The third installment in the new Rocketeer series brings back the Rocketeer we have come to know and love. No more chronologically jumbled-up short stories by different artists and authors, but an all-new adventure written by Mark Waid with art by Chris Samnee, who previously participated in the first Rocketeer Adventures.

Originally a four-part comic story, this is the hardcover compilation of the “Cargo of Doom” story arc, which was previously released as a four-part comic adventure by IDW Publishing. Extras include 36 pages of storyboard sketches and art.

Rocketeer Adventures, Volume 2

Diesel

Hilde HeyvaertJanuary 28, 2013September 26, 2020

Where the first volume had only the small downside of lack of chronology, volume 2 of the Rocketeer Adventures sadly does not live up to expectations.

There are a few beautifully drawn and strong stories in there, but overall it lacks the beauty and storytelling of the first release.

The lack of chronology has become downright annoying, as now you have short stories that are jumbled over two volumes time-wise, which is just bothersome. And in some cases the art is so subpar that the story can’t make up for it.

Rocketeer Adventures

Diesel

Hilde HeyvaertDecember 31, 2012September 26, 2020

Long after the unfortunate and untimely demise of the Rocketeer’s creator, Dave Stevens (1955-2008), his creation is back, resurrected by some of the sharpest talents in today’s comic-book business. Since then sixteen new volumes have been released, forming three all-new series.

It’s about the first of these, Rocketeer Adventures, I would like to talk in our last review of 2012.

Nazis Take to the Moon in Iron Sky Prequel

Diesel

Nick OttensOctober 13, 2011September 26, 2020

Dieselpunk fans will be familiar with the Iron Sky project. The independent film production will depict the Nazis plotting an invasion of Earth from their secret refuge on the Moon.

In anticipation of the film’s release, Iron Sky is releasing a prequel comic adventure.

The first issue, “Bad Moon Rising,” depicts the Third Reich’s survivors in Antarctica preparing to board UFOs bound for the Moon. They will build a base on the far side of the Moon to stage another attempt at conquering the planet.

Ignition City

Atomic

Lorenzo DaviaSeptember 1, 2011September 26, 2020

In 1930, three bold astronauts reach space. Fifteen years later, World War II is interrupted by a Martian invasion. As a consequences of those events, humanity starts exploring its Solar System and heroic astronauts contact alien species and have incredible adventures.

But that is the past.

The present is the year 1956, when no one cares about alien worlds and the final frontier anymore. Spaceports are being closed down and the only place from which rockets take off is Ignition City, a metropolis located on an artificial island on the equator. Here the last astronauts live in exile.

The Invisible Frontier

Diesel

Alasdair CzyrnyjNovember 1, 2009September 26, 2020

While dieselpunk is commonly associated with a pulpy, noir-and-Jazz America, there remains a fascination in the subgenre for the crepuscular world of Interwar Europe.

It was a time of artistic ferment and architectural genius, of electricity and of the machine entwining themselves into the fabric of urban life, of cultural clashes and sexual politics, of ambitious administrators uttering proclamations and of humbled citizens trying to find a place in the brave new world.

It is this brief epoch, and the imaginative potential it nurtured, that finds a new home in the ethereal world of Les Cités Obscures.

Gone with the Blastwave

Diesel

Nick OttensFebruary 14, 2009September 26, 2020

Gone with the Blastwave is a post-apocalyptic comic by Kimmo Lemetti from Finland. He occasionally — though unfortunately not often — uploads a new installment, but there are plenty of old stories on his website to keep you amused for a while.

Although the quality and humor of Gone with the Blastwave is not in doubt, we wonder whether to call it dieselpunk.

Scarlet Traces: The Great Game

Diesel

Guy DampierJanuary 1, 2009September 26, 2020

The sequel to Scarlet Traces (our review here) takes place in the Britain of the 1930s, with the invasion of Mars by the British Empire going badly.

We follow the Lady Charlotte, a photographer and reporter for The Interceptor, the last remaining liberal newspaper. With an insurgency in Scotland getting worse and branching into suicide attacks, Oswald Mosely as home secretary and the Commonwealth trying to withdraw its troops from Mars, Lotte manages to sneak onto the frontlines only to discover that she is stuck with the rearguard — and there is no rescue coming for them.

Scarlet Traces

Diesel

Guy DampierNovember 1, 2008September 26, 2020

H.G. Wells’ War of the Worlds never had a sequel. Thankfully Ian Edington and the artist who calls himself D’Israeli have filled that gap in comic-book form with the formidable Scarlet Traces.

Their premise is simple: after the defeat of the Martians, Britain adapts their technologies to make themselves the world’s greatest superpower. The factories of the North are replaced with mechanical estates, the cavalry trade their horses for multi-limbed fighting machines, and homes are warmed by a spinoff of the Heat Ray. All is well in 1908 — or is it?

Comics

Rocketeer: Cargo of Doom