CBR The Rocketeer Cargo of Doom

 

The Rocketeer Rides Again! For real this time!

After much demand and testing waters with the Rocketeer Adventures, IDW launched a proper new on-going series for Dave Steven's classic hero!

Don't miss out my previous Rocketeer-related reviews!

The Rocketeer: Jetpack Treasury Edition / The Rocketeer: The Complete Adventure

The Rocketeer (1991 movie) / The Rocketeer: Movie Adaptation / The Rocketeer: 3-D Comic
Rocketeer Adventures / Rocketeer Adventures 2

Comic title: The Rocketeer: Cargo of Doom
Art by Chris Samnee 
Story by Mark Waid 

Published by IDW Publishing
From 2013
Lineup The Rocketeer
Format: Hardcover trade paperback, collecting the four issue mini-series The Rocketeer: Cargo of Doom #1-4.

The Rocketeer: Cargo of Doom is a direct continuation of Dave Stevens original creation.

For The Rocketeer's 30th Anniversary IDW finally launched an all-new 100-pages long on-going feature that took the Rocketeer up the skies once again.

This time with comic book writer Mark Waid behind the plot and artist Chris Samnee handling art duties.

At first it was announced as a new on-going series, but plans changed behind the scenes and instead the Rocketeer's new adventures will be released as stand alone mini-series.

Cargo of Doom opens up the new adventures of Cliff Secord.

A new threat is arriving near Los Angeles. A bunch of suspect characters are arriving on a beat with a mysterious cargo on board.

Seems like they brought back something "exotic" from a very far island. But things aren't going according to "The Master's" plan. He decides to face the legendary vigilante The Rocketeer which he heard so much of. After all, getting his jetpack would be a nice bonus for his plan to attack New York City.

Meanwhile Cliff is trapped in an involuntary love triangle. Betty's mad at him for all his time spent away from her and Peevy's niece Sally only has eyes for Cliff.

Things go a little out of hands when the airfield's under attack forcing Cliff to rush back into action, his jetpack gets stolen and the Feds gets in the mix.

Typical day for Cliff Secord aka The Rocketeer? Wait until he sees the dinosaurs...

This new story takes The Rocketeer into a brand new direction.

And by that I mean it's a nice change of pace but also slightly off rails for the character.

Sure, the Rocketeer's always been imagined as a tribute to old serials but also to pulp comic book characters such as Tarzan, Zorro, The Spirit and the likes. Rooted in a pretty basic reality with little to no fantastic element the exception being the rocketpack.

But here, personally, what bothers me is that here we have dinosaurs.

That's right. Sounds awesome.

This would be more appropriate for pulp science-fiction heroes, the likes of John Carter, Adam Strange or Flash Gordon.

My principal problem being that here the plot relies too much on the crossover aspect. Yes, because those aren't just simple dinosaurs. They are actually from Skull Island, from the King Kong movies!

It's not implied, but simply shown straight away, shoved "in your face". The Rocketeer had some references/allusions done in the original Dave Stevens comics. Both Doc Savage and The Shadow were implied in the two original stories in the past. But those were merely implied to place Cliff along that era and define him as another pulp adventurer. Where here the entire plot rely directly on Skull Island's dinosaurs!

Aside from this little beef with the new tone, it still is a very good read.

The subplot with Betty losing Cliff more and more each day is continued from "Cliff's New York adventure" in the original.

It's a pretty straight forward adventure, with some great characters. There's a lot to love in this book.

The crowd cheering the hero is nice for a change.

The lovely Sally's a great addition to the cast. And it's fun to see more faces amongst our trio of Cliff/Betty/Peevy.

There are some links established for a future new bigger threat that is familiar with the Rocketeer's exploits, but who could it be...?

But I don't know how much this will be followed upon with the change in creative team handling the new Rocketeer adventures..

Overall, it's a pretty entertaining comic book.

A great adventure, with suspense, humor and all in true Dave Stevens fashion.

The voluntary crossover with King Kong is a bit much for my taste.

IDW promised us a new on-going series in 2012, but they turned this into new mini-series instead. Was it because of how it turned out or future projects the writer/artist had to move on?

We'll see how that will turn out next time, a new writer and artist took over the title.

I give it:

2 / 3 FlamingCarrots!