REVIEW: The Rocketeer At War #1

STORY BY Marc Guggenheim
ART BY Dave Bullock
PUBLISHER: IDW

Back when I was a kid, BBC 2 used to run old black and white serials in the summer holidays.  It was almost always Buster Crabbe as Flash Gordon or Buck Rogers.  If you were lucky it was the one about Atlantis.  If you were really, really lucky it was King of the Rocketmen.

Fast forward a few years and The Rocketeer hit the cinemas, as a pastiche in part to those earlier serials.  Looking back at both now is done with a level of rose-tinted affection, even if they contain more cheese than a cheese factory in Wisconsin.

Writer Marc Guggenheim takes Cliff Secord away from familiar fields and into the war.  However, with the Axis is on the move trying to develop their own flying soldier and the US government turn once more to the only successful pilot of the rocket pack.  With the new setting, Guggenheim introduces a couple of new characters to add some contrast and confusion to Cliff’s life.  The dialogue does its job, bring the reader up to speed and setting the scenes for future problems.

Artist Dave Bullock goes for an easy cartoony style, that give the book an era defined feel matching the overall vibe of the book.  The colors by Ronda Pattison also add to the feel and look of the book.

In addition to the main story, there is a small back up story as well as a text piece, that adds some context to proceedings, giving a whopping number of pages for just $3.99, which in my mind is great value.  Take note DC with your up and coming higher priced #50’s hitting stores in a couple of months.   If like me you have a fondness for the old serials or the movie, I’m sure you would enjoy this book.

[yasr_overall_rating size=”large”]

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

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