tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9338033213684863212024-03-17T18:07:23.994+00:00EAGLE-TIMESRemembering EAGLE - the premier British Boys' magazine of the 1950s and 1960sUnknownnoreply@blogger.comBlogger233125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-933803321368486321.post-83702612534371248082024-02-28T13:51:00.002+00:002024-03-02T11:29:02.477+00:00THE GUINEA PIG<p> <i>Steve Winders analyses this unusual strip from the sixties EAGLE.</i></p><p><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjnmJGCc3TGvxcTbAbrjYoZTo4ycqKHxHZmdCeRXE1idbeuDOyGbBBFupzMIerpuUpbOn2RBDSuzazB4RcUHE1IYjAl1EZwcZ3yNIwzT7KuC58fjHQdY_OefGf4DBlDPE-f9rMdrOT_TZ6zJB7CzBWmGCsVClrTiA4sXpnlN8K6cj9y8C6wXM4_vKhWPtBQ/s440/GP3.jpg" style="clear: left; display: inline; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="440" data-original-width="380" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjnmJGCc3TGvxcTbAbrjYoZTo4ycqKHxHZmdCeRXE1idbeuDOyGbBBFupzMIerpuUpbOn2RBDSuzazB4RcUHE1IYjAl1EZwcZ3yNIwzT7KuC58fjHQdY_OefGf4DBlDPE-f9rMdrOT_TZ6zJB7CzBWmGCsVClrTiA4sXpnlN8K6cj9y8C6wXM4_vKhWPtBQ/s320/GP3.jpg" width="276" /></a>In the mid sixties, many of <i>EAGLE's </i>heroes had special powers beyond those of ordinary people and faced equally supernatural and powerful enemies. The 'Iron Man' looked human, but was actually an immensely strong steel robot with an advanced computer brain. Major Grant was given the ability to change into smoke by benevolent alien allies. Even the schoolboy heroes, Billy Binns and Mickey Merlin, had remarkable powers. There is no doubt that these stories proved popular with readers at the time. <i>EAGLE's </i>rival comics were full of such stories and American comics were even more dependent on heroes with super powers.</p><p>Into this culture of heroes and villains with extraordinary abilities came a new story, which began in January 1965, that took an ordinary person and placed him in a range of different situations, giving him different powers and different challenges for each one. This was 'The Guinea Pig', a strip about a man employed to test new discoveries at a Dartmoor Research Centre. Unlike the stories of heroes with special powers, where the powers were invariably beneficial, those bestowed on Mike Lane as a human 'Guinea Pig' were usually the cause of the problems in the stories. The strip took the popular comic theme of super powers and explored their potential risks and it questioned the popular view that scientific exploration is necessarily good, by showing many of the experiments having catastrophic results. </p><p>The Dartmoor Centre was run by Professor Cornelius Dee, the only other regular character in the stories and the inventor of almost all the discoveries that Mike Lane tests in the strip. The professor must have been a remarkable man as his work covered every area of Science. Mike Lane tested drugs, radiation treatments, weapons, armour and a whole range of transport vehicles for him. Perhaps if he had specialised more, there might have been fewer disasters! </p><p>Professor Dee is a bald, bespectacled man who is confined to a wheelchair. His large cranium, coupled with the fact that he is permanently seated, invites comparison with the Mekon, but Dee is not a villain. However, he is not exactly a hero either. Indeed he is the most ambivalent regular character to appear in any series in <i>EAGLE. </i>Ruthless and uncompromising in his pursuit of scientific discovery, he nevertheless shows concern about Mike's safety during some of the experiments. Mike Lane is a much more traditional <i>EAGLE </i>hero. The introductory caption to the first episode says: "Mike had been many things in his time - fighter pilot, wrestler, even a revolutionary fighter in a South American war!" In appearance, he is again a typical <i>EAGLE </i>hero. Tall, athletically built, with short fair hair and no overtly prominent facial features, he resembles many other British comic heroes of the time. </p><p>The real difference about 'The Guinea Pig' is in its often negative attitude to scientific discoveries. This was a new stance for <i>EAGLE, </i>which had consistently praised and supported science. Its most popular and endearing character 'Dan Dare' was a space pilot whose adventures took place in a brighter and better world of the future, enhanced by technological advances. <i>EAGLE's </i>famous cutaway drawings of technological marvels were a popular feature from its start to the end and the comic regularly ran other series