Dave Stevens Dies

March 11, 2008 4:59 PM

Dave Stevens died yesterday from leukemia, a disease he had been battling for some years. Stevens is best known for his comic The Rocketeer, with its lovingart deco tribute to pre-WWII nostalgia. He also re-introduced the world to the great Bettie Page.
posted by CCBC (39 comments total)

Jesus. I fucking loved The Rocketeer comic book. This is sad news.
posted by Astro Zombie at 5:08 PM on March 11, 2008

WHAT, more "art" photos?!?!?!
posted by localroger at 5:17 PM on March 11, 2008

Oh, and this --> .
posted by localroger at 5:17 PM on March 11, 2008

Damn. That boy could flat-out draw.


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posted by Thorzdad at 5:20 PM on March 11, 2008

That is truly sad news. RIP, Dave.
posted by dbiedny at 5:21 PM on March 11, 2008

Yeah.
That man could draw such beautiful things.
I loved his Bel Geddes style.
You gave me joy.
posted by Dizzy at 5:21 PM on March 11, 2008

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posted by Smart Dalek at 5:24 PM on March 11, 2008

I read the Rocketeer TPB to shreds as a young man. Loved it.


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posted by Asbestos McPinto at 5:25 PM on March 11, 2008

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posted by Tesseractive at 5:25 PM on March 11, 2008

He didn't just reintroduce us to Bettie Page. He gave her a cut of the profits, to help her out in her retirement.
posted by Class Goat at 5:26 PM on March 11, 2008

Count me a 'Rocketeer' fan. Very sad to see him suffer and go like this.

So far, a bad month for nerds and it's not even the Ides yet.
posted by ardgedee at 5:27 PM on March 11, 2008

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posted by brundlefly at 5:47 PM on March 11, 2008

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posted by doctor_negative at 5:55 PM on March 11, 2008

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posted by eriko at 6:05 PM on March 11, 2008

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posted by podwarrior at 6:37 PM on March 11, 2008

Shit, I loved The Rocketeer. I got meet him at some comic shows in the early '90s and he was always a nice guy.

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posted by marxchivist at 6:51 PM on March 11, 2008

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...and, I can't help but wonder if this makes Laura Molina more, or less, angry....
posted by squasha at 6:56 PM on March 11, 2008

That's a great obituary/testimonial. He sounds like he was a wonderful human being, and he could obviously draw like nobody's business.
posted by yhbc at 7:16 PM on March 11, 2008

Oh, damn. I watched the movie a few years ago and the comic was on my to-read list ... damnit.


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posted by bettafish at 7:22 PM on March 11, 2008

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God damn, I love that Rocketeer stuff.

Seattle peeps, the SF museum has a nice little case of goodies from both the movie and the hand of Stevens, and I stood there and gawked at the perfection of the man's line. See you in zep heaven, Dave.
posted by mwhybark at 7:32 PM on March 11, 2008

Fucking awful.
posted by kittens for breakfast at 7:42 PM on March 11, 2008

There are a handful of writers and artists I keep within arms reach of me all the time. Dave Stevens is one of them.

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posted by SPrintF at 7:49 PM on March 11, 2008

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posted by Pope Guilty at 7:54 PM on March 11, 2008

Crushed.

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posted by Scoo at 8:00 PM on March 11, 2008

Oh, no. I'm very sorry to see this news.

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posted by mogget at 8:11 PM on March 11, 2008

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posted by litlnemo at 8:44 PM on March 11, 2008

Paraphrasing Peevy: "Aah, Dave. . . whatta waste! This place just ain't gonna be th'same. . . *sigh*"

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posted by Herodios at 8:47 PM on March 11, 2008

Sorry to hear about this. I remember liking the comics a good deal, and I just recently rewatched the movie, which held up surprisingly well. Anybody remember the Amiga video game -- The Rocket Ranger? Good times. RIP Mr Stevens.
posted by muckster at 9:42 PM on March 11, 2008

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posted by Alvy Ampersand at 10:23 PM on March 11, 2008

God, this guy is directly responsible for introducing me to Jennifer Connelly and the strange urge to rent the same VHS tape over and over again. Great art, I'd love to read the collected trade.
posted by now i'm piste at 11:06 PM on March 11, 2008

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posted by joedan at 11:13 PM on March 11, 2008

I had forgotten about Laura Molina, the World's Angriest Woman, and her obsession with Naked Dave (Stevens). Here's her memorial to her "muse".
posted by CCBC at 11:33 PM on March 11, 2008

I should have warned you: the previous link has embedded, loud, music. Sorry.
posted by CCBC at 11:34 PM on March 11, 2008

The Rocketeer movie was also one of my favourites.
posted by hadjiboy at 3:09 AM on March 12, 2008

My friend Steve Firchow worked with Dave coloring pieces for him over the years and posted this. I didn't know he storyboarded Raiders.
posted by podwarrior at 7:25 AM on March 12, 2008

Bruce Timm and Paul Dini, please make animated DVD movies of the remaining Rocketeer Adventures; maybe something in this style.

I'm really going to miss Dave Stevens and his artwork; I hope that the planned art book sees print.
posted by JDC8 at 10:36 AM on March 12, 2008

The Comics Reporter's Tom Spurgeon's compilation of links regarding Stevens' death.
posted by Alvy Ampersand at 10:55 AM on March 12, 2008

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posted by Smedleyman at 12:35 PM on March 12, 2008

This is a pity. The extended interview with Stevens from 2001, linked from Alvy's list above, is worth a read.

They ran a story about [Bettie Page] on the TV show Lifestyles of the Rich and Famous. I got a phone number for her brother, Jack Page, who was in Nashville, and I wrote him a letter and sent a check for him to pass along to her. I told him that I used her likeness as a supporting character in a comic and I definitely felt like I owed her something and I wanted to make sure that she got some money because I had no idea what kind of financial shape she was in. This was in 1992.
posted by whir at 5:35 PM on March 12, 2008