Dan Dare

Dan Dare is a British space pilot and hero of the future, serving as Earth's chief astronaut and facing threats from across the galaxy — most famously the villainous Mekon of Venus — in Frank Hampson's landmark science-fiction strip.

Few characters capture the soaring optimism of postwar Britain quite like Dan Dare, who burst onto the scene in the very first issue of Eagle in 1950, brought to life by the visionary Frank Hampson in one of comics' most celebrated debuts. A true Golden Age pioneer published by Hulton Press, he graced the pages of Eagle and Eagle Magazine alongside the likes of Sir Hubert Guest and Albert Digby, making each issue feel like an event. Hampson's painterly artwork and bold storytelling set a standard that made Eagle a cultural institution, and Dan Dare its undisputed flagship — a character whose first appearance is the kind of key issue collectors genuinely treasure.