Classic Dan Dare: Voyage to Venus pt 2 [Hardcover]

Frank Hampson (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: October 1, 2004 | Series: Classic Dan Dare (Book 2)

It's chocks away and tally-ho, chaps - Dan Dare, Pilot of the Future, is back! First published in classic British comic The Eagle, these are the original adventures of one of the best known and loved of British comic characters, presented in a new series of gorgeous library editions from Titan. In the second instalment of this space-faring story, Dan and his crew travel to Venus, hoping to find new resources to feed a starving earth. But the planet is already the lair of the pint-sized megalomaniac The Mekon, who plans to conquer the Earth! Includes background material exclusive to this book, with rare artwork, a new foreword and a previously unseen interview with Dan Dare creator Frank Hampson!

Editorial Reviews

Review

" ... a wonderfully exciting collection of stories, escapism for boys in short trousers stuffed full of catapults and cigarette cards." -- BBC Cult online, review by Nev Fountain, 14 December 2004

" This is brilliant, original science fiction, paving the way for such projects as Star trek and Star Wars..." -- Gatewaymonthly.com October 2004

About the Author

Frank Hampson was perhaps best known as the creator and original artist for Dan Dare, but he also illustrated a number of children's books for Ladybird. Dan Dare was first published in the British comic The Eagle in April 1950, and was last published as an ongoing series in 1996 - although Dan had undergone more than a few changes by then.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 96 pages
• Publisher: Titan Books (October 1, 2004)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1840238410
• ISBN-13: 978-1840238419
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 0.6 x 12 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.5 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,315,678 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Space adventure and the creation of consciousness, April 6, 2009

By 

J. Michael Innes "(Mike)" (Australia) - See all my reviews

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This review is from: Classic Dan Dare: Voyage to Venus pt 2 (Hardcover)

This second part of the adventures of Dan Dare on the planet Venus has to be read after the first part, obviously. But the second part does surpass the first in many ways. The art work, the rendition of color and drawings, the speed of narration, the imagination of the nature of life on Venus etc, are all on a par with those in the first part. But there are other things to the second part which to my mind set it apart. In this story, the first to present the character Dan Dare to the British public in the Eagle comic of the 1950s, the Earth is starving and an expedition is launched to Venus in order to explore the possibility of that planet providing the food resources needed on the home planet. Of course there are aliens on the planet, hostile and friendly and the story explores the heroism of the main protagonists and their alliances with goodies and baddies. The tale is exciting and beautifully rendered. But in the story there are the elements of core beliefs about the nature of human goodness, the perfectability of social structures and the possibility that mankind can conquer war and conflict. The Earth, while running out of resources, nonetheless has abandoned war and destroyed nuclear weapons. The forces which are eventually gathered by the Earth to invade Venus on the side of rightness are under the control of the United Nations. Leaders come from all nations and not from a few. Written in 1950 and 1951, the story creates an idea of life on Earth in the 1990s where there is peace, if not prosperity; a projection into the not so distant future of an ideal set in the late 1940s. The inspiration of the color and the artwork provide a basis where fundamental ideas of goodness, social justice and universal democracy can be sewn. The story, to my mind, still stands the test of time, even though the science is hopelessly wrong and the prediction of the future is completely erroneous. But the philosophy and the ideology can still be defended and supported. What a great legacy to leave in a medium thought at the time to be worthy only of being read by children, and not very able children at that! This edition plays a great role in reminding us of what great graphic art can do.