- This article is about The Rocketeer, the comic book. For information on the film The Rocketeer, see The Rocketeer (film).
The Rocketeer (Cliff Secord) is a superhero created by writer/illustrator Dave Stevens that first appeared in a back-up feature of Pacific Comics' Starslayer #2 (1982). The character is a homage to the pulp heroes of the 1930s and 1940s. The Rocketeer was a stunt pilot who discovered a mysterious jet pack that allowed him to fly. The character's adventures were set in 1938 Los Angeles and Stevens gave them a retro, nostalgic feel, influenced by, among other things, Commando Cody movie serials and pinup diva Bettie Page. Rocketeer stories appeared in short installments from 1982 to 1995, published in Pacific, Eclipse Comics, Comico Comics and Dark Horse Comics. They gained a cult following and critical acclaim despite long stretches between story installments. Walt Disney Pictures released a film version starring Billy Campbell in the title role in 1991.
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Publication History
The Rocketeer’s first adventure appeared as a backup feature to Mike Grell's Starslayer #2 from Pacific Comics in 1982. Four more installments appeared in various Pacific publications, and were later collected together by Eclipse Comics (ISBN 1-56060-088-8). The fifth chapter ended in a cliffhanger. The story picked up again in the Rocketeer Adventure Magazine. Two issues were published by Comico Comics in 1988 and 1989, but the third did not appear until years later, published by Dark Horse Comics in 1995. All three issues were collected by Dark Horse as The Rocketeer: Cliff's New York Adventure (ISBN 1-56971-092-9). There was talk of further stories, perhaps with other artists, but nothing came of it.
Film Adaptation
In 1991, The Rocketeer was released as a feature film by Walt Disney Pictures and directed by Joe Johnston.
Computer game
The Rocketeer was also adapted for a computer game for PC machines. Using digitized sound and 256-color VGA graphics, it consists of a sequence of several levels, each of them in different action style, and the story is carried between levels with comic book–style strips and spoken dialogue. The game was more true to the original source material than the movie. A version of this title later appeared on the Super Nintendo. A different animal altogether is the other Rocketeer game, one for the NES. This game was a side-scrolling platform jumping game closely based on the movie adaptation. In 1988 the Cinemaware company also published a computer game called Rocket Ranger based on a similar idea and probably inspired by the Rocketeer comics.
The Rocketman
"The Rocketman" character first appeared in a number of early movie serials including:
- King of the Rocket Men
- Radar Men from the Moon
- Zombies of the Stratosphere
- Commando Cody: Sky Marshal of the Universe
In popular culture
- Gabe from Penny Arcade confuses the term racketeering with rocketeering as both a jab at a recent event and tribute to the character.[1]
- Eric Canete's cover for Iron Man: Enter the Mandarin #1 is an homage to the film's theatrical poster. [2]
Band 'Rocketeer'
- There is a London based band in the UK called Rocketeer [3]. There doesn't appear to be any solid reference to the character in their music or image.
