The Rocketeer: The Complete Collection

Speeding across the sky like a jet-propelled dream, Stevens’s Rocketeer is one of the most enduring and endearing images of ’80s comics. Set in the ’30s, these tales follow Cliff Secord, an impulsive young stunt pilot who finds a mysterious jetpack that enables him to fly. And then his troubles—and the fun—begin. A charming, lively tribute to the pulp era—several characters from well-known pulp serials make clandestine appearances—Stevens’s lively, gorgeous art captures every wide-eyed gasp and clenched-jaw struggle of the breakneck tale. While Stevens, who died in 2008, is a master of adventure, Cliff’s girlfriend Betty, a delightful homage to pinup queen Bettie Page, often steals the show. Due to Stevens’s slow output, only a handful of Rocketeer stories exist, collected for the first time following a checkered publishing trail and being out-of-print for over a decade. Those who have never seen the complete Rocketeer will be satisfied with the regular hardcover edition; an oversized deluxe edition brings together concept art, sketches, and background materials that make this the definite record of one of comics’ most appealing recent characters. (Jan.)