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69-494: Dave Lee Stevens (July 29, 1955 – March 11, 2008) was an American illustrator and comics artist. He was most famous for creating The Rocketeer comic book and film character, and for his pin-up style "glamour art" illustrations, especially of model Bettie Page . He was the first to win Comic-Con International 's Russ Manning Most Promising Newcomer Award in 1982, and received both an Inkpot Award and

138-539: A backup feature in issues #2 (April) and #3 (June) of Starslayer . The two short stories drew huge positive responses from readers, and the Schanes brothers wanted to commission Stevens to produce a monthly Rocketeer title. However, Stevens was reluctant to give up his other freelancing work for what he felt would be a short-lived title; he also had reservations about his abilities as a writer (a perceived short-falling Stevens would decry throughout his career ). Instead,

207-496: A businessman, Dave often drove his close friends nuts. We'd watch in astonishment at the riches passing him by." – William Stout "Dave was truly one of the nicest people I have ever met in my life ... and was certainly among the most gifted. Our first encounter was at Jack Kirby's house around 1971 when he came to visit and show Jack some of his work. As I said, Kirby was very encouraging and he urged Dave not to try and draw like anyone else but to follow his own passions. This

276-510: A cliffhanger that was later concluded in a lone Rocketeer comic released by Eclipse Comics . The character was then continued in the Rocketeer Adventure Magazine , with two issues being published in 1988 and then 1989 by Comico Comics ; a third and final issue was published six years later in 1995 by Dark Horse Comics . Stevens's extensive background research and meticulous approach to his illustrations contributed to

345-439: A compromise was reached whereby the character was transferred to Pacific's new anthology showcase comic Pacific Presents , appearing in issues #1 (October 1982) and #2 (April 1983). Stevens enjoyed the work more than he had expected, and resolved to continue The Rocketeer . The Rocketeer's success led to similar titles, including Bruce Jones' Cliff Hanger and Crash Ryan . He would recall being told that titles featuring

414-485: A cross over with The Spirit , The Rocketeer & the Spirit: Pulp Friction , while IDW also published prose anthology The Rocketeer: Jet-Pack Adventures , which included short stories by authors such as Yvonne Navarro , Don Webb , Gregory Frost , Nancy Holder , Nancy A. Collins and others. IDW planned to reboot the series with a new female lead in the 2018 series The Rocketeer Reborn , but

483-428: A deal that would see the company print future collected editions, though none were completed before Eclipse folded in 1994. Eclipse also licensed the material for overseas publication, without Stevens' permission - and without paying him. While Stevens was pleased with the collected edition, he did not enjoy working for Eclipse and searched for a new publisher to produce a sequel story, which he initially envisioned as

552-534: A gradual reduction in his artistic output, Stevens died on March 11, 2008, in Turlock, California . Stevens's work has had a significant influence on comic book and fantasy illustrators, among them Adam Hughes . Artist Laura Molina , with whom Stevens had a romantic relationship in the late 1970s, used him as the subject of her controversial Naked Dave series of paintings. On November 3, 2022, Samuel Goldwyn Films announced they acquired distribution rights to

621-550: A hardcover collecting the entire series, intended to be published in October 2009. Dave Stevens' The Rocketeer: The Complete Adventures contained new coloring by Laura Martin , who had been chosen by Dave Stevens prior to his death. In April 1938, Cliff Secord is a small-time pilot at Bigelow's Air Circus, based at the Chaplin Aerodrome near Los Angeles . He discovers a rocket pack hidden by two gangsters fleeing

690-464: A hardcover edition collecting the entire Rocketeer series for the first time, due originally in October 2009. Dave Stevens's The Rocketeer, The Complete Adventures would contain all-new coloring by Laura Martin who was chosen by Dave Stevens before his untimely death. The book finally appeared in December of that year in two separate states: a trade hardcover edition with full color dust jacket and

