On IGN Assemble! and IGN Comics in general we talk a lot about the greatness of The Rocketeer by Dave Stevens and everything that IDW has done with the character since the artist’s sad passing. The basic appeal of the story, to me, is that it’s inherently accessible. There is no continuity to restrict him. Every single story is contained within itself; all you need to know is “a pilot has a jet pack.” Not only that, but he’s a love letter to the Golden Age pulp heroes in such an effective manner that it’s so easy to forget he was only created in 1982.
What I’m saying is: if you’ve never read Dave Stevens’ original Rocketeer stuff, do so.
But I got to thinking about The Rocketeer movie for various reasons today — I fell into a YouTube vortex and ultimately somehow landed on The Rocketeer score which then snowballed into planning a tweet-a-thon of the movie tonight at 7 PM PST (join in, hashtag #TheRockAWho). The Rocketeer was pretty much panned when it was released in theaters in 1991, directed by Joe Johnston (also the director behind the similarly under appreciated superhero period masterpiece Captain America: The First Avenger).