Thrill Power, 1957 Style, in the new Eagle Times

The new issue of Eagle Times, Volume 26 Number 1 - the magazine published by the Eagle Society - features an interview article by downthetubes writer Jeremy Briggs entitled "A Thrill Of A Lifetime In 1957".

"The Thrill Of A Lifetime article in this Eagle Times has perhaps the most unusual back story any comics article that I have ever written,"  Jeremy tells us. "It began late on the Sunday afternoon of the 2012 Hi-Ex comics convention in Inverness when an older gentlemen called Bob Pegg spotted artist Graeme Neil Reid wearing a Dan Dare t-shirt.

"If Graeme had not have been wearing that t-shirt, if Bob and Graeme had not been so chatty to each other, if Graeme had not known that I wrote articles for the Eagle Society, and if I had not have been in shouting distance of Graeme at the time, then this article would not have happened.

“This is the story of a 12-year-old Yorkshire schoolboy who won a competition in Eagle comic in 1957 to fly both him and his father to Africa for an all-expenses paid holiday in what today is Zambia, Zimbabwe and Kenya.

"That would still be a major prize in any comic or magazine today - imagine what it was like over half a century ago for a schoolboy who had never been further from home than Wales, let alone even seen an intercontinental airliner."

Other features in this 25th birthday issue include -

Dan Dare Pilot of the Future on Radio Luxembourg - a review of the radio serial, sponsored by Horlicks, that aired five days a week on 208 Medium Waveband from 1951 - 1956. The article includes a story listing and is accompanied by a short article on the origins of the malted milk product known as Horlicks.

Serial Thrillers: The Adventure Serial on British Radio - a review of Charles Norton’s new book about four immensely popular series from the Golden Age of British Radio: Paul Temple, Dick Barton, Dan Dare and Journey into Space.

P.C.49 and the Case of the Circular Tins - a further adaptation from one of Alan Stranks' famous radio stories

An obituary of Charles Chilton MBE (1917 - 2013), the renowned radio writer and producer, and writer of the 'Riders of the Range' strip that ran in Eagle from 1950 until 1962, plus a report on the funeral service held on 11th January, 2013, to commemorate his life.

How I learned to stop worrying and appreciate the genius of John M Burns - a look at the career and varied work of one of the artists who drew Dan Dare for new Eagle in 1990.

When is a Hampson not a Hampson? - on the particular challenge and difficulties of reliably attributing Eagle Dan Dare artwork to its original creator and lead artist, Frank Hampson.

Charles William (Bill) Nuttall - Artist - a former Eagle letterer (Eagle Society member David Gould) provides a biographical review of the early career of lettering artist and illustrator, Bill Nuttall, and his personal recollections of working with Bill at Eagle from the mid-1960s.

Mann of Battle: Part 1 - a look at the World War II strip that ran weekly in Eagle from 1962 - 1964, written by Alfred Carney Allan and drawn initially by Luis Bermejo, then for most of its life by Brian Lewis.

Dan Dare Holiday Special 1990 - the third in a series of articles about Eagle-related holiday specials, this one looking at the only Dan Dare-specific special to be published.

Interviewing Marcus Morris - a photo-illustrated article recounting a visit in 1987 to the home of former Eagle editor Marcus Morris

Lion, King of Picture Story Papers - a review of Steve Holland's recent book about Eagle's 1950s' rival - the comic that eventually swallowed Eagle in 1969.

• Membership of the Eagle Society is via Annual Subscription to Eagle Times magazine, which is published four times annually. The subscription rate for 2013 is: UK £27 Overseas £38 (in £s Sterling, please) Postal applications to: Keith Howard 25A Station Road Harrow Middlesex HA1 2UA United Kingdom If you wish to pay by Paypal (to the eagle-times hotmail address below) we request an additional payment of £1.50. Enquiries: eagle-times@hotmail.com. 

• More info: http://eagle-times.blogspot.co.uk

Eagle Times reaches 100th issue

(Via the Eagle Times blog): The 100th issue of Eagle Times, the journal of the Eagle Society, is available now.

The picture on the cover of the issue  (Volume 25 No 4) is from the Dan Dare story 'Operation Saturn', art by Desmond Walduck (from Eagle, Vol 4 No 38, 24th December 1953).

The man at the rear of the picture has an obviously intentional resemblance to Dan Dare's creator, Frank Hampson...

