As I noted yesterday,Dan Dare is set to return but not as The Eagle comics version. John Freeman,on Down The Tubes [ http://downthetubescomics.blogspot.com/] reports a lot more in depth:
“
Information on Virgin Comics Dan Dare title due in November and news on a film project has begun to emerge.
The new Dan Dare comic will be written by Garth Ennis and drawn by Gary Erskine that, as downthetubes reported earlier in the year, sounds more in keeping with the character’s 2000AD incarnation that the original Eagle character, operating in a world where post-nuclear warfare has destroyed North America and much of Asia, leaving the UK as the world’s last remaining superpower.
The preview copy for the first issue describes Dan Dare as “once a hero who brokered peace with alien races, pushed the frontiers of space, and saved the planet from total annihilation… repeatedly.
“But now, his Space Fleet has disbanded, the United Nations has crumbled, his friends scattered to the solar winds. Britain is once again the world power, but Dare, disillusioned and disappointed in his once-precious home country, has quietly retired.
“But there’s trouble mustering in Deep Space. The H.M.S. Achilles is picking up strange signals when, suddenly, an enormous fleet of hostile ships ambushes the destroyer. As the crew struggles to stay alive, they realize with horror that the hostiles have brought a weapon of unimaginable power. Dan Dare, pilot of the future, has been called out of retirement!”
Dare — described by some US news sites as “Britain’s version of Buck Rogers” — has long been a favourite of Virgin’s Richard Branson, who led the effort to acquire the publishing, TV, movie and video game rights to Dare. (He’s even displayed artwork from the Dare comic series in Virgin Atlantic Airways lounges).
“Dan Dare is a heroic, thoughtful and fiercely independent character. I was an avid reader of his epic journeys,” says Branson.
“Dan Dare is the quintessential British hero,” says Ennis, whose credits include Judge Dredd, Preacher, Hitman and John Woo’s Seven Brothers. “He’s our Captain America, our Superman, our Batman; he’s all of them rolled into one.”
Variety (subscription required) reports Virgin is in the process of finding the right director, writer, and producers to work on the film version of the project, with the Creative Artists Agency packaging the potential film and meeting with clients about the project.
Eagle is of course owned by the Dan Dare Corporation.”
Well worth visiting the Virgin Comics site for up-dates:
If you liked my post, feel free to subscribe to my rss feeds
BlogoSquare