The Rocketeer: The Complete Adventures

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Firstly, I'll say that the book arrived in excellent condition. The printing is of a very high quality which makes the gorgeous artwork pop with phenomenal color and linework, it's a true treat to look at! Be aware though, the story leaves off in an alright spot, but more was planned for the world of The Rocketeer, which sadly never came before the author's far too early death. "Complete Adventures" is just that, this volume contains the complete and ONLY Rocketeer stories you will ever need to read/own. Don't bother with anything else outside of the 1990s movie, everything done by later authors was not worth your time and planned adaptations already seem to be disasters in the making. So, if you want a loving send up of Pulp Action stories from the past with gorgeous artwork, fun characters, and thrilling stories all in one convenient place, then this book is a must have! Just be aware, you may be left wishing there had been 50 more Rocketeer stories. Which, at the end of the day, shows just how well done this series was, right?

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.

I purchased this as a Christmas gift for my husband who is a fan of the Rocketeer and he loved the story and art work.

This is old school pulp mixed the Saturday matinee serial adventure of the 30s and 40s with a touch of the adult risquéGreat fun and characters

Let me start out by saying that Dave's artwork in this comic is SENSATIONAL! I flip through the book frequently just to take a look at his amazing brush work. The faces are so expressionistic and he can draw the human form like no other. Most of the pages, however, have one too many panels, so they can sometimes look a little cramped and cluttered, but that's understandable considering the limited number of pages per issue he originally had to work with.Secondly, I don't like that the book was re-colored. I tried to find a tpb with the original colors, but it seems that a complete collection doesn't exist. Frankly, I think color just distracts from the brilliant artwork. I wish they could have printed a black and white edition of the book as the black and white illustrations are like nothing I've ever seen! I would have paid extra for that if it existed. Don't get me wrong, the colorist, Laura Martin, did a beautiful job re-coloring the comic. Some of the best digital coloring I've ever seen, for that matter! I simply don't like it when things aren't kept in their original format.Now on to the story. This is where I was severely let down as I had been looking forward to reading the comic for years and I read a lot of really good reviews for it. I knew it would be cheesy and over the top and situations would play out conveniently and unrealistically enough for the characters so as to keep the plot moving along, so I was OK with that until it got to be just plain ridiculous. For starters, all of the characters are extremely underdeveloped and inconsistent. Peevy (the sidekick) is the strongest example of this. He is constantly changing his point of view about the Rocketeer's actions. First he's against Cliff (the Rocketeer) for not turning the jet pack in to the rightful owners, then he's helping the Rocketeer out of a jam and encouraging him to use the jet pack, then he's against him again, then with him again. Whatever seems to be needed to keep the scene flowing while creating a brief morality conflict between Peevy and Cliff. There's such a thing as characters arcs, and this wasn't it. Most of the characters suffer from similar flaws in their development.Half way through the tpb, the story suddenly takes a sharp turn and we are introduced to a whole new cast of characters and a new villain that pretty much comes out of nowhere. It seemed to me that perhaps the first half of the comic was written to be a self contained story, but then maybe sales were good enough to keep producing them so the story continued as if it was going to lead to an ongoing series of adventures. But it doesn't! The first half is one story, and the second half is another story from out of nowhere and then it ends. Had it continued as an ongoing series, or if there had been a more focused story development, then it would have been more fitting, but the second half just seemed terribly rushed and inappropriate.That being said, I still recommend this book to anyone who appreciates good artwork. If you're the type of reader who flies through a comic in a couple of minutes without taking the time to really look at the detail in each panel, then I wouldn't recommend this comic to you. If I could give the artwork 10 stars, I would. The story...about 2 stars at best. Sorry.

This is my first time reading this comic and i all hooked. A bit of of fashioned story with up to date art

Before I purchased this book, I watched the movie adaptation from Disney. When I learned the movie was based on a comic, I decided to purchase the comics after learning of the Deluxe Edition. I enjoyed the remastered artwork, story, and bonus material. I also liked how creator Dave Stevens (who made a cameo in the movie adaptation) managed to capture the feel of the 1930's, and was impressed with the detail. My favourite part of this book was the bonus material, which included sketches by Dave Stevens. If you saw the Rocketeer movie, you'll love the comics!

