British comics superhero Dan Dare set for take off again

Pilot of the future marks 65th anniversary with publication of classic stories from the cult comic strip

Dan Dare, the quintessentially British comic strip hero, will turn 65 next year, and comics publisher 2000 AD is planning to mark the occasion with the release of some never-before-reprinted stories from the 1970s charting the adventures of the pilot of the future.

Dare and his trademark wavy eyebrows first appeared in the pages of the Eagle comic in 1950, created by Frank Hampson. Dare would go on to battle evil in space and his nemesis the Mekon in the pages of the childrens comic until it was put on hold in 1969. Eight years later, he was brought out of suspended animation to appear again in the first issue of 2000 ADs weekly comic, with the strip illustrated by Italian artist Massimo Belardinelli, and later by Dave Gibbons, who would go on to collaborate with Alan Moore on Watchmen. The Dan Dare strip ran until 1979.

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