It's no secret that I have a soft spot for old things. I love characters from the pulp era and the Golden Age of Comics. I can (and in some cases have) tell you WAY too much about the influences of The Shadow and Captain Marvel (the REAL one) on popular culture, and as much as I love the Green Lantern Corps, I will never forget that in the darkest days of World War II, one man shone his light over dark evil.

When I was 17, I read a comic that changed the way I appreciated heroes. That comic was a used issue of Rocketeer that I got for a shiny two bits.

Here's Cliff Secor. Regular guy who needs some fast cash, decides wether or not to be a hero on a sometimes hourly basis, and he gets to fight Nazis and hang out with Bettie Page (or Jennifer Connelly; a total win either way).

I bring this up because Dave Stevens, creator of the Rocketeer died yesterday at the way too young age of 53.

Thanks Dave, for a great comic and a new appreciation of some of my favorite things.

Maybe tonight I'll pop The Rocketeer into the DVD so Horner's score can help me feel better.

The new Icon is for Dave, Cliff, Bettie and Lothar.

Semper Fi-