DANE DARE #3: OPERATION SATURN - Book review

 

This is the third deluxe collector’s facsimile edition of Operation Saturn featured in the Eagle comic from February 1953 to May 1954.

Certainly, Dan Dare wasn’t the first comic-strip space hero: there were Buck Rogers (1929) and Flash Gordon (1934) among others...

It’s the year 2001. A number of Earth’s spaceships are being attacked by robotic remote-controlled projectiles – nicknamed ‘black cats’. Apparently, they originate from Saturn. [The ‘black cats’ reminded me of a similar invasion of a swarm of small metal ships in the movie Star Trek Beyond (2016)].

Dare, Digby and their pals take Dr Blasco on the special starship Valiant to investigate. It transpires that Blasco is in league with the high lords of Saturnia: they intend to invade Earth and Blasco will be a puppet ruler! Dan and Digby escape while the rest of the crew are captured by Blasco and his agents...

However, landing safely on the planet, Dan and Digby befriend one of the alien natives, Nikki, a short blue guy, who proves a valuable guide and introduction to Tharl, the leader of a planned rebellion. Indeed, the evil Vora who rules at present is in for a shock... 

Yet again Dan encounters colourful creatures, some deadly, others serving as vehicles, and there are plenty of alien cities and buildings in glorious colour too.

We’re in pre-Star Trek territory where a teleporter is a tele-sender; the video is a teleblower; at one point Dan is tortured by the zesto-ray that ‘causes intense pain throughout the nerve centres without leaving marks (p97). Of course Dan does not reveal anything about the rebels; so Blasco and Vora decide to torture Professor Jocelyn Peabody instead...!

It’s action all the way. Perhaps still too wordy, but enjoyable all the same.

There is also an 8-page adventure from the 1953 Eagle Annual.

Dan Dare #2 - Book review

 

This is the second deluxe collector’s edition of The Red Moon Mystery and Marooned on Mercury featured in the Eagle comic from October 1951 to February 1953.

I first bought the Eagle in February 1958 (featuring the Dan Dare story The Ship that Lived). Thereafter, I was hooked – not only by the colourful artwork in Dan Dare but also the other features inside. The comic exuded an almost intoxicating smell, either the ink or the paper, or a combination of both. Subsequently, I managed to obtain a good number of the preceding issues, but never had an entire set. So the publication of these deluxe editions published by Hawk Books (1988) in full size and full colour were must-haves!

The story of The Red Moon Mystery is about a mysterious red moon that has appeared. It is threatening the space stations of Mars and, inevitably, it is likely to move against Earth. The other characters are Dare’s batman Digby, Sir Hubert Guest, Professor Jocelyn Peabody, the Yank, Henry Hogan, Sondar, the good Treen and Dr Ivor Dare, an eccentric scientist. It seems only Dan Dare and his pals can avert disaster! This adventure is written and drawn by the legendary Frank Hampson (though also see the reference below). This adventure takes place in 1999 - some 48 years in the future...

Marooned on Mercury. At the end of the previous adventure a massive explosion thrusts Dare’s spaceship towards Mercury, where they crash-land. Little do Dare and his crew know, but the evil Mekon has set up a base on the far side of Mercury; from here he intends to attack Earth, as space-born despots tend to do from time to time. On Mercury the team encounter strange beings, Mercurians, and enlist their help to combat the Mekon and his Treens. This adventure was drawn by Harold Johns as Hampson was ill.

Naturally, the tales are somewhat dated in their speech patterns and unscientific appreciation of planets like Mercury. And yet, they are fast-paced, inventive, even exciting, as well as amusing. There is a tendency to put too many words in the speech balloons – seemingly necessary to explain many of the ‘technological’ goings-on. And, for the time, it was probably ground-breaking to have a female professor as a significant character.

For more insight into the production of the weekly two-page full-colour strip, see WRITEALOT: FFB - The Man Who Drew Tomorrow (nik-writealot.blogspot.com)

MINISTRY OF SPACE - Book review

Way back in 2001 I purchased the first two Image comics in a trilogy with the overarching title of Ministry of Space. For some reason I never managed to get hold of the third concluding part.

Finally, I’ve obtained the graphic novel version (3^rd printing) dated 2004.

