A review by eoghann
Hollywood Horror by Roger Langridge
5.0
I went into this one biased towards liking it. First off it's Roger Langridge and he has written some phenomenal comics over the last few years and shown a particular knack for hitting the right tone on other people's properties as well.
On top of that it's the Rocketeer. Before the movie (which I rather like) there was a comic book written and drawn by Dave Stevens. He created the Rocketeer as a homage to the black and white cliffhanger serials of the 30s and 40s. The Rocketeer character itself is clearly influenced by serials like _King of the Rocketmen_ which Cliff Secord's girlfriend seems to look remarkably like one Betty Page. Now I happen to love movies from the 30s and 40s and happily watch cliffhanger serials including King of the Rocketmen so obviously I love this character.
Recently IDW has started to publish Rocketeer material again, with other writers and artists as Dave Stevens sadly died a few years ago. _Rocketeer: Hollywood Horror_ is the latest of those and it is wonderful.
The tone of the book is light and incredibly fast paced. There are loads of Hollywood references from the time period and the thing has the feel of one of those movie serials. Which is exactly what you want. This isn't modernized, its exactly what you should get from that period. Betty is independent minded but invariably ends up getting herself in trouble. Sometimes she gets herself out again, sometimes she needs Cliff's help. And she has habit of ending up in skimpy attire in the process.
Art wise J Bone wisely makes no effort to mimic Dave Stevens style but instead goes for a minimalist cartoony approach instead which while very different does seem to mess nicely into the 40's era material. It's very energetic and matches the script well in that regard.
All round this is just a lovely package and well worth reading.
On top of that it's the Rocketeer. Before the movie (which I rather like) there was a comic book written and drawn by Dave Stevens. He created the Rocketeer as a homage to the black and white cliffhanger serials of the 30s and 40s. The Rocketeer character itself is clearly influenced by serials like _King of the Rocketmen_ which Cliff Secord's girlfriend seems to look remarkably like one Betty Page. Now I happen to love movies from the 30s and 40s and happily watch cliffhanger serials including King of the Rocketmen so obviously I love this character.
Recently IDW has started to publish Rocketeer material again, with other writers and artists as Dave Stevens sadly died a few years ago. _Rocketeer: Hollywood Horror_ is the latest of those and it is wonderful.
The tone of the book is light and incredibly fast paced. There are loads of Hollywood references from the time period and the thing has the feel of one of those movie serials. Which is exactly what you want. This isn't modernized, its exactly what you should get from that period. Betty is independent minded but invariably ends up getting herself in trouble. Sometimes she gets herself out again, sometimes she needs Cliff's help. And she has habit of ending up in skimpy attire in the process.
Art wise J Bone wisely makes no effort to mimic Dave Stevens style but instead goes for a minimalist cartoony approach instead which while very different does seem to mess nicely into the 40's era material. It's very energetic and matches the script well in that regard.
All round this is just a lovely package and well worth reading.