759-634: A model in Europe . Determined to follow her, he recovers the rocket pack and fakes his own death before setting out in the Blind Bulldog to win Betty back. Marco shows off Betty to his rich New York friends, but she is shaken when she hears of Cliff's apparent death. Cliff, meanwhile, lands in Long Island , meeting his old friend Goose Gander, and begins to search the city's nightclubs for Betty. He

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828-463: A more successful test. After returning home, he finds two colorful characters waiting for him, representatives of the inventor of the device. Cliff gives them the slip and Peevy is able to smuggle him to the aerodrome. However, when they arrive they find the new experimental Douglas Locust plane has been hijacked; Cliff attempts to clear his name by recovering the Locust, evading the rocket's inventor in

897-462: A number of covers for Comico 's Jonny Quest title and a series of eight covers for Eclipse comics, featuring characters such as Airboy and the DNAgents . The Eclipse covers were also published in the form of large posters. Many of his illustrations were in the " good girl art " genre. He also returned to art school to study painting. Before his death in 2008 from hairy cell leukemia , Stevens

966-636: A resurgence in the age of social media thanks to social networks like Instagram, Facebook, Pinterest, and YouTube. Currently traditional and digital illustration are both flourishing. Universities and art schools offer specific courses in illustration (for example in the UK, a BA (Hons) Degree ) so this has become a new avenue into the profession. Many illustrators are freelance , commissioned by publishers (of newspapers, books, or magazines) or advertising agencies. Most scientific illustrations and technical illustrations are also known as information graphics . Among

1035-471: A retro, nostalgic feel. Analogues of pinup diva Bettie Page and fictional pulp characters appear prominently in the series. The character first appeared in publications from Pacific Comics , and would be printed by several other independent companies until 1995. Stevens' meticulous drawing style, perfectionism and careful research gave the various Rocketeer adventures a notoriously slow publishing schedule. Following Stevens' death in 2008, his estate licensed

1104-414: A second, more lavish, deluxe hardcover edition ( ISBN   978-1-60010-537-1 ) of 3000 copies. The deluxe edition sold out almost immediately upon publication, and IDW announced a second printing. In 2011 IDW launched an all-new Rocketeer comic book series, illustrated by various artists, called Rocketeer Adventures . Stevens began developing a Rocketeer theatrical film proposal in 1985 and then sold

1173-481: A six-issue limited series . In August 1986 a deal was announced with Comico , which would see Elaine Lee and Michael Kaluta 's Galactic Girl Guides (continued from the Epic Comics title Starstruck ) as a back-up, as well as non-fiction articles on aviation pioneers. The new material was planned as two three-issue mini-series, allowing Stevens the time required to create the material, and would run under

1242-484: A variety of creators. The first was anthology limited series The Rocketeer Adventurers in 2011, featuring story contributions from creators Mike Allred , John Arcudi , Kurt Busiek , John Cassaday , Darwyn Cooke , Tommy Lee Edwards , Lowell Francis, Dave Gibbons , Gene Ha , Scott Hampton , Mike Kaluta, Joe R. Lansdale , Brendan McCarthy , Ryan Sook , Bruce Timm , Mark Waid and Chris Weston , as well as Jonathan Ross . A second four-issue mini series appeared

1311-459: Is a comic book superhero , created by writer/artist Dave Stevens . The character first appeared in 1982 and is an homage to the Saturday matinee serial heroes from the 1930s through the 1950s. The Rocketeer's secret identity is Cliff Secord , a stunt pilot who discovers a mysterious jetpack that allows him to fly. His adventures are set in pre- World War II America, and Stevens gave them

1380-468: Is engaged by Jonas to help break up the activities of a criminal gang in Bowery . The operation pulls him into a murder investigation being carried out by Jonas; the victims are all former circus Secord colleagues. Only two members are unaccounted for, the magician Orsino and the gigantic, monstrous strongman, Lothar. Cliff and Goose are able to save Orsino from Lothar, who is killing the troupe in revenge for

