SciFiNow - 06.2020

W W W.SCI FI N OW.CO.U K |^095

FLASHBACK

DAN DARE

as something daring and romantic.” After

all, what could be more optimistic than

volunteering to go to Mars, one-way?

That optimism, as expressed in Dan Dare,

can often be mistaken for being out-of-date.

Milligan notes this as Dan’s weakness,

especially in modern times: “When he fi rst

appeared, it was shortly after the war and

his type – the brave pilot – was a very

contemporary, recognisable hero type. He

represented something current and real. I think

the danger has been that as those times fade

he has become a kind of nostalgic fi gure, a

personifi cation of John Major’s imaginary

Britain... long shadows on county grounds,

warm beer, and invincible green suburbs.”

The fundamental conservatism Milligan

points out also means the characters were

not just of their time, but were remembered in

a very specifi c way, with all the challenges

and expectations that entails. “I think growing

up in the UK you’re always kind of aware

of Dan Dare,” Milligan points out. “In part

it’s a challenge to be tackling this iconic

fi gure. Also, he always seemed to me to be

a pretty remote and ‘posh’ kind of character,

representing a Britain that had already

vanished by the time I was growing up and

was aware of him. Maybe that means he’s a

bit of a blank slate, a shell that you can try to

breathe new life into and make relevant to the

modern world.”

That ‘blank slate’ approach has paid

dividends, both in Milligan’s take on the

character and in the earlier approach from

Garth Ennis. In both cases, Dan is a point of

calm but not stillness in a changing world.

He’s completely secure in who he is and

accepting of the changes around him. That

enables the character to stay relevant and true

to his roots, while at the same time providing

a gentle but absolute moral compass other

characters navigate by. It also allows writers

to update what is arguably the least relevant

part of Dan’s world: the depictions of his

friends. Peabody especially is originally little

more than an exposition machine, and Digby

is just comic relief. The challenge of making

them relevant, and fun, and still recognisably

themselves was one that the B7 writers met

head on, as Kurti and Doyle explain: “The

trick was to preserve the core values, while

repackaging them for modern sensibilities.

So we had to modernise the role of women in

the adventures, we had to acknowledge the

vast amount that is now known about space

exploration and our solar system [and] we had

to build in the real politik of what drives space

travel in the modern world – money!”

Kindness. Friendship. Adventure. These

three elements are always at the core of Dan

Dare and it’s no surprise that, in the seven

decades since he fi rst took off, Dan Dare has

never really come back into land. He’s been

referenced in songs from artists like Elton

John, Syd Barrett and Charlotte Hatherley.

He’s been the star of an animated series,

almost played by Sam Worthington in a big

screen movie, and written by three of the

acknowledged all-time greats of modern

comics: Grant Morrison, Garth Ennis and

Peter Milligan. Milligan’s witty 21st century

take is just as clearly Dan Dare as Frank

Hampson’s, just as you can draw a straight

line between the Radio Caroline original radio

serial and the current B7 Media series. That

begs the question, why? Why does he have

such enduring appeal? We leave the fi nal

word here to Peter Milligan, when we asked

him what Dan’s most important quality is:

“Decency. Times might change but at heart

Dan Dare remains a good bloke.”

Happy 70th birthday, Colonel Dare. You

keep fl ying.

The original Dan Dare comics are available

in hardback editions from Titan. The Peter

Milligan/Alberto Foche series, He Who Dares,

is available in print and digitally now. The fi rst

two seasons of B7 Media’s take on Dan are

available now from http://www.DanDareAudio.com.

The third is currently crowdfunding.

092-095_SFN_170 Flashback.indd 95 18/03/2020 22:59

W W W.SCI FI N OW.CO.U K |^095

FLASHBACK

DAN DARE

as something daring and romantic.” After
all, what could be more optimistic than
volunteering to go to Mars, one-way?
That optimism, as expressed in Dan Dare,
can often be mistaken for being out-of-date.
Milligan notes this as Dan’s weakness,
especially in modern times: “When he fi rst
appeared, it was shortly after the war and
his type – the brave pilot – was a very
contemporary, recognisable hero type. He
represented something current and real. I think
the danger has been that as those times fade
he has become a kind of nostalgic fi gure, a
personifi cation of John Major’s imaginary
Britain... long shadows on county grounds,
warm beer, and invincible green suburbs.”
The fundamental conservatism Milligan
points out also means the characters were
not just of their time, but were remembered in
a very specifi c way, with all the challenges
and expectations that entails. “I think growing
up in the UK you’re always kind of aware
of Dan Dare,” Milligan points out. “In part
it’s a challenge to be tackling this iconic
fi gure. Also, he always seemed to me to be
a pretty remote and ‘posh’ kind of character,
representing a Britain that had already
vanished by the time I was growing up and
was aware of him. Maybe that means he’s a
bit of a blank slate, a shell that you can try to
breathe new life into and make relevant to the
modern world.”
That ‘blank slate’ approach has paid
dividends, both in Milligan’s take on the
character and in the earlier approach from
Garth Ennis. In both cases, Dan is a point of
calm but not stillness in a changing world.
He’s completely secure in who he is and
accepting of the changes around him. That
enables the character to stay relevant and true
to his roots, while at the same time providing
a gentle but absolute moral compass other
characters navigate by. It also allows writers
to update what is arguably the least relevant
part of Dan’s world: the depictions of his
friends. Peabody especially is originally little
more than an exposition machine, and Digby
is just comic relief. The challenge of making
them relevant, and fun, and still recognisably
themselves was one that the B7 writers met
head on, as Kurti and Doyle explain: “The
trick was to preserve the core values, while
repackaging them for modern sensibilities.
So we had to modernise the role of women in
the adventures, we had to acknowledge the
vast amount that is now known about space
exploration and our solar system [and] we had
to build in the real politik of what drives space
travel in the modern world – money!”
Kindness. Friendship. Adventure. These
three elements are always at the core of Dan
Dare and it’s no surprise that, in the seven
decades since he fi rst took off, Dan Dare has
never really come back into land. He’s been
referenced in songs from artists like Elton
John, Syd Barrett and Charlotte Hatherley.

He’s been the star of an animated series,

almost played by Sam Worthington in a big

screen movie, and written by three of the

acknowledged all-time greats of modern

comics: Grant Morrison, Garth Ennis and

Peter Milligan. Milligan’s witty 21st century

take is just as clearly Dan Dare as Frank

Hampson’s, just as you can draw a straight

line between the Radio Caroline original radio

serial and the current B7 Media series. That

begs the question, why? Why does he have

such enduring appeal? We leave the fi nal

word here to Peter Milligan, when we asked

him what Dan’s most important quality is:

“Decency. Times might change but at heart

Dan Dare remains a good bloke.”

Happy 70th birthday, Colonel Dare. You

keep fl ying.

The original Dan Dare comics are available

in hardback editions from Titan. The Peter

Milligan/Alberto Foche series, He Who Dares,

is available in print and digitally now. The fi rst

two seasons of B7 Media’s take on Dan are

available now from http://www.DanDareAudio.com.

The third is currently crowdfunding.