Classic Dan Dare: The Man From Nowhere

Dan Dare #8

by Frank Hampson

It’s chocks away and tally-ho once again as Dan Dare, Pilot of the Future, returns! First published in classic British comic Eagle , these are the original adventures of one of the best known and loved of British comic characters, presented in a new series of gorgeous library editions.

A mysterious spaceship appears near Earth, and its occupant has a desperate plea for help! Colonel Dare and his crew prepare to journey to a strange new world — faster than the speed of light!

Featuring a brand new introduction, plus an exclusive look at Frank Hampson’s sketchbook, this thrilling new volume will blow you away!

Genres: Comics, Graphic Novels, Science Fiction

96 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1979

Reviews

[Alex Sarll]

I recently read the first of the original Dan Dare strips, and was pleasantly surprised at how well they'd aged, but this is even better. The series has raced through the exploration of our local planets, and now, with the arrival of a mysterious ship, it's ready to go beyond, another valiant voyage to who knows where. "We've explored and plotted the whole solar system and still survive. Now it's new worlds, new stars, new galaxies! It had to come...and I'm darn glad the first chance fell right in my lap", says Dan, shining embodiment of New Elizabethan heroism from an alternate timeline where that moment lasted, instead of Britain subsiding into the tired, grubby little rock it is here. But first, the crashed alien vessel must be rescued from deep beneath the sea by way of a collaboration with Dare's naval counterpart Lex O'Malley. It's stirring stuff, the only problem being that it ends on a cliffhanger, the succeeding Rogue Planet being too big to fit into the same volume. Instead, the book is filled out with three much patchier stories which presumably come from annuals &c, with scripts that attempt comedy accents, rushed plots, and visuals much blobbier than the peerless Hampson rockets and creatures and eyebrows of the story proper.

[Peter Monck · Rating 4 out of 5]

See my notes for 'Voyage to Venus: Part 1'. Good vintage SF, very much of its day. Good fun.