In the issue:

• PC49 and the Case of the Christmas Ornament - a seasonal short-story featuring radios (and Eagle's) police hero, from the radio stories by Alan Stranks
• Christmas Customs from Hulton Press shows how Eagle and Girl magazines presented the traditions of Christmas in strip form in 1955 and 1953, respectively
• It Wouldn't be Christmas... revisits an article in the first Eagle Annual, in which Chad Varah told of the origins of some of the familiar Christmas Customs
• 'Starring Bayford Lodge', takes a look at how Frank Hampson used locations in his own home and, sometimes, members of his own family in his art, with examples from some of his post-Eagle work
• A Look at Luck - part 6, concludes an examination of the French Foreign Legion strip by Geoffrey Bond and Martin Aitchison, which ran in Eagle from 1952 - 1961
• A PC49 radio script: 'The Case of the Haunting Refrain', reproduces the final part of an Alan Stranks-written performance script
• 'From Under the 1950s Christmas Tree, Eagle Bagatelles' - a seasonal look at 1950s pin-ball games from the makers Chad Valley and Mettoy, featuring Dan Dare and Riders of the Range
• ''Eagle Summer Special (1966) - a (not so seasonal!) review of the second (of two) Eagle holiday special issues that appeared in the 1960s 
• 'Dan Dare Projected, Part 3: The Films' - this final part looks at the many 'Dan Dare' film strips that were available in the 1950s for use with the viewers and projectors previously described
• 'Churchill Revisited' - report of a visit to an exhibition held at the J.P. Morgan Library and Museum in NewYork (June - September, 2012), where the recent U.S. reprint edition of Clifford Makins' and Frank Bellamy's Life of Churchill, The Happy Warrior was found in the bookshop
• 'Report on the Eagle Day' provides an illustrated account of the event held at Great Staughton, Cambs, on 23rd September, 2012
• 'Remembering Terra Nova' - has a re-look at the Dan Dare story from 1959 that saw the last Dan Dare work of Frank Hampson and the arrival of Frank Bellamy as lead artist
• Rivals of Jeff Arnold - Hopalong Cassidy. A look at the origin (1904) and development of the character (from the 1930s through the 1950s) in film, radio, television and comics of the fictional cowboy hero, created by Clarence E. Mulford and played on the screen by William Boyd.
• Looks Familiar? (Dans in all but name) - on the Captain Jet Harrison Space Explorer Space Gun from Retro Toys and Games, and its seeming likeness to the Merit Dan Dare Planet Gun of the 1950s
• Writing a Lament - the writing of a musical accompaniment to Lament to a Dead Swan, which, as a 1954 schoolboys poem, won a prize from Eagle's Special Investigator, Macdonald Hastings
• 'The Intrepid Cowpuncher' discusses the feasibility of Dan Dare being (albeit in the fictional world!) a descendant of Buffalo Bill - as he joked in the 'Red Moon Mystery'

• To get a copy, join the The Eagle Society via Annual Subscription to Eagle Times magazine, which is published four times annually. The Subscription rate for 2012 is: UK £27; Overseas £38 (in £s Sterling, please). Postal applications to: Keith Howard, 25A Station Road, Harrow, Middlesex HA1 2UA, United Kingdom.

If you wish to pay by Paypal (to the eagle-times hotmail address below) we request an additional payment of £1.50: eagle-times@hotmail.com

Eagle Times Reaches Its Quarter Century

Eagle Times, the quarterly journal of the Eagle Society, has reached its twenty-fifth year of publication. By far the longest running British comics fanzine, Eagle Times has now been published some six years longer than the weekly comic that it celebrates, the original Eagle which ran from 1950 to 1969.

The current issue of the 56 page A4, B&W and colour fanzine is Volume 25 Number 1 and includes features on Luck of the Legion, the French Foreign Legion strip by writer Geoffrey Bond and artist Martin Aitchison that ran in Eagle from 1952 to 1961, the Dan Dare story from 1958, The Ship That Lived, about Dan's spaceship Anastasia, and the air pirate tale Sky Buccaneers written by Edward Cowan and drawn by José Ortiz which appeared ten years later.

In addition there are articles on the connection between artist Roger Dean and Eagle, the 1930s and late 1960s work of Eagle's main cutaway artist L Ashwell Wood, and colour photo features on the 1980 Eaglecon convention and Dan Dare toy figures from the 1950s to the modern day.

downthetubes contributors Richard Sheaf and Jeremy Briggs provide features on the exhibition celebrating the work of John Ryan, artist of Eagle's Captain Pugwash and Harris Tweed, as well as the Eagle cutaways of the Dan Dare artist Bruce Cornwell who passed away as the issue was at the printers.

Our congratulations go out to Eagle Times editor Howard Corn and his production team of Tony Crowley, David Gould, Will Grenham, Keith Howard, Nigel McMurray and Adrian Perkins on reaching their silver anniversary.

Eagle Times is published four times annually and is available via membership of The Eagle Society. The subscription rate for 2012 is: UK £27, Overseas £38 (in Pounds Sterling). Postal applications to: Keith Howard, 25A Station Road, Harrow, Middlesex HA1 2UA, United Kingdom.

More details of both the magazine and the society are available on the Eagle Times blog.

In Memoriam: Bruce Cornwell

It is with sadness that we have to report that artist Bruce Cornwell passed away on Friday 2nd March 2012. Bruce was best known to fans of British comics as one of the original Dan Dare artists in Eagle in the 1950s when he was part of Frank Hampson’s Dan Dare studio with his forte being the technical aspects of the hardware and spaceships. 