about new innovations, which were always enthusiastic in tone. </p><p>Originated by William Patterson, who wrote the famous 'Jeff Hawke' daily science fiction strip for the <i>Daily Express, </i>'The Guinea Pig' began in <i>EAGLE, </i>Volume 16 No. 2, in January 1965 and finished in <i>EAGLE'S </i>penultimate issue, Volume 20 No. 16, dated April 19th, 1969. After appearing on two pages in black and white for the first four episodes, the strip then occupied one-an-a half black and white pages until September 1967, when it moved to the centre pages in colour. The first two episodes were drawn by Colin Andrew, who was replaced by Brian Lewis in early February and then by Gerald Haylock, who took over in the issue dated November 27th 1965 (Volume 16 No. 48). The early artwork by Colin Andrew, with its gloomy backgrounds, recalled his work on 'What is Exhibit X?' an eerie science fiction strip he drew for <i>Boys' World. </i>His style suited 'Exhibit X' very well, but was a little too dark for 'The Guinea Pig', which although often pessimistic about the success of science, was not as frightening or unsettling as the <i>Boys' World </i>story. Brian Lewis' style was more appropriate, with its sharper and more detailed backgrounds and effective depiction of action scenes. However, the artist who had the longest run on the strip was Gerald Haylock, who illustrated the strip for more than three years. Haylock had previously drawn almost the whole run of 'Knights of the Road' in the early sixties for <i>EAGLE. </i>His line work was much sketchier than Lewis', but his backgrounds were quite detailed and his depiction of movement and facial expression was good. In 'The Guinea Pig' he used sharply angled frames reminiscent of Frank Bellamy's work, to convey action and movement more dynamically. He was a reliable and consistent artist who served the strip well. Most stories ran for between four and eight episodes, with occasional shorter and longer ones. </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh0z7XRP2GtxspM2DFQLbzLD1tJIr7cwImlJVcnv9AG3neAzRgbtGfSDlrTBwPaXo0hBEAqh2E8sx99qLOvInsvHJRsxJMNFghTYvj92c6DebWMKsM0q2WYIos6ctmunbjXdLxTbSy7RGjgWTHagor5ruB3oOvBEvLNe0A_O0pCvdRusIU9EngbDv2Sx4N_/s1355/GP4.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1355" data-original-width="1022" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh0z7XRP2GtxspM2DFQLbzLD1tJIr7cwImlJVcnv9AG3neAzRgbtGfSDlrTBwPaXo0hBEAqh2E8sx99qLOvInsvHJRsxJMNFghTYvj92c6DebWMKsM0q2WYIos6ctmunbjXdLxTbSy7RGjgWTHagor5ruB3oOvBEvLNe0A_O0pCvdRusIU9EngbDv2Sx4N_/w301-h400/GP4.jpg" width="301" /></a></div><p>In September 1967, during Haylock's tenure, <i>EAGLE </i>altered in size and the strip moved to the colour centre pages. It occupied these pages until the issue dated 10th August 1968, when 'The Circus Wanderers' took over the centre spread. 'The Guinea Pig' then continued on two black and white pages per week. However, the strip occupied the front page eight times during <i>EAGLE's </i>final year, as the comic introduced a policy of rotating the principal strips on the cover. On these occasions, the second page of the strip was printed in colour on the back page or in black and white on page two. </p><p>Gerald Haylock stayed with the strip until the issue dated 4th January 1969. By this time the fateful decision to close <i>EAGLE </i>had been taken and the strip was drawn by several artists until the end of its run. These included Carlos Pino, whose work on the final story means that he is one of a handful of artists who have contributed to both versions of <i>EAGLE. </i></p><p>Although William Patterson wrote the first story and several others, many other writers worked on the strip at different times. This was unusual for <i>EAGLE, </i>even in the sixties, but 'The Guinea Pig' was an unusual story. With only two regular characters to write for, it was not difficult for new writers to take over and as the strip depended so heavily on their ability to devise new and interesting experiments, it benefitted from changing writers, because each one brought new ideas. Among the contributors to the strip were Robert Bartholomew, Tom Tully, David Motton, Frederick Smith and Alfred Wallace. </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj_WmoEJIf01JCFLCIGKSh5QaIkXSJTSp_uQSDHB1-A_0GCN2H5nRWpB8INYb362OFKc25-cH6881G9j9IRtWilTgALUwv3EfeUZY_WBWEQ0C5P98cu-97SA7vaFMuh7M_mdhqV5WniZhFfE4Nx3VfB_EfnYNVpj3mOslsJkZ6T6kWnu2V_PD6UcqrbdbXS/s685/GP8.