Dan Dare Pilot of the Future: Marooned on Mercury

Dan Dare #4

by Frank Hampson (Illustrator), Chad Varah (Writer), Harold Johns (Illustrator)

It's the best of British as, once more, Dan Dare takes to the stars in this latest volume in this legendary series Believed dead after they successfully saved the Earth from the threat of the Red Moon, Dan and his friends have crashed on Mercury and fallen into the hands of the rock creatures that inhabit the planet To make matters worse, Dan's nemesis, the dreaded Mekon, is once more on his trail and Dan is again caught between a rock and a hard place This edition features an exclusive introduction by legendary Queen guitarist, rock god and long-time Dan Dare fan Brian May

Genres: Comics, Graphic Novels, Science Fiction, Fiction, Graphic Novels Comics

96 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 2005

Reviews

[Les Wilson]

Disappointing after the first 2 books but See note on voyage to Venus part one.

[Rob Thompson]

Dan Dare is a British science fiction comic hero, created by illustrator Frank Hampson who also wrote the first stories Dare appeared in the Eagle comic story Dan Dare, Pilot of the Future from 1950 to 1967 (and subsequently in reprints), and dramatised seven times a week on Radio Luxembourg (1951–1956).

The stories were set in the late 1990s, but the dialogue and manner of the characters is reminiscent of British war films of the 1950s. Dan Dare has been described as "Biggles in Space" and as the British equivalent of Buck Rogers. Dan Dare was distinguished by its long, complex storylines, snappy dialogue and meticulously illustrated comic-strip artwork by Hampson and other artists.

Hampson's working habits twice caused him to suffer serious breakdowns in health, leaving his assistants to continue the series. The first occurred after two episodes of "Marooned on Mercury" (1952), which was taken over by Harold Johns, from scripts by Samaritans founder and clergyman Rev. Chad Varah, who had known Marcus Morris in Southport.

This is the fourth book in the series of Dan Dare reprints from Titan Books. It was originally published in Eagle from 27/6/1952 (Vol 3, no 12), to 20/2/1953 (Vol 3, no 46). In this tale we see Dan taking to the stars once again. Having successfully defeated the menace of the Red Moon, the crew is unable to return to Earth. Instead, Dan and his friends crash on Mercury. They encounter the inhabitants of the planet: rock creatures. And before you know it the evil Mekon with his army of manipulative, amoral and vicious Treens make an appearance to re-establish his power base there.

The story is pretty straight forward though there are some nice twists along the way. Its definitely not quite at the same level as Voyage to Venus. It may, in some ways, be derivative of it, but there is still a lot to enjoy here. And the female character of Professor Peabody is excellent. It's quite amazing really how progressive this character is for a 1952 comic. Presented in a non sexualized way, she never comes across as being vulnerable because she is a woman. She is resourceful and throughout this story she comes across as being the most vital crew, above even Dare himself.

A downside is that the Mekon doesn't have quite as much to do here. Apart from sadistically torturing Digby.

Overall a solid adventure. It's exciting enough to not only keep your interest but it draws you into Dan's world to learn more.

[Jaretha]

Audiobook, could not find this edition or how to add it....ok listen

[Allison Tebo]

My brother finally talked me into reading this series (actually its more like watching a movie, the illustrations are so lavish and sweep you along so quickly).

He's still telling me that I should listen to him from now on.

I admit it - I was missing out for years. These books are awesome.

[Stephen Theaker]

I really enjoyed reading the stories of Dan Dare's great-great-great-grandson in the resurrected Eagle as a boy, so I'm always disappointed to find these original Dan Dare stories so dull. Getting to the end of this book really was hard work. I don't know why exactly. The subject-matter is the kind of thing I normally love, and it's impeccably drawn and designed. Maybe it's partly because Dan himself is so blank and uninspiring, or just because the stories are so drawn out and plodding. If I'd read this in the fifties (or even in the seventies) I suspect I would have loved it, but it does very little for me now.

[Karl Kindt]

A fun ride of 1950s adventure science fiction. It lacks the weighty quality of Hampson's later work in the Trigan Empire series.

[Peter Monck]

See my notes for 'Voyage to Venus: Part 1'. Good vintage SF, very much of its day. Good fun.