Unbagging Dave Stevens The Rocketeer Artists Edition

Dave Stevens The Rocketeer Artists Edition

Release: Apr 27, 2022

Creators

Writer	Dave Stevens
Artist	Dave Stevens

Aaah! He’s a sap, I tell ya…th’ squirrels call ‘im brother!

On Bluesky, I saw announcements for some new Artist’s Editions and other similar types of volumes coming out, including some that feature the work of the late Dave Stevens.

I have a number of Artist’s, Artisan, and Artifact Editions, that are, for the most part, remnants of a time when I made a lot more money than I do now as they all tend to be a bit on the pricey side.

Which means that as much as I am desirous of owning the upcoming volumes, unless something drastic – like getting #6MillionClicks – happens between now and their release, owning them will likely remain a dream.

Still, it did make me think that I should take a look at one of the Artist’s Editions I do have, in part to help achieve that click goal that could lead to me being able to acquire the volumes that have been announced, but also just to share its glory.

Towards that latter end, this won’t really be a typical Unbagging post, as I won’t really get much into the story contained in the oversized volume, but it’s not a Short Box either, as it will have some pictures.

I suppose the first thing I should address is the obvious question: What is an Artist’s Edition?

It’s a hardcover volume reprinting comics that are printed at the size of the original art rather than being reduced down to the size of a traditional comic.

It features the original pages in a way that is as close as possible to seeing it in person, including notes in the margin, evidence of the use of whiteout, crop marks, and letting you see things like tape and the outlines of pasted-on content that is usually screened out in the printing process.

An Artist’s Edition is typically made from scans of the original art, but that’s not always possible for every page, so it’s noted when that is the case.

(For the record, an Artifact Edition is similar, but differs in that it’s a compilation of various pages rather than a reprint of a single work/series. An Artisan Edition is a smaller, but still oversized softcover version of an Artist’s Edition that is generally more affordable.)

To give you an idea of scale, here’s the Artist’s Edition in question with the smaller hardcover collection of The Rocketeer: The Complete Adventures

The Artist’s Edition collects the stories that originally appeared in Starslayer #2-3; Pacific Presents #1-2; Rocketeer Special Edition #1; Rocketeer Adventure Magazine #1-3, which is, unfortunately, the full extent of Rocketeer stories by Stevens.

As for the stories told, they focus on Cliff Secord, a young stunt pilot in California in the days before the United States entered World War II. Cliff is a kind-hearted if hot-headed man, prone to recklessness, looking to hit the big time so that he can offer a good life to his best gal Betty, an equally hot-headed young starlet.

His shot at the good life seems to fall right into his lap in the form of a stolen experimental rocket pack that will allow him to soar through the air without a plane, and with the help of his mechanic pal Peevy he becomes the high-flying Rocketeer.

Of course, he doesn’t exactly sail through the air smoothly, finding himself embroiled in international espionage, finding himself on the run from the rightful owners of the rocket pack even as he thwarts Nazi spies, and all the while finding his romance with Betty going down in flames despite his best efforts.

Note the handwritten page number in the upper right.

That first story was adapted into the 1991 movie from Disney, though that movie borrowed a character – Lothar – from the second story that is featured in this volume.

In the second story we find Cliff flying off in search of Betty who is planning to leave to Europe. Along the way, his past life working in a carnival catches up with him as he learns that members of his old troupe have been turning up dead.

The Rocketeer was an amalgamation and homage to all of the things that Dave Stevens loved, including old movie serials, pulp fiction, Art Deco, and, of course, Bettie Page, who served as the model and inspiration for Betty, and with whom Stevens became friends later in her life.

(In the movie, Disney renamed her Jenny so as to avoid any rights issues.)

The pulp fiction influence shows up in both stories, with the first intimating that the rocket pack was invented by Doc Savage, with two characters who are very clearly meant to be be representations of two of Doc’s associates playing a significant role in the story.

In the story, Peevy concludes that the rocket pack was created by Howard Hughes, which Doc’s associates are happy to let him believe, and which Disney decided to run with in the movie.

Yeah, that’s *totally* not Monk and Ham from Doc Savage.

The second story finds Cliff encountering someone who is clearly meant to be The Shadow.

It’s a shame that Stevens didn’t produce any more Rocketeer stories, as it would have been fun to see who else Cliff might have bumped into in his adventures.

As I said, the point wasn’t really to delve too deeply into the stories contained in it as it is to share the glory of the book itself.

And it is glorious to see the amazing art of Dave Steven stevens in most of its glory (nothing could compare to seeing the actual original art).

While it looks fantastic in color – in the originals and in the remastered colors in The Complete Adventures – there’s something special about seeing it in black and white, allowing his flawless linework and deft hatching and rendering to really shine.

Getting a glimpse into how the sausage is made via the elements of the production process that are retained is a fun bonus, but what I especially enjoy is seeing the work Stevens did beyond the trim, with elements of the underlying sketches that didn’t get cleaned up and inked faintly visible in the margins.

While they are expensive, there are multiple reasons to enjoy Artist’s Editions, whether it’s to see the art in its original form, to pull back the curtain to see how the finished product all came together, or even just to, you know, read the story.

I don’t have as many of them as I would like, and – again, unless I get those clicks – I’m probably not going to have many more, but I’m very glad I have this one.

I’ll close this out with some more glamour shots of the book.