Revisiting the Rocketeer

I recently re-watched The Rocketeer, a film that still stands up and I've always enjoyed. Though the movie never quite manages to kick into high gear, it's fun and well done, nicely capturing the spirit and charm of creator-writer-artist's Dave Stevens' original comic book series. (The movie turned out to be director Joe Johnston's calling card for Captain America: The First Avenger, which shares a similar milieu.)

I followed it by pulling the graphic novel collection of the original comic book series off my bookshelf to re-read and savor Stevens' great writing and art.

It also turned out to be the perfect time to watch the documentary, Dave Stevens: Drawn to Perfection, a great overview of his life and career, which recently became available on Prime. Though I know many of the talking heads in the documentary and often saw Stevens at his booth at San Diego Comic-Con, I never found the opportunity to meet Stevens personally (he tragically passed away in 2008 due to a rare form of leukemia).

An interesting side note: in December 1991, following The Rocketeer's release in June, I went to see Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country at the Mann National Theater in Westwood (in L.A., now closed and torn down)—actors Bill Campell and Jennifer Connelly, who were dating at the time, sat in the seats in front of me!