Review: Spaceship Away No.36

The latest issue of Spaceship Away has arrived, and it's a cracking issue! Published three times a year, issue 36 has 40 full colour pages with a solid content of top material. 

There's a brand new cover by the great Don Harley, who also contributes a back page illustration of Dan Dare. In the centrespread this issue there's a new illustration of Dan and Digby vs The Mekon, drawn by veteran illustrator Gerry Embleton. You may remember Gerry drew the initial new Dan Dare strip for the revived Eagle in 1982, but this time he tackles the original Dan, and it's a great illustration. (No, I'm not showing it here. Buy the issue to see it for yourselves.)

The all-new adventures of Dan Dare, Pilot of the Future continue in the serials Parsecular Tales and Mercury Revenant, both by Tim Booth. Incredibly detailed artwork. I still think these strips need a resumé box to bring readers up to speed. Four months is a long time to wait between issues and with all that people have going on in their lives it's difficult to remember the story so far without help. I appreciate that space is tight but perhaps by the use of a smaller font size a resumé could appear on page two every issue, beside the editorial?

There are two main articles in this issue and they're both excellent. I'm sure all fans of the classic Eagle will enjoy The Bruce Cornwell Story, a ten page feature  written by Bruce's son Anthony, with quotes from his father. A fascinating account of the artist's life and career.

The other article is a four page resumé by Jeremy Briggs of the strips that Dave Gibbons illustrated for The Hotspur and The Wizard in the mid 1970s. This is invaluable information for the many fans of Dave's work. I wasn't aware of most of the strips myself, not being a follower of those comics at the time. (Although I did cover The Year of the Shark Men recently. See here for that post.)

Other strips in this issue are 1950s reprints Jet Morgan in The World Next Door, humour strip Davy Rocket, and part 2 of Ron Turner's Nick Hazard and the Planet of Doom, coloured by Martin Baines.

There's also a free 20 page mini book featuring Chapter One of the prose story Operation Tau Ceti by Denis Steeper. 

As I said, all in all it's a great issue! It'll be available to order soon from the Spaceship Away website:
http://spaceshipaway.org.uk/

Here comes Spaceship Away No.35

Part 35 of Spaceship Away thudded through my letterbox this morning and it's a cracking issue to herald the 65th anniversary of Dan Dare. The excellent cover is by veteran Dan Dare artist Don Harley and he's also painted a fantastic centrespread featuring Colonel Dare and crew, plus an exclusive back cover of Chaplain Dan Dare, based on the original concept of the character as a vicar in space!

Inside this 40 page full colour issue there are two brand new Dan Dare strips by Tim Booth featuring the latest chapters of Parsecular Tales and Mercury Revenant. I'm pleased to see that Tim is now using a better lettering font than Comic Sans. This new font suits his work far better. 

Other strips in this issue include the start of the 1950s Jet Morgan serial The World Next Door drawn by Terence Patrick and a Ron Turner Nick Hazard story Planet of Doom, coloured by Martin Baines. 

It's good to see two humour strips joining the comic too, with Ray Aspden's new Thunderpants page and an uncredited Davy Rocket strip. I think Davy Rocket is a 1950s reprint but there's no information in the mag.

There are some great articles in this issue too. Alan Vince has written a six page feature on the artist Harold Johns, very well illustrated with examples of his work. Andrew Darlington looks back on 1969's Lion and Eagle merger and how it affected the Dan Dare reprints, and Jeremy Briggs writes about The Lost Eagle, the proposed 1973 revival of the comic that never reached fruition. There's the cover by Frank Bellamy of the dummy issue below but you'll see it full page size in Spaceship Away.

All in all it's a splendid issue and well worth checking out if you've never read it. Spaceship Away is published three times a year, with high production values to its printing. A quality product. You can order issues from the website here:
http://spaceshipaway.org.uk/

Spaceship Away 34

A new issue of Spaceship Away was published recently and it's another enjoyable edition. Nice cover art by veteran Eagle and TV21 artist Don Harley (who also illustrates the centre spread poster). He's still got it!

