Spaceship Away’s Tenth Anniversary Issue

By Jeremy Briggs on August 4, 2013

Spaceship Away has reached it 30th issue with which it celebrates its 10th anniversary.

Originally begun in 2003 as a purely original 1950s version Dan Dare-based magazine it has expanded its interest over the years with comic strip reprints of Journey Into Space, Garth and Hal Starr as well as a growing selection of new science-fiction strips.

Issue 30 has as a background theme the Dan Dare story ‘Prisoners of Space’ with a new painted cover based on that story by original 1950s Dan Dare artist Don Harley, who also contributes a lovely painted centrespread of the main Dan Dare characters, while Fleetway letterer David Gould looks at the editorial changes made to the story.

Tim Booth illustrates his own Dan Dare story ‘Parsecular Tales’ as well as colouring the ongoing Martin Asbury Garth story ‘Finality Factor’.

The 1953 Dan Dare’s Spacebook is looked at by Alan Vince who relates Dan Dare creator Frank Hampson’s original concept for the annual style book while Don Harley recreates the unused original cover art he produced for the book. Andrew Darlington reviews the Martin Magnus novels by William F Temple, the first of which is reputed to be based on a Dan Dare text story that would have been in the Hampson version of the Spacebook.

Coverage of the Radio Luxembourg Dan Dare radio series continues with a a listing of the transmitted stories and original listener Philip Harbottle’s reviews one of them along with a one page of Ron Turner art base don the radio story. The first part of Ron Turner’s ‘The Ghost Sun’ is presented, coloured by Martin Baynes, while Robohunter and Halo Jones’ Ian Gibson provides a group pin-up of the main Dan Dare cast. Finally Graham Bleathman and Rod Barzilay talk about the background to their recently released Haynes Dan Dare Manual while Rod also relates a potted history of the magazine’s ten years.

There are more details of Spaceship Away and how to purchase it on the Spaceship Away website.

Jeremy Briggs

News, reviews, interviews and features for print and on-line: Spaceship Away (since October 2005), Bear Alley (since February 2007), downthetubes (since June 2007), and Eagle Times (since October 2008). Plus DC Thomson’s The Art Of Ian Kennedy, Titan’s Dan Dare and Johnny Red reprints, Ilex’s War Comics: A Graphic History and 500 Essential Graphic Novels, and Print Media’s The Iron Moon and Strip magazine.