Stevens, Dave - Rocketeer, volume 2, chapter 2, page 7 (July 1989)
Artist: Dave Stevens (All)
38 Comments - 3,273 Views - 14 Likes
Artwork Details
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DescriptionA recent posting of a Rocketeer page on CAF mentioned the selling of a portion of one’s soul to accomplish. I wish this one had been that cheap. Don’t get me wrong – I’m thrilled. Having said that…I wish I did not sometimes absolutely reek of desperation when it comes to comic OA. Recognition is supposed to be the first step to recovery, right? Yeah…right.Anyway, as many of us know, Dave Stevens created the Rocketeer in 1982. I was about fourteen at the time. As you might guess, a combination of an everyman (Cliff Secord) who flies planes for fun, has a seriously hot babe for a girlfriend and somehow gets pulled into fighting Nazi’s by virtue of discovering a personal jet-pack is going to appeal greatly to the mind of a fourteen year-old male. And it did…and still does. Which leads me to this page. I think there are two primary camps of people who want a Rocketeer page – the camp that wants a Rocketeer page and the camp that wants a Betty page. Technically, I fall into both camps…but we can’t have it all, so when given a choice, I chose a Rocketeer page. Namely, this one, which I think is magnificent. You’re not going to get much more Rocketeer on a page – and the panel composition provides a series of takes and different camera angles on him while zooming around in half-control of the jet-pack on his back. Influenced by Golden Age artists Will Eisner, Lou Fine, Reed Crandall, Maurice Whitman, Frank Frazetta and Wally Wood, Stevens was widely recognized as one of the finest comic book artists of his generation. While Stevens' extensive background research and meticulous approach to his illustrations contributed to long delays between Rocketeer issues, such delays never impacted the popularity of Mr. Stevens nor his creation. Stevens was the first to win Comic-Con International's Russ Manning Most Promising Newcomer Award in 1982, and received both an Inkpot Award and the Kirby Award for Best Graphic Album in 1986. Stevens tragically died in March of 2008 at the age of 52 after battling complications from treatment for leukemia. As a final and related note, I want Joseph Melchior to know that my wife no longer considers him a ‘friend of the family’. And, Ron & Chris - you were right…arranging to pick this up while on a 20th anniversary trip (totally unrelated – I swear) was not a good idea. Social/Sharing |
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Comments on this Artwork
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Roger K. 
Member Since 2005
Forum Moderator
Posted on 2/17/2015
A good story and a better page! Congrats!
Malcolm Bourne
Member Since 2005
Posted on 2/17/2015
Welcome to the club!! Great page of course from a great artist whom I truly miss
Jep Soto
Member Since 2009
Posted on 2/17/2015
Amazing. I love the Dave Stevens Art. Congratulstiond for this nice piece.
Jeff Singh
Member Since 2004
Posted on 2/17/2015
Great page. Some great images of the Rocketeer. I know the reek of desperation you describe all too well. Looking for the next fix already:)
Conny Valentina
Member Since 2008
Posted on 2/17/2015
Great write up, it really made me chuckle a lot! Thank you for sharing such a wonderful piece of history! (I think it was worth whatever you had to give in return ;) )
Mike W
Member Since 2007
Posted on 2/17/2015
Some things are worth their weight in gold, and this gem is worth whatever you paid for it!!!!! Magnificent example of Stevens' brilliance!!! Congratulations, my friend!!!!!
Dino Mauricio
Member Since 2009
Posted on 2/17/2015
Magnificent. Superb Dave Stevens art, lots of great flying action, everything you'd want in a Rocketeer page!
J L
Member Since 2005
Posted on 2/17/2015
This would have been one of the pages I would pick. But you are much quicker than I. Congrats on this my friend. Great page!!!!
Chris C
Member Since 2004
Posted on 2/17/2015
L is for the way it looks to me, O is for the only way a Stevens could be, V is very, very extraordinary, E is even more than any piece I might adore
Greg G
Member Since 2004
Posted on 2/17/2015
I'd say you chose well...this is an outstanding Rocketeer page. So much action, beautifully laid out and executed as only Dave could. Big congrats!
Gene Park
Member Since 2004
Posted on 2/17/2015
We can all only hope to celebrate our wedding anniversaries with a Dave Stevens page and an appearance by Cheeky Joe, but you actually did it - congrats!
Don Raskin
Member Since 2010
Posted on 2/17/2015
Stevens. Rocketeer. This is perfection. Absolute, beautiful perfection that shows why Stevens was a master and is as highly regarded as he is. It makes me miss him as I'd love to see what he would create these days, but makes me ever thankful that pages like this are out there. And I thank you for sharing this. I'll be visiting it often.
Ken Fries
Member Since 2006
Posted on 2/17/2015
It should be mandatory to post some sort of reason or explanation about the page you're posting and why you've got it and/or what it means to you when you put something up on this site. This would be the template we'd all work off of. :)
Tom Coker
Member Since 2005
Posted on 2/17/2015
Chris, congrats on picking up one of the BEST pages from Cliff's New York Adventure. Awesome!
Felix Lu
Member Since 2005
Posted on 2/18/2015
Very nice, Chris! There may be only two of us, but put me in the Rocketeer over Betty camp, too! Congrats on scoring this awesome example.
Mark Yanko
Member Since 2009
Posted on 2/18/2015
I love to read long back stories about one's acquisitions to the collection on CAF, and this one entertained me thoroughly. Lovely art and some intriguing asides there in the text. Congrats, sir!
COL (Ret) Churchill
Member Since 2004
Posted on 2/18/2015
Your last paragraph is definitely intriguing and cryptic, Chris. I would love to hear more of the backstory on this great Stevens panel page.
Raymond Bryan
Member Since 2011
Posted on 2/18/2015
Nice!! Oh, so very nice! Congrats on a great page!!!
Ron S
Member Since 2007
Posted on 2/18/2015
Wow! Just an awesome page. Thanks for bringing back a great memory. We lost Dave Stevens far too soon. Great choice, Chris!
John B
Member Since 2004
Posted on 2/18/2015
Thanks for a desperately needed laugh this morning. Great page!
Lee Benaka
Member Since 2004
Posted on 2/18/2015
What a great-looking page! The cracked helmet makes the Rocketeer look fairly creepy. Big congrats!
bob fish
Member Since 2011
Posted on 2/18/2015
the best page from the book ! good luck with your trip !
GianCarlo Nardini
Member Since 2004
Posted on 2/18/2015
I'm now looking at this page in the IDW Artist's Edition and thinking, "Damn, I wish I weren't looking at this page in the IDW Artist's Edition." It must be thrilling to hold this baby in your hands. Congrats.
Mark Howland
Member Since 2004
Posted on 2/18/2015
Killer action! You've risen - once again, Chris - to the top of the CAF charts.
Alex Johnson
Member Since 2006
Forum Moderator
Posted on 3/2/2015
Wow! That page gets better everytime that I look at it.
Michael Kenyon
Member Since 2008
Posted on 6/11/2019
so nice i commented twice. Chris I think this is my favorite page of yours. You're CAF loaded with museum pieces but this one speaks to me like no other. Bless you Dave Stevens I wish you were here man.
Lee Harmon
Member Since 2020
1 - Posted on 3/2/2024
Getting to just see this in-person was a treat for me Chris. Stevens was a talent like no other. And this page is perfect to me (a member of the the page with Rocketeer featured on it camp) containing a flying sequence no less!
Congratulations on a gem within your beautiful collection.
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