Rocketeer Adventures #3, July 2011
If you ever wonder whether the Rocketeer can fly without Dave Stevens, Bruce Timm answers by lighting the fuse and grinning. His illustrations in IDW’s Rocketeer Adventures #3 “pulp” tale from Joe Lansdale aren’t a tribute—they’re a full-throttle spin.
Timm tears across this two-page spread with a crisp, mid-century snap that makes me think a Rocketeer animated series would be pure rocket-fueled dynamite.
Stevens built a world roomy enough for great artists to play in. He gave us pulp heroics, Hollywood glamour, and Cliff Secord—our beloved jet-propelled knucklehead who means well, screws up spectacularly, and somehow still wins the day—and Betty, too.
Stevens created a timeless hero. Timm shows why he stays timeless. He’s not preserving the legacy—he’s joyriding it.
(And yes, I would love to own that gorgeous faux pulp cover below.)
