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January 2, 2006
George C. writes: I still have vague memories of the old Rocketman and Commander Cody serials that used to play on Saturday mornings and early afternoons out on Channel 43 WUAB in Cleveland, Ohio. The Saturday show was hosted by a Cleveland
weatherman who dressed up in a Superman outfit and became "Superhost."
(Actually, he looked more like Uncle Marvel but don't tell Superhost that!)
Those serials are the actual inspiration for The Rocketeer. At the present
moment, only the Commander Cody serial, "Radar Men from the Moon" is
available on DVD in a variety of public domain DVDs. The best quality
version is supposedly the Hal Roach DVD. At any rate, the serial doesn't
have the best acting and most plausible storyline but does give you an idea
of where a bunch of the Rocketeer conventions came from.
Yeah, I was one of about 100 people that saw The Rocketeer in 1991 and was
impressed by most of the film. I still have the soundtrack CD, occasionally
listen to it, and have no intention of parting with it. I never did get
around to getting the collected versions of the comic series and am
disappointed that so far Dark Horse and Dave Stevens don't seem to be in a
rush to reprint the series.
The current Rocketeer DVD is a disappointment and the film really needs to
be remastered and packed with extras. The movie just hasn't gotten the
respect it deserves on home video in any format. Heck, even the 1980 Flash
Gordon movie -- which is 100 times worse than The Rocketeer is in its bad
moments -- is getting a decent DVD treatment later this year for the US!
Some of the licensed Rocketeer stuff is still available through Bud Plant.
Recently, I saw a statue on sale in their catalog on their website for a
reduced price. But yeah, The Rocketeer is basically dead in the US right
now from a lack of promotion and continuing comic book mini-series. I think
Dave Stevens just lost interest in it and makes most of his money now
creating original prints. I don't think Stevens does many new illustrations
of Bettie Page since he's gotten to know her personally and has become a
sort of son to her, but Olivia de Bardinis (sp) is doing new Bettie
paintings all the time.
I should also mention that Dave Stevens was married to scream queen Brinke
Stevens around 20 years ago (they're divorced now) and that he also designed
The Flash suit for the 1990 Flash TV series. The TV Flash outfit has a lot
of design similarities to the current Flash outfit but I wonder if it was
Stevens or the Flash artist at the time (Greg Laroque) who was most
responsible for the redesigned Flash outfit.
I don't personally own a lot any Stevens artwork other than what's been
reprinted in the 5 or so Bettie Page books that I won -- I admit I'm
heterosexual and that Bettie in her prime was one of the best-looking models
the US ever produced...! --, but there's no question Stevens is a
hard-working, darn talented artist.
P.S. -- Recently, Bettie Page was photographed and appeared (white-haired)
in an issue of Playboy around 2 years ago. She was photographed at a
Playboy Mansion party with Hugh Heffner, a Playmate, and Jenny McCarthy
flanking her sides. The photograph has since circulated on the Internet.
Page is alive and well and still somewhat recognizable although she has
packed on some pounds in old age. Still not bad-looking for an
83(?)-year-old woman.
Tipton: Yeah, a big 2-disc collector's DVD is sorely needed.
###
Mike B. writes: Thanks for your article on the Rocketeer, I am thrilled to discover I am not the only man on Earth who thinks the Rocketeer was a completely awesome movie and who still waits for a Cliff Secord big screen comeback. I also want to thank you for your low-down on the comics, I have knon about them for years, since I saw the movie, but I never had a chance to track them down. Do you have any suggestions for finding them? i would love to read them, and is the first serial you described the only one, or are there any further adventures after he heads of to Europe?
Also on another note, have you read the Ghostbusters comic coming from 88mphstudios.com? I haven't had a chance yet for those either, I have pre-ordered the collection, but I am curious if you have heard of them, and if you've read them, what is your opinion? Thanks again for the info, i think i'm gonna put on the rocketeer right now...
Tipton: There were a few other Rocketeer comics by Stevens, but not many, and they were hard to find.
Been meaning to check out those Ghostbusters comics, but haven't gotten around to it yet...
