The Rocketeer is always a lot of fun. The character is modeled after 1940s adventure serials, which is a style I’ve always loved. The retro sci-fi aesthetic combined with a classic film action vibe can hardly help but be entertaining. I’ve been a fan of the movie for most of my life, but I’ve only just fairly recently started to get into the comics. So, I was very excited to see a new Rocketeer story arc come up for review. And this first issue does not disappoint.
We open with a fight scene as The Rocketeer does a little housecleaning. There are a few bad guys that need to be disposed of before Cliff Secord goes out of town. Cliff, Betty, and Peevy are headed to San Francisco, where Betty is shooting a film—a starring role, after years of thankless background work. While they’re there, they’re staying with Deb – who’s apparently an old friend – and her mother who seems to be hitting it off well with Peevy.
Of course, even on vacation, there’s no rest for The Rocketeer—much as Betty tries to convince Cliff that there should be. It starts with an unauthorized Rocketeer balloon in the local Thanksgiving Day parade and continues with the daring rescue of a runaway trolley.
And that’s just the beginning. There’s more trouble afoot in San Francisco, and it involves Nazis. Where the Rocketeer is concerned, it always involves Nazis. It’s easy to understand why. Nazis make great villains. Their evil is already established in the reader’s mind, so you know right away who you’re dealing with. It makes them a formidable opponent for the hero to tangle with. And it brings an innate feeling of satisfaction to watch them get defeated.
Of course, at this point in the story, we don’t even know who these particular Nazis are or what their plans are in San Francisco. Whatever it is, we’ll no doubt find out more in the next issue. And then we can watch the 1940s adventure shenanigans unfold. I, for one, am looking forward to it.
Creative Team: Stephen Mooney (story), Staz Johnson (art), Len O’Grady (colors, pages 1-7, 10), Marco Lesko (colors, pages 8-9, 11-20), Shawn Lee (letters)
Publisher: IDW Publishing
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