway show while receiving V-Mail letters from Cliff about his wartime service in Southeast Asia. By giving us a new point of view and new roles for the main characters, Busiek succeeds in bringing something fresh to the table, but again the art always begs comparison to Stevens.

Recommended, especially for Dave Stevens fans, but try not to expect too much!