This deluxe edition of 'The Rocketeer' is brilliant. I got the smaller hardcover reprint of the story but then realised this was available so HAD to get this too. I'm glad I did. The deluxe edition has the same beautifully recoloured version of the story (and gallery of covers) but with LOADS of extras.This larger format book comes inside a solid, and eye catching slip-case. The book itself has the red silk ribbon book mark in the binding which I think is a lovely touch.Inside the book you get the full recoloured story reprinted ('The Rocketeer' and 'Cliff's New York Adventure') which is a corker. A proper old fashioned, pulp style adventure with brilliantly period detailed pencil work and striking colours. On the inside of the cover you get the black and white collage of images that was in the original paperback. After the story and cover galleries you get the extras: black and white sketches, panel layout drafts, colour to black and white comparisons, a couple of model poses to finished art comparisons, artwork related to the 1991 film and promotional artwork too.Dave Steven's style is very detailed and delicate. He seems to approach comics more like an illustrator approaching how to match detailed text rather than like the usual comic artists I have seen. There aren't loads of sound effects leaping out all over the place only where totally necessary. The original colour work was bright and bold however the recoloured story now has an extra level of depth. It's very sad he didn't get to live to see this version completed.

-The Rocketeer. The Rocketeer is another wonderful example of the flowering of the graphic novel which began in the 1980's with Moore's Swamp Thing, V for Vendetta, and Watchmen, Frank Miller's Ronin and The Dark Knight Returns, Gilbert & Jaime Hernandez Love & Rockets, and Howard Chaykin's American Flagg, several of which I've reviewed for Amazon. As different from all of these as they are from each other, The Rocketeer is a pulp adventure romp which moves from the dry sunny skies of California to the dark underworld of New York and it's a delight from start to finish.Firstly the art by Dave Stevens is delicate in line, detailed and accurate in its portrayal of the period, wryly humorous, almost unique its depiction of people who look real, and particularly gorgeous in its portrayal of beautiful woman. Betty, the heroine, is modelled on the legendary 1950's glamour and exotic pictures icon Bettie Page. I've no doubt that Stevens, who later became a friend of Paige, did much to bring her back into the limelight again. But I digress, in the unlikely event that you aren't taken with the story, it's impossible that the art will fail to enchant you. It has also been recoloured, in accordance with Stevens' wishes (though tragically he died of leukemia before he could see it), by Laura Martin one of the very top colourists in the business and whose skills have enhanced many graphic stories. Also reprinted are the many covers of the various magazines in which this story appeared.As for the story itself, stunt pilot Cliff Secord gets his hands on jet pack stolen by Nazis from its inventor who isn't, as one character thinks, Howard Hughes but a very famous character from the pulp magazines of the period. Lots of action ensues with Cliff distracted by his stunning girlfriend and her career as a glamour model. All doesn't end well and Secord chases her to New York to try and prevent her from going to Europe with her sleazy-sophisticate photographer mentor. There he is befriended by another pulp hero with a very sharp nose as dark secrets of Secord's life are brought into sharp threatening life.I love this book. I love it for its beautiful art. I love it for its high adventure and thrills. I love it for its humour and I love it for its detail and for so many other reasons. And I love it because I have it in this definitive beautiful hardback edition. And I'm pretty sure you will love it too.

This is one of my most favorite comics of all time. It's filled with adventure, comedy, witty dialogue, suspense and a wonderful feel for the retro and nostalgia for the 30s and early 40s. Dave's art is simply gorgeous and Laura's color adds a vibrant life to his drawings with attention to detail and a flair for the dramatic.The characters are fascinating, wonderfully designed and their progression through the story and development is some of the best I've seen.This is truly one of the great graphic novels of the last 30 years and then some.

This is a wonderful evocation of late 1930's America in comic form with more than a wink and a nod in the direction of the pulp magazines of the period. The artwork is old-style and completely to my taste. It's such a shame that the artist died before his time. We could have had many more thrilling adventures of the man with a rocket strapped to his back. I bought the Kindle version which showed up well on my iPad. By tapping on a frame of the comic it could be enlarged to a degree. My only wish is that the frame could be enlarged to fill the screen in order to appreciate the stunning artwork.S R Smith