The list of Dan Dare stories details appearances of the character

Dan Dare Dan Dare is a British science fiction comic hero, created by illustrator Frank Hampson who also wrote the first stories. Dare appeared in the ''Eagle'' comic story ''Dan Dare, Pilot of the Future'' from 1950 to 1967 (and subsequently in repri ...

, created by

Frank Hampson Frank Hampson (21 December 1918 – 8 July 1985) was a British illustrator. He is best known as the creator and artist of Dan Dare and other characters in the boys' comic, the ''Eagle'', to which he contributed from 1950 to 1961. Biogra ...

The original ''Eagle'' stories

These are the Dan Dare stories that appeared in the original ''

Eagle Eagle is the common name for many large birds of prey of the family Accipitridae. Eagles belong to several groups of genera, some of which are closely related. Most of the 68 species of eagle are from Eurasia and Africa. Outside this area, just ...

'' magazine, which ran from 1950 to 1969 and featured the hero

. The stories would often take place as parts of longer story arcs, and when this happened the stories are grouped together as such. These storylines were reprinted by Hawk Books in the late 1980s and early 1990s, and as of May, 2009, the first ten stories have been reprinted again by

Titan Books Titan Publishing Group is the publishing division of Titan Entertainment Group, which was established in 1981. The books division has two main areas of publishing: film and television tie-ins and cinema reference books; and graphic novels and co ...

. The series of twelve hardbacks, each about 100 pages, splits ''Voyage to Venus'' and ''Operation Saturn'' across two volumes each. After a brief hiatus, the following two stories, 'Man From Nowhere' and 'Rogue Planet' were released in 2008, with ''The Phantom Fleet'' and ''Safari in Space'' continuing publication into 2009. Three stories (''Man From Nowhere'', ''Rogue Planet'', ''Reign of the Robots'') were reproduced in the early 1980s by Dragon's Dream. The first of these books was particularly notable because the front page panel with the Eagle logo was replaced with new artwork drawn by Dan Dare's creator

. Hampson used a studio system with several artists working together on each episode. These included Bruce Cornwell, Don Harley and Keith Watson. ''This story was followed by a reprint of Prisoners of Space'' ''(Volume 18, Number 2 to Volume 18, Number 51)'' ''This story was followed by a reprint of The Man From Nowhere (Volume 19, Number 4 to Volume 19, Number 32) and an abridged reprint of Rogue Planet (Volume 19, Number 33 to Volume 20, Number 17)''. ''The original Eagle's run then came to an end when it was merged with Lion comic. Abridged reprints continued in black and white in Lion.''

2000AD

Between 1977 and 1981 the Dan Dare character was revived to appear in the new 2000AD comic. For the first 45 progs (issues) of the comic, "Dan Dare" was considered to be the "lead" strip, and hence held the coveted centre-spread position, thus allowing the first two pages of the strip to be printed in colour. From prog 46 to prog 58, Dare was moved to the front cover, a move that not only allowed the fan favourite

Judge Dredd Judge Joseph Dredd is a fictional character created by writer John Wagner and artist Carlos Ezquerra. He first appeared in the second issue of ''2000 AD (comics), 2000 AD'' (1977), which is a British weekly anthology Comic book, comic. He is the ...

to take the centre spread, but which also meant that by dispensing with the traditional single-image cover, the comic could effectively have an extra page of content.

The relaunched ''Eagle'' comic

In 1982 Eagle was re-launched, with Dan Dare once again its flagship strip. The new character was the great-great-grandson of the original, with the only other surviving original character being the Mekon, although a descendant of Digby was later introduced: * ''Return of the Mekon'' issues #1-33

Revolver

In 1990, a strip entitled ''Dare'', written by

Grant Morrison Grant Morrison, MBE (born 31 January 1960) is a Scottish comic book writer, screenwriter, and producer. Their work is known for its nonlinear narrative A narrative, story, or tale is any account of a series of related events or experiences, w ...

and drawn by

Rian Hughes Rian Hughes is a British graphic designer, illustrator, type designer, comics artist and novelist. Overviews Hughes has written and drawn comics for '' 2000 AD'', Vertigo CMYK and Batman: Black and White, and designed for DC Comics and Marvel ...

, was serialized in ''

Revolver A revolver (also called a wheel gun) is a repeating handgun that has at least one barrel and uses a revolving cylinder containing multiple chambers (each holding a single cartridge) for firing. Because most revolver models hold up to six roun ...

