The Rocketeer: The Complete Adventures
By Dave Stevens
Coloring by Laura Martin
Lettering by Carrie Spiegle
Volume 1 art assist by Jaimie Hernandez
Co-writers of Volume 2, chapters 2 & 3: Danny Bilson & Paul Demeo
Volume 2 art assist by: Art Adams, Geof Darrow, Gary Gianni, Mike Kaluta, Stan Manoukian, Sandy Plunkett, and Vince Roucher
Volume 2, chapters 2 & 3 covers by: Dave Stevens and painted by Dave Dorman and Paul Chadwick
Edited by Scott Dunbier
Collected Edition by: Justin Eisinger and Alonzo Simon
Cover by Dave Stevens
IDW Publishing
Release Date: March 18, 2015
Cover Price: $19.99

The Rocketeer: The Complete Adventures is essential to your comic book collection. Reviewing a book like this is super hard. It’s all classic material, every bit of it. But, I’ll do my best.

Dave Stevens is a talented writer. He was a HUGE fan of this era of history, and it shows. Even though this material was written decades ago, it still applies and connects with the reader today. In this age where people watch movies and television shows and basically live their lives on their phones, it’s nice to visit a simpler time. One where the world was a lot bigger. People actually used their mouths to talk to other people, having conversations that lasted an afternoon, and were not limited to 140 characters. These adventures of Cliff Secord and the mysterious jetpack that he found will make take you from the edge of your seat, put you through the full gambit of emotions and give you the greatest gift that a story can give you: Hope.

Star Trek #17
Written by Mike Johnson
Creative Consultant: Roberto Orci
Art by Claudia Balboni
Inks by Erica Duranti
Colors by Claudia SGC
Letters by Chris Mowry
Editor: Scott Dunbier
Cover by Tim Bradstreet
IDW Publishing
Release Date: February 6, 2032
Cover Price: $3.99

Star Trek #17 is a great single-issue story focusing on one of the most famous crew members of the Starship Enterprise. It’s part love letter, part space adventure, which adds up to one great comic!

Writer Mike Johnson turns in a fantastic tale of everyone’s favorite doctor, Leonard “Bones” McCoy. This is basically the untold origin of Bones – why he became a doctor, why he joined Starfleet, and just what happened with that ex-wife of his. This is a great character piece that could NEVER be told in a feature film, and if it was, would not be nearly as detailed as this story is. It’s got everything that makes it classic Star Trek, but told within the confines of the new films. It’s got heart, action, and humor, which makes this one great read.

Rocketeer Adventures, Vol. 2
Written by Marc Guggenheim, Peter David, Stan Sakai, Tom Taylor, Paul Dini, Walter Simonson, Dave Lapham, Kyle Baker, Matt Wagner, Louise Simonson, David Mandel, John Byrne

Art by Sandy Plunkett, Bill Sienkiewicz, Stan Sakai, Colin Wilson, Bill Morrison, John Paul Leon, Chris Sprouse, Kyle Baker. Eric Canete, Walter Simonson, J. Bone, John Byrne
Inks by Karl Story, Bob Wiacek

Colors by Sandy Plunkett, Bill Sienkiewicz, Dave Stewart, Serban Cristescu, Jordie Bellaire, Eric Canete, Cassandra Poulson, J. Bone

Letters by Robbie Robbins, Bill Sienkiewicz, Stan Sakai, Colin Wilson, Chris Mowry, Shawn Lee. Kyle Baker, John Workman, Neil Uyetake

Cover by Darwyn Cooke
Design by Randall Dahlk
Edited by Scott Dunbier
IDW Publishing
Release Date: January 2013
Hardcover | Kindle

Somewhere, Dave Stevens is reading his copy of The Rocketeer Volume 2 and smiling, as you will be when you pick this book up. To say it brings honor and respect to the late Steven’s work would be an understatement. This is comic storytelling at its finest.

Danger Girl G.I. Joe #5
Written by Andy Hartnell
Art by John Royle
Layouts by Jeff Moy
Inks by Philip Moy
Colors by Romulo Fajardo, Jr.
Letters by Neil Uyetake
Edited by John Barber & Scott Dunbier
Covers by J. Scott Campbell
IDW Publishing
Release Date: January 2, 2013
Cover Price: $3.99

Danger Girl G.I. Joe #5 is the epic conclusion to this fantastic mini-series. And I do mean EPIC! I honestly can’t remember when I’ve enjoyed a comic this much before. It’s like the first time that someone put chocolate and peanut butter together. It’s too good not to share with the world.

It’s no surprise that writer Andy Hartnell knows his Danger Girls. After all, he co-created them. BUT, what is surprising is that he knows the G.I. Joe characters so well. This book is what every Joe fan wanted. It’s an extension of the 80’s cartoon series. There’s no updating costumes…I mean, fatigues..for modern times. No black leather and black & gray camo. The Joes run around in their classic looks and you don’t even bat an eye at it. It’s totally believable, and acceptable at the same time.

Star Trek: The Next Generation: Hive #3
Story by Brannon Braga
Script by Terry Matalas & Travis Fickett
Art by Joe Corroney
Ink Assist by Matt Fillback & Shawn Fillback
Colors by Hi-Fi
Lettering by Shawn Lee
Edited by Scott Dunbier
Covers by Joe Corroney, David Messina & Ilaria Traversi
IDW Publishing
Release Date: December 19, 2012
Cover Price: $3.99

Star Trek: The Next Generation: Hive #3 is the penultimate chapter in this 4-issue mini series that spans the Star Trek: The Next Generation era and beyond. The Federations in trouble, the Borg are everywhere and it ends with a pretty big shocker.

Once I started reading this, I realized just how much writer Brannon Braga loved time travel. Too much. Too much to the point where it hurts the story. Don’t get me wrong, it’s not bad, it’s just not good. While reading this issue I felt no sense of urgency, danger, or, well…anything. It felt like I was reading an old episode of TNG. The comic DOES have some good, true to character dialogue, but it’s just not firing on all cylinders. And as I stated, it does end with a pretty big shock ending, so I have high hopes for the next issue.