IDW brings The Rocketeer to the present day

IDW announced on Wednesday the return of a cult favorite – The Rocketeer.
Last seen on shelves in the 2013 miniseries Rocketeer and The Spirit: Pulp Friction, the jetpacked hero will be back in shops in December when Rocketeer Reborn debuts with Issue 1 of a five-issue, limited series.
Writers Elsa Charretier and Pierrick Colinet, who collaborated on Star Wars Adventures and The Infinite Loop, will be joined by artist Javier Pulido (Human Target, Hawkeye) for the series, which will bring the flying hero into the 21st century and the land of baggy jeans and social media.
The plot, according to a press release from IDW, will follow an all new Rocketeer who finds Cliff Secord’s jetpack 80 years after the events of the original comics.
Here is the complete IDW synopsis:

In Rocketeer Reborn, eighty years have passed since Cliff Secord first found an experimental jetpack and soared through the skies as a high-flying hero. Now, decades later, The Rocketeer is all but forgotten to most people, a legend of a bygone era. When Cliff’s jetpack is found in a most unexpected way, it’s a race for those with good and evil intent to grab hold, strap on, and take off for adventure!

In a statement, Charretier and Colinet said, “It’s an immense honor for us to contribute to Dave Stevens’ legacy, and a big responsibility, as well – making sure we stay true to the spirit of the character for both old and new fans, alike. We hope people will find a fresh, pulp-noir, modern Rocketeer, as Javier Pulido’s wonderfully unique style and inventive storytelling bring this new adventure to life.”
The Rocketeer originally appeared in the 1982 Pacific Comics’ Starslayer series as a backup feature in Issues 2 and 3. Creator Dave Stevens passed away in 2008, but his characters live on. Most famously, The Rocketeer made its way onto the big screen, thanks to Disney, back in 1991. The feature film adaptation starred Billy Campbell as the titular hero, Jennifer Connelly as his Betty Page-inspired girlfriend, Jenny Blake, and Timothy Dalton as the villainous movie star Neville Sinclair. The film was directed by Joe Johnston, who would go on to direct Jumanji, Jurassic Park III and Captain America: The First Avenger (there’s a lot of Rocketeer in the latter, by the way).
If you’d like to get caught up on The Rocketeer, check out IDW’s 2009 collection Dave Stevens’ The Rocketeer: The Complete Adventures.