CBR Rocketeer: Hollywood Horror

 

The Rocketeer returns!

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
The Rocketeer: Cargo of Doom

Comic title: The Rocketeer: Hollywood Horror
Art by J. Bone
Story by Roger Langridge

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

This is the second full-length Rocketeer story from IDW Publishing! Another four-issue long limited miniseries.

Dave Stevens' original creation flies again!

Instead of a full on-going feature IDW had opted for the mini-series format, releasing various series including the much beloved fun Rocketeer Adventures short stories collections.

And that is much better, if you ask me.

Rocketeer: Hollywood Horror is the third IDW Rocketeer series if you count Adventures and the previous Cargo of Doom. While I don't specifically mention Cargo of Doom (no dinos!), it does seem to take place right after it.

This time the creative team of Roger Langridge and J. Bone took over Stevens.

In a story of Action! Mystery! And Drama! All this and whole lot more in... Hollywood Horror!

We find our hero Cliff Secord having some trouble juggling between his life as a pilot, his sassy girlfriend Betty and his costumed identity as the Rocketeer helping people out.

But when Betty's roommate Dahlia disappears without any info, Betty goes snooping around to find out what happened to her friend. You see, Dahlia was a newspaper reporter and she was following some clues regarding a missing scientist.

Cliff wants to protect Betty as much as possible, but nobody can get ahold of Betty. She's just as capable a girl as any, when she has an idea stuck in her mind there's no stopping her!

Our heroes find themselves facing the Church of Cosmicism. A shady mysterious mad scientist appears to run a cult to stole money from the good people. Betty decides to check on this Otto Rune guy by herself with a fake identity as a secretary.

Meanwhile Cliff gets his rocket pack stolen by the goons after him.

Thankfully Peevy's been working on a new rocket on his own!

When Betty finds herself in the middle of trouble and the missing scientist turns out to be an old acquaintance of Peev', Cliff has to learn how to fly all over again with the new pack!

In the end, he gets his old jet-pack back on time for a final confrontation with the Dark Lord himself, Sh'oggoth!!

Cliff on the run! Human drama as well as classic vintage superhero action!

This is Dave Stevens-style classic brand of adventure!

The artwork of J. Bone is definitively different from Stevens' but nothing too different from what the Rocketeer Adventures or the previous volume have gotten us used to.

It's cartoon, but fitting the setting and the tone of that era. There's definitively a pin-up vibe going with Betty.

J. Bone's art style is unique, I personally love it. It has a lot of character.

Roger Langridge's story is full of references. It's a whole lot of fun.

Though I found there wasn't as much old Hollywood references as I expected.

There are some classic references to the Rocketeer original series (Mutt,..). And Doc Savage's henchmen return to get their hands on the Cirrus X3 rocket pack!

A fun addition is in the person of an in-story narrator, actually introduced earlier as Cliff bumped into him (he later turns out to be a famous classic actor).

Cliff gets the Rocketeer movie jet-pack! Speaking of the film, you know how the pack was created by Howard Hughes in the film instead of Doc Savage? Well, this fact is mused and even slightly acknowledged in a meta-sort of way. Which I thought was a nice touch.

And don't worry, don't let any preconception prevent you from enjoying this book. There is a whole "Lowcraftian creature" sub-plot, but it doesn't get too out of character for the Rocketeer. Don't worry! (no spoilers!) 

Walt Simonson and James White provided the wonderful covers for this mini-series, which are collected in this hardcover. They both were able to recapture the more art deco and vintage comic book tone from Dave Stevens' original.

Classic pulp action, what more to ask?

Overall, I really enjoyed this one!

I'm simply glad the Rocketeer returned to comics, even if it took him over a decade to do so.

IDW seems to have opted for a more cartoony take for the franchise so far. I wonder who will draw The Rocketeer next? Bruce Timm? Paul Dini?

Hey IDW, I'm still waiting for a Tony Harris or Adam Hughes-drawn Rockteer story!

Anyways, this is a great return to adventure.

I just think they still need to dial down the science-fiction a little notch and it will finally capture the tone of Dave Stevens' original Rocketeer.

I give it:

2.5 / 3 FlamingCarrots!