Most of you probably don't know who he is, but Dave Stevens recently passed away from leukemia.
His character The Rocketeer was one of the first characters a 12-year old Nala was introduced to outside the often limiting confines of DC and Marvel comics.
He was an incredibly fine illustrator and painter.
His full page illustrations of Phantom Lady and the Golden Age Catwoman from DC's 80s series Who's Who are still two of my favorite superhero illustrations of all-time.
I mean... Sandra Knight kicking Nazi ass drawn by Dave Stevens? S'like a slice of heaven there kids.
His Valkyrie Airboy cover is one of few comics that survived my post childhood purge...it's just perfect. For me it was one of those defining moments....since then I've been of the opinion that all women should wear shirts open to the navel. I mean...er...nevermind.
I do believe I still have that somewhere in a box.
Man...terrible news, indeed. I used to love reading Rocketeer when something new would come out like every couple years or so.
He was a fantastic artist who unfortunately didn't produce a huge body of work, but the stuff he left behind shall endure.
R.I.P.
Personally I was more upset when Steve Gerber died. Then again I never had any Rocketeer but I did have the issue of Howard the Duck with the origin of Dr. Bong. Still, it sucks losing any beloved paper crack artist.