Spaceship Away goes Christmas Crazy!

Spaceship Away 25 cover by
Don Harley

The latest issue of the Dan Dare-inspired comic magazine Spaceship Away is on sale now from the title's official web site and selected comic shops and its content harks back to the days when a comic's editorial team really made the most of the Christmas holiday, offering a tie-in cover from veteran artist Don Harley and more.

Issue 25 - kicking off the magazine's ninth year in print - include a glorious Sydney Jordan scripted, Don Harley drawn Dan Dare Christmas comic story; more adventures of the Daily Mirror hero Garth; a further Journey Into Space episode (Bruce Cornwell takes over the artwork part way through); a two page Don Harley Dan Dare strip; and the continuation of Tim Booth’s “Parsecular Tales”.

Features include an article by Dan Dare artist Desmond Walduck, a new painting by Don Harley from the original Eagle story “Prisoners of Space”; an item about Spacefleet H.Q. by Charles Evans-Gunther; a fabulous Ian Kennedy centrespread, featuring three versions of Dan Dare (he worked on all three); news of another Frank Hampson find; another model by Sid Clark from ‘Dan Dare’s World’; and the board from the Dan Dare’s Race in Space game. (Time to get your dice and counters out at Christmas - what fun!)

Ian Kennedy's stunning Dan Dare
centrespread for Spaceship Away 25

The issue, which features a gorgeous Christmas cover by Don Harley, is topped off with a new Bruce Cornwell painting on the back cover.

Coming in the new year is the final episode of “Pre-Emptive Strike”, an all-new Dan Dare tale by John Freeman and Mike Nicoll (who are already at work on a further classic Dare story for the magazine), along with more artwork from Graham Bleathman, Don Harley and Gerry Embleton.

• Order Spaceship Away Issue 25 from the official web site here

Tim Booth conquers pages of latest Spaceship Away

Artist Tim Booth has pretty much taken over the latest issue of Dan Dare and Eagle-inspired comic magazine Spaceship Away, delivering not just art and story on most of its strips but colouring on a new Garth reprint, too.

We're sorry to report the issue doesn't include the second part of the new Dan Dare story "Pre-Emptive Strike". Unfortunately, artist Mike Nicoll was injured in a serious workplace accident and damaged his hand. As a result, he was unable to complete the artwork for the in time for this issue. However, it will continue in Part 25.

(Thankfully, although the accident was serious, Mike tells us he'll be back drawing pretty soon once it's healed and is already working on some new strip ideas).

Tim Booth has stepped in to fill the gap with an extra episode of a new Dan Dare tale,  "Parsecular Tales" that really gets his new story going.

Feature-wise, there are more photos from the Bayord Lodge Dan Dare Studio; a follow up on last issue's "Phantom Fleet" speculation; four new Don Harley artworks; and a newly coloured "Garth" story ("Finality Factor" which was drawn by Martin Asbury.

Three features also return: "Models from Dan Dare's World", "Chat Back" and "Readers' Corner".

• To get Spaceship Away delivered to your door, simply go to www.spaceshipaway.org.uk and follow the links. Spaceship Away is also available in some specialist magazine shops.

Spaceship Away 22 soars to the shelves

Spaceship Away Part 22, the comics magazine inspired by Eagle and featuring all-new Dan Dare advntures is now available from publisher Rod Barzilay.

This issue features a simply glorious wrap-around cover from Ian Kennedy and the Dan Dare adventure, Green Nemesis, has more pages than usual. Plus there's the usual selection of great comic strips including the start of a new Journey into Space tale, more of Frank Bellamy's Garth, coloured by John Ridgway, and another fine cutaway from Graham Bleathman.

Features include an article and more artwork from Eagle and Dan Dare artist Don Harley; while artists Bruce Cornwell contributes his own full Venus Shuttle colour cutaway development page from 1950 and Tim Booth gives an insight into his world.

Continuing the exploration of the history of Britain's favourite space hero, Pat Mills gives readers a behind the scenes, low-down on the later Dan Dares; Gary Erskine talks about the Virgin Dan Dare; and Rian Hughes is answering questions about his Dare, written by Grant Morrison. It's another cracking issue, so order now!

• To get Spaceship Away delivered to your door, simply go to www.spaceshipaway.org.uk and follow the links. Spaceship Away is also available in some specialist magazine shops.

Spaceship Away Soars Again

The latest issue of Spaceship Away, the science fiction comics magazine inspired by and featuring the original Dan Dare has just gone to the printers and will be on sale in all its usual outlets, and online, soon.

This issue, with a superb cover from veteran Dan Dare artist Don Harley, continues two ongoing Dan Dare stories, "Green Nemesis" by Rod Barzilay and Tim Booth, and "The Gates of Eden" by Tim alone, a brand new Dare adventure strip, set a year and a half before “The Red Moon Mystery”.

"Garth: The Bubble Man" by Frank Bellamy, beautifully coloured by John Ridgway continues this issue, as does "Journey in Space: Planet of Fear" written by by Charles Chilton, and drawn by Ferdinando Tacconi. Also featured is the first part of "Homecoming", an Ex Astris story by John Freeman and Mike Nicoll.

Feature wise, there's a report on the recent Spaceship Away day event and full information on Alistair Crompton's new book on Dan Dare creator Frank Hampson, Tomorrow Revisited, out later this year. Graham Bleathman providea a cutaway of Dan Dare's spaceship, the Anastasia, and there are some images of the original models used in the creation of the Dan Dare strip back in his original Eagle days, and an update on Day2Day Trading's new Dan Dare action figure which we've reported on here.

• To order the issue online visit: spaceshipaway.org.uk


• While we're on the subject of Dan Dare, comic fans may like to know he's invaded France... sort of. A page of "Dan Dare: The Man From Nowhere", first published in Eagle Volume 6, Issue 21, cover dated 27 May 1955 is currently n display at the Comics Museum in Angoulême. downthetubes readers Chris Weston and Sean Phillips helped out with the identification of the piece for the Museum after an appeal for info from Paul Gravett.

Garth Debuts in New Spaceship Away

The latest issue of the Dan Dare-inspired comics magazine Spaceship Away is on sale now via the official web site, and as previously mentioned, features the first installment of the Frank Bellamy Garth story The Bubble Man, beautifully re-coloured by John Ridgway.

Spaceship Away Part 19 - the title's sixth birthday issue - also includes articles on Frank Hampson's Epsom College days and the creation of comic strip Nick Hazard, drawn by Ron Turner, which also features in the comic magazine (also re-coloured by John Ridgway); plus new artwork from John M. Burns and all-new original Dan Dare comic strips - Green Nemesis and The Gates of Eden, both drawn by Tim Booth.

• To get the magazine delivered to your door, go straight to Spaceship Away Order Page