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Oracle of DelphiComic Artist Dave Stevens Passes
March 14th 2008 04:54
Dave Stevens RIP
The Rocketeer Comic
"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 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 the whole creative process." - Dave Stevens
Best known as the creator of “The Rocketeer”, Dave Stevens has died of Lukemia at 52 years old. The Hollywood resident who was obsessed with art deco architecture and vintage aircraft design was a commercial illustrator before launching his cult comic in the 1980’s.
A salute to the serialised adventures of the Thirties “The Rocketeer” tells of a hot shot stunt pilot who discovers a jet pack and ends up combating a Nazi plot on home soil.
Famously made into a film in 1991, starring Jennifer Connelly, Timothy Dalton and Bill Campbell, Stevens legacy is similar to that of Spielberg and Lucas’ Raiders of the Lost Ark. A movie that he storyboarded after the pair enjoyed his comic.
Dave Stevens was also responsible for sketching panels for Michael Jackson werewolf Thriller video in 1983.
Born in 1955 his first paid gig was drawing a Tarzan comic strip in 1975 which led to work on a similar Star Wars panel story. Captivated by the Betty Page 1950’s bombshells, his later pieces often homage the curvaceous sex symbol.
Dave Stevens picture of Jewell Stephens B Movie Queen
From an Latimes.com article on Stevens passing:
"The comic's square-jawed hero, Cliff Secord, bore more than a passing resemblance to the soft-spoken Stevens. The female love interest, a lingerie model, was drawn as a tribute to pin-up Page.
"Bettie was a look, a standard of beauty that I spotted as an adolescent," Stevens told the Post-Intelligencer.
The attention the retired Page received because of the comic helped revive interest in her. Stevens paid Page to use her likeness and helped her get paid by publishers who used her image, friends said.
Artist and subject became friends, which led Stevens to marvel: "After years of fantasizing about this woman, I'm now driving her to cash her Social Security checks."
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