downthetubes Italian partner, the Fumettomania Factory Association, who are enthusiasts of British comics and have supported work of organisations here in the UK, have just launched one of their “Special Projects”, a series of articles devoted to Eagle comic star Dan Dare.
The Project launches with a serialisation of an article by Gianfranco Sherwood charting the origins of Eagle and the character created by Frank Hampson and team under the direction of editor Marcus Morris.
Edited by Mario Benenati and Daniele Tomasi, Special Project Dan Dare from Fumettomania Factory will span eight parts, composing a long essay centred on the story of Dan Dare and his creator Frank Hampson, utilising Sherwood’s article first published in 2014 in the digital magazine, Terre di confine, which has kindly allowed republication.
The Special Project will continue with other Dan-Dare-related material, including a look at some of the Dan Dare developments since 2014, republishing, with permission, some related articles from downthetubes in Italian. The Italian team will will also be working on this project with members of the Eagle Society.
This not-for-profit project was my suggestion some time back, and it’s great to see it launched by this amazing team of comic fans. Check out Part One here on Fumettomania Factory.
Dan Dare fans are welcome – in fact positively encouraged! to contribute to this project. Find out how here, with further features, fan art or other media, contributions being accepted from 30th August to 30th October 2025
The Fumettomania Factory Association was established in 1991, its purpose the promotion, dissemination and enhancement of issues related to the language of comics.
The “mission” of Fumettomania, is to attract children of all ages by promoting projects dedicated to them, which speak of current and engaging topics, using comics, which emerges as an autonomous art form that contains in itself the linguistic code of literature (words), its methods of fruition, but also the sequentiality of cinema and the figurative attention of traditional visual arts.
The commitment of the Association – over 30 years after its foundation – is to spread the culture of comics and, among our objectives, there is the will to continue cultural and social projects in the area with workshops aimed at young enthusiasts and to schools, solo and group exhibitions dedicated to comics, illustration and similar, presentations of comics and meetings with authors. The Association has also also founded the Luigi Bernardi Comics Archive, named after the late Italian publisher, which will be housed in the premises in Barcellona Pozzo di Gottoin Messina, Italy. This should open this December.
Dan Dare and Eagle © Dan Dare Corporation
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John is the founder of downthetubes, launched in 1998. He is a comics and magazine editor, writer, and Press Officer for the Lakes International Comic Art Festival. He also runs Crucible Comic Press.
Working in British comics publishing since the 1980s, his credits include editor of titles such as Doctor Who Magazine and Overkill for Marvel UK, Babylon 5 Magazine, Star Trek Magazine, and its successor, Star Trek Explorer, and more. He also edited the comics anthology STRIP Magazine and edited several audio comics for ROK Comics; and has edited several comic collections and graphic novels, including volumes of “Charley’s War” and “Dan Dare”, and Hancock: The Lad Himself, by Stephen Walsh and Keith Page.
He’s the writer of comics such as 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, Comics, Creating Comics, downthetubes Comics News, downthetubes News, Other Worlds
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