''. It presented bleak and cynical characters and was a not-too-subtle satire of 1980s

British politics The United Kingdom is a unitary state with devolution that is governed within the framework of a parliamentary democracy under a constitutional monarchy in which the monarch, currently Charles III, King of the United Kingdom, is the head ...

. Spacefleet had been privatised, the Treens were subjected to racist abuse in urban ghettos, Digby was unemployed, Professor Peabody committed suicide, and Dare's mentor Sir Hubert Guest betrayed Dare to

the Mekon The Mekon () of Mekonta is the arch-enemy of the British comic book hero Dan Dare. He first appeared on 3 November 1950 in the 30th episode of the ''Eagle'' comic strip ''Dan Dare, Pilot of the Future'', having been created by Frank Hampson. Ap ...

and his quisling British Prime Minister, Gloria Munday (whose appearance and demeanour appear modelled on

Margaret Thatcher Margaret Hilda Thatcher, Baroness Thatcher (; 13 October 19258 April 2013) was Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1979 to 1990 and Leader of the Conservative Party (UK), Leader of the Conservative Party from 1975 to 1990. S ...

). Ultimately, Dare destroys London, the Mekon and himself through a smuggled nuclear weapon.

The Planet

In 1996, ''The Planet'' published its first and only issue. Inside was a new and unfinished Dan Dare story, "Remembrance", drawn by

Sydney Jordan Sydney Jordan (born Dundee, Scotland, 1928) is a comics artist best known for his daily science fiction strip '' Jeff Hawke'', which ran in the ''Daily Express'' from 1955 to 1974. Career He studied aeronautical engineering at Miles Aircraft' ...

featuring a slightly older Dare and apparently set some years after the original Eagle strips.

Virgin Comics

In 2008,

Virgin Comics Liquid Comics is an India, Indian comic book Publishers company, founded in 2006 as Virgin Comics LLC, which produced stories (many of which are Indian-culture related) for an international audience. The company was founded by Sir Richard Branson a ...

published a 7-issue Dan Dare

mini-series A miniseries or mini-series is a television series that tells a story in a predetermined, limited number of episodes. "Limited series" is another more recent US term which is sometimes used interchangeably. , the popularity of miniseries format h ...

written by

Garth Ennis Garth Ennis (born January 16, 1970) is a Northern Irish–American comics writer, best known for the Vertigo series ''Preacher'' with artist Steve Dillon, his nine-year run on Marvel Comics' Punisher franchise, and '' The Boys'' with artist Dari ...

, with art by

Gary Erskine Gary Erskine is a Scottish comic book artist. Career Born in Paisley near Glasgow in 1968, Erskine grew up in Rutherglen and attended Burnside Primary and Stonelaw High School. Fellow comic artist Frank Quitely (Vincent Deighan) is the same ...

. The series is set several years after the original strips. Space Fleet has collapsed along with the UN due to nuclear war between China and America; Britain survived due to defensive shields made by Professor Peabody, and has become a world power again as a result with the

Royal Navy The Royal Navy (RN) is the United Kingdom's naval warfare force. Although warships were used by English and Scottish kings from the early medieval period, the first major maritime engagements were fought in the Hundred Years' War against F ...

taking Space Fleet's role. Peabody is the

home secretary The secretary of state for the Home Department, otherwise known as the home secretary, is a senior minister of the Crown in the Government of the United Kingdom. The home secretary leads the Home Office, and is responsible for all national ...

to a

prime minister A prime minister, premier or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. Under those systems, a prime minister is not ...

modelled on

Tony Blair Sir Anthony Charles Lynton Blair (born 6 May 1953) is a British former politician who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1997 to 2007 and Leader of the Labour Party from 1994 to 2007. He previously served as Leader of th ...

, who has sold

Earth Earth is the third planet from the Sun and the only astronomical object known to harbor life. While large volumes of water can be found throughout the Solar System, only Earth sustains liquid surface water. About 71% of Earth's surfa ...

's defence out to

The Mekon The Mekon () of Mekonta is the arch-enemy of the British comic book hero Dan Dare. He first appeared on 3 November 1950 in the 30th episode of the ''Eagle'' comic strip ''Dan Dare, Pilot of the Future'', having been created by Frank Hampson. Ap ...

out of fear of overwhelming odds. Dare, assisted by Digby (who sacrifices himself in battle) leads a spirited defence of both Earth and his honourable principles.

Notes and references

External links

An Introduction to Dan Dare

The Eagle and Dan Dare

Dan Dare Around the World
*
Dan Dare at the London Science MuseumThe official Science Museum print website
containing a number of Dan Dare posters {{Dan Dare 2000 AD comic strips

Dan Dare