Unearthed: Dan Dare – Pre-emptive Strike

Back in 2011, the Dan Dare and Eagle-inspired Spaceship Away comic zine, edited by Des Shaw, commissioned artist Bill Storie and I to create a two-part story, with lettering from Jim Campbell.

I’ve just been doing some hard disk tidying, came across the story which originally ran in Issues 25 and 26 of the title, and thought I’d share it here, as copies are hard to find.

You can subscribe to Spaceship Away – which has reached its 66th issue, no mean feat for an independent fan title – here

Back then, I felt very privileged to have been given the chance to write a Dan Dare tale for an officially licensed magazine, given the importance of both the character and Eagle in the history of British comics, and I still do. As copies are difficult to track down, I thought I’d give readers here a treat and have opportunity to read the tale, which led, in part, to writing a further story intended for the short-lived STRIP Magazine, and my involvement in the creation of the Dan Dare Audio Adventures from B7 Media - which are still available to buy here.

Does Dan Dare still have a potential audience? How many of you reading this know who the character, a product of 1950s British comics, is? Or do you remember him better from 2000AD, 1980s Eagle or, perhaps, the animated version? (I have a potted guide to him here, for those interested!)

I hope fans will enjoy the story – set on the Moon and featuring some very bizarre aliens designed by Mike.

You can subscribe to Spaceship Away – which has reached its 66th issue, no mean feat for an independent fan title – here

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