The picture on the cover of this issue is from ‘Operation Saturn’. Art by Desmond Walduck (from Eagle, Vol 4 No 38, 24th December 1953). The man at the rear of the picture has an obviously intentional resemblance to Dan Dare’s creator, Frank Hampson!
- PC49 and the Case of the Christmas Ornament – a seasonal short-story featuring radios (and Eagle‘s) police hero, from the radio stories by Alan Stranks
- Christmas Customs from Hulton Press shows how Eagle and Girl magazines presented the traditions of Christmas in strip form in 1955 and 1953, respectively
- It Wouldn’t be Christmas… revisits an article in the first Eagle Annual, in which Chad Varah told of the origins of some of the familiar Christmas Customs
- ‘Starring Bayford Lodge’, takes a look at how Frank Hampson used locations in his own home and, sometimes, members of his own family in his art, with examples from some of his post-Eagle work
- A Look at Luck – part 6, concludes an examination of the French Foreign Legion strip by Geoffrey Bond and Martin Aitchison, which ran in Eagle from 1952 – 1961
- A PC49 radio script: ‘The Case of the Haunting Refrain’, reproduces the final part of an Alan Stranks-written performance script
- ‘From Under the 1950s Christmas Tree, Eagle Bagatelles’ – a seasonal look at 1950s pin-ball games from the makers Chad Valley and Mettoy, featuring Dan Dare and Riders of the Range
- ‘‘Eagle Summer Special (1966) – a (not so seasonal!) review of the second (of two) Eagle holiday special issues that appeared in the 1960s
- ‘Dan Dare Projected, Part 3: The Films’ – this final part looks at the many ‘Dan Dare’ film strips that were available in the 1950s for use with the viewers and projectors previously described
- ‘Churchill Revisited’ – report of a visit to an exhibition held at the J.P. Morgan Library and Museum in NewYork (June – September, 2012), where the recent U.S. reprint edition of Clifford Makins’ and Frank Bellamy’s Life of Churchill, The Happy Warrior was found in the bookshop
- ‘Report on the Eagle Day’ provides an illustrated account of the event held at Great Staughton, Cambs, on 23rd September, 2012
- ‘Remembering Terra Nova’ – has a re-look at the Dan Dare story from 1959 that saw the last Dan Dare work of Frank Hampson and the arrival of Frank Bellamy as lead artist
- Rivals of Jeff Arnold – Hopalong Cassidy. A look at the origin (1904) and development of the character (from the 1930s through the 1950s) in film, radio, television and comics of the fictional cowboy hero, created by Clarence E. Mulford and played on the screen by William Boyd.
- Looks Familiar? (Dans in all but name) – on the Captain Jet Harrison Space Explorer Space Gun from Retro Toys and Games, and its seeming likeness to the Merit Dan Dare Planet Gun of the 1950s
- Writing a Lament – the writing of a musical accompaniment to Lament to a Dead Swan, which, as a 1954 schoolboys poem, won a prize from Eagle‘s Special Investigator, Macdonald Hastings
- ‘The Intrepid Cowpuncher’ discusses the feasibility of Dan Dare being (albeit in the fictional world!) a descendant of Buffalo Bill – as he joked in the ‘Red Moon Mystery’
• To get a copy, join the The Eagle Society via Annual Subscription to Eagle Times magazine, which is published four times annually. The Subscription rate for 2012 is: UK £27; Overseas £38 (in £s Sterling, please). Postal applications to: Keith Howard, 25A Station Road, Harrow, Middlesex HA1 2UA, United Kingdom.
- About the Author
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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.
Categories: British Comics, downthetubes Comics News, downthetubes News, Magazines
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