Dan Dare may be the work that he is best known for but he also produced such comic strips as Sammy In Space in Swift, Danny Dare in Wham, and Space Captain Jim Stalwart in Junior Mirror. His work stretched beyond comics into book illustration with many painted colour covers as well as internal line illustrations for books in the 1950s and 1960s including the two junior science fiction series written by EC Eliott, Kemlo and Tas.

In addition to comics and books he did commercial work for various organisations and companies including the General Post Office and the glass manufacturer Pilkington.In recent years, along with other Dan Dare artists of his era, he was persuaded to come out of retirement and contribute to Spaceship Away for which he produced Dan Dare themed paintings. Indeed the current issue of Spaceship Away, number 25, has a lovely painting by him of Dan’s spaceship, Anastasia, flying over Space Fleet Headquarters with the sea in the background.

 As a former merchant seaman, Bruce’s love of the sea could be seen in the colour cutaways that he produced for Eagle which were invariably of ships while, in 1953, he wrote and illustrated one of the Educational Supply Association’s People’s Jobs series of books entitled The Ship’s Crew. This gave the details of a fictional cargo ship, the TS Neptune, loading cargo, crew and passengers in the UK before setting off on its voyage and was illustrated with black and white line drawings and various cutaways of the ship.

We make no secret of the fact that here on downthetubes we are Dan Dare and Eagle fans: John Freeman was editor of the Titan Dan Dare reprint books, Ian Wheeler was editor of the Eagle Flies Again fanzine, Richard Sheaf writes for Eagle Times, the journal of the Eagle Society, while I also write for Eagle Times as well as Spaceship Away.

In recent years I had the opportunity to correspond with Bruce and he helped me out with information and quotes for a series of articles I wrote for Eagle Times on his non-Dan Dare comic strips. He was generous with his time while his memory of events, people and his work from more than half a century beforehand was quite remarkable.

His letters gave the impression that he rather enjoyed talking about this work, work that he had rarely if ever been asked about before, and he always appeared keen to help when I suggested moving on to the next article. Indeed the last thing that he wrote in what became his final letter to me was “keep your pen moving.”

On behalf of the team here at downthetubes, John, Ian, Richard and myself, may I offer our sincere condolences to Bruce’s family and friends at this time of sadness.

-- Jeremy Briggs

New Eagle Times released

The latest issue of Eagle Times - Volume 24 No 4 - is now available from the Eagle Society.

Contents include:

• From Under the 1950s Christmas Tree, Pepys Card Games - a seasonal look at the numerous Pepys games, which included some based around characters from Eagle ('Dan Dare' and 'Jeff Arnold') and Girl
• The Case of Christmas Presents - PC49 appears in a seasonal short-story
• A Look at 'Luck' - part 2 of a continuing series examining the French Foreign Legion strip by Geoffrey Bond and Martin Aitchison, that ran in Eagle from 1952 - 1961
• Working with David Hunt, part 2 - memories of working on 'Dan Dare' projects for the "New" Eagle editor in the 1980s
• Rivals of Eagle, takes a look at The Boy's Own Paper, the long-running boys' story paper, which lasted 88 years - from 1879 - 1967
• The first part of a series on Visual Memories of Eaglecon 80 - the only London comics convention ever held solely for Eagle enthusiasts
• PC49 and the Case of the Frightened Flower Girl - the conclusion of a new adaptation of one of Alan Stranks' radio plays
• Rivals of Jeff Arnold - the 9th in the series takes a look at 'Happy Daze', a comedy western strip drawn by Bill Holroyd for D.C. Thomson's Topper comic
• 'Dan Dare' Figures (from the 1950s to the present day) - begins by taking a look at those produced in the 1950s by the Crescent Toy Company and Eaglewall Plastics/Kentoys
• Ron by Ron - a lighthearted look at some of Ron Embleton's appearances in some of his own artwork
• L. Ashwell Wood, Cutaway Maestro - an addendum to the article in Eagle Times Vol 24 No 3, covering the Inside Information series, Odhams Books and the reprinting of Eagle cutaways in foreign publications
• Eagle Annuals 1971-1975 looks at the annuals that continued to appear after the original Eagle's demise as a comic
• 'Sammy' in colour - a strip from Eagle's companion paper, Swift, which was translated and reprinted in colour in the Dutch paper Arend - shown for the first time in English and colour
• A short biographical piece on David Motton, the 'Dan Dare' writer of the 1960s, who recently retired
• A report and photographs from the Eagle Society Annual Gathering at Midgham, Berkshire, 6th - 8th September, 2011

Membership of THE EAGLE SOCIETY is via Annual Subscription to EAGLE TIMES magazine, which is published four times annually. The Subscription rate for 2011 is held at the 2010 rate: UK £23, Overseas £34(in £s Sterling, please) Postal applications to: Keith Howard, 25A Station Road, Harrow, Middlesex HA1 2UAUnited Kingdom. If you wish to pay by Paypal (to the eagle-times hotmail address below) we request an additional payment of £1. Enquiries: eagle-times@hotmail.com

Latest Issue Of Eagle Times Now Available

L Ashwell Wood was Eagle's premier cutaway artist providing over 600 different painted cutaways for the weekly comic between 1950 and 1969. While some of these paintings have been reused in the recent Eagle reprint books published by Orion to date none of Wood's original pencils for these Eagle cutaways have ever been published.

