Post by BIGFANBOY on Mar 12, 2008 7:52:14 GMT -5
Those who know me well are aware that I didn't really get into comic books until the summer of 1990. Some of the first comics I picked up were THE ROCKETEER books, and I immediately fell in love with the rich storytelling and breathtaking art by Dave Stevens. I remember even then thinking this stuff was almost too good to be in a comic book.
Some years later I met Dave at the San Diego Comic-Con, and it soon became a tradition that every year I attended that show I'd stop by his booth and chat, sometimes for hours, as Dave had so many great stories. He and I shared the same points of view on a lot of things. In May of 2000, I started promoting the Dallas Comic & Toy Fest conventions, which became a fun but tiring task. I approached Dave about being a guest early on, since he hadn't been to Dallas in quite some time at that point. In 2002, he was scheduled to attend my summer show. At that time we had been talking on the phone quite a bit, and he began telling me about his health issues. Ultimately he had to postpone his appearance as a direct result of doctor visits. But in October of that year, I joined forces with the Sci-Fi Expo in town, creating the Dallas Comic Con. Our very first DCC featured Dave Stevens as Guest of Honor. This was in 2002, which fell 20 years after THE ROCKETEER had its debut. I remember finding it odd that the San Diego Comic-Con had done nothing that year in their program book related to ol' Fin Head. I mean look, you'd be hard pressed to find any comic artist worth their salt who wasn't in some way impacted by Dave's fine artwork in those books.
So I went all out. I produced a 20th Anniversary limited edition print for THE ROCKETEER, and a special program book which featured pin-ups by some of the con's special guests, along with an intro letter by Dave himself. I had no idea that program would become the last official ROCKETEER book produced with Dave's approval. Incidentally, he was great at that show, taking time to meet the fans and sign books and posters nonstop all day. One of the other guests for that Dallas Comic Con was Carrie Fisher. At one point I was escorting Carrie around the show floor so she could shop. She walked by Dave Stevens' table and stopped, taken in by the stunning beauty of his art. I introduced Dave to Carrie, and they found out they had a mutual friend in Joe Dante. It was a cool moment. On Saturday night at the show, Dave hosted a special screening of THE ROCKETEER movie for a group of hardcore fans. Initially we were going to have him intro the film, then Dave and I were going to leave and get dinner. Instead we both sat in the audience and watched the film from start to finish. It was amazing, watching Dave lean forward and rest his chin on folded arms, watching the movie like a little kid. I had a blast seeing him laugh at the funny scenes, and jerk around with excitement during the action scenes. He later told me he hadn't seen it in several years, and had forgotten so much about it.
That night following the screening, Dave and I went to dinner. It was great, just the two of us, waxing on about great artists and old comic books. We had talked about the idea of doing a new ROCKETEER comic book. See, Dave still had the rights to do comics, even though Disney pretty much buried the media rights. He told me that he still had stories to tell. I mentioned to him that I knew a lot of people in the industry, and I'm sure just about anyone would jump at the chance to contribute to a ROCKETEER comic book. Ultimately he said it would never work, mainly because it would be too expensive to produce. Maybe he was right... I guess we'll never know. In the years following I would still see Dave in San Diego, and we'd catch up either at the show or over dinner. He always asked about the Dallas shows, and I always asked him to come back. As time went on he told me he was traveling less and less.
Then the day came when Dave didn't show up at San Diego, and I knew something was wrong. I knew his health must have gotten worse. I knew that most likely he wasn't going to improve. I knew that, but yet I held out hope that I'd see Dave again, and that he'd return to Dallas for another anniversary. But after 2007, which was the 25th Anniversary of THE ROCKETEER, I began to realize I may never see Dave again. I called him a few times and left messages. I e-mailed him too. No word back. Then today (March 11th) I got the news... Dave Stevens had passed away. The chemo took its toll.
I'm still thinking about it. That man was a hero to me, as an artist, and as a comic book fan. He was a perfectionist with his art, he was a mensch with his friends, and he was a special gift to pop culture fans everywhere. I will miss him greatly. I guess sometimes the greatest gift in life is to be remembered well when life is over. Dave Stevens was a legend - let us all remember him well.