SIDESHOW ROCKETEER EXCLUSIVE PREMIUM FORMAT

I've always known that as part of my collection I wanted to have a section for adventure. As I look at the figures gathered there, Indiana Jones, Bruce Lee, Blackbeard the Pirate, John Wayne as Rooster Cogburn and Leonidas from 300, it amazes me how general the category is, how it sprawls, refusing to be easily categorized and shelved. The Rocketeer clearly belongs there yet it is most strongly identified with the genre or category of 1930s and 1940s pulp serials, science fiction etc. a la Buck Rogers and Flash Gordon. But there is a bonding element between all these. What all such stories have in common is the cliffhanger, that moment in the narrative where we are sure that hero has finally met his match or at least we are forced to wait breathlessly to discover how he's going to get out of this one. 

Enter "Cliff" Secord, the comic creation of the late lamented Dave Stevens. 

Test Pilot by day, shot down by the mob, Secord rises from the ashes, discovers a top secret rocket pack and becomes an accidental hero in an ever escalating series of adventures. It's a brilliant modern day take on the tried-and-true nature of serial storytelling and the Rocketeer-verse deserves  so much better than the box office gave it. This is no mere manufactured franchise. With only a short lived series of comics and one film The Rocketeer continues to inspire fans and now collectors. 

Some may have preferred a pose where the jet pack was going full blast and The Rocketeer was flying superman style. Electric Tiki does make a smaller piece that offers that but I prefer this earthbound one. Thumb on the jet pack button, pistol raised  and knees bent, the character is clearly working himself out of a jam. 

Standing 19" high 13" wide and 12" deep this is a wonderful showpiece. A triangular art deco gold bronze base emblazoned with the The Rocketeer logo provides a handsome resting place for this exclusive version of the statue which features a choice of masked or unmasked portrait. The helmeted head is slightly marred by the presence of painted rather than inserted lenses but the overall impact is solid. The exclusive head of Billie Campbell as Cliff has been called over-large by some but seems perfect to me and is certainly a dead-on likeness. The surprisingly heavyweight rocket pack attaches to the back of the coat via two metal slides that fit into slits in the jacket giving a more accurate look of something that has been slipped on rather than just a sculpted appearance.  There's even a bit of sculpted bubblegum on it.The costuming here is absolutely awesome. From the leather-like jacket to the canvas directors pants. Another nice feature here is the lack of tiny bits and pieces that are liable to break off with repositioning or handling. The Rocketeer will be remade someday but what it really needs is to become the sort of classic style serial cliffhanger TV show that has been MIA for quite some time. Perhaps this sort of high quality piece may inspire somebody to do just that.