1449-455: Is successful but ends up in argument with her after she refuses to return to California , leading to a scuffle with Marcus. The latter has Cliff restrained and beaten until he is interrupted by a mysterious figure who identifies himself as Jonas. A bitter Cliff refuses Betty's attempts at reconciliation and sulks, unaware that she has decided against sailing to Europe with Marcus and is instead heading back to Los Angeles. Instead, through Goose he

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1518-527: Is the use of digital tools to produce images under the direct manipulation of the artist, usually through a pointing device, such as a tablet or a mouse. Computers dramatically changed the industry and today, many cartoonists and illustrators create digital illustrations using computers, graphics tablets , and scanners . Software such as Adobe Illustrator , Adobe Photoshop , GIMP , Corel Painter, and Affinity Designer are now widely used by those professionals. The Rocketeer (character) The Rocketeer

1587-751: The Tarzan newspaper comic strip and two European Tarzan graphic novels in 1975; he later assisted Manning on the Star Wars newspaper strip. He began doing occasional comic book work, including providing illustrations for fanzines (inking drawings by comic book veteran Jack Kirby among them), as well as creating the Aurora feature for Japan's Sanrio Publishing. Starting in 1977, he drew storyboards for Hanna-Barbera 's animated TV shows, including Super Friends and The Godzilla Power Hour , where he worked with comics and animation veteran Doug Wildey . For

1656-575: The Kirby Award for Best Graphic Album in 1986. Stevens was born July 29, 1955, in Lynwood, California , but grew up in Portland, Oregon . His family relocated to San Diego , where he attended San Diego City College for two years, and attended the then-new annual San Diego Comic-Con (now Comic-Con International ). Stevens's first professional comic work was inking Russ Manning 's pencils for

1725-606: The creator-owned titles left without a publisher by Pacific's collapse, Stevens made a deal with California-based publisher Eclipse Comics to complete the storyline. The result was the one-shot Rocketeer Special Edition in November 1984, which concluded the story arc. The comic also included 8 pages of pin-ups by different artists, a sign of Stevens' growing status within the comics industry. The contributors included Gray Morrow , Doug Wildey , Murphy Anderson , and Al Williamson and an introduction by Mark Evanier . The issue

1794-487: The "Cliff's New York Adventure" storyline. Stevens would later pitch a crossover Rocketeer miniseries to DC Comics featuring the Golden Age Superman meeting Cliff in 1938. However, he disliked DC's proposed revisions to the storyline, so he abandoned the idea. In 2008, Stevens struck a deal with IDW Publishing to produce a collected edition of his Rocketeer work. On February 28, 2009, IDW announced

1863-534: The 1986 Kirby Awards , beating volumes of Love and Rockets and Nexus . The collection would go on to become Eclipse's best-selling graphic novel, going through three printings. Eclipse's treatment of the series, which used high-quality over-sized pages printed using Baxter paper stock (8.45 in × 11 in (215 mm × 279 mm), compared to the standard comic book size of 6 + 5 ⁄ 8  in ×  10 + 1 ⁄ 4  in or 170 mm × 260 mm), led to Stevens signing

1932-467: The Bulldog, and is able to harry them into crashing; Betty is saved, but the hoods escape and identify Secord as having the rocket pack. Without a job and with Betty spending more time trying to launch her modelling career with photographer Marco of Hollywood , Cliff becomes downcast until Peevy shows talks him through the instructions for the rocket engine, which Secord hadn't bothered reading, leading to

2001-469: The Rocketeer sold around 80,000 copies, a solid amount for an independent publisher of the period. However, due to the delays between the episodes holding up publication, no further installments appeared in the following two issues of Pacific Presents , and the cliffhanger the story had ended on was not resolved before Pacific Comics folded in 1984. The concluding chapter had actually been completed and

2070-424: The Rocketeer to IDW Publishing , who have since produced numerous titles starring the character. The character was adapted into the 1991 Walt Disney Pictures film The Rocketeer by director Joe Johnston . In 1981 Stevens was largely a jobbing artist, doing fill-in work on various comics as well as working in animation and design. In 1981 he was approached by Steve and Bill Schanes, brothers who had co-founded

