List of Dan Dare stories


The list of Dan Dare stories details appearances of the character Dan Dare, created by Frank Hampson.

The original ''Eagle'' comic

These are the Dan Dare stories that appeared in the original Eagle Comic, which ran from 1950 to 1969 and featured the hero Dan Dare. 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. 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 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 Frank Hampson.
Story TitleSourceDateNotes
Dan Dare: The First Story Volume 1, Number 1
Volume 2, Number 25		14 April 1950 to
28 September 1951		Drawn and written by Frank Hampson.
The Red Moon MysteryVolume 2, Number 26
Volume 3, Number 11		5 October 1951 to
20 June 1952
Marooned on MercuryVolume 3, Number 12
Volume 3, Number 46		27 June 1952 to
20 February 1953		Drawn by Frank Hampson and Harold Johns.
Operation SaturnVolume 3, Number 47
Volume 5, Number 21		27 February 1953 to
21 May 1954
Prisoners of SpaceVolume 5, Number 22
Volume 6, Number 18		28 May 1954 to
6 May 1955		Drawn by Desmond Walduck.
The Man from NowhereVolume 6, Number 19
Volume 6, Number 47		13 May 1955 to
25 November 1955
Rogue PlanetVolume 6, Number 48
Volume 8, Number 7		2 December 1955 to
15 February 1957		Drawn by Frank Hampson and Don Harley.
Reign of the RobotsVolume 8, Number 8
Volume 9, Number 4		22 February 1957 to
24 January 1958		Drawn by Frank Hampson and Don Harley.
The Ship that LivedVolume 9, Number 5
Volume 9, Number 16		31 January 1958 to
18 April 1958
The Phantom FleetVolume 9, Number 17
Volume 9, Number 52		25 April 1958 to
27 December 1958
Safari in SpaceVolume 10, Number 1
Volume 10, Number 18		3 January 1959 to
2 May 1959
Terra NovaVolume 10, Number 19
Volume 10, Number 40		9 May 1959 to
21 November 1959		Printer's Strike between June and August 1959
Last Frank Hampson issue - Volume 10, Number 27
Trip to TroubleVolume 10, Number 41
Volume 11, Number 11		28 November 1959 to
12 March 1960
Project NimbusVolume 11, Number 12
Volume 11, Number 28		19 March 1960 to
9 July 1960		Drawn by Frank Bellamy, Don Harley and Gerry Palmer
Mission of the EarthmenVolume 11, Number 29
Volume 11, Number 52		16 July 1960 to
24 December 1960
The Solid Space MysteryVolume 11, Number 53
Volume 12, Number 23		31 December 1960 to
10 June 1961
The Platinum PlanetVolume 12, Number 24
Volume 12, Number 47		17 June 1961
25 November 1961
The Earth StealersVolume 12, Number 48
Volume 13, Number 9		3 December 1961
3 March 1962
Operation EarthsaversVolume 13, Number 10
Volume 13, Number 23
The Evil OneVolume 13, Number 24
Volume 13, Number 32
Operation FireballVolume 13, Number 33
Volume 13, Number 42
The Web of FearVolume 13, Number 43
Volume 13, Number 52
Operation Dark StarVolume 14, Number 1
Volume 14, Number 9
Operation Time TrapVolume 14, Number 10
Volume 14, Number 38
The Wandering WorldVolume 14, Number 39
Volume 15, Number 13
The Big City CaperVolume 15, Number 14
Volume 15, Number 22
All Treens Must DieVolume 15, Number 23
Volume 15, Number 42		6 June 1964
17 October 1964
The MushroomVolume 15, Number 43
Volume 16, Number 6		24 October 1964
6 February 1965
The MoonsleepersVolume 16, Number 7
Volume 16, Number 29		13 February 1965
17 July 1965
The Singing ScourgeVolume 16, Number 30
Volume 17, Number 6
Give Me the MoonVolume 17, Number 7
Volume 17, Number 26
The Menace from JupiterVolume 17, Number 27
Volume 18, Number 1

This story was followed by a reprint of Prisoners of Space
'
Story TitleSourceDateNotes
Underwater Attack Volume 18, Number 52
Volume 19, Number 3

This story was followed by a reprint of The Man From Nowhere and an abridged reprint of Rogue Planet'.
The original Eagle's run then came to an end when it was merged with the Lion Comic.''

2000AD

Between 1977 and 1981 the Dan Dare character was revived to appear in the new 2000AD comic. For the first 45 progs 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 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.
Story TitleSourceDateNotes
Dan DareProgs 1-1126 February 1977 - 7 May 1977Art: Massimo Bellardinelli / Script: Ken Armstrong, Pat Mills & Kelvin Gosnell
Story also known as 'The Biogs'
Hollow WorldProgs 12-2314 May 1977 - 30 July 1977Art: Massimo Bellardinelli / Script: Steve Moore
LegionProgs 28-333 September 1977 - 8 October 1977Art: Dave Gibbons & Brian Bolland / Script: Gerry Finley-Day
Start of 'The Lost Worlds' story arc
GreenworldProgs 34-3515 October 1977 - 22 October 1977Art: Dave Gibbons & Brian Bolland / Script: Gerry Finley-Day
Star SlayerProgs 36-5129 October 1977 - 11 February 1978Art: Dave Gibbons / Script: Gerry Finley-Day
DoppelgangerProgs 52-5518 February 1978 - 11 March 1978Art: Dave Gibbons / Script: Jack Adrian
WaterworldProgs 56-6018 March 1978 - 15 April 1978Art: Dave Gibbons / Script: Jack Adrian
Nightmare PlanetProgs 61-6322 April 1978 - 6 May 1978Art: Brian Lewis / Script: Jack Adrian
Ice WorldProgs 64-6613 May 1978 - 27 May 1978Art: Dave Gibbons / Script: Gerry Finley-Day
Garden of EdenProgs 67-723 June 1978 - 8 July 1978Art: Dave Gibbons / Script: Jack Adrian
Mutiny!Progs 73-7815 July 1978 - 19 August 1978Art: Dave Gibbons / Script: Jack Adrian
The Doomsday MachineProgs 79-8526 August 1978 - 7 October 1978Art: Trevor Goring, Garry Leach & Dave Gibbons / Script: Henry Miller, Nick Laundau & Roy Preston
Conclusion of 'The Lost Worlds' story arc
Servant of Evil!Progs 100-10717 February 1979 - 7 April 1979Art: Dave Gibbons / Script: Tom Tully
Start of 'Servant of Evil' story arc
Attack on Eternium!Progs 109-11821 April 1979 to 23 June 1979Art: Dave Gibbons / Script: Tom Tully
TraitorProgs 119-12630 June 1979 - 18 August 1979Art: Dave Gibbons / Script: Tom Tully
Conclusion of 'Servant of Evil' story arc

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.
In 1990, a strip entitled Dare, written by Grant Morrison and drawn by Rian Hughes, was serialized in Revolver. It presented bleak and cynical characters and was a not-too-subtle satire of 1980s British politics. 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 and his quisling British Prime Minister, Gloria Munday 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 featuring a slightly older Dare and apparently set some years after the original Eagle strips.

Virgin Comics

In 2008 Virgin Comics published a 7 issue Dan Dare mini-series written by Garth Ennis, with art by Gary Erskine. 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 taking Space Fleet's role. Peabody is the Home Secretary to a Prime Minister modelled on Tony Blair, who has sold Earth's defence out to The Mekon out of fear of overwhelming odds. Dare, assisted by Digby leads a spirited defence of both Earth and his honourable principles.