Spaceship Away goes Christmas Crazy!

By John Freeman on December 7, 2011

Spaceship Away 25 cover by
Don Harley

The latest issue of the Dan Dare-inspired comic magazine Spaceship Away is on sale now from the title’s official web site and selected comic shops and its content harks back to the days when a comic’s editorial team really made the most of the Christmas holiday, offering a tie-in cover from veteran artist Don Harley and more.

Issue 25 – kicking off the magazine’s ninth year in print – include a glorious Sydney Jordan scripted, Don Harley drawn Dan Dare Christmas comic story; more adventures of the Daily Mirror hero Garth; a further Journey Into Space episode (Bruce Cornwell takes over the artwork part way through); a two page Don Harley Dan Dare strip; and the continuation of Tim Booth’s “Parsecular Tales”.

Features include an article by Dan Dare artist Desmond Walduck, a new painting by Don Harley from the original Eagle story “Prisoners of Space”; an item about Spacefleet H.Q. by Charles Evans-Gunther; a fabulous Ian Kennedy centrespread, featuring three versions of Dan Dare (he worked on all three); news of another Frank Hampson find; another model by Sid Clark from ‘Dan Dare’s World’; and the board from the Dan Dare’s Race in Space game. (Time to get your dice and counters out at Christmas – what fun!)

Ian Kennedy’s stunning Dan Dare
centrespread for Spaceship Away 25

The issue, which features a gorgeous Christmas cover by Don Harley, is topped off with a new Bruce Cornwell painting on the back cover.

Coming in the new year is the final episode of “Pre-Emptive Strike”, an all-new Dan Dare tale by John Freeman and Mike Nicoll (who are already at work on a further classic Dare story for the magazine), along with more artwork from Graham Bleathman, Don Harley and Gerry Embleton.

• Order Spaceship Away Issue 25 from the official web site here

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.