The Rocketeer Joined by Surprising Co-Stars in Crossover Adventure

The Rocketeer's latest high-flying adventure just picked up three more classic heroes that fans were never expecting.

Per Bleeding Cool, the upcoming The Rocketeer: The Island comic book series from IDW Publishing features three classic comic heroes apart from its titular adventurer. Specifically, Tintin, Snowy, and Popeye all have key roles to play in The Rocketeer: The Island, which made its way into stores everywhere on February 25.

The Rocketeer: The Island #1

• Written by JOHN LAYMAN & DAN STEVENS
• Art by JACOB EDGAR
• Colors by KIKE J. DÍAZ
• Letters by JOHN LAYMAN
• Design by SANDY TANAKA
• Main cover art by JACOB EDGAR & KIKE J. DÍAZ
• Variant covers by DAN STEVENS; SEAN MURPHY & SIMON GOUGH; ELIZABETH BEALS; MICHAEL DOONEY; PAUL ROMAN MARTINEZ; CHRISTOPHER UMINGA; MARAT MYCHAELS; NATHAN SZERDY; and BRIAN LACY
• The Rocketeer returns to save Amelia Earhart in a brand-new story by creator Dave Stevens!
• The year is 1938, and Cliff Secord (A.K.A. the Rocketeer) is recruited to lead a search and rescue mission. The mission? Find Amelia Earhart! Considering a year has passed since the famous pilot went missing, the Rocketeer is hesitant at first — that is, until he learns the expedition is to the same island Betty ran off to with the scummy photographer Marco! The Rocketeer will have to uncover the secret of the century’s greatest mystery while trying to win back his girlfriend. But what else awaits him on the island?
• Beloved writer John Layman (Chew, Titans) and artistic powerhouse Jacob Edgar (Plastic Man: No More, The Ones) team up to tell the wildest Rocketeer story ever, based on a never-published outline by Rocketeer creator Dave Stevens!

The History and Legacy of The Rocketeer, Explained

Created by Dave Stevens, The Rocketeer originally appeared in the second issue of the Starslayer comic book series published by Pacific Comics back in 1982. In the years since, The Rocketeer has changed hands through five publishers, including Eclipse, Comico, and Dark Horse Comics.

The Rocketeer has also made his way to the big and small screens at various points, the first of these being the 1991 film of the same name, produced by Walt Disney Pictures, Silver Screen Partners IV, and the Gordon Company. Although The Rocketeer was hardly a resounding success, the film firmly established the character's place within the pop culture zeitgeist and cemented itself as a cult classic almost immediately.

Ahead of the release of The Rocketeer: The Island #1, writer John Layman opened up about the title, stating, "This Rocketeer project has been coming together for the past few months, and I can't say enough about how much joy I'm getting every time a new page comes in. Playing in Dave Stevens' world, a retro-world of charm, humor, and rocket-fueled adventure, has been an absolute blast."

Layman added, "IDW, a publisher I've already done work for on some of my very favorite comic projects, has given me another fantastic opportunity to get paid while having fun, while allowing me to honor a vision of a comic book hero of mine, and play in a world I've loved for decades."

The Rocketeer: The Island #1 from IDW Publishing is on sale now.