2139-445: The absurdity of Marvel's legal action. Stevens also felt Marvel's actions were influenced by his decision to turn down an offer to take the series to Epic Comics following Pacific's demise. He would credit Disney coming onboard for the film adaptation of The Rocketeer with ending Marvel's pursuit. In 2016, Brian Cronin used his 'Comic Book Legends' column for Comic Book Resources to openly ridicule Marvel's actions. Like many of

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2208-560: The accidental death of midget Teena, with whom he had become obsessed. Lothar tries to kill Cliff and Orsini at a funfair on the Boardwalk , but, with help from Jonas, Secord is able to once again don his Rocketeer outfit and save his friend. Lothar is killed in the process, after which Cliff returns to LA, where Betty is waiting for him at the Bulldog Cafe. Following Stevens' death, IDW began publishing additional Rocketeer comics by

2277-650: The basis of a picture book world. Some traditional illustration techniques include watercolor , pen and ink , airbrush art, oil painting , pastels , wood engraving , and linoleum cuts . John Held, Jr. was an illustrator who worked in a variety of styles and media, including linoleum cuts, pen and ink drawings, magazine cover paintings, cartoons, comic strips , and set design, while also creating fine art with his animal sculptures and watercolor, many established illustrators attended an art school or college of some sort and were trained in different painting and drawing techniques. Traditional illustration seems to have made

2346-531: The character's design, calling the costume "evocative of Doc Savage , Captain Future and Buck Rogers just with one glance". IGN listed the Rocketeer as the 76th Greatest Comic Book Character, stating that the Rocketeer taps into that popular desire to fly. IGN also stated the Rocketeer saga remains a compelling one. In 1994 Stevens met Bettie Page and showed her The Rocketeer ; he recalled she found it "funny and cute". The series has been widely credited as

2415-458: The conclusion, Stevens lost interest in publishing new Rocketeer material. He grew tired of switching publishers, while finding new avenues for his approach dwindling after the collapse of the direct market after the early 1990s speculator boom period. Dark Horse also had reservations about the comic's high production values allowing the book to be profitable, though the company did produce a collected Rocketeer edition compiling all three issues of

2484-466: The cover for the title, while a 3-D comic with a storyline by Ron Kidd was also produced. T.K. Dean awarded The Rocketeer: The Official Movie Adaptation four stars out of five in a review for Amazing Heroes , praising the pace and David's dialogue. Despite broadly positive critical response, the film under-performed financially and plans to make sequels were scrapped. After Comico's financial troubles, Stevens signed with Dark Horse Comics to publish

2553-479: The feature length documentary Dave Stevens: Drawn to Perfection . "Dave had more artistic integrity than anyone I've ever known. He always marched to his own drummer whether it benefited him financially or not. He turned down many lucrative job offers—including a monthly pin-up assignment for Playboy offered by Hugh Hefner as a replacement for their regular Alberto Vargas feature—when they didn't jibe with his own highly personal vision of what he should be doing. As

2622-428: The film more family friendly, and partly due to not wanting to pay money to Bettie Page for the use of her name. As part of the promotional onslaught, an official adaptation of the film was made and published as a one-shot by Disney's comic label Hollywood Comics . This was adapted from the script by Peter David , and featured interior artwork by Russ Heath , who was hand-picked by Stevens. Stevens himself provided

2691-556: The film was all about. After the Walt Disney Company purchased the Rocketeer character for film production, comics artist Russ Heath illustrated a promotional film tie-in graphic novel , The Rocketeer: The Official Movie Adaptation , based on their feature film. Following The Rocketeer , Stevens worked primarily as an illustrator, doing a variety of ink and painted illustrations for book and comic book covers, posters, prints, portfolios, and private commissions, including