At £8.50 the comic isn't cheap, and some critics said it would never last, but here we are at issue 34. The price is down to its limited print run of course and its high production values, which I'm sure its readers appreciate. It's great to see the mag surviving as it always offers interesting and well produced content. 

Spaceship Away is published three times a year and as this issue will be the current one over the winter months the all-new Dan Dare lead strip kicks off with an authentic 1950s style Christmas Eagle cover. 

The artwork on the two Dan Dare serials is by Tim Booth (who also writes the scripts). Tim puts a lot into his work and the pages are evocative of classic Eagle. I just wish Spaceship Away didn't use Comic Sans for the lettering as it's not a good font and distracts from otherwise fine work. 

There's a complete 8 page reprint of a Jet Morgan strip by Charles Chilton and Bruce Cornwell from an unspecified annual (presumably Express Annual). Sadly this has been re-lettered with Comic Sans. Don't let that put you off though.

The issue contains some excellent features too. An illustrated review of the Dan Dare strips from the Eagle Annuals of the sixties and seventies, a fascinating account of the attempts to produce a Dan Dare TV series, an article on the evolution of Ron Turner's Space Ace strip, a fantastic new cutaway illustration of a Treen Interceptor by Graham Bleathman, and photographs of a 1950s 'Dan Dare Remote Control Helicopter' kit. 

There's a free gift with this edition too, in the form of a new 24 page Dan Dare prose story by Denis Steeper. 

To find out more about Spaceship Away and to buy your copy, visit the official website here:
http://spaceshipaway.org.uk/

Spaceship Away 32

A new issue of Spaceship Away has recently been published and contains a good mixture of material. Firstly it boasts a cover, centrespread, and back cover newly drawn by veteran Dan Dare artist Don Harley, reproducing memorable scenes from the original Eagle weekly. It's pleasing to know that Don is still drawing and can produce such excellent pieces of work. 

Inside, the 40 page issue kicks off with episode 13 of Parsecular Tales, a brand new classic style Dan Dare strip written and drawn by Tim Booth. As always, the first page is designed in a nice homage to the 1950s Eagle, - fourpence ha'penny price and all. The six page story has impressively detailed artwork but I felt it needed a resumé caption at the start to clue readers in on the story so far. Spaceship Away is only published three times a year and it's asking a lot for readers to remember the plot of a serial at such infrequency. I've missed a few issues and I found myself struggling to understand all the whys and wherefores of the story.

The same applies sadly to Shadow Over Britain, a reprint of a 1950s serial from (I think) Express Weekly. It's episode ten, but no resumé, so again a big drawback. Considering the price of each issue is £8.50 it would take the sting off a bit just to help new readers along. 

I would also question the use of Comic Sans as a lettering font. Notorious in the comics industry for being a poor font. There are many far better comic lettering fonts available. 

OK, that's the downside of the comic. There are many positives which easily outweigh those negatives. It was great to see an early Ron Embleton science fiction strip from the 1950s. (Original source not given.) Newly coloured by Martin Baines (and lettered with a better font that Comic Sans) it's a cracking 8 page story with a great twist. 

There are also three well researched articles in the issue. The first looks at the 2000AD version of Dan Dare from the 1970s, which is often unfairly dismissed by Dare purists. The strip had a lot going for it, particularly the strong artwork by Massimo Belardinelli and Dave Gibbons, so it's good to see it being given its due.

There's also an article on the later years of the Garth comic strip and the various attempts to revive it over the years. (It's currently being reprinted in the Daily Mirror, but will new stories ever appear?)

Rounding out the issue is a great feature on Norman Light's comic strip work of the 1950s. This is very welcome, as independent comics from this era are sometimes overlooked by comic enthusiasts. 

In addition there are photo features on the Dan Dare Rocket Gun and a superb Phant model. 

As mentioned earlier Spaceship Away is not cheap, but remember that the more limited a print run is, the higher the unit cost is to produce each issue. Also, the printing standards are top notch, with a laminated cover and full colour glossy interior stock. Although a fan publication, it actually looks better quality than many High Street magazines. 

Spaceship Away is not available in newsagents. To order your copy, visit the official website here: http://spaceshipaway.org.uk/