Just the other day I was complaining about how The Rocketeer was the most underutilized franchise idea in the history of good ideas gone nowhere. Either the nerd gods were moved by my lamenations or IDW Publishing is bugging my cubicle, because The Rocketeer is racing his way back into my heart comics in a 4 issue miniseries!
Writer Mark Waid and artist Chris Samnee recently sat down with Newsarama to discuss the new project.
“It’s a big responsibility and I don’t take it lightly at all,” said Waid. “All I can tell you is that as someone who bought all the original Rocketeer comics as they came out and read them until they fell apart, every page of Dave’s work is burned into my brain and we intend to come at Rocketeer with the same sense of respect and honor that Dave himself showed to his forebears.”
The Rocketeer, created in 1982 by Dave Stevens, was imagined as an homage to the matinee icons of the 30’s and 40’s. Set in pre-WWII California, It tells the story of Cliff Secord, a daredevil-type who leads a double life as a pilot-for-hire and masked adventurer, The Rocketeer. The first issue of the new series has Secord investigating a mysterious tanker at the Los Angeles docks that has cargo that is both large and alive.
“I’ve been a fan of the Rocketeer and of Dave Stevens’ work since I was just a kid so it’s honestly been a bit daunting,” artist Chris Samnee admits. “Dave created such a wonderful world for these characters to live in and some of the most beautiful work ever seen in comics so it goes without saying that he left some pretty huge shoes to fill. That said though, I’m giving this book everything I have and trying my hardest to live up to what Dave created. And having a ball every moment I’m at the board.”
Waid said that the Rocketeer’s problems run much deeper and vanilla than mysterious monsters at the docks.
“As the Rocketeer, Cliff’s dealing with two arch-nemeses set to strike the West Coast with a cargo of terror they’ve crated in from a place quite familiar to movie historians,” Waid reveals. “While this is going on, Cliff has another set of problems to deal with. The end of the 1930s saw the beginnings of the Federal Aviation Administration and the start of a great deal more regulation of free-wheeling airmen like Cliff–who, if he doesn’t learn to control his temper, may find himself permanently grounded in red tape.”
For Samnee, drawing The Rocketeer is a dream come true, but he understands the responsibility that comes with working on such an iconic character.
“Rocketeer plays to everything I love in entertainment. It’s funny, full of adventure and with a fair amount of daring-do,” says Samnee. “I feel, even though our styles are different, Dave and I share some of the same sensibilities and a number of the same artistic influences. For me, working on The Rocketeer is all coming pretty naturally. Stylistic differences aside, there’s no sense in fixing something that isn’t broken. The Rocketeer is, in my book, one of the best character designs comics have ever seen. I’ve added a few of my own touches here or there to make it mine but I’m really trying to stay true to the world and characters that Dave Stevens created.”
Check back with us for more details as they develop.
