Dan Dare Pilot of the Future: Marooned on Mercury

Dan Dare is a British science fiction comic hero, created by illustrator Frank Hampson who also wrote the first stories Dare appeared in the Eagle comic story Dan Dare, Pilot of the Future from 1950 to 1967 (and subsequently in reprints), and dramatised seven times a week on Radio Luxembourg (1951–1956).

The stories were set in the late 1990s, but the dialogue and manner of the characters is reminiscent of British war films of the 1950s. Dan Dare has been described as “Biggles in Space” and as the British equivalent of Buck Rogers. Dan Dare was distinguished by its long, complex storylines, snappy dialogue and meticulously illustrated comic-strip artwork by Hampson and other artists.

Hampson's working habits twice caused him to suffer serious breakdowns in health, leaving his assistants to continue the series. The first occurred after two episodes of “Marooned on Mercury” (1952), which was taken over by Harold Johns, from scripts by Samaritans founder and clergyman Rev. Chad Varah, who had known Marcus Morris in Southport.

This is the fourth book in the series of Dan Dare reprints from Titan Books. It was originally published in Eagle from 27/6/1952 (Vol 3, no 12), to 20/2/1953 (Vol 3, no 46). In this tale we see Dan taking to the stars once again. Having successfully defeated the menace of the Red Moon, the crew is unable to return to Earth. Instead, Dan and his friends crash on Mercury. They encounter the inhabitants of the planet: rock creatures. And before you know it the evil Mekon with his army of manipulative, amoral and vicious Treens make an appearance to re-establish his power base there.

The story is pretty straight forward though there are some nice twists along the way. Its definitely not quite at the same level as Voyage to Venus. It may, in some ways, be derivative of it, but there is still a lot to enjoy here. And the female character of Professor Peabody is excellent. It's quite amazing really how progressive this character is for a 1952 comic. Presented in a non sexualized way, she never comes across as being vulnerable because she is a woman. She is resourceful and throughout this story she comes across as being the most vital crew, above even Dare himself.

A downside is that the Mekon doesn't have quite as much to do here. Apart from sadistically torturing Digby.

Overall a solid adventure. It's exciting enough to not only keep your interest but it draws you into Dan's world to learn more.