SCIENCE FICTION 553
of specially constructed models (for such things as spaceships) and real people to pose
as characters. Th e sequence’s science fi ction credentials were enhanced by the fact that
noted author Arthur C. Clarke acted as an advisor for the fi rst story. Other writers fol-
lowing Hampson included Alan Stranks, David Motton, and Eric Eden. Other artists
working on the strip were Harold Johns, Donald Harley, Bruce Cornwell, Desmond
Walduck, Frank Bellamy, and Keith Watson.
Dan Dare was initially devised by a clergyman, the Rev. Marcus Morris, as a reaction
to the perceived threat posed to British morality by the U.S. horror comics that were
being imported into the U.K. Dare himself was initially conceived as a chaplain until
it was decided to make him a pilot, and he became Daniel MacGregor Dare, Colonel
O.U.N. Interplanetary Space Fleet. Th is probably happened as a result of the fact that
the potential of the comic outgrew its initial conception, that of a small Christian pub-
lication, instead aiming to become a national children’s periodical, and it succeeded in
this with the help of publisher Hulton Press.
Dare’s nemesis was the Mekon, a green skinned alien with a huge, bulbous head,
off set by a small torso and limbs. Th e Mekon ruled the Treens, the inhabitants of
Venus, and Dan was aided in his fi ght against the Mekon by a strong supporting cast:
Albert Fitzwilliam Digby, Dan’s batman; Professor Jocelyn Mabel Peabody, nutrition
expert; Henry Brennan Hogan, a pilot better known as ‘Hank’; Pierre August Lafayette,
another pilot; and Sir Hubert Gascoine Guest, Controller of Space Fleet.
Dan Dare was reinvented in 1977 for the fi rst issue of the anthology 2000 AD, which
featured artwork by Massimo Bellardinelli and, later, Dave Gibbons. Th e Eagle was
re-launched in 1982 and featured a protagonist who was the great-great-great grand-
son of the original Dare, with scripts by Pat Mills and John Wagner, and art by Gerry
Embleton, followed by Ian Kennedy. In 1990, Grant Morrison and Rian Hughes pro-
duced Dare, a version of the original characters and strip but in the form of a political
satire. Garth Ennis and Gary Erskine have also recently produced a new version (2008)
for Virgin comics.
During this time EC Comics, infamous for its horror comics, also produced a num-
ber of signifi cant science fi ction comics. Both Weird Science and Weird Fantasy ran from
May 1950 to December 1953 as bi-monthly publications. William Gaines started
these sf titles by eff ectively discontinuing Saddle Romances at #11 (allowing issue #12
to become retitled as Weird Science) and Moon Girl at #12 (so issue #13 could become
Weird Fantasy)—these became a part of what is referred to as EC’s new trend publi-
cations, along with their crime, horror, humor and military/war titles. In line with
Gaines’s practice of saving money, he changed the titles of some of his existing comics,
but retained the numbering, allowing him to avoid second class postage charges. Th is
was a shrewd technique that he had employed when he began EC’s horror titles, but he
was soon discovered by the post offi ce and, as of the January 1951 issue, Weird Science
changed to issue #5 proper, with Weird Fantasy following suit with #6 in March 1951.
Both titles were later amalgamated as Weird Science-Fantasy in March 1954 (with
issue #23 on the cover), as a quarterly title, due to comparatively lower sales than
