Captain Eager comes to DVD

By John Freeman on November 24, 2008

Anyone who’s a fan of Dan Dare, Rick Random, Flash Gordon and perhaps even Captain Scarlet might not want to check out the new DVD Captain Eager and the Mark of the Voth, unless of course they’re prepared to enjoy this spoof of these well known characters.

“Captain Eager is a whacky sci-fi film that doesn’t expect to appeal to the broad masses,” admits the film’s director Simon Davison, but it does look quite fun, so nip over the official web site for more information.

“You’ll see there’s a passing resemblance to Dan Dare and comic sci-fi of the 1950’s and 60’s,” Simon tells downthetubes. “There are even speech bubbles in some scenes amd the website also includes a page from the (non-existent) comic Blast-Off!”. Eagle fans will quickly spot a resemblance!

“I used to compose for film TV adverts, such as Blue Juice,” says Simon. “But I wanted to write and direct. I’ve sold several scripts but Captain Eager and the Mark of the Voth is my first feature as a director.

In addition to the film, the DVD includes extras such as Scamp the Rocket Dog learning to use his exciting rocket pack, bloopers and more.

• Visit the official Captain Eager web site

John Freeman

The founder of downthetubes, which he established in 1998. John works as a comics and magazine editor, writer, and on promotional work for the Lakes International Comic Art Festival. He is currently editor of Star Trek Explorer, published by Titan – his third tour of duty on the title originally titled Star Trek Magazine.

Working in British comics publishing since the 1980s, his credits include editor of titles such as Doctor Who Magazine, Babylon 5 Magazine, and more. He also edited the comics anthology STRIP Magazine and edited several audio comics for ROK Comics. He has also edited several comic collections, including volumes of “Charley’s War” and “Dan Dare”.

He’s the writer of “Pilgrim: Secrets and Lies” for B7 Comics; “Crucible”, a creator-owned project with 2000AD artist Smuzz; and “Death Duty” and “Skow Dogs” with Dave Hailwood.