The Rocketeer will return to comics next February in an adventure drawn directly from a “lost” story by Dave Stevens.
IDW has announced The Rocketeer: The Island by writer John Layman, artist Jacob Edgar, and colorist K.J. Díaz, adapting a never-before-published story outline written by the character’s creator. Stevens, who created The Rocketeer in 1982 as a love letter to pulp serials and Golden Age adventure strips, left behind notes, sketches and partial concepts before his passing in 2008. One such outline — unseen and unused for decades — is now becoming a full comic for the very first time.
“This Rocketeer project has been coming together for the past few months, and I can’t say enough about how much joy I’m getting every time a new page comes in,” said Layman. “Playing in Dave Stevens’ world, a retro-world of charm, humor and rocket-fueled adventure, has been an absolute blast. As an artist Stevens was an absolute virtuoso, and I feel like Rocketeer is an all-time classic comic character — he’s always been one of my favorites. IDW, a publisher I’ve already done work for on some of my very favorite comic projects, has given me another fantastic opportunity to get paid while having fun, while allowing me to honor a vision of a comic book hero of mine, and play in a world I’ve loved for decades. Plus, the art and colors by Jacob Edgar and K.J. Díaz are just phenomenal and perfect for the book.”
Set in 1938, the new series sends Cliff Secord on a rescue mission to find Amelia Earhart, only to discover a strange island full of unexpected dangers. Layman and Edgar are channeling the vintage charm and swashbuckling energy that defined Stevens’ original work, with a visual style that pays homage to the source material. Check out some of Edgar’s interior artwork:
“It’s a huge honor to be working on The Rocketeer, an iconic character with a very high bar to try and live up to, artistically,” Edgar said. “From Dave Stevens himself, to Chris Samnee, Darwyn Cooke, Staz Johnson… It feels like Cliff Secord always gets the greats. I love the tone that John is bringing to our story and I’m always jazzed to be working with K.J Díaz for color. This is a book I would not have guessed I’d ever get to do, but I’m having a blast making it, and I hope that energy comes through in the pages.”
A meticulous illustrator with a pin-up sensibility and an encyclopedic love for retro adventure, Stevens created The Rocketeer at Pacific Comics, instantly earning acclaim across the industry — including the first-ever Russ Manning Most Promising Newcomer Award in 1982. His creation quickly became a hit and in 1991 Disney adapted it to film. Stevens passed away in 2008 at the age of 52 after a long battle with leukemia.
The first issue of the new miniseries will have a cover by Edgar and Diaz, along with variants by Sean Murphy and Simon Gough, Elizabeth Beals and classic artwork by Stevens:
Look for it to land on Feb. 25.