Dave Stevens Dead at 52

Dave Stevens, creator of the The Rocketeer, lost his fight with leukemia on March 10^th.

Stevens got his start in sequential art in San Diego, becoming a fixture at the then-fledgling Comic-Con. He worked on such properties as Star Wars and Tarzan before moving into animation. He did layouts for Hanna-Barbera on shows like Super Friends and Godzilla.

In the 1980s, Dave Stevens created, wrote, and illustrated a comics series entitled The Rocketeer. None other than Disney themselves picked up the option to bring this to the screen and The Rocketeer was made into a fairly popular movie, which Dave himself co-wrote. Unfortunately, neither the comic nor the movie made him much money and he abandoned the project.

Stevens continued to work in movies though - specifically in the art department on such films as Raiders of the Lost Ark and Michael Jackson's Thriller. He was also a member of the WGA.

Stevens used Bettie Page's likeness for the heroine in The Rocketeer and began doing illustrations based on her image afterward. Thought dead, Ms. Page turned out to be very much alive and living not far from Stevens. The two became fast-friends.

Our condolences go out to his friends and family.

© C Harris Lynn, 2008