2760-403: The following year, featuring work from Kyle Baker , John Byrne , David Lapham , Sandy Plunkett , Stan Sakai , Bill Sienkiewicz , John K. Snyder III and Chris Sprouse . In 2013, IDW published two further mini-series - The Rocketeer: Cargo of Doom by Waid and Chris Samnee , and The Rocketeer: Hollywood Horror by Roger Langridge and J. Bone . 2014 saw Waid and Paul Smith create

2829-517: The independent Pacific Comics (and with whom he was acquainted from being a customer in their comic stores in San Diego ) to produce short creator-owned back up features for Mike Grell 's Starslayer . An avowed fan of Art Deco and pre-war Americana , Stevens swiftly designed the basic idea of The Rocketeer. A major influence was Republic Pictures film serial character Commando Cody . The Rocketeer's first adventures appeared in 1982 as

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2898-498: The information graphics, specialists are medical illustrators who illustrate human anatomy, often requiring many years of artistic and medical training. A particularly popular medium with illustrators of the 1950s and 1960s was casein , as was egg tempera . The immediacy and durability of these media suited illustration's demands well. The artwork in both types of paint withstood the rigors of travel to clients and printers without damage. Computer illustration, or digital illustration,

2967-462: The long delays between Rocketeer issues. The first completed story line was then collected into a graphic novel by Eclipse Comics , in both trade paperback and hardcover formats, and simply titled The Rocketeer ( ISBN   1-56060-088-8 ); the second story line was collected into a glossy trade paperback graphic novel by Dark Horse called The Rocketeer: Cliff's New York Adventure ( ISBN   1-56971-092-9 ). IDW Publishing announced

3036-441: The plane up but soon has problems. Cliff retrieves the helmet and rocket pack and, after some difficulty, rescues Malcolm before the plane crashes. The dramatic rescue attracts press attention, and while Cliff is able to land without being identified by the crowd, he is captured by a gun-toting heavy. The press name the mysterious hero "the Rocketeer", while Peevy and Cliff's girl Betty search for him. Cliff and his captor are run off

3105-416: The police in his custom racing plane, the Blind Bulldog. He takes the device to his friend, the avuncular engineer Peevy, who is fascinated by the device and designs a helmet to allow Cliff to direct the rocket pack, which they plan to test. However, their efforts cause Secord to miss his slot for a barnstorming act at the aerodrome. To cover for him one of Cliff's fellow pilots, the alcoholic Malcolm, takes

3174-456: The process. The latter gives chase in a Boeing P-26 , saving Secord when the pack runs out of fuel. The pair then work together, with the inventor dropping Cliff onto the aircraft. He overpowers the Nazi pilots and is able to successfully crash-land the Locust. Cliff is hospitalized; on returning to consciousness he finds that Betty has gone to New York City with Marcus, who plans to launch her as

3243-410: The pulp tradition), about a down-on-his-luck pilot named Cliff Secord who finds a mysterious rocket pack. Despite its erratic publishing history, the Rocketeer proved to be one of the first successful features to emerge from the burgeoning independent comics movement. Influenced by Golden Age artists Will Eisner , Lou Fine , Reed Crandall , Maurice Whitman, Frank Frazetta and Wally Wood , Stevens

3312-597: The rest of the decade, he continued to work in animation and film, joining the art studio of illustrators William Stout and Richard Hescox in Los Angeles , working on projects such as storyboards for George Lucas and Steven Spielberg 's Raiders of the Lost Ark and pop singer Michael Jackson 's video " Thriller ". The Rocketeer series was an adventure story set in a pulp fiction -styled 1930s (with allusions to heroes like Doc Savage and The Shadow emphasizing

3381-499: The retired Page was still alive and lived nearby, Stevens became friends with her, providing both personal assistance and helping to arrange financial compensation to her from various publishers for the use of her image and reprints of her many glamor and pin-up photos. Two other characters that show up in the Rocketeer stories were based on personal acquaintances of Stevens: the "Peevy" character, based on cartoonist Doug Wildey , and