Being a reader and fan of the Dan Dare stories from Eagle, I was drawn to this comic because its artwork appeared to be paying homage to the greats Hampson and Bellamy.

The team consists of: Warren Ellis, writer; Chris Weston, artist; Laura Martin, colourist; and Michael Heisler, letterer. And they’ve done a splendid job of it.

The story begins in 2001 in an alternate history, where England had already conquered space, complete with the space station Churchill. Great Britain’s Ministry of Space is headed by Professor Dashwood. He’s being alerted that the Americans are finally going to launch their own spaceships. Then there’s a flashback to Peenemunde, 1945, where the Americans are secretly bombed by the British, denying them the space rocket secrets… The story moves through the 1950s and 1960s to the colonisation of Mars. The dark mystery as to how Britain stole a march on the allies in the race to space is slowly revealed...

Weston’s artwork is excellent. The detail in every page is simply outstanding. There are several splash pages that enhance the story: for example when Dashwood’s experimental rocket crashes into a windmill – you can virtually see every splinter of wood!

Recommended.

Note: Warren Ellis is the author of the graphic novel Red  - a Bruce Willis movie - among countless other comics.

Saturday Story - 'The Lost'

Many years ago, inspired by the UK comic character Dan Dare, I created a comic strip called Space Fleet. The adventures started with the teaming up of Rik Rhodes and Amber Forester, who eventually become a husband and wife team in Space Fleet (Sketch of an episode entitled ‘Quicksand’). Text is tight due to magazine requirement constraints; I couldn't resist using the phrase 'gyroscopes malfunctioning', either...

When I abandoned the strip in the late 1960s, the main character’s surname stuck, so it seemed appropriate for me to use it for one of my early short story sales. I renamed Amber Aurelia…

 

 

THE LOST

 

Nik Morton

 

Sun-arrows glinted on his polarized visor as Commander Rhodes led the recce-party down the slippery purple-stone scree of the giant plateau. Behind them he glimpsed their starship Aphelion.

Below, emerging from a grey ethereal mist, he spotted six half-naked humanoids. Instinctively, his gloved hand closed on the laser-gun.

            But the alien reception-committee appeared weaponless. 'Leave your guns alone!' he barked to the four scientists accompanying him. 'They could be friendly.'

            Unfortunately, Mineralogist Copenacre's initial reactions were too swift. He fired.

            'Hell!' Chopping the gun from Copenacre's grip, Rhodes swore as one of the aliens jacknifed backwards. A plaintive shriek crossed grimacing lips.

            'Ship to Recce-One! What's happening down there?'

            Rhodes ignored the call.

            'Jenkins, break out the surgical kit, fast!' he commanded the smallest of the team.

            'Ship to Recce-One! Communicate, please! Who's been hurt?'

            'Recce-One to Ship - don't worry! One of our group got trigger-happy.' He pointedly eyed Copenacre. 'Everything's under control now.'

            He knew from past experience that staying on board during a reconnaissance was the hardest part. Listening over the transmitter, the slightest problem had a tendency to grow out of all proportion. The women onboard would still be anxious, regardless of all his reassurances; and that included his wife, Aurelia.

            He knelt beside the stricken alien.

            The biggest advantage with a low-keyed laser-wound was that it cut cleanly, cauterizing as it hit. Provided vital organs were undamaged and the victim survived the massive shock, recovery was very likely.

            There was no blood, just a charred, fleshy hole in the creature's side. Yellow-brown contusions already bulged around the wound.

            Rhodes stood up and levelled his ice-blue eyes on Copenacre. 'Let me do the reacting next time, okay?'

            The mineralogist's narrow face was chalk-white. 'I'm sorry, sir. I'd pressed the button before your words-'

            'You didn't think!' Rhodes snapped. 'All right, forget it - it's done now.' He sighed. 'Let's hope this doesn't create trouble...'

            Turning to face the silently watching aliens, he added, 'Why haven't they turned hostile? It must be damned obvious what a kill-crazy bunch we are after your exhibition!'

            'I've done all I can,' interrupted Jenkins. 'He should pull through.' He rose, eyes mirroring amazement. 'I've never known anything like it, Commander,' he whispered.

            'Like what?'

            'As far as I can tell, that creature's built like us - inside and out.'

            'You're sure about this?'