Earlier this year downthetubes' Jeremy Briggs discovered the pencils for L Ashwell Wood's cutaway of the Royal Navy destroyer HMS St Kitts which was published in Eagle Vol 1 No 46 dated 23 February 1951. These pencils are published for the first time, alongside the final version of the cutaway as printed in Eagle, as an A3 centrespread in the new issue of Eagle Times. In addition to the centrespread, Jeremy supplies a detailed article on L Ashwell Wood's nineteen year career with Eagle comic.

Amongst other features in this new issue of Britain's longest running comics fanzine are the first part of A Look at Luck examining Eagle's Luck of the Legion, the French Foreign Legion strip written by Geoffrey Bond and drawn by Martin Aitchison, an examination of the real XCH-4 hydrofoil which inspired Frank Hampson's hydrofoil designs in the Dan Dare story The Man From Nowhere, and writer Alan Vince's memories of working for David Hunt, the first editor of new Eagle in the 1980s.

There are more details about Eagle Times Volume 24 Number 3 on the Eagle Times Blog.

An annual subscription to Eagle Times magazine, which is published four times per year, is via membership to the Eagle Society. Details of how to subscribe are also on the Eagle Times Blog.

Summer fun with Eagle Times

The Summer 2011 edition of Eagle Times is available now and features articles by downthetubes contributors Jeremy Briggs and Richard Sheaf. 

Here's the line up:

• Frank and the Newspaper Cuttings: a look at the use by Frank Hampson, throughout his career, of images of newspapers and newspaper cuttings, as a powerful visual aid to storytelling
• 'Daan Durf - Piloot van de Toekomst': Richard Sheaf delivers background on the 1980s Dutch reprint editions of the 'Dan Dare' adventures: De Mans Van Nergens (The Man From Nowhere) and De Woeste Planeet (Rogue Planet)
• Keith Watson - Drawing from Life: the use of live and photographed figures to achieve realism of the clothed human form
• Frank Bellamy's Pictorial Journalism: a look at some of Bellamy's illustrative work for newspapers, magazines and posters
• Dan Goes Back to College: a report on the unveiling of the bronze bust of Dan Dare at the Southport College of Art, following its recent restoration
• Rivals of Jeff Arnold - Buffalo Bill: part 7 of an ongoing series looking at the real and fictional Wild Western characters that appeared in British comics in the 1950s
• Eagle's Wanderers: an examination of two fictional football strips that appeared in Eagle. Part 1: 'Home of the Wanderers'
• Kemlo - the 'Spaceworld' books of E.C. Eliott: the life and work of Robert Martin, a prolific children's writer of the 1950s-1960s (who wrote the 'Joey' series under his own name, the 'Kemlo' and 'Tas' series as E.C. Elliott and the 'Pocomoto' western series as Rex Dixon), taking a close look at three of the 'Kemlo' series
• PC49 in the Case of the Crying Clown - part 2: concluding another adaptation of one of Alan Strank's famous BBC radio police adventures
• The David Pugh 'Dan Dare', part two: continuing an examination of the 'Dan Dare' stories drawn by one of the artists who took on the resurrected "original" Dan Dare in "new" Eagle 1989-1994
• Sammy, Swift's Space Fleet Cadet: Stripography - part 2, concluding Jeremy Briggs summary of the Space Fleet stories that appeared in Eagle's companion paper
• 'The Final Frontier': an extract from Arnie Wilson's Big Name Hunting, in which he relates an interview with Apollo 11 astronaut Buzz Aldrin

Membership of The Eagle Society is via Annual Subscription to Eagle Times magazine, which is published four times annually. The subscription rate for 2011 is held at the 2010 rate: UK £23; Overseas £34 (in £s Sterling, please). Postal applications to: Keith Howard, 25A Station Road, Harrow Middlesex HA1 2UA United Kingdom

If you wish to pay by Paypal (to the eagle-times hotmail address below) we request an additional payment of £1. Enquiries: eagle-times@hotmail.com

Eagle Times Enters Its 24th Year Of Publication

Eagle Times, the journal of the Eagle Society, reaches its 24th year of publication with three articles on British artists - from original Eagle, cutaway artist Hubert Redmill and the rather better known Brian Lewis, plus from new Eagle, Dan Dare artist David Pugh.

