Eagle Annual: the Best of the 1950s Comic - Features Dan Dare, the Greatest Comic Strip of All Time

by Colin Frewin

The best of the 1950s Eagle comics in one annual

Paperback

First published October 4, 2007

Reviews

[Andrew Ives · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book is beautifully printed with its faux, yellowing 1950s feel to it, and almost all of the pages consist of actual Eagle pages from the comic, so we get to see Dan Dare et al, exactly as they were, with brief asides from the modern-day author. Sounds great, I hear you say.

Alas, not quite. The Dan Dare pages are scattered here and there, showing just brief snippets from stories, but nothing which constitutes anything particularly readable. There is not one single, complete Dan Dare story in this whole book! The artwork is brilliant, but it just tantalises as you only get to see a few panels before there's a Letters To The Editor page or 1950s advert. Likewise for everything else - we are given an over all taster of the 1950s, but no single part of it.

My biggest bug-bear with this book is the size of the writing. All the cutaway drawings of submarines and factories are wonderfully drawn, but the two page halves don't quite match up, the writing is tiny, and any older readers soaking up the nostalgia will find they can't read a thing, especially with black text on a speckly dark green background. It's quite hopeless. The ice cream factory illustration might as well be printed on a pinhead.

All said and done, this is an enjoyable read for younger, non-1950s readers, but could easily be improved in numerous ways. 3/5

[Pranay · Rating 3 out of 5]

the book throws a glimpse into the comic of 1950's its vision and the contents that fascinated young boys. The passion and hard work of the of the owners/creators comes across clearly. There is no proper series that can be tracked in the book nor a proper story. Just a peek into the past.