            'Positive, sir.'

            The odds against finding creatures of their own terrestrial structure were astounding. They could be on the verge of discovering a new civilization in its infancy! The prospect sent his body-sensors hammering.

            With the gyroscopes malfunctioning, it was imperative to know which planet they had been forced to land on in their search for fissionable material to replace the power-core that had fractured during a whiplash in space.

            Directing the antenna of his portable intercom-transmitter at the apparent leader of the primitives, Rhodes depressed the transmit button. 'Where,' he stammered, 'where - are - we?'

            The ancient-white eyebrows of the bearded leader arched. 'Arrgh.'

            'Recce-One to Ship - decode, please.' The leader's reply would now be flashing through the Aphelion's onboard computer translator.

            Rhodes persevered: 'Who - are - you?' He spread his arms to encompass the entire group of primitives as he repeated, 'Who - are - you?'

            'Gha Qzkg,' came the answer. Rhodes noticed that the Leader's two upturned hands possessed five digits each. Even the texture of their wrinkled leathery skins seemed earthly...

            'Decode that.' Again, another question: 'Have - you - lived - here - long?'

            'Rozyg udugw warrk.' Broad angular shoulders lifted. Eyes dead, suntanned face expressionless.

            'Decode.' Strange, this aborigine answered every query posed. Merely by the inflection of my voice? Rhodes wondered. It didn't jell...

            Beads of sweat ran down his prominent cheekbones; he licked his thin lips nervously. Even in his cooled lightweight spacesuit he felt hot and flustered.

            He decided on a different tack. 'We're from Earth, the Sun's Third Planet,' he began.

            Even if he was understood, it seemed unlikely that earthly points of reference and names would mean anything.

            'Commander!' rasped Ship Control. A crackle of static, then: 'We've got it! The code's broken!'

            Rhodes released a thankful sigh. 'Good. Now, what does Arrgh mean?'

            A moment's hesitation. 'Earth.'

            'But that - that's impossible!' Taking grasp of himself, he added, 'Anyway, who the hell are they?'

            'The Lost.'

            It just didn't make sense, none of it. 'Okay, we'll come back to that. How long have they lived here?'

            'About fifty years.'

            'Pass me the code, quick!'

            Then, for five seconds, he succumbed to an electronic infusion through his skull into the mnemonic quadrant of brain. Cranial nerves tingled pleasurably; amethyst colours sparkled; the whole sensation was exquisite but, alas, transient. Rhodes could now speak their tongue.

            He felt pretty dumb asking the next question: 'If you're on Earth, how are we from Earth too?'

            'Time,' was the simple reply.

            'A time-warp?' It had to be... That whiplash, the scatty gyros, the shattered core...

            Suddenly, Rhodes espied an unnaturally smooth surface protruding from the dissipating mist. Dull metallic in appearance, with patches of reddish-brown.

            The Leader nodded, pointing to the shipwreck: 'Aphelion...'

            At last Rhodes comprehended. It was as though a searing light had pierced his brain and stopped both his heart and time: 'We warped into the future?'

            A slow stern nod, that was all.

            Wordlessly, Rhodes directed the recce-party back up the unstable slope. He thought of Aurelia aboard Aphelion and of the fate that awaited them all.

            Rhodes couldn't resist one final glance. At his own image fifty years hence, a survivor of some disaster yet to come.

***

Previously published in Parade in 1972 as ‘The Natives Are Friendly’.

Reprinted as ‘The Lost’ in Costa TV Times, 2010.

Copyright Nik Morton, 2014.

 

***

If you enjoyed this story, you might like Spanish Eye,

my short story collection featuring Leon Cazador, private eye in 22 cases

published by Crooked Cat Publishing.

http://www.crookedcatbooks.com/

 US: http://amazon.com/dp/B00GXK5C6S
Canada: http://amazon.ca/dp/B00GXK5C6S
UK: http://amazon.co.uk/dp/B00GXK5C6S
France: http://amazon.fr/dp/B00GXK5C6S
Germany: http://amazon.de/dp/B00GXK5C6S
Austria: http://amazon.at/dp/B00GXK5C6S
Italy: http://amazon.it/dp/B00GXK5C6S
Spain: http://amazon.es/dp/B00GXK5C6S
Japan: http://amazon.jp/dp/B00GXK5C6S

 

FFB - The Man Who Drew Tomorrow

This large-format colourful book (published in 1986) is sub-titled ‘How Frank Hampson created Dan Dare, the world’s best comic strip’. Obviously, some purist comic collectors may argue over the word ‘best’, but there’s no denying that Frank Hampson exhibited a remarkable flair for invention and draughtsmanship, with incredible detail and colour in a period when post-war austerity still held sway (1950).