###
Jason W. writes: I've really been enjoying your JLA run, having never known the rich
history behind the series, and I'm looking forward to the continuation
of the history when your ready for it. A question before I forget,
where exactly in the history was the Sue Dibney/ Dr. Light incident
from Identity Crisis? I wasn't sure from reading you columns.
But on to the real reason for the email. I was shocked and thrilled to
see the column this week about the Rocketeer! Thank you so much for
shedding more light on this over looked, but by far one of the best
comic book movies to have been made. It was one of my favorite movies
as a kid, and I bought the DVD the minute it came out. I never
realized the character was only made in the early 80's, and once again
your extensive knowledge of the comic world has enlightened me.
Tipton: The Sue Dibny incident, while only invented in IDENTITY CRISIS, would have taken place in the Satellite Era, sometime between Zatanna's adopting the blue costume and the destruction of the satellite by the Martians.
###
Storm B. writes: Thank you, yet again, for your column on "The Rocketeer", both book and movie (Man, Miss Connolly used to have The Cans of Doom; childbirth is parasitic, I swear). It was a total surprise, and about the last book I was expecting you to cover. I *loved* it, now and then, because I've always loved the era it emulated (when other girls had big ol' 80's perms, I had Victory Rolls). And yes, Dave is the coolest. So is my favourite pin-up artist, Olivia; she's been selling lithos and original paintings of Bettie, *with* Bettie's actual autograph, and sharing in the profits (dunno if it's most of, or all, but it's a chunka change, Itellyouwhat!) with her for a while now. I saw them for sale at ComiCon, and momentarily but seriously considered if I really needed *two* kidneys... A Dave Stevens postcard of his Betty is the first and oldest part of the Bettie Page shrine over my bed; it's torn to hell and taped up, but I love it. Back in the late 80's, a guy came to ComiCon, dressed in a perfect Rocketeer costume; bib-front jacket, jodhpur pants, real metal helmet and rocket pack, the works. He was a thing of geekly beauty. I never saw his face, but I momentarily but seriously considered making sweet fangirl love to him. With the helmet on, of course.
Speaking of Bettie, and her whereabouts; she's a good church-going lady now, but God love her, she's totally, completely unashamed of her modeling career (with the exception of a few full-nudes she admits were of questionable taste that she did one night after having way too much wine), and wants everyone to think of her as she was. She's in her eighties now, but other than being kinda heavyset and silver haired, she's the same Bettie; same bangs, same smile. She let them take her picture at the Playboy mansion for the 50th anniversary (she was one of their earliest girls), but as far as I know, that's the only picture taken of her since the 60's.
Lastly, not three days ago, I was bitching to my friends how even more than my flying car and my vacation on the Moon, I was most pissed off about not having my Rocket Pack by now. We were seriously lied to, brother! All those damn shows and cartoons when we were kids, frickin' jet packs everywhere. Being lied to by a cartoon is different; there was a grip o' *live action* shows with fools flying around in shiny silver suits and jet packs! I sense a serious gyp! And, as Red Forman said, they promised me a goddamn hovercraft too!
Tipton: I remember seeing that Rocketeer guy at Comic-Con -- I seem to recall his being accompanied by a pretty good-looking Bettie Page lookalike.
###
Rich S. writes: Loved your piece on the Rocketeer and couldn't agree
more. Undergrad Rich collected the comics series and
then working man Rich was a manager at a movie theater
when the film came out.
Your Rocketeer figure is extremely cool. But the
ultimate collectable, if you can find it, is the
advance one-sheet for the film. It shows the
Rocketeer in all his art deco glory taking to the
skies. It's artwork, not a photo, and looks kind of
like the one sheets for Metropolis. During this
period, Disney was doing some spectacular work on
their advance one sheets. Beauty and the Beast,
Aladdin and the re-release of Pinocchio (with an
amazing Blue Fairy) are real standouts.
As a theater manager, I was able to grab most of them.
I've got the Rocketeer tucked away in a tube in a
closet some place. Some day, I plan to decorate a rec
room or something with nothing but superhero one
sheets, and it will be prominently displayed. Trust
me, it's a stunner.
