The Rocketeer: The Complete Deluxe Edition [Hardcover]

Dave Stevens (Author, Artist)

Book Description

Publication Date: December 21, 2009

The phenomenally popular Rocketeer by the legendary Dave Stevens is collected in its entirety for the first time as an oversized hardcover, in a beautiful slipcase, including hundreds of never-before-seen Rocketeer drawings and preliminaries by Dave Stevens! This impressive collection combines The Rocketeer and The Rocketeer: Cliff's New York Adventure into a single volume, completely re-colored, as per Dave Stevens' wishes, by renowned colorist Laura Martin. The best possible reproduction and the highest production values will ensure that this is the definitive Rocketeer collection. Additionally, hundreds of drawings, sketches, and preliminaries by Dave Stevens, nearly all published here for the very first time, will make this a very special book.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 248 pages
• Publisher: Idea & Design Works Llc (December 21, 2009)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1600105378
• ISBN-13: 978-1600105371
• Product Dimensions: 12.8 x 8.4 x 1.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 3.8 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (13 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #170,817 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

26 of 26 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Dave would have loved this..., December 27, 2009

By 

Richard A. Tucker "Tucker at large" (Pembroke Pines, FL) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: The Rocketeer: The Complete Deluxe Edition (Hardcover)

For just a moment forget that there was a Rocketeer film.

This story is what that film was based on but that flawed, though herculean effort, pales when compared to the real thing. It's hard to translate perfection like this to the big screen. I may be impossible and it's definitely improbable.

I read the comic which was actually a back-up feature For Mike Grell's Starslayer (?) series from Pacific comics back in '82. Flipping through the book I gravitated to Dave Steven's effort naturally. Here was a comic story featuring adventure, vintage aircraft, an old curmudgeon, inventor, Peevy (modeled after the great comic artist, Doug Wildey) and his protege', the naive, but fast to learn, daring young pilot, Cliff Secord (who looks a bit like Dave Stevens himself).

Perhaps it was the newfound appreciation for this time period after "Raiders of the Lost Ark" featuring Harrison Ford as professor and archaeologist, Indiana Jones. But it was a hit. Everyone I initially showed it to shrugged their shoulders but I was hanging with the wrong crowd. Everywhere else this story was a hit. It wasn't a big hit, but it was a certified hit.

By the time the trade edition of the first story was collected in the mid-eighties people were in love. The reasons are simple; the first thing that grabs the reader is an artist who can not only draw but he can draw better than most of the comic artists alive. The adventure is fast paced with good action and set in a period of America coming of age in the world around her. Between thrilling air races, espionage and the past coming back to find him Cliff Secord is a very sympathetic character between trying to do what's right and trying to keep an even keel.

No spoilers, but in many ways this is a classic tale and Dave Stevens gives it a new feel and a great protagonist who constantly grows and changes to better fit his situations. Growing into full manhood is tough enough (especially when you think you're already there) without a rocket lashed to your back to make things even more interesting.

Then there's the fact that this story renewed older Americans' love affair with the now late Betty Page, while introducing us younger guys to her charms. Dave was classy and fun in his effort to bring this fifties pin-up gal to our attention. She was perfectly suited to this tale. It was easy to insert her into it as the character of Cliff Secord's love interest. Dave's efforts, whether on purpose or by coincidence revived a healthy interest in the then retired and reclusive Betty Page.

The Deluxe package is a testament to the love for the man, his story and his stunning art. Dave Stevens was not heavy on stylization. He approached the art like an illustrator. It's not the details, it's the love of drawing, and done skillfully that makes his work stand out. He's the natural heir to artists like George Evans, Reed Crandall and Al Williamson with a little Frank Frazetta for spice.

Back-up features include layouts of the pages, design work, thumbnail drawings of sequences and a lot of rare art from character sketches to fully produced promotional art. These are almost fully half of the volume. These pages show the process of creating a fine sequential story with all the bells and whistles.

The slipcase is stylish and protects the book, and it does so beautifully.

Reading it when it arrived was like visiting an old friend, long gone. The story is completely re-colored by the late Dave Steven's choice of colorist, Laura Martin. She did an exemplary job. The lettering was provided by the gifted Carrie Spiegle.

From editor Scott Dunbier to Thomas Jane's eloquent and touching introduction and all the great artists who helped Dave put these stories out, this really is as good as it could be.

By all means, if the price of this volume is prohibitive, do yourself a favor and get the trade hardcover edition. At less than half the price it's still one of the best books put out this year and a quality book to boot. This is a fun, solid read, and one of the best drawn comics to ever see print. Such a rare balance of beautiful art and eloquent storytelling is rare.

Publisher IDW deserves serious recognition for this volume.

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Remarkable Look at an Unforgettable Character, January 8, 2010

By 

Terry Sunday (El Paso, Texas United States) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: The Rocketeer: The Complete Deluxe Edition (Hardcover)

I'm probably in the minority here, but if it hadn't been for the 1991 Disney movie, I would never have heard of "The Rocketeer." The movie caught my eye because of my childhood fascination with television's black-and-white Saturday morning hero Commando Cody, who battled bad guys wearing a leather jacket, a bullet-shaped helmet and a rocket pack strapped to his back. Commando Cody's lineage went back to three old Republic serials: "King of the Rocket Men" (1949), "Radar Men From The Moon" (1952) and "Zombies of the Stratosphere" (1952). But there was another side to "The Rocketeer" that I did not learn about until recently. I had not realized that the character created by the late Dave Stevens was featured sporadically in a little-known series of comic books from 1982 through 1995. "The Rocketeer: The Complete Deluxe Edition" collects all of Mr. Stevens' superb work, plus hundreds of sketches, notes and preliminary layouts, into a single heavy, oversized, visually stunning volume.

Simply put, this is a remarkable treasure. Housed in a sturdy, eye-catching slipcase and with a handy ribbon place-marker, the book itself is exceptionally well made and of extremely high quality. The covers are solid and strong, the binding is tight, the pages are thick and glossy, and the colors and production values of the artwork printed on them are the best I have ever seen in any book--period. The page size allows the artwork to be printed quite large, which, with the minimal margins, shows off the incredible details and intricacies of Mr. Stevens' work to best advantage. This is truly a volume to enjoy and to savor over many readings. The craftsmanship of the drawings, the meticulous line work, the amazing coloring--all create a visual feast for the eye that gets better every time you look at it. This is a book that is sure to get better over time.

Roughly half of the pages in the Deluxe Edition consist of photographs, pencil sketches, yellow-legal-pad pages of Mr. Stevens' notes, storyboards, uncolored final drawings, conceptual layouts and so on. These "extras" provide a fascinating glimpse into the creative process that Mr. Stevens went through to develop his stories and characters. While they may not be of interest to casual readers who just want to read the finished stories, and who may thus choose to purchase "The Rocketeer: The Complete Collection," I found them to be a good "value-added" feature well worth the additional cost.

If you have the slightest interest at all in "The Rocketeer," I most highly recommend this book without hesitation. You'll not only be satisfied with it; you'll be overwhelmed.

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Just received it, and it's BEAUTIFUL!, December 30, 2009

By 

R. Hummel III "capthummel" (Los Angeles, CA (USA)) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: The Rocketeer: The Complete Deluxe Edition (Hardcover)

The other reviews here tell the tale that makes this story so compelling. I just have to weigh in that I just received the Hardback, slipcase edition and it's truly a beautiful edition! The pages are of the highest quality and the color and ink are superb!

Truly a wonderful find for any Rocketeer fan!