The Rocketeer: The Complete Adventures (2009)

Dave Stevens's complete run, 1982 to 1995, in IDW's The Rocketeer: The Complete Adventures (2009) The great love letter to the Saturday matinee. In April 1938, stunt pilot Cliff Secord stumbles on a rocket pack that two fleeing gangsters stashed in his racing plane, the Blind Bulldog, and soon everybody in Los Angeles wants it back. Stevens draws every rivet, roadster and flight jacket with loving precision, and Cliff's girlfriend Betty is modeled on Bettie Page. Stevens finished only a handful of chapters, spread over thirteen years and several publishers, so this one book holds the whole saga. The IDW edition adds new coloring by Laura Martin that suits the art beautifully.