Tipton: Yeah, that one-sheet is gorgeous -- I almost ran it in the column.
###
Tom A. writes: Don't worry, while I may have stayed up till midnight to catch the first
showing of Terminator II, and took my son to see Robin Hood: Prince of
Theves (where he fell asleep during the Hun attack on Sherwood Forrest), I
did indeen plunk down my hard earned cash to see The Rocketeer.>{?
I came away pleasantly suprised. It wasn't the greatest movie of all
time, but it was a good time at the movies, and let's face it, isn't that
what we are all looking for?
I did manage to score some of the movie cards. I seem to remember buying
a whole box and putting together a whole set, and I remember buying a box
of the T2 cards and NOT being able to get a complete set out of it.
What's up with that?
Anyway, thanks for writing about a favorite movie of mine, now where did I
put that VHS tape.......?
###
Kevin M. writes: Man, I thought I was the only one that loved that movie. I didn't know a thing about the comic beforehand but those posters in all the comics at the time with the Rocketeer blasting to the top right corner of the page got me so bloody excited for that movie! Who says advertising doesn't work?
Anyway, I think I only had the movie adaptation, if there was one, I had something anyway, but I loved that movie and the adaptation! I even had the videogame! I seem to recall it being alright but it's sort of frustrating when there was so little fuel for the rocket in the game....I mean, his big thing is that he can fly, why am I running around punching and shooting all the time? Whatever, it was still fun.
Tipton: Yeah, that game was real frustrating...
###
David L. writes: Okay… first let me join the chorus of voices disappointed that you didn’t get into how Dave Stevens turned the tables on the Rocketeer filmmakers and used the characters they grafted into his story for “Cliff’s New York Adventure.” (And the whole mistaking Doc Savage for Howard Hughes in the book, and using the actual Howard Hughes in the movie. I’m still not sure if that was brilliant or confusing. Probably both.)
I wholeheartedly agree with you that this is an overlooked gem. I hope pieces like yours drum up the attention it deserves. I remember one of the reviews when the film first came out, they quoted some of the dialogue from one of the G-Men, after the other one takes a punch from Cliff. I don’t recall the exact dialogue, but I do remember the reviewer complaining that the screenwriters got the late 30s/early 40s patois exactly right.
I sat there, unbelieving. It was wrong that they got it right? That they didn’t take more of a tongue-in-cheek, spoofier attitude? Maybe from an aiming-for-the-lowest-common-denominator point-of-view he was right, judging by the box office, but I still think he was an idiot, and a whole lot of people missed out on a whole lot of fun at the movies in 1991. Reminds me of one reader who passed on one of my scripts (a reader at Disney, no less), complaining that the ending actually tied up all the loose ends.
The movie business can be mightily disheartening.
###
Elliott writes: In a recent mailbag someone wrote about how the darkening of comics
was taking the fun out of things and narrowing the audience and such,
and asked why adult comics need to necessarily have mature themes and
be so dark. He basically stated that comics should appeal to everyone
like they (I guess) did back in the olden days, which posed the
interesting question of why comics don't appeal to kids very much
anymore. Now I think that the darkening of comics and the idea of
writing for adults is part of the problem, but also notice that there
are indeed a number of comics written for kids and all ages audiences.
Why do you think these havent exactly caught on with kids? Do you
think the material is too "dumbed down" for today's average kid? Or
maybe that kids are just finding alternative forms of entertainment
that didnt exist in the past (the internet, video games)?
Personally I think it's a combination of those things, but with one
other factor added in: price. I feel that comic books these days are
grossly overpriced for the amount of content that they provide and
find it alarming that comics have tripled in price in about 15 years.
The fact of the matter is, kids dont have money, their parents do and
most parents arent going to spend $3 on something their kid might read
once and then forget about a half an hour later. The same goes for
kids who get allowances, most of them arent going to spend a
substantial amount of their allowance on something that will provide
them with such a short period of gratification. I know that the
companies are pricing the books at what they view as an ideal mark
considering inflation and such, but they need to seriously consider
putting out some lower priced books if they want to attract kids.