3450-480: The rights to his character to the Walt Disney Company . After the release of Batman , movie studios rushed to produce similar properties that had not yet been fully greenlit. During this time, Stevens created costume illustrations for The Flash television series which built by Stan Winston Studios. That same year, principal photography commenced on The Rocketeer and released in 1991. The film

3519-468: The road; he discovers the dead driver was a G-man , and their attackers are Nazi agents hoping to capture the rocket pack for the Fatherland. He is able to escape and is patched up by Betty and Peevy. Aghast at the danger, Betty makes Cliff promise to return the rocket pack to its rightful owner. However, the following day, Bigelow fires Cliff, and Betty is kidnapped by Nazi thugs. Cliff gives chase in

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3588-411: The series' schedule, noting that while he was more than capable of producing a page a day the result "would look like anyone did it." It met with positive reviews and was nominated for 'Best Story or Single Issue' at the second annual Harvey Awards , but lost out to Batman: The Killing Joke . Paul De Meo and Danny Bilson , who were working on the screenplay for the film version, would contribute to

3657-447: The sleazy "Marco of Hollywood" character, based on real life glamour and porn photographer Ken Marcus . The first comic book featuring the Rocketeer was released in 1982. Those first stories appeared as a second feature in issues #2 and #3 of Mike Grell 's Pacific Comics ' Starslayer series. For its next two installments, Steven's feature moved to the anthology comic title Pacific Presents #1 and #2. The fourth chapter ended in

3726-554: The story by hand, which was also relettered by Carrie Spiegle. Stevens created additional pages to address what he felt was poor storytelling in the serialized episodes, and was assisted in this endeavor by Jaime Hernandez (who would be credited as 'Hurricane Hernandez'). The album features an introduction from fantasist Harlan Ellison , a fan of the series who had also attempted to intercede in Stevens' dispute with Marvel Comics. The collected edition would win "Best Graphic Album" at

3795-408: The suit claiming that the use of the name was causing confusion between the characters, something he felt was spurious. As a result Stevens refused to change the character's name and fought against the lawsuit for three years. Some years later, a fan sent Stevens a copy of Blast-Off #1, a 1965 Harvey Comics title featuring a Jack Kirby story called The 3 Rocketeers , which he felt only underlined

3864-480: The summer of 1987, the first issue of the title did not appear until July 1988 due to Stevens' detailed approach and the concluding stages of the Marvel lawsuit. Due to the relative lack of money in independent comics at the time, he was also forced to frequently pause the series to produce covers for other series and other freelance assignments. In discussion with Heidi MacDonald of Amazing Heroes , Stevens defended

3933-643: The third issue of the series. The deal was announced in June 1991 but it would not be until 1995 that the third and final issue of The Rocketeer Adventure Magazine , featuring the conclusion of "Cliff's New York Adventure", finally appeared. This was partly due to Comico having (incorrectly) listed the Rocketeer as one of their assets in bankruptcy proceedings. Another setback came in January 1994 when an earthquake struck California , bursting water pipes in Stevens' studio and destroying several completed pages. Following

4002-434: The title The Rocketeer Adventure Magazine . Stevens chose Comico after being impressed by their production values and willingness to allow flexible deadlines. Comico administrative director Bob Schreck was however forced to clarify that, despite the title, The Rocketeer Adventure Magazine was a comic and not a magazine, noting the name had been chosen by Stevens as a homage to pulp magazines . Despite being planned for

4071-402: The title was cancelled before any of the material saw print. In January 2023 it was reported that IDW Publishing would be publishing a one-shot anthology based on an unfinished story by Danny Bilson and Paul De Meo , who had written the screenplay for the 1991 film. As early as 1985, Amazing Heroes described the series as critically acclaimed. In the same magazine N.A. Collins praised

4140-403: The valleys, but the peaks are so few—things like genuine flashes of virtuoso brush inking, like I've never executed before or since—I can count on one hand the number of jobs where I've been able to hit that mark. The same with penciling. Sometimes it just flows, but more often than not, it's pure physical and spiritual torment just to get something decent on paper. I often get very discouraged with

