IN AND OUT OF THE EAGLE 31

The Web of Fear was a ten part Dan Dare adventure which began in EAGLE in the issue dated October 20th 1962. Written by David Motton and illustrated in black and white by Keith Watson, it featured an invasion of Earth by giant spider-like creatures which covered huge areas with dense destructive webs. Not one of Dan's most memorable adventures, it nevertheless had a memorable title, which was taken up six years later by Mervyn Haisman and Henry Lincoln for a six part Doctor Who serial, beginning on February 3rd 1968. 

Set principally in the London Underground, it did not feature spiders, but the Yeti creatures they had created for their Abominable Snowmen serial for Doctor Who some months earlier and which were controlled by a being that called itself 'The Great Intelligence'. The 'web' of the title referred to a deadly web-like fungus which engulfs much of London, necessitating a mass evacuation of the city. This story is regarded by many Doctor Who fans as a classic. It marks the first appearance of Brigadier Lethbridge-Stewart (then a mere Colonel) who would prove to be one of the Doctor's longest serving and most popular companions. The title was used again three years later, for an episode of another B.B.C. science fiction series - Doomwatch. This story was broadcast in February 8th 1971 and did include spiders. A vaccine experiment goes out of control and results in hundreds of spiders carrying a deadly virus. It was written by Kit Pedler and Gerry Davis, who had also contributed stories for Doctor Who and would certainly have encountered the title when used on that programme. Whether they had encountered Dan Dare's Web of Fear is not known, but Kit Pedler had been a Dan Dare fan in his boyhood. 

In the interests of completion, there was also a Spanish/French contemporary thriller film called Web of Fear, directed by Francois Villiers in 1964, but clearly David Motton used the title first on Dan Dare.