A while back I wrote about what a fragmented experience it was reading the saga of The Rocketeer by the late and certainly great Dave Stevens. The series evoking the spirit of bygone pulp-laced days was the definition of a labor of love. It got published off and on over the course of many many years.
I have all the Rocketeer stories in original form, so when IDW came out with its excellent reprints of the story in one volume and again later in a deluxe package with extra art, I was resistant. The price was fair, but I couldn't really justify buying a story I already owned. The deluxe package is beautiful, but I've not seen one in a store and it was really out of my wheelhouse in price anyway. But still the basic collection called.
I picked it up a few days ago simply overcome by the sheer beauty of the pages. This is a story that blossoms as the story unrolls before you. Since so much time passed between the segments it's one of those stories that allows you to not only follow a hero but see an artist change and transform over time. Stevens had help on the series, lots of help, but his vision remains constant throughout.
I'm anxious to read this saga again, front to back in a single sitting in a single volume. It should be the same yet different, but surely quite quite good.
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