4209-938: The whole creative process." – Dave Stevens Illustrator Illustration is the art of making images that work with something and add to it without needing direct attention and without distracting from what they illustrate. The other thing is the focus of the attention, and the illustration's role is to add personality and character without competing with that other thing. Illustrations have been used in advertisements , architectural rendering , greeting cards , posters , books , graphic novels , storyboards , business , technical communications , magazines , shirts , video games , tutorials , and newspapers . A cartoon illustration can add humour to certain stories or essays . Use reference images to create scenes and characters. This can be as simple as looking at an image to inspire your artwork or creating character sketches and detailed scenes from different angles to create

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4278-453: The writing of the storyline. Only one more issue - in July 1989, and further delayed when Stevens suffered a car accident - appeared before Comico declared bankruptcy in 1990. Stevens had been quick to realize the potential of The Rocketeer , and had first sold film rights to the character in 1983. The project would finally make it to screen in 1991 under Walt Disney Pictures . Production

4347-409: Was a sales success for Eclipse, and was the 51st bestselling title from a range of stores polled by Amazing Heroes , the second-highest position on the chart for a non-Marvel/DC comic. Following the publication of this Special Edition , Stevens worked with Eclipse to produce a trade paperback collecting the material produced so far. Stevens revised several pages for the compilation and recolored

4416-491: Was advice Dave took to heart, which probably explains why he took so long with every drawing. They were rarely just jobs to Dave. Most of the time, what emerged from his drawing board or easel was a deeply personal effort. He was truly in love with every beautiful woman he drew, at least insofar as the paper versions were concerned." – Mark Evanier "Well, I do expect a lot of myself. I'm a harsh critic because I know what I'm capable of. I have hit those occasional peaks amongst

4485-404: Was beset by shifting creative teams and Disney's desire to turn the property into a marketable family franchise, and Stevens would later consider the film to be The Rocketeer "in name only". One of the most significant changes was the replacement of Betty with an actress character called Jenny, played by Jennifer Connelly ; Paul De Meo recalled this was partly informed by Disney wanting to make

4554-490: Was directed by Joe Johnston , and starred Billy Campbell , Jennifer Connelly , Alan Arkin and Timothy Dalton . Stevens was a hands-on co-producer of the film. It received a mixture of highly positive and lukewarm reviews and disappointing domestic ticket sales, ensuring no immediate sequels would follow. Dave Stevens always felt that a majority of the problem was that the studio's movie poster and promotional graphics were over-stylized and vague and didn't convey to people what

4623-471: Was slated for inclusion in Pacific Presents #5 when the company went out of business. Stevens also had to deal with a lawsuit brought about by Marvel Comics , who had featured a gang of super-criminals called 'The Rocketeers' in a 1975 issue of Daredevil . In a 1987 interview with Gary Groth of The Comics Journal , Stevens revealed Marvel's argument revolved entirely around trademarks,

4692-499: Was widely recognized, along with artists such as Steve Rude and Jaime Hernandez , as one of the finest comic book artists of his generation. Stevens was a longtime admirer of 1950s glamour and pin-up model Bettie Page ; he modeled the look of the Rocketeer's girlfriend after her and featured her image in other illustrations too, which helped contribute to the renewed public interest in Page and her modeling career. After discovering that

4761-658: Was working on a career retrospective collection of his work to be titled Brush with Passion – The Life and Art of Dave Stevens . The book was published the same year in a regular hardcover, as well a deluxe slipcased hardcover edition. In addition, very limited signed and leather-bound proof copies were also published, all from Underwood Books. In 1980 Stevens married longtime girlfriend Charlene Brinkman, later known as horror film scream queen Brinke Stevens ; their marriage ended in divorce just six months later, though she later modeled for Stevens. Following several years of struggling with uncommon hairy cell leukemia , which caused

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