Comic Book Creator # 40 November 2025 (magazine review)
Now, here’s something rather unique for ‘Comic Book Creator’, it’s gone square-bound for a special on the late comicbook artist but really animation designer amongst others, Dave Stevens (1955-2008). Previous looks at his work here led me to buying the complete ‘Rocketeer’ book and still suitably impressed.
There are many interviews here, all good quality and hard to pick the best from the very good.
The first, by Steve Ringgenberg, originally published in Amazing Heroes # 37 back in 1991, in pre-Rocketeer film. Stevens is very much self-depreciating, grabbing work where he can, often doing layouts for animation companies after spending a year with Russ Manning doing backgrounds and such, mostly inking, for him. He was also very unorthodox, with no plans for his stories, drawing and writing them a page at a time. Stevens notes he had to squeeze a lot into one page so the surprise splash page ending would be that. The second, also by Ringgenberg, and not published before focuses on his time at Pacific Comics.
The third and longest interview is with Jon B. Cooke going through Stevens entire career with him. Stevens also reminds he was creating the Rocketeer at night after his day job in advertising which paid better. He also didn’t like the idea of sitting drawing 12 hours a day, 7 days a week doing a regular monthly edition. Considering the variety of work in ghosting newspaper strips, animation storyboards, character design and advertising, Stevens showed a wide spectrum of work where comicbook art was really only a small part.
In Kirby Collector # 10, Jon B. Cooke used an abbreviated version of an interview with Dave Stevens about his contact with Jack Kirby. Here is the unabridged version. As I didn’t read the original, I can’t compare the two but give yourself an hour’s reading time. As always with ‘Comic Book Creator’, it’s a joy to read but it’s all a long read.
Cooke is back with another interview where Stevens explains his approach to drawing women. Basically, coming up with a design and then getting a model to pose to ensure he got the lines right and it becomes rather obvious that he was a bit of a perfectionist. Actually, very much a perfectionist which got people thinking he was lazy, even Stevens described himself as such What is puzzling me is considering the interest in one of his books, ‘Vamps & Vixen’, and the high cost in the secondary market, why it hasn’t been reprinted yet? I do like the same artists he liked, Gil Elegren comes up and I’ve reviewed his book here. It’s also a reminder he was left-handed and inked with a brush and not a pen, although doesn’t explain how he inked straight lines.
There’s an interesting interview with his ex-wife Brinke Stevens which gives a different insight in his time from fan to professional and she was one of his principal models, even after they divorced.
Of course, it’s about time there was a discussion about the 1991 film and this was done originally in Comic Interview # 91 by Jeff Gelb as he was shown some of the production photographs and how Disney made it more family-orientated. Something I hadn’t known was it was supposed to be a trilogy but that never happened.
There’s an interview with Stevens’ sister, Jennifer Bawcum, and how she is now the custodian of her brother’s properties with a lot of help from his friends who understands licencing. Her insights into her brother and parents are quite telling.
Once you get past the testimonials and stories from his friends, there is still more. I’m averaging over an hour a day reading and still going a week on. This is a big read. If anything, when I checked on two books noted about Stevens, they are both out of print and still on the expensive side. The documentary production ‘Dave Stevens: Drawn To Perfection’ is only available on Amazon Prime or MP3 download. So, in many respects, this edition of ‘Comic Book Creator’ is probably the only one currently out there at an affordable price.
The endpiece where Cooke interviews comicbook collector/Whatnot host David Chan explains how Stevens has got new generations of comicbook fans have raised the prices based on the covers he drew, not necessarily of the Rocketeer but the good girl he drew. Looks like all that attention to detail paid off.
I suspect this edition will sell out. You’ve got a good display Dave Stevens’ art, get inside his head a bit and how much he was generally liked. What more do you want?
GF Willmetts
February 2026
(pub: TwoMorrows Publishing. 82 page illustrated square-bound magazine. Price: $24.95 (US). ISSN: 401-783-1689. ISBN: 978-1-60549-131-8. Direct from them, you can get it for $24.95 (US))
check out websites: www.TwoMorrows.com and https://twomorrows.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=98_132&products_id=1848&zenid=km6qcl8c7gg1hkr9ha216a68m2
