The SPECIAL PROJECT “DAN DARE, Pilot of the Future” by FUMETTOMANIA continues with the third of eight parts that compose of the first a long essay centered on the story of Dan Dare and his creator Frank Hampson, an article published eleven years ago in the digital magazine “Terre di confine“, which kindly allowed us to republish it. At the bottom of the article we report a note with all the information on the magazine and the rights holders of this material.
In the previous parts we have read about creation, first concept and making of Dan Dare and the magazine, Eagle, were he was the main character, and the beginning of publications, the explanation of the creative method, the enthusiasm of the makers and the great success among readers of all ages.
This third article summarizes the stories developed in the first decade of publication.
We wish you a joyful reading, see you next week for the fourth part of this SPECIAL PROJECT.
Mario Benenati and Daniele Tomasi, editors of the SPECIAL PROJECT DAN DARE
Note: this Special Project, like all others on this digital magazine, is no-profit and just for informative purposes, as the images used which are © of the rights holders.
DAN E FRANK, TWO BRITISH HEROES – part 3: Apotheosis and catastrophe (b) – by Gianfranco Sherwood
Presenting the story of one of the most fascinating science fiction characters ever drawn,
and of his brilliant and unfortunate creator.
In the second adventure, ‘The Red Moon Mystery’ – for fans among the best of the saga – the threat comes from an asteroid, called the Red Moon, on a collision course with the Earth. Its approach causes disastrous floods, but it soon turns out that the greatest danger is constituted by the unknown entities that maneuver it.
Using a sort of robot locust, the aliens periodically plunder the Solar System, leaving behind desolate planets (previously, we learned that the ruins of an extinct civilization on Mars testified to a similar catastrophe, which occurred 200,000 years earlier). In ‘The Red Moon Mistery’ the artist’s ability to combine the fantastic with the everyday in such a way as to give us the illusion of reading the chronicle of events that actually happened is highlighted.
In the next adventure, ‘Marooned on Mercury’, the Mekon returns, and in ‘Operation Saturn’ our hero must defeat an even more sinister enemy (Vora, a mysterious alien proclaiming himself “Last of the great ones who came from outer space”) who threatens to destroy the Earth from Saturn.
After another return of the Mekon in ‘Prisoners of Space’, in 1955 the golden age of the saga begins, thanks to the contribution of Don Harley, who has become an excellent artist and whose style integrates perfectly with that of Hampson. Dan Dare, Pilot of the Future becomes the best-drawn comic ever.
Hampson also begins to avail himself of the expert Alan Stranks as a collaborator on the scripts. Thus was born ‘The Man from Nowhere’, the first part of a trilogy that takes Dan Dare and some of his companions out of the Solar System. The reason for the journey is the request for help from the Crypts, peaceful and defenseless aliens whose planet is periodically invaded by the Phants, bellicose inhabitants of an erratic twin planet.
The second part of the trilogy, ‘The Rogue Planet’, describes the guerrilla warfare waged against the invaders. Here Hampson’s perfectionism reaches incredible heights. There is no detail of the alien flora and fauna or of the cities that is overlooked, even the ranks of the phant soldiers are accurately described in the model sheets. Once peace has been restored between the two worlds thanks to the discovery of what makes the Phants so aggressive and the unmasking of the evil computer that wants them to be so, Dare returns home.
In ‘Reign of the Robots’ (the last part of the triptych) our hero discovers that, while he was making the interstellar round trip in suspended animation, ten years have passed on Earth; and that in the meantime something terrible must have happened, because London appears deserted, abandoned for a long time. Obviously, the Mekon is involved, which, having subjugated humanity in 2002, now uses it as a guinea pig for crazy experiments. With the help of the Therons, this time too the terrible little man is defeated, and perhaps then dies swallowed up by a sort of Venusian quicksand in the short adventure ‘The Ship that Lived’.
‘The Phantom Fleet’ follows, a controversial story, although also wonderfully drawn. It begins with an alien fleet approaching Earth. The Space Fleet is on alert, but Dare discovers that the spaceships are carrying a population of peaceful tritons being chased by other aquatic beings, their enemies, who are much less reassuring. Hampson, informed by Morris that readers do not like it, rushes to conclude the story, presumably without taking it too badly because he already has in mind what he intends to be the climax of the saga…
At the beginning of ‘Safari in Space’ we learn that Dan Dare’s past conceals a tragedy. When he was a child, his father, William Dare, a pioneer of space flight, died during the testing of a newly developed spaceship, which exploded in flight. Or so Dare thought, because a bizarre scientist now tells him that he has proof that the spaceship actually left for an extrasolar planet, Terra Nova. Thirty years have passed, but Dare and the scientist, determined to find out what happened to Dare senior, set off on a replica of that spaceship, the Galactic Galleon.
