Dave Stevens was born on this date in 1955. Stevens was the best "Good Girl" artist of his generation. Stevens had a career in animation and only dabbled in comics in those early years. He never concocted a more intoxicating image than when he was inspired to draw Betty in the pages of his iconic The Rocketeer stories. Betty was a true bombshell, a gorgeous gal with a body to die for, which Cliff Secord the Rocketeer himself was all too ready to do.
Of course, most everyone knows nowadays that Stevens was inspired to create Betty and in fact based her bodacious form on the real-life bombshell Bettie Page. Page has herself become an icon of an era when celebration of the female form was still regarded as an artform, albeit a somewhat shoddy one. In these modern days of instant access to internet porn, the pictures of Bettie Page, both clad and unclad seem rather quaint. But what was provocative, illicit, and even at times illegal once upon a time is now the merely quaint in the rosy glow of nostalgia.
And Dave Stevens evoked nostalgia in its finest form in his Rocketeer pages, hearkening back to the adventurous times of bygone decades when airplanes were still fresh and exciting and not merely transportation. Stevens gave all of his worlds and the people in them a happy glistening touch which made them ideals and not just people. Here is a time with simple virtues when bravery was enough to win the day. It was good guys and bad guys and always beautiful dames.
Stevens rocked the comic book world in the early 80's when in the back pages of Pacific Comics Starslayer #2 he unleashed The Rocketeer. Immediately it was a hit and zoomed out of the back pages into cover status. Stevens blew us all away with his delectable depiction of the Rocketeer's number one damsel -- the always vivacious Betty. This is the one page I'd say had the same level of impact as the Silver Age debut of Mary Jane Watson. Stevens went on to become the go-to artist for good girl art across the comic book world, while at the same time continuing his main career in animation. In lieu of the holiday I'm offering up a few more examples of the vintage Stevens covers, quite simply because I could not choose among these love ladies -- so why do it.
(Inks over Wally Wood pencils)
(Inks over Jack Kirby pencils)
If I've forgotten one let me know. Dave Stevens was a special artist.
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