Do yourself a favor and pick this up if you see it. The first issue came out last week, and I decided to try it on the recommendation of a comics blogger whose opinion I respect, "beaucoup"Kevin Church. (Thanks, FC!)



Published by Speakeasy comics, ROCKETO is the story of Rocketo Garrison, fabled mapper of a post-apocalyptic Earth, renamed Lucierne by the new men. Mappers are highly important in this world, as Lucierne's magnetosphere was destroyed in the alien attack that ravaged the planet. They explore and chart the unknown and battle the mutants that sprang from the alien incursion.

The artwork is reminiscent of Darwyn Cooke, and the story so far has been thoroughly engrossing.

Speakeasy has made the 16-page #0 San Diego exclusive available on the ROCKETO page of their website.

Please allow me to make a second, ENTHUSIASTIC, recommendation. This book ROCKS!

Cool, PB, I'm glad somebody else has already discovered this little gem.

Another tidbit: ROCKETO is printed in the landscape format-- meaning the spine and staples are at the "top" of the book, like Image's LIBERTY MEADOWS books. As such, it reads alot like the old Sunday serial strips, which I find highly appropriate.

I also liked it. I saw it in the new releases and was completely unable to resist picking it up, despite the fact that I had to put something else back in order to get it. I wish more people were doing this kind of stuff at this level, although he could have used someone to spot some mistakes in the lettering. I can't wait to see more of this book.

picked it up on a whim -- liked the design of the book and it was a very cool read

love the character designs and the world it happens in
the storytelling is definitely solid .. a little bit Darwyn Cooke, and that's alright by me

I LOVE this book!!

And if Rhino loves it, that should be good enough for you! Buy two!

I would have, but my store sold out.

Maybe next time.

Aaww. I'll keep my eyes open for a copy for you, Miner.

Don't know what kind of luck I'll have, though; SPEAKEASY's announced sell-outs of ROCKETO, HERO@LARGE and Norm Breyfogle's OF BITTER SOULS.

I was not all that impressed with Hero@Large. Dropped it from my pre-order list after one issue. However, I do have high hopes for Spellgame however, but even if it's printed on solid gold it would still be hard to top Rocketo.

Sorry but you said the one phrase that would keep me away from this book,

Cooke as a writer may be okay but I refuse to recognize him as an illustrator. I just don't get the admiration of incomplete, sloppy artwork. Oh well, more money saved for other titles I guess.

OM, you coming to WWBoston? I snagged an extra ROCKETO #1...

In the meantime, you can at least check it out online thru the link in my first post.

Then the art on this really wouldn't be your cuppa, Scooter. It makes Cooke look like Ethan Van Sciver... very gestural and minimalist. Even I could do with a little more art on the page. But the story's solid, and what there IS of the art is very charming.

I'll be there. Much appreciated!

After a week delay because of a printer's error, ROCKETO #2 hits shelves this week.

Gives me something to hunt for in Boston, at least.

I finally found a store that stocks this on the weekend. Still had a bunch of 0 and 1 in stock. I'm happy, thanks for pointing me to this series guys.

Tamper, I would gladly pay whatever it would cost you to ship a copy or two of that 0 issue...! It was my (mis)understanding that the 0 issue had been a convention exclusive, and wasn't actually available in shops! I'd love to have a copy. Private Message me, or email me at b_a_fletch@yahoo.com if it's possible.

I'd consider it payback for the referral...

Thanks for -your- referral, TL! I ordered the #0 issue directly from Speakeasy ( www.speakeasycomics.com ), and got confirmation it shipped yesterday!

And what could have been a wasted trip hunting for toys was saved by Buried Under's last copy of ROCKETO #2! Wooooooooooo!

More of what made #1 so good; the artwork is still energetic and charming, and the writing is entirely engrossing. This is shaping up to be a great, great title.

THERE WAS A ZERO ISSUE!?!?! argh

is it good?
i have 1 & 2 and really diggin it

Andy, you can check out the full 0 issue at speakeasy's ROCKETO page, last I checked-- You can reach it through the link I posted to their website.

i get a pop-up asking for a password, etc?!?

, the network admin password protected the virtual directory on their IIS server.

They'll figure it out but they probably dont see that it's messed up if they're logging on to the website within their own domain. Someone will email them eventually.

#3 hits the shelves tomorrow-- last issue I have to run to the stores for before my subscription service catches up!

Yaay!

Should be waiting for me in my file when I show up on Saturday.

did # 3 come out today? my CBS said no. and is there a zero ish?

I picked up my copy of #3 yesterday, Pete. Maybe your store was shorted?

And yes, there's a 0-issue. Tamper was kind enough to point out that it's available directly from Speakeasy-- you can find their online store at their website. I posted the address earlier in this thread.

I picked up #4 at my store this weekend, and I'm pleased to say that the quality of this book has not dropped in the slightest.

I just wish it got more attention.

It's moving to Image with the release of the trade in March. Maybe that will help.

It is really cool though. Sort of a Jules Verne lost world mixed with Greek myth.

Newsarama talks with Espinoza about Speakeasy's troubles and demise, ROCKETO's move to Image, his overarching plans for the series and other work he's doing.

Very cool article with lots of artwork, including covers to issues 5 and 6-- which now are only available as part of the Image trade collecting 0-6.

The Image trade arrived with my midmonth books!

Nice intro by Alex Ross, lots of sketches and artwork in the back. It's bound in the panoramic format of the Speakeasy issues, which is great. I haven't gotten to the new issues yet-- I decided to start from the zero issue and read the run in its entirety-- but the covers (printed or otherwise) are included.