That's my opinion anyway. I would love to hear what you think about this.
Tipton: I totally agree that comics publishers have priced themselves out of the kids market, by catering to collectors with fancy paper and glossy covers, instead of producing cheap, disposable literature that kids could easily buy for themselves. It's a shame.
###
Derrick B. writes: Let me get the ass kissing out of the way first. Love you’re your column, love your passion for comics, read every week, Blah, blah, blah. Now that I’ve gotten the obligatory, but very true start of every letter out of the way, you are wrong on this one. This is not just the opinion of a new reader. I have been reading DC since I was 12, will soon be 30 and will read until I die. I love DC comics! Marvel, meh… But even DeMatteis and Giffen show the rest of the hero’s contempt for the underlings of the JLI in “Formerly Known As”. Jonn shows his burden with these heroes and states that he doesn’t even trust them. They have always made it seem as the upper echelon of the league has always had to baby sit these heroes and I can justly see their brush off for anything these goofs do. Now don’t get me wrong, I really do love this group of leaguers. The writing stories were great, funny and overall made me really become attached to the second stringers. To say that it is out of character for Batman to brush off Beetle after 1. What the league did to Batman (I would never trust anybody from the league again) and 2. Beetle was right there behind Max when they gave Bats the brush off. I think this is a great story and will definitely bring in new readers, but also introduces them to the depths of these heroes we love. DC has stopped producing beat-em up fluff and is finally show us the inner human soul of these characters. The inner dialogue during this and infinity crisis has been superb. And you are completely correct. They left a lot of openings for Beetle to come back and Max being the “long time mastermind” is way out of character, but overall, I think it will produce one hell of a good story. It can’t be any worse than newer Byrne material. Just my 2 cents. Don’t worry, I’ll still be recommending your column and reading every week. Thanks again.
Tipton: Glad it worked for you, but it didn't for me. There's no accounting for the way J'Onn treated Beetle just after an attempt on his life, and the notion that Max Lord was always a scheming villain is just lame, and completely unsupported by the original comics. Your mileage may vary, as always...
###
Matt L. writes: Great article on the Rocketeer. To go along with the Popcornteer, Disney-MGM Studios in Orlando is the final resting place of other Rocketeer memorabilia. About nine years ago, the Bulldog Cafe and the GeeBee sat on the MGM studios backlot. Unfortunately, the Bulldog was falling into disrepair. I saw it sitting there not long after that, but when I returned in 2000, the Bulldog cafe was gone...I've always assumed it blew away in a hurricane. As of 2000, the GeeBee and other planes from the movie were sitting on the backlot, there were several helmets sitting in a props warehouse, and the building where the backlot tour ended had the concrete dolphins from the South Seas Club sitting outside the entrance.
And as for other Rocketeer memorabilia, Bowen Designs released a very nice, bronze, limited edition Rocketeer statue several years back. Attached is a picture of the one I was able to get.
From what I read years ago, Disney signed all the actors to a 3 movie deal. It's a shame they didn't make a sequel...and a bigger shame that Dave Stevens hasn't written more of the Rocketeer saga.
Tipton: I reently took a trip to Florida myself and was very stoked to see the GeeBee and the rocket packs in the prop department..
###
Andrew W. writes: Happy movie memories...I never knew it was based on a comic, and it was the one I wanted to see the most that summer. (But in the fall, I saw T2, and became a man...) I'm surprised you didn't make more of Dalton's Errol Flynn impression, since supposedly he was a sympathsizer. In all fairness, though, the Rocketeer movie does have one of the cheesier moments in memory, when the cops and crooks look at each other while fighting the Nazis. Such good patriotism.
Since I'm mailing you, thanks for the Comics 101 in general. I'm a newbie to the scene (a 30 year old newbie), and while I'm no real fan of the DC or Marvel Universes, I've enjoyed your analysis all the same. I know you have a million back ideas for columns, but I'd love to see some that emphasize perhaps favorite writers or perhaps some more indie titles (including current ones). It's all good and I pass your webiste along to whoever I find. Take care.