As mentioned, Hampson has big plans. The search for his father must take Dare to many planets, making him come into contact with just as many alien species, and in the artist's studio the appropriate models are already ready, complete with detailed reference tables. But the lives of the character and his creator are about to change radically, a turning point that will shock, but whose premises have been in the air for some time.
[to be continued in part 4]
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Dan Dare © Dan Dare Corporation – https://www.dandare.com/media
“The Dan Dare Corporation owns the global rights including Film, Television, Radio, Social Media, Publishing and Merchandising to the Eagle Comic and associated strips including Dan Dare – Pilot of the Future.”
All images are used for informational purposes only and are © their respective owners.
The opinions expressed in the article by the author do not necessarily reflect those of the Fumettomania Association, which aims to offer a platform that always guarantees the right to free expression through its website.
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SPECIAL PROJECT DAN DARE, MARGINAL NOTES
Article No. 1 – Part Three
Italian version: https://www.fumettomaniafactory.net/dan-e-frank-due-eroi-britannici-parte-3-apoteosi-e-catastrofe-b/
English version:
Article No. 1 – Part Two
Italian version: https://www.fumettomaniafactory.net/dan-e-frank-due-eroi-britannici-parte-2-di-gianfranco-sherwood/
English version: https://www.fumettomaniafactory.net/special-project-dan-dare-dan-e-frank-two-british-heroes-part-2-by-gianfranco-sherwood/
Article No. 1 – Part One
Italian version: https://www.fumettomaniafactory.net/fumettomania-presenta-speciale-dan-dare-pilota-del-futuro-prima-puntata/
English version: https://www.fumettomaniafactory.net/special-project-dan-dare-dan-e-frank-two-british-eroes-part-1/
Article No. 0
Italian version: https://www.fumettomaniafactory.net/progetti-di-fumettomania/contenuti-web-extra-dal-2012-in-poi/dan-dare-il-pilota-del-futuro/
English version: https://www.fumettomaniafactory.net/fumettomania-presents-dan-dare-pilot-of-the-future/
Source:
TERRE DI CONFINE magazine n. 2 – Aprile 2014
First publication: April 17, 2014 – ISBN 9788898585113
Un-periodical magazine about fantastic realized by Associazione Culturale TERRE DI CONFINE
in collaboration with PLESIO Editore
©2014 A.C. TERRE DI CONFINE
Largo S. Carlo 3/13, 33085 Maniago (PN)
redazione@terrediconfine.eu – www.terrediconfine.net
©2014 PLESIO EDITORE
Via Plutarco 38, 47121 Forlì (FC)
info@plesioeditore.it – www.plesioeditore.it
• All rights reserved •
BIOGRAPHY
DANIELE TOMASI is a multifaceted creative in the field of ComicArt, acting as artist, letterer, colorist, editor.
With the DTE brand, “the smallest publishing house in the world”, he edited and published three volumes of the “DebbieDillinger” series (where he is even the artist), the first number of “TetroTeatro” magazine (author of texts and drawings), the digital magazine “Continua…” (a free-distribution magazine with comics of various genres and authors, seven issues so far) and three issues of the magazine “Gli Archivi del Fumetto” (new issues and large-format volumes are planned).
He has created comics and illustrations for various Italian publishers (Tunuè, ProGlo, ComixCommunity, UndergroundPress, BotteroEdizioni, Pegasus/Comicus, Antani, Apache, AltaFedeltà).
He has worked as graphic designer for Italian publishers ProGloEdizioni, GreencomService, Shockdom, Palabanda Edizioni and Chimbe.
He has made lettering for Black Velvet and RW Edizioni.
He organizes courses about the Language of Comics.
In Internet you can see some of his artworks on the website danieletomasi.altervista.org , see other works and read some of his thoughts and opinions on the blog danieletomasi.blogspot.com , read for free some of the DTE publications in issuu.com/dteditore, read for free a fake storyboard of the “Spider-man” movie by James Cameron downloading the pdf (screen or print resolution) from the site spidercameron.altervista.org , write to him at the e-mails danieletomasi@gmail.com and dteditore@gmail.com