Overall, a strong effort by Image. I hope the move gets this book some much-needed exposure.

NOOOOoooooo...!

And I was -just- getting excited for solicits sometime this summer for the next ROCKETO arc...

I'll have to tide myself over with the second Image TPB...

Hmmm... This might not be so bad...





I'd -still- rather see Frank putting out the next chapter of ROCKETO, though...

I'll be checking KILLING GIRL out... DCBS has it for half off.

AAARRGH!!

Jen Contino at Comicon's The Pulse has a new interview up with Frank Espinoza-- still no definite date for the start of the next arc, but a good interview nonetheless.

First Mice Templar, then Umbrella Academy...should I try this one too? If I can find the first issue, I'll try to check this out. The art looks up my alley anyway.

Its been a few years since I was last collecting a large amount of independent titles (and got severely dissapointed when they were all cancelled) so I've regained my enthusiasm for them.

I, of course, have no idea what this comic is about.

In Jen's interview with Frank E, he does a good job of summing it all up.

The original publisher, Speakeasy, only got the first four issues printed before they went belly-up. Then when Image assumed the publishing for ROCKETO, They released a TPB of 0 and 1-6 before resuming the singles with #7. 5 and 6 were never released as individual issues.

If the interview encapsulation strikes your fancy, the first trade is definitely worth picking up. Then there's the second trade that finishes collecting the Journey to the Hidden Sea arc (7-12).

Rocketo is a series that I have been interested in reading FOR YEARS. As my post above from 2008 shows, it actually really does take me years to getting around to reading all the great stuff that is recommended, but here I am, 9 years later, and I actually finally have read the two amazing trades! (When my wife asked me what I wanted for Christmas this year, I actually asked for this and Batman: Ego and told her how to get them on instocktrades.com).

Even here, it took me a few weeks to read the two trades because of how busy I’ve been, but I didn’t want to rush through them, because, quite simply, they have been a pure treat for the eyes and for the soul. If only myself and others had jumped on to this in 2006 and financially supported it, as we could have had so much more. But alas, I can only enjoy what exists, and enjoy it I did. Frank Espinosa is a true unrecognized genius in the comic book world, and he created something masterful here that few other creators do. Like Kirby or Mignola or Simonsin or whoever, he has created vast entire worlds and mythologies around a core group of characters that gives both epic, grandiose concepts and down-to-Earth human introspection. His artwork is 100% stylized, unlike anything I’ve seen before, though with obvious influences, and it can be jarring at first—especially his use of colors which borders between minimal and explosive. But once you start to become accustomed to the art, you can see his brilliance really shine through in his line work and how he conveys so much emotion in such little space.

It’s a full on adventure tale with elements of the old pulps, superhero, science-fiction cartoons of the 80’s, and just lots of other influences. The lead, Rocketo, is a hard-ass character that is so full of layers and emotion that by issue #12, you really feel a cathartic experience along with him.

These two trades are a real gem from the last 20 years of comics. It’s been a pretty amazing 20 years, honestly, with some incredible art coming from all different corners of the industry and world. Rocketo has to stand right up there with the best of them.

Another vote for Rocketo! I got the two volumes from the library, read the first one this week. What a fantastic old-style adventure story! It's a blend of post-apocalypic Earth, old recognizable myths, names and places, many newly invented ones, strange monsters, landscape and architecture. It's the sort of book you get happily lost in. I'm also a bit sad to have come to it this late and that there are no further volumes.

I see he's doing some versions of classics like Frankenstein and Dracula with zumzum books, but no more Rocketo, alas.

I'll be borrowing the first volume of this in a little while. Looking forward to it form the above reviews.

Please chime in with your thoughts, thoth... I've given up hope on Espinoza getting back to Rocketo, but I can wish...

I've read Book 1!

When I saw the cover, I thought it was going to be a bit of a struggle. I don't know much about Espinoza and the animation-style art wasn't something I was attracted to from the cover.

The opening pages where his colleague looks back from a time without the hero, reminded me of Slaine where an aged Ukko was writing the chronicle of his former King. That's not to say I didn't like it. Only that it was familiar. It is a good framing device. Here, we also had a visitor looking to access the maps.

I also had a tiny pause of thought when the narrator of the holo was going to begin telling us his life story. I know this part of the book wasn't initially intended to be connected to the main event,. It could have been dull enough to sink it before I got there. With the similar looking generations of the family, I was getting a Superman Family vibe. With the sea based story, I was getting some Aquaman and the guy looks as though he has powers similar to a Hal Jordan. Again, none of this is bad. By this point I was remembering that fire horses were sort of in Krull.

The giant, walking robot wasn't doing much for me. But by this time, I was getting to enjoy the art. The scene with his mother was excellent and what really got me was the prolonged sea voyage back.

A lot of the elements in that opening story are reinforced in the main one. So, it was very comfortable easing into the main tale. Having seen the adult Rocketo in action in the opening, made the main story seem less like a coming of age tale than it otherwise would have done. Quite a plus. The world building was lovely. There are a lot of very good graphic novels that present lovingly detailed backgrounds and this certainly ranks with those. With Rocketo, you get an added dose of pulp, which isn't always the case in the European ones, as exciting as they are in their own way.

There were quite a few unexpected twists, such as our main character's role in the war and what it cost him. The fate of the Prince was another one. The supporting cast all look to have interesting backstories. This allows Rocketo to play to his own strengths. His relationship with Turntable twists and turns giving an echo of those opening pages when one if them is looking back.

With an engaging cast, excellent world and history, solid, consistent adventure plotting. and with an excellent ending I'm looking forward to tracking down vol 2.