I've recently returned from a trek out of town and away from many of my routine information sources.
It was with no small sadness and some surprise that I've just learned of the passing of illustrator Dave Stevens.
He lost a long battle with leukemia, passing away on Monday, March 10th, 2008 at the age of merely 52.
Along with many other comics readers, I first discovered Dave Stevens' artwork during the big independent publishing boom of the early 1980's, and just like many other fans, I was immediately hooked and hungry for more examples of his art.
Serialized installments of The Rocketeer were of course the main treat. A huge breath of fresh air and a reminder that comics could be just plain fun. (My own well-timed introduction to Bettie Page, too!)
If his comics were few and far between in those years, it was understood that they were worth the wait.
Cover art by Dave Stevens seemed to come around a bit more often during the first hunk of the '80's.
Here's a few examples dug out of my collection...
(click on images to ENLARGE in a new window)
(click on images to ENLARGE in a new window)
For more on Dave Stevens and his artistic legacy, see also:
- Biography / career overview at The Comics Reporter
- Stevens page at Lambiek
- Remembrances at Mark Evanier's 'News From Me' (scroll down the page), and at The Beat
- Excerpts from a 2001 interview with Dave Stevens, from Comic Book Artist #15
- An archived forum at Newsarama, with some included scans of more of Stevens' artwork
