In the late 1970's comic book artist Marshall Rogers gained notoriety when he began art chores on Batman in Detective Comics. He, in collaboration with writer Steve Englehart, created one of the finest
series of Batman stories during that time period. Their acclaimed work, it's been written, heavily influenced both the 1989 movie, Batman and the 1990's, Batman: The Animated Series. Rogers would contribute
to many comic titles over the years with both DC and Marvel, but nothing was ever quite as popular as his run on Detective Comics. Sadly, Marshall Rogers passed away in March of 2007 as he was reuniting with
Englehart and fellow artist Terry Austin to work on the Batman project titled Dark Detective III.
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1980's
At the end of 1981 heading into 1982 Marshall Rogers had a notable run of 6 issues in Doctor Strange (Vol. 2 #48-#53) for Marvel Comics. Doctor Strange was always battling enemies in other-worldly
dimensions or different planes of existence. However, Rogers along with writer Roger Stern and inker Terry Austin crafted stories that were more balanced between street-level action and mystical adventures.
Later in 1982, Rogers also pencilled one unrelated Doctor Strange story in Marvel Fanfare #5 written by Chris Claremont.
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2000's
Nearly 30 years after their acclaimed run in Detective Comics; artist Marshall Rogers, writer Steve Englehart, and inker Terry Austin collaborated again to create the follow-up to the Strange Appartitions
storyline published back in 1977. This six issue limited series (sometimes referred to as Dark Detective II) was a welcome respite from the very dark characterizations of Batman in the more contemporary
storylines of the late 1990's and early 2000's.
Dave Stevens got his start after meeting artist Russ Manning at the San Diego Comic-Con. He worked with Manning on the Tarzan newspaper strip and then became a freelance storyboard artist on projects like
Raiders of the Lost Ark and Michael Jackson's Thriller music video. In 1982 he created a 1930's era pulp fiction storyline featuring a pilot who discovers a rocket pack and becomes the Rocketeer. The first
storylines appeared as back-up features in Pacific Comics' Starslayer comic and then the anthology title, Pacific Presents. Rocketeer quickly became a major success, and by 1985 Stevens began developing a
Rocketeer theatrical film proposal. He then sold the rights to Disney. The Rocketeer movie was greenlit shortly after the Batman movie starring Michael Keaton opened to huge audiences and even bigger box
office. The Rocketeer movie premiered in 1991 and starred Billy Campbell and Jennifer Connelly. Stevens continued to work primarily as an illustrator until his death in 2008 due to leukemia.