Eagle's link with 1950s radio are covered with the beginning of a new text story adaptation of PC49's radio adventure The Case of the Crying Clown and the transcription of one of the Radio Luxembourg's Dan Dare episodes sponsored by Horlicks.

In addition to these, and showing that Eagle Times does not cover just Eagle comic, there are articles on the comic strips Gun Law from Express Weekly and Sammy In Space from Swift as well as a heavily illustrated piece entitled Ron Embleton's Lovely Ladies ranging from the demure Maid Marion from Tell Me Why to the rather less demure Wicked Wanda and Candyfloss from Penthouse.

Eagle Times Volume 24 Number 1 is 54 colour and B&W A4 pages. the magazine is published quarterly and the annual subscription for 2011 has been held at the 2010 rate of UK £23 and Overseas £34.

There are more details of Eagle Times and the Eagle Society on the Eagle Times Blog.

Eagle Times Sample Issues Now Available

Eagle Times, Britain's longest running comics fanzine, is making sample issues available to purchase without the need to join the Eagle Society.

While the magazine concentrates on the original 1950s and 1960s Eagle, the current issue includes features on the career of artist Brian Lewis, a detailed look at one of the new Eagle Dan Dare stories illustrated by Ian Kennedy and Carlos Cruz, the Swift strip Sammy In Space, and a selection of colour photos from the Seacon 1979 World Science Fiction Convention which was held in Brighton. Approximately half of all the current issue's pages are in colour.

Begun in 1988, the 56 page A4 size Eagle Times is published 4 times a year by the Eagle Society but as it is a club fanzine it has not always been easy for non-members to find and purchase a single copy. The society is now offering non-members the chance to purchase a sample copy for £6 including UK postage or £8.50 for the rest of the world. This can be an available back issue or the next issue to be published. If the buyer takes the next issue to be published and then decides to join the society the cost of the sample issue can be deducted from the annual membership.

There are more details of the offer of the Eagle Times blog.

Details of the contents of the current issue, Volume 23 Number 4, are here.

Artist Brian Lewis profiled in new Eagle Times

The latest issue of Eagle Times for Winter 2010 is on available now and has the usual intriguing mix of Eagle comic-related goodies to offer, including a profile of the artist Brian Lewis, whose work included strips for Eagle, 2000AD, Countdown and House of Hammer.

Items include:

• Not all Lancashire Lads and Lasses - a brief article on the genealogy of ('Dan Dare' creator) Frank Hampson

• The Life of Another Brian - memories about the brilliant illustrator Brian Lewis, who among his prolific output drew 'Home of the Wanderers' and 'Mann of Battle' for Eagle in the 1960s

• The Incredible Shrinking Fish - a critical examination of the giant sea creatures that appear in the classic 'Dan Dare' story 'The Man From Nowhere'

• Sammy: Swift's Space Fleet Cadet - takes a look at the strip in Eagle's companion paper Swift that was drawn by 'Dan Dare' artists Bruce Cornwell and Desmond Walduck, and drew heavily on the imagery of 'Dan Dare'

• From Under the 1950s Christmas Tree - taking a look at the various Eagle and 'Dan Dare' stencil sets that were available for children in the 1950s

•  Visual memories of the 37th World Science Fiction Convention, Seacon '79, which was held in Brighton in 1979 - with guests who included Frank Hampson and Arthur C Clarke.


For a full list of contents, visit the Eagle Times blog. The issue also includes a review of Dan Dare - The Biography by Daniel Tatarsky and the Eagle Annuals between 1961 and 1971, published after the takeover of Hulton Press.

• Membership of The Eagle Society is via Annual Subscription to Eagle Times magazine, which is published four times annually. The Subscription rate for 2011 is held at the 2010 rate (UK £23, Overseas £34 - payment in £s Sterling, please).

Early applications for 2011 (ie before 31st December 2010) are offered a discount saving of £2 off the above rates. Postal applications to: Keith Howard, 25A Station Road, Harrow, Middlesex HA1 2UA. If you wish to pay by Paypal the Society request an additional payment of £1. Enquiries: eagle-times@hotmail.com

New Eagle Times Celebrates 60 Years of Eagle

The latest issue of Eagle Times, Volume 23 Number 2, Summer 2010, is on sale now from the Eagle Society, with highlights that include a photo-illustrated report on the Society's April 2010 gathering 'to celebrate Eagle's 60th Anniversary in Southport and a look at the ways in which alien languages were treated in the Eagle's 'Dan Dare' saga.

Also included are features on Space Captain Jim Stalwart by downthetubes contributor Jeremy Briggs - story synopses and foreign reprints, including in Spain's Futuro, of this 'forgotten' strip from 1954 drawn by Dan Dare artist Bruce Cornwell for Junior Mirror, a look at some of artist Ron Embleton's lesser known work, a review of some of the 'Authentic Plastic Assembly Kits' made by Eagle/Wall Plastics Ltd in the 1950s, plus recollections of the origins and activities of the Astral Group 'Dan Dare' Club in the 1970s.