Dan Dare appeared on the front page of the

British comic Eagle on 14 April 1950.

In retrospect, Frank rationalised his creation of the famous pilot of the future: ‘I felt the prognostications about technology were too gloomy. Attitudes were too pessimistic, with The Bomb, the Cold War and rationing in the forefront of everyone’s mind. I wanted to give hope for the future, to show that rockets and science in general could reveal new worlds, new opportunities. I was sure that space travel would be a reality… Dan was the man I always wanted to be; Digby, his batman, was the man I saw myself as…’

In the early days, the Dan Dare strip was sent to Arthur C. Clarke to check that the sci-fi details were believable, but this arrangement lapsed when Clarke pointed out that the art studio was wasting its money on getting him to check it, the details were always authentic – so much so that an aeronautics engineer for RAF Farnborough asked for source material to help in the designs then of a space-suit!

From the beginning when the Reverend Marcus Morris approached Frank with the idea for a revolutionary boys’ comic of the highest calibre, Frank was inflamed with the ideals set. It was to have a morally uplifting tone, Christian in outlook, educational, and with artwork of superior craftsmanship. He set up a studio and hired associates and together with his father, Pop, Frank created Dan Dare.

A bust of Dan Dare, Southport, England

Almost every frame of the strip was sketched in rough first by Frank – he also wrote the storyline – and then photographs were taken of various team members to act as models for the finished strip drawings (Joan Porter, Greta Tomlinson, Robert Hampson, Harold Johns, Don Harley, Peter Hampson, and Eric Eden - Harley and Eden with Keith Watson were also artists on the strip). Most of the team members commented that even Frank’s rough sketches were good enough to be the finished article, but Frank was a perfectionist and this attitude often entailed the team working into the early hours of the morning to finish the strip: eight people to produce two pages of artwork may seem extravagant, but time has vindicated the approach – Frank was voted the best post-war writer and artist of strip cartoons in 1975 by an international jury of his peers.

This was in fact a long-overdue accolade, for prior to this he spent virtually fourteen years in the wilderness hiding from the fans that pursued him and suffering from a series of debilitating illnesses. He hid because he was deprived of the copyright to Dan Dare, his creation. Under the terms of his contract he was not allowed to draw Dan Dare after leaving. After completing the remarkable strip about Jesus, The Road to Courage in 1961, Frank left Eagle never to return.

My drawing, 1986

Eagle lasted from April 1950 until April 1969, 991 issues. It was reborn in 1982, though a pale reflection of itself, yet survived some 500 issues before its demise in 1994. Having just turned sixty in 1979, Frank was presented with his Open University BA, something he did to fill in the empty hours, though the studying of art was a lifetime love too. In July 1985, at the young age of sixty-six, he died.

Crompton’s book is very well illustrated, using pages from the old Eagles and studio photographs and sketches, plus glimpses of Hampson strips that were n ever taken up by Fleet Street. Dan Dare was a team effort, but the driving force was undoubtedly Frank Hampson. His treatment by Fleet Street, its accountants and editors, seems tragic, even if his personality and work methods didn’t suit them. This book, even now, is a must for anyone who remembers Eagle with a fond glint in the eye; it is useful to art students and comic enthusiasts alike, and is invaluable as an object lesson in the dangers of signing away copyright.

[Case in point: Jerry Siegel in 1975 launched a public-relations campaign to protest DC Comics’ treatment of Joe Shuster and himself, as in the early years they’d signed away their rights to Superman. Ultimately, Warner Communications, DC’s parent company, awarded Siegel and Shuster $20,000 a year each for the rest of their lives and guaranteed that all comics, TV episodes, films, and, later, video games starring Superman would be required to carry the credit that Superman was ‘created by Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster’. The first issue with the restored credit was Superman #302 (August 1976)].