by Joe Schickman, Reporter

Official Synopsis:
The Rocketeer is grounded! After Cliff and Betty’s adventures in Europe—with Cliff losing the Great Race but saving the day—he and Betty return home with a busted jet pack and a fully repaired relationship! They’re as happy as they’ve ever been…but paradise doesn’t last long! An elite band of Nazis, foiled in the past by their attempts to construct their own jet packs, decide on a new tactic: kidnapping the only person who can enable them to create their very own fleet of Rocketeers…Cliff’s beloved friend and mentor Peevy!

Creative Team: 
Story: Stephen Mooney
Art: David Messina
Colors: David Messina
Letters: Shawn Lee
Cover: Gabriel Rogriguez

The Nazis are advancing their pernicious plan to attain an army of Rocketeers and advance Germany’s world conquest through aeronautical proliferation. However, lethal setbacks plague their labors, and the only one with the scientific knowledge to complete the work is the american aviation engineer, and close friend of Cliff Seacord, Peevey. But Peevey, Cliff, and Betty have sworn off those misadventures, and are preparing for the easy life free from skybound conflicts.  Cliff basks in the glow of Betty’s success and enjoys spending uninterrupted time with her, but regrets the monotony of going back to his commonplace flight routine, and laments no longer having his rocket pack to winglessly take to the air. Meanwhile, a team of Nazis bearing faulty rockets set out to find Peevey and force him to aid in their evil endeavor. 

This initial issue feels a bit brief, but lean and tidy, directly pointing to the forthcoming conflict and suggesting imminent action by getting the setup work out of the way quickly. The characters fall into their place after the previous story and carry out their roles as expected. The time period and atmosphere are established subtly but definitively by the artwork sartorially, vehicularly, architecturally, and by use of the art deco framing technique and thick deliberate line work. Our protagonists don’t have much to do other than attempt to reassert normality over their lives, as short lived as that promises to be. However, the plot rolls on as their antagonists move behind the scenes. Hopefully subsequent issues ramp up the action and intrigue now that the groundwork has been laid, paying off the work done here. 

The Rocketeer in the Den of Thieves #1 attempts to reward Cliff, Betty, and Peevey the life they deserve and have earned, but unavoidably pulls them back into the airborne danger. This book teases more than it delivers, but does so to great effect. The disastrous potential of Howard Hughes’ dream turned nightmare is on display as Nazi’s travel undetected, and with our heroes turned flightless, there is no one equipped to stop them. What will they do?

Rating:
ComicOnline gives The Rocketeer in the Den of Thieves # 1 3/5 hood ornaments.