Rocketeer: The new adventures, the review

Have we really arrived at the time to say goodbye? Rocketeer has accompanied us for almost a year, thanks above all to the splendid work of saldaPress in collecting all the stories created by the mind of Dave Stevens, but with the volume coming out these days the adventures of the reckless hero are coming to an end (at least for now ). However, we can say that it was a very pleasant journey, in which we began to know Cliff Secord and his mechanic and friend Peevy Peabody through the story of the origin of the hero and his first adventures, then following him in his desperate attempt to regain his loved Betty in Hollywood and keeping her company even during World War II, while standing up to the Nazis.

It's sad that it has come to an end, after so long, but it's good that it has with a last volume that contains all the short stories of our hero armed with a propulsion rocket, written and illustrated by the best screenwriters and cartoonists on the world scene. A farewell, of course, but in style.

There's something for everyone

This latest volume of the Rocketeer adventures contains 24 stories, which further explore the universe that revolves around the protagonists we have come to love in these months, with their strengths and weaknesses. All the stories are written and drawn by various artists, each characterized by their own style: Joe Lansdale, Kurt Busiek, Darwyn Cooke, Dave Gibbons, Mark Waid, Bill Sienkiewicz, John Arcudi, Kurt Busiek, Marc Guggenheim, Walter Simonson, Bruce Timm, Stan Sakai, J. Bone, John Byrne, Matt Wagner and many others who make reading enjoyable and varied.



We move from the realistic style, like the American comics, of John Cassaday, to the more cartoonish and characteristic one of Bruce Timm, up to the brushstrokes of Bill Sienkiewicz in what is, in the opinion of the writer, the best story of the entire collection, which sees the two protagonists Cliff and Betty go to the cinema to see a parody of Rocketeer within the "Murray Melodies" (parody of the best known "Merry Melodies", the animated shorts of Warner Bros. starring the characters of Looney Tunes), in which the good Daffy Duck will play Ducketeer: a beautiful tribute to the character of Duck Dodgers, "the Duck of the 14th century ... and a half".



Another story worthy of mention is "The Devils of Heaven", written by Joe R. Lansdale and illustrated by Bruce Timm, father of the Batman of the animated series of the 90s. The peculiarity of this story is the fact that it is not a comic, but a real illustrated story, in which the words unravel among the drawings.

In short, you will not be disappointed by the great variety of stories and, even if it is a small consolation at the end of the adventures of Rocketeer, you will not be disappointed.

Some extra content

Both recorded and what we are about to write it is a mere "nit in the egg", since we believe the entire series of "The Adventures of Rocketeer" to be almost perfect, since it contains in its entirety all the written and drawn stories of the hero equipped with a rocket backpack . Having made this necessary premise, the volume is a bit "poor" in extra content, compared to its predecessors (especially compared to the first), since it contains "only" a splash-page by Geoff Darrow and four pencil drawings by Alex Ross, but put all on the same page and in small format.



However, although it seems like a "flaw", this lack of extra content is compensated by a number of pages that are much higher than previous volumes: 240 pages of stories, double those contained in previous issues.

Curiosities are interesting, it is true, but readers want to read stories. A sacrifice, therefore, necessary and welcome.

The end?

It seems that for now there are no other Rocketeer stories planned, as far as the comic side is concerned: just think that the 'last volume published in the US was Rocketeer Goes to War (which we told you about here), by IDW, in 2015. However, despite the relatively short editorial history, Rocketeer was placed at 76th place in IGN's ranking of the greatest comic book characters of the story.



But the adventures of the character are not limited to the paper. In fact, there is a film adaptation, produced by the then Walt Disney Company in 1991, entitled The Adventures of Rocketeer. The film, which you can find on Disney +, is inspired by the comic series of the same name created by Dave Stevens and tells the origins and the first adventures of Cliff Secord, in the company of his companions Peevy and his girlfriend Jenny, to whom he was changed her name to avoid comparisons with Bettie Page (Stevens' original inspiration), as well as changing her profession from nude model to Hollywood actress (a change also made to make the film more family friendly).

The film is really nice and is very faithful to the original work. If you want to know more, we refer you to our review that you can read simply by clicking here.

Read also: Rocketeer Va Alla Guerra, The review of the fourth volume of Saldapress

But it seems that the surprises do not are over: according to some rumors, it seems that a sequel to the film is planned, arriving directly on the Disney + streaming platform! Obviously take everything with due caution, but stay tuned for further developments.

In conclusion

Finally, returning to its paper counterpart, Rocketeer: The New Adventures it is the worthy conclusion of a journey, done in the best way: by telling stories. The latest volume published by s aldaPress succeeds in the intent of accompanying the reader in the latest adventures of Rocketeer, which has accompanied him so much over the year, making him passionate about the characters and situations he is used to knowing. Dave Stevens has managed to create a simple, yet multifaceted character within a realistic and incredibly alive universe. If he had not passed away prematurely, he would certainly have given much more to the world comics scene.