The cover illustration for Eagle Times shows the celebratory Birthday Cake which was cut and consumed by members of the Eagle Society at the Southport event on 14th April 2010 - the 60th Anniversary of Eagle's first publication.

• Membership of The Eagle Society is via Annual Subscription to Eagle Times magazine, which is published four times annually. The Subscription rate for 2010 is UK, £23; Overseas £34 (in £s Sterling, please). Please apply by snail mail to: Keith Howard, 25A Station Road, Harrow, Middlesex HA1 2UA United Kingdom. Enquiries: eagle-times@hotmail.com

• Full contents list on the Eagle Times blog

Eagle Times Celebrates 60 Years

The latest issue of Eagle Times (Volume 23 No 1) is now available from the Eagle Society and, naturally enough, is an issue dedicated to the impending 60th anniversary of The Eagle on 14th April.

The issue includes an examination of the career of Sergeant Bruce, whose single-episode exploits ran for nearly four years in the 1960s Eagle, firstly as 'Sergeant Bruce, C.I.D.' and then in 'Can You Catch a Crook?'; a tribute to Geoffrey Bond (1920-2009), best known as the writer of 'Luck of the Legion' and who wrote the 'Justin Tyme' strip for Eagle Times; reminiscences of some of Ron Embleton's 'discarded' artwork; and a look at the life and career of Paul Trevillion, better known for his sports illustrations and his work on 'Roy of the Rovers' for Tiger, who drew some of the 'Can You Catch a Crook?' and 'U.F.O. Agent' strips in the 1960s Eagle.

Of particular interest to downthetubes fans, will be our very own Jeremy Briggs' feature on Jim Stalwart, Dan Dare artist Bruce Cornwell's 'forgotten' Space Captain, whose exploits graced the pages of the Junior Mirror in 1954.

Also featured is a revisit to the Eagle connections with Ladybird Books, including some examples of the work of Roy Worvill (writer) and covers by the artists Robert Ayton, Frank Hampson, Frank Humphris and Martin Aitchison, including a Humphris 'Ladybird' Rough, showing the sketch which led to one of the full-page illustrations in the Ladybird book.

• Membership of the Eagle Society entitles you to copies of Eagle Times, which is published four times annually. The Subscription rate for 2010 is: UK £23, Overseas £34 (in £s Sterling, please). Apply by snail mail to: Keith Howard, 25A Station Road, Harrow, Middlesex HA1 2UA United Kingdom. Enquiries: eagle-times@hotmail.com

Eagle Times Warms Up Winter

The latest issue of Eagle Times (Vol 22 No 4, Winter 2009) is now available from the Eagle Society, wrapped in this cheery winter scene that illustrated an article titled 'He wants to be a Postman' from the Christmas issue of Eagle published in 1956 (Volume 7 No 52).

(Anyone who saw Panorama this week will clearly be wishing for a return to such times when post people were valued rather than poorly served by their management...)

The full line up of contents includes:

• Eagle artists at home - recollections of Eagle illustrators Frank Hampson, Ron Embleton, Keith Watson, Frank Humphris, John Worsley, Peter Jackson and Don Lawrence in the 1970s and 1980s


• John Dyke - the third in a series of articles about Eagle's nature artists reveals what is known of the artist of 'Advice on your Pets' and 'Discovering the Countryside'


• Treasure, John Worsley and 'Wee Willie Winkie' - the PC49 artist's spot-illustration work for Fleetway's pre-school periodical Treasure


• Dimworthy and Co, part 2 - concluding a review of Eagle's school strip stories


• Rod Barzilay's Spaceship Away Day - photographs and review from the second gathering of 'Dan Dare' fans at Bournemouth in November 2009


• 'The Case of the Purple Paint' - a PC49 Christmas story


• The Late Jack Daniel - some personal recollections about Eagle's first 'Riders of the Range' artist


• Under the 1950s Christmas Tree - some toys Santa might have left for you back in Eagle's times


• 'Nowhere' is not quite what it seems - a review of the 1956 Pathe Pictorial on Frank Hampson and the 'Dan Dare' Studio, which you can view in part online online via British Pathe


• Is there Anybody there? - an address to the Eagle Society at the 2009 Annual Dinner


• Christmas Eagles - a look at Christmas issues of Eagle, its some of its companion and rival papers.


• Eagle Autographs, part 6 - a post-script covering the Eagle Club's figureheads


• What's in a name, part 2 - concluding a look at the career of the multi-talented Gerry Embleton, the artist who brought back 'Dan Dare' in "new" Eagle (1982)


• Eagle Annual: the best of the 1960s comic - a review of Orion Books' latest "nostalgia" publication


• Pop Music during Eagle times - part 18, covering 1967

To obtain a copy, join the Eagle Society via Annual Subscription, which includes a subscription to Eagle Times, which is published four times annually. The Subscription rate for 2010 is: UK £23; Overseas £34 (in £s Sterling, please)

• Apply by snail mail to: Keith Howard, 25A Station Road, Harrow, Middlesex HA1 2UA. Enquiries: eagle-times@hotmail.com

Eagle Times Delivers Danny Dare

The latest issue of Eagle Times features an article by downthetubes contributor Jeremy Briggs on Danny Dare (Dan Dare's Number One fan), who appeared in Wham! in the 1960s.

