Steve Winders of the Eagle Society celebrates the 75th anniversary of the launch of Eagle comic, the original home of “Dan Dare” and so much more…

This article first appeared on the Eagle Times blog, run by the Eagle Society, and is republished here with his kind permission. Links have been added to related downthetubes items and other sites

It is now seventy five years since EAGLE was launched, on April 14th 1950. A huge success for its first decade, it ran until 1969, when it was absorbed by its rival paper Lion. Created by the Reverend Marcus Morris, a Southport vicar, its early success was primarily due to the work of artist Frank Hampson and his creation, “Dan Dare Pilot of the Future”.

The popularity of Dan Dare cannot be overstated. The strip made science fiction acceptable and respectable at a time when many older people dismissed it as ridiculous, and EAGLE was read by a lot of older people as well as its principal audience of 7 – 16 year olds. It also promoted interest in outer space and the possibility and credibility of space travel. The scientist, Stephen Hawking, for example, cited “Dan Dare” as the reason he became a Cosmologist. Professor Colin Pillinger, the brains behind the Beagle 2 Mars lander, was also a fan.

EAGLE also made comics acceptable to many adults, although it would never admit to being a comic! The fact that the editor was a vicar and that EAGLE promoted a “muscular Christianity” in its pages brought parents and teachers onside. The early issues of EAGLE also included the popular radio character “PC 49”, written by Alan Stranks. Initially drawn by Strom Gould, it was illustrated for most of its seven-year-run by John Worsley.

There were three other strips by Hampson in the first issue: “Rob Conway”, “Tommy Walls”, an advertising strip for Walls Ice Cream and the life of St. Paul, but he quickly passed these on to other hands to enable him to focus on the runaway success of “Dan Dare”. “Captain Pugwash”, by John Ryan also made his first ever appearance in the first EAGLE. 

The centre pages featured “cutaway drawings” of aircraft, cars, ships and other technological marvels. The most prolific ‘cutaway’ artist was Leslie Ashwell Wood. The “cutaways” would run for the entire life of EAGLE and Ashwell Wood illustrated the first and the last. 

The early issues also included an informative science strip called “Professor Brittain Explains”, and a regular sports page, which featured contributions from well known sportsmen.

Over the next few years, other popular strips joined “Dan Dare”. “Riders of the Range”, by Charles Chilton, was based on his radio series about cowboys in the American west. This strip began in the Christmas issue in 1950 and was originally illustrated by Jack Daniel and then by Angus Scott, before Frank Humphris took over in 1952. The strip ran until 1962.

“Luck of the Legion” (1952 – 61) was written by Geoffrey Bond and illustrated by Martin Aitchison, “Jack O’ Lantern” (1955 – 59) told the adventures of a boy in the early nineteenth century and was written by George Beardmore, with illustrations by Robert Ayton. “Storm Nelson – Sea Adventurer” (1953 – 1962) was written by Guy Morgan and drawn by Richard Jennings, and “Harris Tweed Extra Special Agent” (1950 – 62) by John Ryan, replaced his “Captain Pugwash” who went on to greater success in books and on television.

Another comedy strip was the three frame weekly short, “Chicko” (1950 – 62) by Norman Thelwell.

The famous Belgian cartoon hero Tintin also made his first ever appearance in English in EAGLE (1951 – 52). The back featured biographies of saints and famous Britons, including Saint Patrick, Saint Louis of France, Alfred the Great, Lord Nelson, David Livingstone and Baden Powell, illustrated by Norman Williams. Many of these biographies were written by the Reverend Chad Varah, who founded the Samaritans. Later, Frank Bellamy illustrated the life of Winston Churchill and King David for the back page, before taking over the “Dan Dare” strip for a year and subsequently drawing “Fraser of Africa” (1960 – 61), the life of Field Marshal Montgomery (1962) and, finally, the celebrated “Heros the Spartan” strip in the early 1960s. In 1960 – 61, Frank Hampson illustrated the story of Christ for the back page. Sadly, this was his last major work for EAGLE.  