Tipton: I love that moment when Paul Sorvino turns on Timothy Dalton. "I may be a crook, but I'm an American crook."
# # #
Miller Time
Jimmie B. writes: i just read frank millers the dark night strikes back. i really liked and thought it was a good follow up to the dark night returns. i was wondering if frank miller had ever done a superman book. because of frank miller i finnaly got into dc. i have a little over 600 comics and most of them are marvel and independets like madman. but i read millers stuff and i've been snatching up every superman and batman comic i could get my hands on. mostly the early post crisis stuff like the man of steel and the exile story arc. back to my question though. has he even done a sups book and if not is there any in the works? i hope so.
Ryall: He's handled the character before, in both the DARK KNIGHT books you've read, but that's about it (until issue 4 of the current ALL-STAR BATMAN & ROBIN, THE BOY WONDER, that is). He did write and draw a short section (4 pages) in SUPERMAN 400 from way back in the (pre-CRISIS) day, too, but that was part of a much larger anniversary issue. He did covers for a SUPERMAN: THE SECRET YEARS miniseries in the '80s, too, but had nothing to do with the interiors (I believe Curt Swan drew those issues). But he's never handled him in a solo Superman tale, no.
Here are the covers he did for that mini, and the back cover to SUPERMAN 400 (that one was a thick "jam" comic, featuring work by all kinds of creators and a good cover by Howard Chaykin. Pretty great story by Elliot S. Maggin, too.
# # #
Eddie C. writes re: The "Frank Miller Hates Batman" Award: ALL-STAR BATMAN AND ROBIN. Seriously, why does everythign Miller does for DC now feel like he's having a grand, highly paid, laugh at comic fans' expense?
I'm glad to see I'm not the only one who didn't like this comic. With all due respect to Miller, did we really need a Sin City version of Gotham, and a Marv version of Batman. "Batman Begins" allowed for corruption in the Gotham ranks, but to make the whole force one-dimensionally corrupt (ala Sin City) was a little much. This is the same guy who wrote the excellent "Dark Knight Returns." Could've fooled me.
I guess it dosen't help though that I'm probably the only die-hard comic fan who's not also a die-hard "Sin City" fan. Never a big fan of the "Sin City" craze.
Ryall: See, I like SIN CITY precisely because it's all just so hard-boiled, from the dialogue to the situations to the cast of characters. No gray areas in SIN CITY. But with Batman, I expect a bit more... especially after his excellent work on Bats in the past. The first two issues just didn't have the soul of Miller's past work. Wouldn't kill me if they released an issue sooner than every three months, either.
In Brightest Day
David S. writes: Ok, first off, I agree that Countdown sucked. I'm not
getting too worked up about it though, because if Hal
Jordan has taught me anything, it's that status quo is
the most powerful force in comics. Which brings me to
thetopic of this email. I realise that I'm going to
piss off a lot of people by saying this, but Hal
should have stayed dead. He had his time in the sun,
he went apeshit, and then he went out with a bang.
Mazel Tov. I grew up with Kyle Rayner. His troubled
beginning coincided with my own difficult teenage
years, and as he grew more confidant in his role so
did I. He showed more character development than Hal
ever did. For that matter, why the hell do people call
Hal the "Greatest GL Ever!!" He never did half the
things Kyle did in both his own title and in the pages
of JLA. Kyle actually used that "most powerful weapon
in the universe" to it's full potential. But the older
fans whined, DC listened, and now Hal's back. I
realise that i may be sounding unfairly biased, but
I've read most of Hal's adventures, and to my mind, he
just doesn't stack up. I just hope that Kyle doesn't
get shoved into the back bin of the DCU.
P.S. Fuck Hal, and fuck the status quo as well.
Ryall: Well, the good news is that DC isn't insulting all the fans who grew up with and came to like Kyle--he's still around, and still an important part of things. I have no problem with Hal being back and Kyle being around, too--I always loved the idea of the Green Lantern Corps.