The cover art illustration for the issue is by Gerry Embleton and features 'Dan Dare' from the 'new' Eagle published in the 1980s.

The full contents of the Autumn 2009 issue are as follows:

• What's in a Name?

The first part of a look at the career of multi-talented artist Gerry Embleton, who contributed to the original Eagle as well as drawing the revamped 'Dan Dare' for 'new' Eagle in 1982

The Eagle art of George William Backhouse - a review of the career of the artist, concentrating on his work for Hulton Press.

• Dimworthy and Co.

An exploration of the schoolboy comic strip series from the 1960s Eagle

• The Rivals of Jeff Arnold, Part 2

'Steve Larrabee' from Lone Star comic

• Danny Dare

A review of the 1964 comic strip about 'Dan Dare's Number One Fan!', created for Wham! by Leo Baxendale and later drawn in part by Dan Dare artists Bruce Cornwell and Don Harley

• Colour Printing in Eagle

A brief account of the four-colour photogravure process used to produce Eagle, with examples of the colour separations and print combinations that led to a page of 'Dan Dare'

• Journey into Space: The Host

A review of Julian Simpson's new radio play featuring the latest adventure of Charles Chilton's Jet Morgan and his team of space explorers

• John Ryan (1921-2009)

An obituary of the creator of Captain Pugwash and Harris Tweed (Eagle), Lettice Leefe (Girl) and Sir Boldasbrass (Swift), plus John Ryan Remembered

• The Musical George Backhouse

Illustrating Master Melodies of the World for Amalgamated Press in the 1930s

• PC 49 and the Case of the Murderous Mouse


The third and concluding part of the story adaptation

• Lost Continuity in the Dan Dare strip

Commentary on an apparent inconsistency in the fictional Dan Dare timeline

• Hulton's Merchandising

An example of an Eagle and Girl merchandising advertisement that appeared in the trade magazine Games and Toys in 1954

• Another Eagle dummy?

• Pop Music during Eagle Times - 1966


To get a copy you'll need to become a member of The Eagle Society. Membership is via Annual Subscription to Eagle Times magazine, which is published four times annually.

The Subscription rate for 2009 is: UK £22, Overseas £34 (in £s Sterling, please)

Please apply by snail mail to: Keith Howard, 25A Station Road, Harrow Middlesex, HA1 2UA United Kingdom

Enquiries: eagle-timesAThotmail.com

• More information on Eagle Times and the Eagle Society at Eagle Times

Tube Surfing, 30 June 2008: Baxendale, Bernice Summerfield and Graveyards

Above: The Bash Street Kids, drawn by Leo Baxendale, start a circus in a story from Beano Issue 1063, published in 1963. Bash Street Kids © DC Thomson

• (via FPI): Leo Baxendale features in The Times today, recalling the early 1950s and his first approaches to DC Thomson, them taking on Little Plum, Minnie the Minx then the immortal Bash Street Kids. More details and links over on Forbidden Planet International's blog, or jump straight over to The Times. Talking of Leo, his next volume of memoirs, Hobgoblin Wars, is due fairly soon.

• Big Finish have announced that Simon Guerrier's book, Bernice Summerfield - The Inside Story, will be out in August. The book is a warts-and-all guide to the character first created for Virgin's Doctor Who New Adventures by Paul Cornell, but who quickly grew to feature in the Doctor Who Magazine comic strip and get brought to life by Big Finish in several audio adventures, voiced by actress Lisa Bowerman. More info here on the Big Finish web site.

• (via Bear Alley): The latest Eagle Times (Volume 22 Issue 2, Summer 2009) continues a run of excellent issues with more of the same. The cover story is a look at the nature artwork of Tom Adams, nowadays best known for his covers for Agatha Christie novels but who has had quite a diverse career over the past sixty years. Other features include looks at the Dan Dare stories Operation Saturn and The Man from Nowhere, Eagle Autographs, Rex Keene (the first in a new series of 'Rivals of Jeff Arnold'), the third part of a look at Heros the Spartan, a P.C. 49 text story, pop music in 1965 and a look at Eagle Holidays.
Subscriptions are £22 (overseas £34 in UK pounds) for four issues a year from Keith Howard, 25A Station Road, Harrow, Middlesex HA1 2UA. More info at: eagle-times.blogspot.com

• Congratulations to Neil Gaiman, who has picked up yet another award for his novel, The Graveyard Book, this time the 2009 Locus Award for Best Young Adult Book.