EAGLE featured more than strip cartoons. It had its own “Special Investigator”, Macdonald Hastings, who wrote articles on a wide range of subjects and even performed several dangerous feats to amuse the readers. George Cansdale wrote many half page strips about wildlife, and Anthony Buckeridge created Rex Milligan‘s prose adventures for EAGLE, which would later serialise some of his ‘Jennings’ stories. Peter Ling wrote school-based stories about “The Three ‘J’s”, before creating Crossroads and writing a Doctor Who adventure for television. 

EAGLE engaged well with readers. It featured reader’s letters and organised competitions. The creator of The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy, Douglas Adams first published work was a poem he sent to EAGLE, and Gerald Scarfe and David Hockney won prizes in an art competition. Sir Tim Rice has a complete set of EAGLE in his office.

“I still read them and am often struck by their sophistication,” he told The New European’s Charlie Connelly in 2017, the article archived on Wayback. “You’d often find the characters having conversations which were reflective rather than merely there to advance the story.

“And there are some great lines. One of my favourites was the Mekon’s ‘Fools! You have no perception!’ which I put straight into Jesus Christ Superstar.”

EAGLE also encouraged acts of charity, selflessness and consideration for others with monthly awards for nominated readers. It ran its own club for readers, arranged trips to sports matches, Adventure Holidays with the Youth Hostel Association, and an annual national Table Tennis competition, along with its companion weekly, Girl. Each year, readers voted for their “Sportsman of the Year”. Every Christmas EAGLE invited readers to Carol Services, held around the country and usually led by Marcus Morris.

The editorial team also produced many books on a range of interests in addition to its annuals and even published novels about several of its characters. Its popularity gave rise to a great deal of licensed merchandise with everything from toys to clothing based on its most popular heroes. It even had its own weekly radio programme. There was also a daily Dan Dare radio serial, which ran for five years on Radio Luxembourg. In the 1950s it was not so much a comic, more a way of life. 

EAGLE fell into decline in the 1960s. Its steady downfall was primarily due to changes of publisher and cuts to its budget. It steadily dropped all its reader activities, except the “Readers’ Letters” page and the Y.H.A. Holidays. Marcus Morris left in 1959 and his successor Clifford Makins left in 1961. A new editor, Bob Bartholomew, arrived in late 1962 and managed to make improvements, but the downhill slide in sales was impossible to stop.

Nevertheless, there were still shining moments. In addition to “Heros the Spartan” (1962 – 1966), which was written by Tom Tully, there was “Blackbow the Cheyenne”, written by Edward Cowan and drawn by Frank Humphris, which joined EAGLE when it absorbed Swift in 1963, and ran until 1969. There was also “The Iron Man” by Ken Mennell and others, which joined in 1964 when Boys’ World was absorbed and ran until 1969. It was illustrated by Martin Salvador and, later, by Miguel Quesada. “The Guinea Pig”, (1965 – 1969) was written by various hands and drawn by Colin Andrew, Brian Lewis and, finally, by Gerald Haylock. “Dan Dare” continued with stories written by David Motton and art by Keith Watson. The 1960s EAGLE also featured some new informative features, including “The Futurescope”, which began in 1967 and speculated about life in the future. It was written by Dr. Lyall Watson, who would later write the bestselling book Supernature.  

 Despite its decline and fall, EAGLE made such a strong impression that “Dan Dare” formed part of the original lineup of 2000AD, and a new version of EAGLE was launched in 1982 and ran until 1994. At a time when comics were generally in decline, it was a notable success for many years. 

EAGLE fandom survives to this day with the EAGLE Society celebrating the anniversary year with a Gathering in Plymouth, later in April. Our quarterly magazine EAGLE Times celebrates its own 150th issue this year too, and Spaceship Away magazine, which began in 2003 continues to feature new adventures of Dan Dare.

