Southport College Celebrates Eagle Anniversary

By John Freeman on April 14, 2010

Southport College – where Dan Dare co-creator Frank Hampson studied art – is hosting to a Dan Dare exhibition celebrating 60 years of Eagle until the end of the month.

*Dan Dare bust image courtesy of Southport College. Used with permission*

“When you enter Southport College’s Library Learning Centre you may notice two figures perched on high behind the reception counter,” says the College’s Library Learning Centre Officer, Sammantha Browne in a web post. “Dan Dare and his arch-enemy the Mekon turn sixty this year. Internationally famous, they are the ‘founding members’ of several appreciation societies across the globe.

“Dan Dare was the brain child of Frank Hampson, who enrolled at Southport College in 1947 for a course on illustration. But he was not the fresh-faced teenager you might suppose. 29 and married with a son, Frank had witnessed at first hand the ravages of war, seeing active service in Dunkirk and Normandy. He joined the Royal Army Service Corps and rose to the rank of a junior officer, but he always wanted to be a pilot with the RAF. Some may say he achieved this vicariously through his creation of Dan Dare.”

The exhibition, which opened today on the the 60th anniversary of the launch of Eagle comic, details Frank Hampson’s biography, including his time at the College, the history of Eagle, its Southport connections and the legacy of Dan Dare. Members of the Eagle Society were on hand to mark the exhibit’s opening.

Sam asks that if readers have any fond memories you would like to share of Dan Dare, the Mekon or Eagle comic, please email her at library@southport.ac.uk and she will pin up your messages for others to enjoy.

Eagle Anniversary News Items

• BBC Liverpool: Southport College celebrates Dan Dare 60th anniversary

• Southport Vister: Exhibition to mark 60th anniversary of comic book hero Dan Dare

• Liverpool Daily Post: Dan Dare, the comic star who put Southport on the interstellar map

• Lancashire Magazine: Future Perfect
Sixty years ago the genius of two men turned the seaside town of Southport into the centre of the universe. Mark Gorton explains how and why.

• Dan Dare bust image courtesy of Southport College. Used with permission

About the Author
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John Freeman

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.