• A new web portal, Talenthouse launches today, aggregating the works of artists from multiple disciplines including music, fashion, fine art, graphic design, film and photography.
Based in California, the site is the brainchild of British recording artists Amos Pizzey and run by CEO Roman Scharf. It allows artists to build their own profiles for free to display their work in full screen mode, gather followers and alert friends when new work is posted.
Cynopsis Digital reports the site's business model includes selling subscriptions to its database to TV and film studios and talent agencies (like the Amazon-owned IMDBPro), as well as launching brand-triggered creative competitions to source the community for new designs (sort of a multidisciplinary Filmaka)

• Bloggers and other writers may be interested to know Google-owned YouTube has launched its own portal to help instruct citizen journalists about how to practice better reporting. YouTube's Reporter's Center features house-made videos, clips from seasoned Pros from Dover including Katie Couric and Bob Woodward and practical shooting tips from sources such as Howcast. Check it out at www.youtube.com/reporterscenter

Eagle Times Vol 21 No 4 Now Available

The Christmas issue of the fanzine devoted to the original Eagle comic, Eagle Times, published by The Eagle Society, is now available.

Volume 21 Issue 4 includes articles on artists Tony Weare and Ian Kennedy, the first part of a series of features on Frank Bellamy's Heros the Spartan, beginning a review of Eagle's popular 1960s sword and sorcery strip.

The issue's "I was there" feature covers the launch of Denis Gifford's Ally Sloper Magazine in 1976 and there's more onthe title's 2nd issue dummy, including Norman Thelwell's Pop Milligan and Frank Hampson's The Great Adventurer.

Joan Porter's recollections of the Bakehouse Studio in the 1950s also feature, as does Part two of The Career of Ian Kennedy from the eighties to the new millennium.

Membership of The Eagle Society is via Annual Subscription to Eagle Times magazine, which is published four times annually. The Subscription rate for 2009 is UK £22, Overseas £34 (paymenst must be in £s Sterling, please)

To join, apply by mail to: Keith Howard, 25A Station Road, Harrow, Middlesex HA1 2UA United Kingdom. Enquiries: eagle-times@hotmail.com

• More information on the new issue via the Eagle Times blog

New Eagle Times Available Now

The latest issue of Eagle Times, the quarterly journal dedicated to Britain's national picture strip weekly Eagle, features 50+ A4 pages (of which 20 are in full colour) of all sorts of things to do with Eagle and boys' comics of the 1950s and 60s.

This issues includes articles on Dan Dare creator Frank Hampson; artists Ian Kennedy, who helped shape the look of the 1980s Dan Dare, Tony 'Matt Mariott' Weare and Ron Embleton; Dan Dare reviews; a PC49 story; and more on the recently discovered 2nd Eagle dummy (see our previous news story).

If you subscribe for 2009 before 31/12/08 costs are £20/year for UK based members or £32 for overseas. Subscribing after this date will cost you a extra £2.

Membership secretary is Keith Howard, 25a Station Road, Harrow, Middlesex, HA1 2UA
Cheques should be made payable to "Eagle Society"

• Further information about Eagle Times and the Eagle from eagle-times.blogspot.com

Eagle Times Vol 21 No 3 Available

The latest issue of Britain's longest running comics fanzine, Eagle Times, is now available.

After downthetubes contributor Richard Sheaf's article on the newly discovered dummy issue of Eagle number 2 in the last issue, downthetube's contributions to the 54 page A4 fanzine continue with the first part of Jeremy Briggs' major article on artist Ian Kennedy which covers his career from the 1950s to the 1970s and so sets the scene for his work on new Eagle's Dan Dare in the 1980s.

The new issue also features more on the Eagle issue 2 dummy as well as articles on artist Tony Weare, who turned down the offer to work on Dan Dare, Ron Embleton's Heroes of the West series for Kellogg's cereal boxes, and Dan Dare creator Frank Hampson's time working at NESCOT college. Reviews include the Virgin Dan Dare comic and the Orion Dan Dare audio book Voyage To Venus Part 1.

Eagle Times is published quarterly and is available from the Eagle Society. Current subscription rates are UK £22, overseas £26. More details are available on the Eagle Times Blog.

Eagle Times' Summer Release

The latest issue of the Eagle Society's magazine Eagle Times (Vol 21 No 2, Summer 2008) is now available by mail order.

The magazine includes features on the artists who worked on the Riders of the range strip, a look at the second 'dummy' issue of Eagle - used to help sell the title before it launched - a tribute to Sir Arthur C. Clarke, a review of the 2008 Eagle Society Weekend and more. Full content details can be found on the Eagle Society blog.

Membership of THE EAGLE SOCIETY is via Annual Subscription to EAGLE TIMES magazine, which is published four times annually.

Current Subscription rates are:
UK £22
Overseas £26
(in £s Sterling, please)

Please apply by snail mail to:
Keith Howard
25A Station Road
Harrow Middlesex
HA1 2UA
United Kingdom

Enquiries: eagle-times@hotmail.com