Besides, Hal's return isn't just about pleasing the old fans--cleverly, Geoff Johns and DC have linked his rebirth, as well as the returns of other "dead" heroes like Superman and Green Arrow and others, to the current Infinite Crisis. Which is nice--rather than have them just return the status quo as a way to bring back older fans and spike a book's sales, they've made all these disparate resurrections part of a bigger, broader story.
SUPERMAN LIVES
Eddie C. writes: I have nothing against "Smallville". I never used to watch it, 'cause I avoided all teen dramas (even ones thinly veiled as comic book adaptations or whatever else), but I've caught a few episodes and have to admit its pretty decent. But, I can't see casting the show's actors in a new film trying to restart the Superman franchise. It wouldn't be anything like what "Batman Begins" did. I like the fact that an unknown will play "Superman" (though I'll admit he looks a lot like Tom Welling). Seems to me too many films go for the big names or known actors. Even Tobey Maguire had established himself before "Spiderman." Nice to see an unknown cast here, though he does look a little young to be playing SuperMan. Sure this dosen't take place in Smallville. Anyway, I've always been a big Spacey fan and think he'd actually do pretty good in the role, especially in they give Lex the same wry sense of humor Hackman had in the original.
Christopher Reeves was still largely an unknown when cast as Superman, while Hackman was a film vet by then, so I see it as carrying on a Superman tradition. With "X-Men" director Bryan SInger on board, it has to be good. Too bad it kept him away from X3 though.
Ryall: I'm with you--I just think a movie featuring the whole TV show cast wouldn't seem like anything special (maybe that's why I was also a little underwhelmed by SERENITY at times, too--while good, it felt a tad like just a longer TV episode to me). I'm all for an unknown playing Superman, and I think Spacey does fill in nicely for the Hackman role, too.
Why Kevin Handles His Characters Himself
E.S. writes: Hi I am not sure who to get a hold of but when are you guys going to make another movie?
well here's a quick Idea..
The world is seriously missing out on a Jay & Silent Bob christmas movie.
"F*** Santa Claus. F*** him up his stupid ass."
"And when I see Kringle I'm gonna be like all unh and mmm and umph and all that nasty sh** on him, nnonnng. But I'm not, like, gay or anything."
"Get your own goddamn talking Elmo you punkass little kid!"
"Yo, baby, come on over and sit on Santa's lap. How'd you like a thick ol candy cane up your stocking this christmas?"
"No fucking way the baby Jesus grew up and got killed for this, man."
"Now remember, kid, you only get the five bucks if you scream out "Stop touching my naughty place" after you sit on the fat guy's lap."
"Shit, dude, you saw Mrs. Claus naked? Bet that nasty old puss was va-GYNORMOUS!"
Ryall: I now officially feel dirty for having read this. See, the problem here, as with most of these "ideas" I get sent, is that they go for the crude with none of the panache or humor that Kevin brings.
"Say, would you like a chocolate Chanukah coin? They're a little melty but damn are they tasty."
Well hopefully you guys decide to make another Movie ...like this or
"Jay & Silent Bob Strike Back, Again"
"Jay & Silent Bob Strike Back-Wards"
"Jay & Silent Bob Strike Back, Revenge Of the Smith"
I don't know..But Jay And Silent Bob Are Freakin Kick Ass..
Ryall: Incidentally, there IS another movie on the way--CLERKS II. It's done; I've seen it. It opens next August. Not quite a Christmas movie, but with SURVIVING CHRISTMAS out there, no one wants to try to do a holiday film that tops that one anyway...
Blogging Down
Ryall: You know how we here at the Mail Shoot resist dropping in random plugs for things in this space. But I'll start out the new year by being kinder--this will last all of one week--and offering you these two links to new blogs if you're so inclined to check them out. Since the e-mailers asked so nicely.
Back to my hard-ass ways next week, of course.
Kevin: http://blog.myspace.com/pokeridontevenknowher
Seth R.: My “Back of the Bus” column at gamertransit.com
Photos of the Week
Ryall: Then...
...and now:
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