You’ve likely seen the 1991 Disney movie. Maybe you remember the brown leather jacket or the iconic art deco helmet. But honestly, the movie is just a fraction of the story. To really get why fans obsess over Cliff Secord, you have to look at The Rocketeer comic book. It wasn't born in a corporate boardroom or as part of a cinematic universe strategy. It was a labor of love by a guy named Dave Stevens, and it basically changed the way we look at "retro" in pop culture.
Dave Stevens was an artist's artist. He didn't just draw; he obsessively rendered every fold of leather and every rivet on a 1930s aircraft. When the first chapters appeared in the back of Starslayer #2 in 1982, people didn't quite know what to make of it. It looked like a window into the past, but with a modern, kinetic energy. It was beautiful.
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The Accident That Created a Legend
The Rocketeer is, at its heart, a story about a loser. Cliff Secord is a hotshot pilot with a short fuse and a perpetually empty wallet. He’s not a billionaire. He’s not an alien. He’s just a guy who finds a top-secret rocket pack hidden in his stunt plane.
Stevens set the story in 1938 Los Angeles. It’s a world of smoky barrooms, dirty hangars, and the looming shadow of World War II. When Cliff finds the pack—a "Cirrus X-3" unit—he doesn't immediately think about saving the world. He thinks about how he can use it to make some fast cash and impress his girlfriend, Betty.
It’s this grounded, almost selfish motivation that makes The Rocketeer comic book feel so human. Cliff is constantly out of his depth. He’s a guy who puts on a helmet and a jetpack and promptly crashes into things. He’s brave, sure, but he’s also incredibly lucky. Stevens understood that a hero is more interesting when they’re struggling to stay in the air.
The Betty Factor and the Bettie Page Connection
You can’t talk about this series without talking about Betty. In the comic, she’s modeled directly after the legendary pin-up queen Bettie Page. This was actually a huge deal at the time. In the early 80s, Page had largely been forgotten by the mainstream public. She was living in obscurity, unaware that a young comic book artist was single-handedly reviving her image for a new generation.
Stevens didn't just copy her look; he captured her spirit. The Betty in the comics is fiery, independent, and often the smartest person in the room. Her relationship with Cliff is messy. They fight. They break up. She gets fed up with his jealousy. It’s a dynamic that feels far more "adult" than most of the superhero fare coming out of Marvel or DC at the time.
The art in The Rocketeer comic book is where Stevens really flexed his muscles. Every panel is a masterclass in composition. He would spend weeks on a single page, which is why there are so few actual Rocketeer stories written by him. He was a perfectionist. He wasn't interested in hitting monthly deadlines; he wanted to create something timeless. And he did.
Why the Art Deco Aesthetic Matters
The 1930s setting isn't just window dressing. It’s the soul of the book. Stevens was deeply nostalgic for the Golden Age of aviation and the pulps of his youth. He drew inspiration from characters like The Shadow and Doc Savage, but he filtered them through a lens of 1980s technical skill.
Look at the helmet. That finned, bronze masterpiece is one of the greatest designs in comic history. It’s functional yet elegant. It screams "future" as imagined by someone from 1938. This specific aesthetic—often called "Dieselpunk"—owes a massive debt to The Rocketeer comic book. Without Stevens, we might not have the specific look of Captain America: The First Avenger or even certain parts of Star Wars.
The Publication Nightmare
If you’re trying to track down every issue, good luck. The publishing history is a total mess. It jumped from Pacific Comics to Eclipse, then Comico, and eventually Dark Horse. Because Stevens worked so slowly, fans often had to wait years between chapters.
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- Starslayer #2-3 (1982): The debut.
- Pacific Presents #1-2: Continuing the first adventure.
- The Rocketeer Special Edition #1: Finally finishing that first arc.
- The Rocketeer: Adventure in the City of Ancient Sand: The second major story.
Honestly, the best way to read it now is through the IDW collected editions. They’ve done an incredible job of restoring the colors and making Stevens’ linework pop. They even released an "Artist’s Edition" that shows the original raw scans of the pages, complete with white-out and pencil marks. It’s a religious experience for art nerds.
