Southport’s The Atkinson is hosting an exhibition to mark the centenary of Dan Dare creator Frank Hampson’s birth, which launches on 15th September 2018, and we have a some pictures of items that will be included here Digby (Albert Fitzwilliam Digby) was Dan's Wigan-born batman. Rotund and sometimes bumbling, he provided comic relief. He was fiercely loyal and the only character apart from Dan to appear in every story. His favourite recreation was sleeping and he was fond of traditional English food. His nearest relative was his Aunt Anastasia, after whom Dan named his spaceship. Mike Dean notes thata character in some of the later episodes, Able Spaceman Ginger Watts, was played by David Kossoff, best known for his role as Alf Larkin in hit comedy series The Larkins.He also played Lemmy in the radio version of Charles Chilton’s Journey Into Space. Spacecraft of various designs were presented as the product of inhabitants of various planets. The vehicle most identified with Dan was the winged Anastasia. Designed by Sondar, it employed both Venusian and Earth space drives. Later, an alien ship was adopted and renamed the Zyl-bat. There was also an experimental time-travelling ship called Tempus Frangit ( Latin: it breaks time or time breaks).

Schematized Prop: The strip would sometimes include cutaway technical drawings of the spaceships and other tech. The Mekon, super-intelligent ruler of the Treens, was Dan's archenemy. He escaped at the end of each story to return with an even more inventive scheme for the conquest of Earth.

Creation

Dan Dare would be unique to British comics in the way that meticulous attention was paid to both graphic realism and feasible plots. Hampson, for example, had staff act out the storyline before any drawing took place. Science fiction, whether in literature or film, has, in reality, always had more to do with the present rather than the future. Wright, Norman; Higgs, Mike (1990). The Dan Dare dossier: celebrating the 40th anniversary of Dan Dare, pilot of the future. Hawk Books. ISBN 0-948248-12-2.

Norman Wright and Mike Higgs. The Dan Dare Dossier: Celebrating the 40th Anniversary of Dan Dare, Pilot of the Future (London: Hawk Books, 1990) [nonfiction: chap: hb/] After this initial storyline other writers were used and different supporting characters came and went, including Professor Pinkerton, a female scientist similar to Professor Peabody, and a new Digby (again, a descendant of the original). The Mekon was generally the foe in alternate stories. Here are some more interesting blogs to read: Life in Thailand, Life, Stuff and Things, Flash Online Games News and Peter Inns's BlogGrant Morrison and Rian Hughes. Dare (London: Fleetway Publications/Xpresso Books, 1991) [graph: first appeared July 1990-March 1991 Revolver and Crisis: illus/pb/Rian Hughes] Dan Dare was created by Frank Hampson and first appeared in Eagle #1(01) (1950). Hero of the Spaceways Dan's last 2000AD adventure was in 1979. Then, in 1982, he was called out of retirement once again, to star in the revived Eagle comic. Printed on glossy paper, with columns by celebrities like Lenny Henry and Daley Thompson, The "New" Eagle was an attempt to return to the high standards of the original comic. Dan, too, was returned to his Fifties glory by scribes John Wagner and Pat Mills. In 1997, to celebrate their 20th anniversary, 2000 AD published two issues with additional free comics, the first a reprint of the first issue of 2000 AD, which starred Dan Dare. The second free comic was a speculative issue called 3000 AD which contained strips partially based on the first issue of 2000 AD. One strip was entitled "The Return of Dan Dare", which also featured the return of the Mekon. It’s believed the cast changed as the series progressed, with some voice artists unknown. We have only listed confirmed cast here – they were, apparently, never identified on air. Bob Danvers-Walker

Daniel Tatarsky. Dan Dare: Pilot of the Future: The Biography (London: Orion, 2010) [nonfiction: hb/]

Origin

Contrived Coincidence: On a Martian holiday, Dan pats a visit to his archaeologist Uncle Ivor, who explains that he's recently discovered that Martian civilisation was destroyed by something called the Red Moon. As Dan leaves he gets a message from Sir Hubert: A mysterious object from space has turned up, and could Dan investigate? The papers are calling it the Red Moon... Sadly, the series has not yet been collected, although Hibernia Comics did feature one short story in one of their collections, in a one shot Eagle Adventure Special. Do note that for some reason, this bumper compendium, in print as Dan Dare: The Venus Campaign, is marketed as the Dan Dare Omnibus (Bumper Compendium)print edition comprising his first Venus adventure and “Red Moon Mystery” a different title for the digital edition: Dan Dare: The Complete Collection Volume 1: The Venus Campaign– but although two covers and titles are in circulation, the content is the same.

Venus Is Wet: The north part of Venus is mostly covered in a dense Jungle outside of the Treen Cities, and the southern half is similarly Earthlike. I suspect Frank’s style was inspired in part by American artists such as Milton Caniff, who also used a great variety of viewpoints for frames and Indeed, a lot of bold shadow effects. Some of the brush/pen line work is similar as well. Alastair Crompton. The Man Who Drew Tomorrow: How Frank Hampson Created Dan Dare, the World's Best Comic Strip (Bournemouth, Dorset: Who Dares Publishing, 1985) [nonfiction: hb/]This version has just been recovered and is extremely rare. Have a listen to the episode yourself at the following link...