Rocketeer Adventures, Vol. 2
Written by Marc Guggenheim, Peter David, Stan Sakai, Tom Taylor, Paul Dini, Walter Simonson, Dave Lapham, Kyle Baker, Matt Wagner, Louise Simonson, David Mandel, John Byrne
Art by Sandy Plunkett, Bill Sienkiewicz, Stan Sakai, Colin Wilson, Bill Morrison, John Paul Leon, Chris Sprouse, Kyle Baker. Eric Canete, Walter Simonson, J. Bone, John Byrne
Inks by Karl Story, Bob Wiacek
Colors by Sandy Plunkett, Bill Sienkiewicz, Dave Stewart, Serban Cristescu, Jordie Bellaire, Eric Canete, Cassandra Poulson, J. Bone
Letters by Robbie Robbins, Bill Sienkiewicz, Stan Sakai, Colin Wilson, Chris Mowry, Shawn Lee. Kyle Baker, John Workman, Neil Uyetake
Cover by Darwyn Cooke
Design by Randall Dahlk
Edited by Scott Dunbier
IDW Publishing
Release Date: January 2013
Hardcover | Kindle
Somewhere, Dave Stevens is reading his copy of The Rocketeer Volume 2 and smiling, as you will be when you pick this book up. To say it brings honor and respect to the late Steven’s work would be an understatement. This is comic storytelling at its finest.
There’s not enough room on the internet to go over this book story by story, but this is a collection of short stories, written by a wide range of authors. Everyone from Louise Simonsin to Marc Guggenheim contributes fantastic stories of Cliff Secord and his jetpack. Most all the stories are charming, fun, and very entertaining and all of them convey the innocence of a time long past. These are stories of a TRUE hero who fights for what’s right, without questioning what’s in it for him or how it will further his personal life. This book is filled with EISNER WORTHY stories. I have no qualms about calling this book absolutely perfect.
Artist wise, it’s an all-star team, from Chris Sprouse to John Byrne, and all styles in between. You get stories from people like Bill Morrison who are channeling Dave Stevens to Stan Sakai who makes the world of The Rocketeer his own. What’s nice is that every story is not done in the same style and editor Scott Dunbier allows the artists to do their own thing. In particular, Bill Sienkiewicz comes to mind. His story is drawn in his own style, yet fits flawlessly in with the other stories. Just like the writing, this is some art that I’m predicting will garner an Eisner nomination.
IDW put an awful lot of effort and talent into this book and it came out magical. The hardcover is currently $15.10, which is a steal. Seriously, it’s worth at least twice that. (Kindle version is $8.39). This is one of the best comic collections that you could ever add to your bookshelf.
