It had been more than a few years since a new Rocketeer story had emerged from IDW when in 2022 on the 40th anniversary of the debut of The Rocketeer by Dave Stevens in the back pages of Starslayer at Pacific Comics a new story was released. It's a four-part tale by writer and artist Stephen Mooney. He's an unknown to me, so I went into this story with no expectations, save that Rocketeer stories are supposed to be above average. The Great Race is well above average.
The story seems to pick up right after the events in Cliff Secord's adventure in New York City where he and Betty made amends. Everything we've learned about the Rocketeer since feels like it doesn't matter or haven't happened yet. Mooney clearly wants to keep the story grounded and that's hard to do when your hero has been flying all over God's green Earth saving folks of all kinds. So, think of this story as a soft reboot -- not an official rejection of other continuities but just allowing memory of them to fade. That proves to be a good strategy. Cliff is hired to fly an experimental racing plane built by an eccentric and exceedingly wealthy inventor. But his motives seem suspect from the start. The Nazis are involved when Cliff finds a gang of them operating in a remote California camp and later when one of them becomes a dastardly flyer in the race. Betty has a logical role to play and flies to Paris where the finish line is to await Cliff's arrival. The race is dangerous and before it's over as you no doubt guess the Rocketeer has a big part to play.
It's really great stuff. Mooney's artwork is excellent with colors by Len O'Grady. It captures the era and the characters without aping the Stevens style. Mooney is able to bring his own approach to the characters, keep them on model for the most part and deliver a story which works. It's not as fantastical as many previous attempts at Rocketeer stories, and it's not without flaws, but it does take you back to those precarious days quite effectively.
Here are the covers for the four-issue run.
I give this story a big thumbs up. The book also features "Dave Stevens - An Oral History of the Rocketeer" by Kelvin Mao which gives the reader the story of how the character came to be. From the earliest days at Pacific to the final moments of we follow the saga of Stevens as he fashions his comics with amazing attention to detail. The saga is related largely by quotes from a myriad of associates of Stevens including his former editors, his colleagues and even his former wife and model for Betty, Brinke Stevens. The Rocketeer was at once one of the most successful and most elusive products of the early Indy comic era, and was recognized from the very beginning as something quite special.
This book is highly recommended, and now for a few other things of Rocketeer interest.
The first is The Rocketeer One-Shot comic from IDW. It sports several handsome covers, the one above by Adam Hughes. I wasn't lucky enough to land that one, but still it's a fun little comic, though like many modern comics it takes very little time to read. It's made up of three small tales. The first is "Amelia" written by Danny Bilson and Paul De Meo who also happened to have written the well-remembered Rocketeer movie from so many years ago. In this tale drawn by Adam Hughes we discover the connection between Cliff and a certain famous aviatrix who mysteriously vanished. The second tale by writer Kelvin Mao and artist Craig Cermak has Cliff try to stop the theft of an ancient South American artifact during a lecture by a famous archeologist, and he is helped by a nameless man who is excellent with a bullwhip. The final tale is tiny one written by Robert Windom and drawn by Jae Lee and features the Rocketeer in furious action while all the time remembering his girl is the most important thing in his life. There are several pin-ups in the back as well. Fun stuff if you can find a copy.
The second is a new limited series by Stephen Mooney in the Rocketeer universe titled "Den of Thieves". This one is coming out currently in comic book form. I'll wait for the trade to add this yarn to my stack of Rocketeer stories, which even after four decades is still pretty slender all things considered.
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