Review: The Rocketeer The Great Race #1 (of 4)

One of the most endearing facets in comic books, at least for me, is the continuation of the pulp style stories, be it The Shadow or in this case The Rocketeer!

Cliff Secord is back, and once more has the rocket pack strapped to his back, Nazi’s in the hills and his girl waiting for him back at the barn. After an altercation with said Nazi’s, Cliff decides enough is enough, no more Rocketeer. But you can’t keep a flyboy out of the sky and when a trip to Paris entices Betty as well, then for once the young couple are on the same page. So it’s to the races we go!

Stephen Mooney provides both the story and the art. Mooney has spent time in the pulps, recently in Bettie Page. Here, things are more akin to the fare we would expect from The rocketeer along with the requisite cheesecake. Mooney has the beats of the trope down well, if a tad wordy at times. This can lead to an over explanation, tell rather than show; I understand the need as the book needs to try and fit into Rocketeer continuity, which with all the various versions of the character from various publishers is no mean feat. Characters sound as they should, demonstrating consistent approach to both the characters and the era from which this book pertains to imitate.

As stated, Mooney also provides the art with an odd mix of caricature and cheesecake. Throw in a couple of splash pages and you get a pacy book that works to belabours its word count to deliver a fun traipse through the pulp style. Whilst the characters work well in action, perhaps with a cartoony style to boot, it is Betty who catches the eye. It is obvious that Cliff’s Betty is modelled on Bettie Page, which I don’t mind but I am surprised at how well she looks, especially the cheesecake elements, which surpasses Bettie Page’s book; that said it might just be the thigh highs that caught my attention! Colors are provided by Len O’Grady who gives the book a darker timbre than you may have expected given the light-hearted tone of the character. Shawn Lee supplies the letters, making sure that the sheer amount of words doesn’t affect the pace or the art flow of the story.

It’s good to see The Rocketeer back on the rack, albeit for a four issue run. With the talents involved in this project, I am sure that the sky is the limit!

Writing – 4 Stars
Art – 4.5 Stars
Colors – 4 Stars

Overall – 4.5 Stars

Written by; Stephen Mooney
Art by; Stephen Mooney
Colors by; Len O’Grady
Letters by; Shawn Lee
Published by; IDW Publishing

Author Profile

Johnny "The Machine" Hughes

I am a long time comic book fan, being first introduced to Batman in the mid to late 70's. This led to a appreciation of classic artists like Neal Adams and Jim Aparo. Moving through the decades that followed, I have a working knowledge of a huge raft of characters with a fondness for old school characters like JSA and The Shadow

Currently reading a slew of Bat Books, enjoying a mini Marvel revival, and the host of The Definative Crusade and Outside the Panels whilst also appearing on No-Prize Podcast on the Undercover Capes Podcast Network