Dan himself featured in a BBC radio series in 1990 and an audio series produced by B7 Media in 2021 and 2022, which was later broadcast on BBC Radio Four Extra and a CGI television series which was broadcast on Channel Five in the UK in 2002, and in new comics from Titan Comics, who have also collected many of his adventures, and collected Frank Hampson’s The Road of Courage.

Who knows what the future might hold?

Steve Winders

This article first appeared on the Eagle Times blog, run by the Eagle Society, and is republished here with his kind permission

• Membership of The Eagle Society is via Annual Subscription to Eagle Times magazine, which is published four times annually. Please make cheques payable to the ‘Eagle Society’. The current subscription rate (unchanged since 2018) is UK £30, Overseas £40 (all payments required in £s Sterling)

Postal applications to: Eagle Society Membership Secretary, Bob Corn, Mayfield Lodge, Llanbadoc, Usk Monmouthshire NP15 1SY | Web: eagle-times.blogspot.com | Enquiries: membership@eagle-society.org.uk

If you wish to pay by Paypal (from your Paypal account to the e-mail address above) – The Society request that you make your payment as a GIFT)

• The EAGLE Society is online at eagle-times.blogspot.com

Further Reading…

• Eagle Times: Index of Eagle Artists

• Eagle Times: Index of Eagle Writers (fiction)

• British Comics Profiled: Dan Dare

• Spaceship Away! The Radio Luxembourg Dan Dare Radio Show

• The Jeff Hawke Fan Club blog has two articles detailing how Syd Jordan planned to revive Dan Dare for the very short-lived Planet on Sunday newspaper – here and here.

• Eagle Times: Cutaway Artists Checklist

• Rusty Staples: EAGLE 75th Anniversary

• Rusty Staples: EAGLE – The Parent of Modern Comics?

• Rusty Staples: The EAGLE Timeline

• Journey Planet #23 – Dan Dare (PDF Download)

Issue #23 of the free on-line fanzine takes a look at Britain’s legendary science fiction hero Dan Dare, with Michael Carroll co-editing! It’s a massive issue that looks at the Colonel in print and everywhere! Featuring words from James Bacon, Richard Bruton, Jim Burns, Chris Garcia, James Shields, Bryan Talbot and many, many more

• Rusty Staples – Eagle Oddities – Telegraph Sunday Magazine, number 49, dated August 21 1977

Eagle Books

• Dan Dare Books: A downthetubes Checklist

• The Eagle Annual of the Cutaways edited by Daniel Tatarsky (AmazonUK Affiliate Link)

• Isn’t it about time the 1980’s Dan Dare stories were collected?

• Classic Bible Stories: Jesus The Road of Courage / Mark, the Youngest Disciple (AmazonUK Affiliate Link)

Dan Dare and EAGLE ©️ Dan Dare Corporation

• About the Author
• Latest Posts

Steve Winders

Born in Preston, Steve Winders has been a lifelong fan of Dan Dare and Eagle and of Doctor Who since its first episode. He has written many articles about the 1960s Eagle, the various incarnations of Dan Dare and the fictional exploits of the Harris Tweed Appreciation Society for Eagle Times and its predecessors and regularly reviews new works about British comics for Down The Tubes and Steve Holland’s Bear Alley blog.

He has also written articles about another interest, Robin Hood, for the online Adventures of Robin Hood Appreciation Society Magazine.

Other interests include the American West, which was inspired by the famous Eagle strip, Riders of the Range, Astronomy and soccer. He is a supporter of Preston North End. He has taught for over 40 years, in Lancashire, Mid Glamorgan and Plymouth. He is married and has three children.

• Happy Birthday, EAGLE! 75 years old
• Remembering author and Frank Hampson biographer Alastair Crompton
• In Memoriam: Comic Artist and Painter, Greta Tomlinson (1927 - 2021)

Categories: British Comics, Classic British Comics, Comics, downthetubes Comics News, downthetubes News, Events

Tags: 2000AD, Adventure Comics, Dan Dare, downthetubes News, Eagle, Eagle Society, Eagle Times, Frank Hampson, Marcus Morris, SF Comics, Spaceship Away, Steve Winders