Dave Stevens, 1955-2008

I just received the news that Dave Stevens, creator of The Rocketeer, passed away yesterday.

My old amigo Larry Shell emailed me the news; sobering, too, since Dave and I were born the same year. I didn't know him well, but the news is still a shock; I first met Dave back in the mid-'80s, and enjoyed a lengthy conversation comparing notes on Rondo Hatton, adventure comics and movies, and the comics industry at one of the NJ Chiller Cons in the early '90s.

Dave will be missed; Dave arguably revived adventure comics in America (at a time when Alex Toth's Bravo for Adventure was the last lonely man in a very odd and then recently defunct venue, Warren's The Rook magazine), resurrected the school of 'good girl art' with Rocketeer, and certainly reinvigorated the Betty Page phenomenon via his work. That Dave's accomplishments all grew from a back-up strip in a short-lived indy comics title (Mike Grell's Starslayer from Pacific Comics) should also be noted, as we must also regretfully note how few comics Dave actually got out there in his years on Earth: not the measure of a man or artist, mind you, just noting how much impact a relatively few pages cumulatively had.

RIP, Dave...