The 1991 Movie vs. The Comic
The movie is great. It’s a charming, family-friendly adventure. But it’s not exactly the comic. Disney softened the edges. In the comic, Cliff is a bit more of a jerk. Betty is a nude model (a direct nod to Bettie Page’s real career). The villains are grittier.
The film also changed the origins of the rocket pack. In the movie, it’s built by Howard Hughes. In the comic, it’s a stolen prototype from an unnamed government agency, and the "Doc" who helps Cliff is clearly meant to be Doc Savage (though they couldn't use the name for legal reasons).
Despite the changes, the movie helped cement the character in the public consciousness. It turned a cult hit into a household name, even if it wasn't a massive box office success at the time. It’s one of those films that grew a following on VHS and cable, eventually leading back to the source material.
The Legacy After Dave Stevens
Sadly, Dave Stevens passed away in 2008. For a long time, it felt like The Rocketeer died with him. How could anyone else draw those characters? The bar was set impossibly high.
However, IDW eventually launched The Rocketeer Anthology and new miniseries like Cargo of Doom and Hollywood Horror. They brought in heavy hitters like Mark Waid, Chris Samnee, and Darwyn Cooke. These creators didn't try to mimic Stevens’ style—that’s impossible—but they captured the tone. They kept the 1930s vibe alive while telling new stories that felt like they belonged.
Even now, The Rocketeer comic book continues to influence creators. You see it in the way modern artists handle lighting and period-accurate technology. It taught the industry that you can be retro without being a parody. You can take the pulps seriously.
What Most People Get Wrong
People often assume The Rocketeer is a superhero. He’s not. He’s an aviator.
If you take away the rocket pack, Cliff Secord is still a guy who knows how to fly a Gee Bee R-1 Super Sportster. He’s a mechanic. He’s part of the "Greatest Generation" before they were even called that. The rocket pack is a tool—a dangerous, unreliable, terrifying tool—that he happens to use to do the right thing.
Another misconception is that the comic is just about pin-up art. While Stevens’ love for the female form is obvious, the storytelling is tight. The pacing in Adventure in the City of Ancient Sand is as good as any Indiana Jones movie. It’s a globe-trotting thriller that handles historical tension with a light touch.
How to Start Reading The Rocketeer Today
If you want to dive in, don't just buy random back issues. It’s too expensive and confusing.
Start with The Rocketeer: The Complete Adventures. This collection includes the two main stories Stevens actually finished: "The Rocketeer" and "Cliff’s New York Adventure." It’s the definitive version.
Once you’ve devoured those, look for The Rocketeer: Great Adventure. It’s a newer collection that pulls together some of the best stories from the tribute anthologies. It shows how different artists interpret the character.
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Finally, if you can find a copy, look for the documentary Dave Stevens: Drawn to Perfection. It gives you the full context of his life and his obsession with the craft. It makes reading the comics a much deeper experience when you realize how much of his own soul he poured into every ink stroke.
Moving Forward With the Jetpack
The beauty of this series is that it doesn't age. Because it was already a period piece when it was written in the 80s, it doesn't feel "dated" now. The 1938 Los Angeles of Dave Stevens is a dreamscape that exists outside of time.
If you’re a fan of historical fiction, classic aviation, or just incredible character design, you owe it to yourself to check out the original source material. Stop looking at the Rocketeer as just a piece of 90s nostalgia and start seeing it as the peak of comic book craftsmanship.
Next Steps for Enthusiasts:
- Audit the Art: Get a high-resolution digital copy or a physical oversized edition to study Stevens' "feathering" technique with the pen. It's some of the best in the history of the medium.
- Contextualize the Era: Read a bit about the 1930s air races, specifically the Thompson Trophy. It provides the real-world stakes that Cliff Secord was living through.
- Explore the Pulps: Look into the original Shadow or Spider magazines from the 30s to see exactly what Dave Stevens was trying to pay homage to.
- Support the Legacy: Check out the Dave Stevens Foundation, which works to preserve his work and support up-and-coming artists who share his dedication to the craft.