He died yesterday at 52 after a long battle with leukemia. You might not know who he was, but he wrote and drew the '80s comic book The Rocketeer, which was set in LA in the '30s and was inspired by old movie serials like Rocketman and Commando Cody. It was made into a so-so movie in 1991:

Billy Campbell looked just like the character in the comic, Cliff Secord, but for whatever reason they just weren't able to capture the fun of it. It wasn't the same without Stevens' beautiful art. Jennifer Connelly played Secord's girlfriend, who in the comic was named Betty and looked exactly like Bettie Page. They changed the movie version's name to Jenny for some reason.

Mark Evanier has a thoughtful obit, and he explains what Stevens did after the disappointment of the movie:

Most of what Dave did after that fell into the general category of "glamour art," including portfolios and private commissions. Many of these were illustrations of Bettie Page who, though once thought deceased, turned out to be alive and living not all that far from Dave. They met and Dave became her friend and, though he was not wealthy, benefactor. Deciding that too many others had callously exploited her likeness, Dave voluntarily aided Ms. Page financially and even took to helping her in neighborly ways. One time, he told me — and without the slightest hint of resentment — "It's amazing. After years of fantasizing about this woman, I'm now driving her to cash her Social Security checks."

What a nice guy. That is amazing, especially if you've ever seen one of Stevens' depictions of her in her younger days. Did I mention that Betty from The Rocketeer looked exactly like Bettie Page? I mean exactly. See for yourself (NSFW):

P.S. Movie Poop Shoot did a nice overview of the comic, with lots of great screencaps of Stevens' art. It's a shame that this stuff is out of print.