The return of DARE, DAN that is…

The excellent downthetubes blog (a must for lovers of British cult SF) reports that Virgin Comics will be publishing a new DAN DARE title starting in November.

Quote:

The new Dan Dare comic will be written by Garth Ennis and drawn by Gary Erskine that sounds more in keeping with the character’s 2000AD incarnation that the original Eagle character, operating in a world where post-nuclear warfare has destroyed North America and much of Asia, leaving the UK as the world’s last remaining superpower.

The preview copy for the first issue describes Dan Dare as "once a hero who brokered peace with alien races, pushed the frontiers of space, and saved the planet from total annihilation… repeatedly.

Dare — described by some US news sites as "Britain’s version of Buck Rogers" — has long been a favourite of Virgin’s Richard Branson, who led the effort to acquire the publishing, TV, movie and video game rights to Dare. (He’s even displayed artwork from the Dare comic series in Virgin Atlantic Airways lounges).

On a personal note, while it’s great to see Dan Dare back in comics, I have doubts if a post-apocalyptic Dare written by Garth Ennis will be my cup-of-tea. I was raised on The Eagle and the 1950s style Pilot Of The Future. I also hope that Virgin’s acquisition of the Dare license won;t adversely affect the new old-style Dare stories being presented in the excellent Spaceship Away.

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