Comic Book Review – The Rocketeer: Hollywood Horror #4

The end is near for the world as the Hollywood Horror storyline rockets toward a conclusion with the arrival of the fourth and final instalment.  Cliff Secord struggles control the makeshift jet-pack crafted by Peevy while a tied and bound Betty lies in the clutches of a giant octopus as Otto Rune hypnotizes his audience into giving healthy monetary donations.  In other words things are not looking good for the battered and bruised hero, and his scantily dressed captured girlfriend.

Just as it looks like he is going to acquainted with road asphalt situated far below courtesy of some hired Otto Rune thugs, Cliff Second receives a major survival boost with his original jet-pack being returned to him by the balloon travelling duo who took it from him.  Needless to say the unexpected gift is put to good use and the tide turns against the encroaching assailants.  Secord does not discard the device created by Peevy but instead deploys it as a battering ram against a glass window that shatters and the noise of which breaks the hypnotic spell cast upon the unsuspecting victims.   In retaliation Rune causes his octopus to attack Betty which causes her beau to improvise; the homemade invention is converted into a missile and upon impact reveals the massive monster to be not organic but rather robotic.  However, the setback does not deter the antagonist of the story who attempts to take Betty hostage (perhaps the curvaceous actress wearing an almost non-existent bikini was too much for him to resist!) which leads to a well-timed romantic confession, a bullet being fired, blood being spilled, and a fatal mechanical meltdown.

A nice twist and possible homage occurs when Cliff Secord bares his heart to Betty as Otto Rune holds a knife to her throat; the moment resembles the scene in Die Hard (1988) when the distraction caused by Bruce Willis telling a joke results in a pivotal plot reversal.  However, having the original jet-pack being returned just as Secord is about to be thrown off the roof was not so clever a choice as it felt so much like divine intervention.  Overall the Hollywood Horror tale has been a fun ride as writer Roger Langridge and artist J. Bone have consistently and rightly embraced the whole B-movie tone intended by Rocketeer creator Dave Stevens.