New Spaceship Away magazine profiles Bruce Cornwell and Dave Gibbons work for DC Thomson

Spaceship Away 36

 

The latest issue of the Dan Dare-inspired magazine Spaceship Away – Issue 36 – is now available and it’s a great mix of new strips and features, including a terrific item by our very own Jeremy Briggs documenting the work of Dave Gibbons for the DC Thomson titles Hotspur and Wizard. If you’re a fan of characters like “Nick Jolly” and Scarlet Hawk”, of the “Spy in the Sputnik”, then you’ll be intrigued to find out how much Dave did on the strips.

Another great feature is smashing account of the work of Dan Dare artist Bruce Cornwell, written by his son, Anthony. The article documents the life and work of the Canadian-born artist, whose credits include not only “Dan Dare” but “Space Captain Jim Stalwart” for the Junior Mirror, “Journey into Space” for Express Weekly, “Sammy Space” for Swift and “Danny Dare” for Wham! (with Leo Baxendale), among others. It’s a fantastic account of his life, covering most of the feature pages of the issue, including Bruce’s own recorded accounts of important parts of his life and work.

Tim Booth provides the art and story to the continuing lead Dan Dare strip, “Parsecular Tales”, as things hot up for the gang as the mysterious Vashtilan attack on known space continues. The re-presentation of “Jet Morgan” continues to prove a bonkers romp (which other strip might bring you the peril of giant strawberries?), and there’s a terrific “Nick Hazard” tale by Ron Turner, beautifully coloured by Martin Baines.

As well as a Gerry Embleton centrespread and a stunning cover by Don Harley inspired by the original Dare story, “Safari in Space”, Tim Booth also provides a second “Dan Dare” episode, “Mercury Revenant”, which includes a cracking cutaway of the spaceships featured in the story.

As I’ve said before, Spaceship Away is not the cheapest of independent comics on sale at £8.95 an issue, but you’re not going to find, for now, new Dan Dare artwork or stories anywhere else. Check out the official site now!

• Spaceship Away Official Site: http://spaceshipaway.org.uk



Categories: British Comics - Current British Publishers, Classic British Comics, downthetubes Comics News

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