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="487" data-original-width="685" height="285" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj_WmoEJIf01JCFLCIGKSh5QaIkXSJTSp_uQSDHB1-A_0GCN2H5nRWpB8INYb362OFKc25-cH6881G9j9IRtWilTgALUwv3EfeUZY_WBWEQ0C5P98cu-97SA7vaFMuh7M_mdhqV5WniZhFfE4Nx3VfB_EfnYNVpj3mOslsJkZ6T6kWnu2V_PD6UcqrbdbXS/w400-h285/GP8.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><p>The first story, drawn by Colin Andrew and Brian Lewis, shows Mike Lane testing a formula which enables him to pass through solid objects. Once the formula begins to take effect, he cannot hear sound as his ear drums are not solid, so sound waves cannot vibrate against them, which is scientifically correct. However, Professor Dee does not start to explain the risks that Mike faces until after he has taken the tablet and fails to warn him about the fact that he may start to become solid again at any time during the next half hour. If he becomes solid while passing through a concrete wall then he will die!</p><p>While the professor's late warning sets up the dramatic thrust of the story, it is ridiculous that he would not explain the potential effects and risks to Mike before he took the tablet. But Dee's irresponsible management is quickly matched by Mike's, who sets off on a tour of the research centre. Causing panic in the building, which he floats through like a ghost, Mike goes outside and explores the rocket launching area, just as a rocket is about to take off. Unaffected by heat, gases and the force of the missile, Mike examines the launch at a very close quarters. The rocket then explodes on the launch pad and a moment later, Mike begins to revert to solidity. Suffering from a few minor burns, he returns to the anxious professor, who sacks him for behaving irresponsibly! However, when he explains that he saw a fuel tank in the rocket spring a leak as it was taking off, he is immediately reinstated. His observation will save millions of pounds. </p><p>The second experiment is really part of the first story, as there are strong links between the two. This time, Mike tests an anti-gravity suit. This resembles a space-suit in appearance, which is just as well, because it defies gravity to take him into space. It has a control panel on the chest, which allows Mike to direct it and he floats off to the Moon! On arrival, he explores a crater which turns out to be a large tentacled creature resembling a jelly fish, which has the power to transform itself into its surroundings. The creature engulfs Mike and he cannot break free from its clutches. Desperately he activates the anti-gravity suit and brings the creature all the way back to Earth with him. </p><p>On this occasion, the professor has fortunately fitted Mike with a radio and so armed troops are ready when he and his strange passenger arrive back at base. The soldiers disable the creature with gas shells and it releases Mike from its grip. Professor Dee thinks it is dead, but the creature transforms itself into a building and begins to engulf people inside itself. If the professor uses explosives to destroy it, then the people inside it will be killed. </p><p>Mike suggests that he takes another of the non-solid pills, so that he can pass into the creature and find its heart or a nerve centre that can then be attacked. The professor agrees and Mike manages to get inside the 'building' that the alien has become. He succeeds in finding the heart of the creature, but then begins to turn solid again. Some of the creature's 'walls' are transparent, so the professor can see Mike through a telescope from his cover position. Mike points in the direction of the creature's heart and the troops blast it with shells. This time the creature does die, but Mike has been injured by it. Fortunately, the blasting did not hit him and he recovers to be hailed a hero. The professor announces that he has another job lined up for him, but Mike declares that he has a headache and in a rare, but justifiable moment of rebellion, calls him a "slave driving old goat,". The professor accepts this with good grace, but tells Mike that his next job will be a tough one and not like the simple ones he's had so far! </p><p>These first two experiments contain some highly dubious science. When Mike becomes ethereal he loses the ability to speak and hear, but surely he would also lose the power to move himself around. The anti-gravity suit has a 'control panel' but no propulsion unit, yet Mike is able to control his movement through space and presumably at considerable speed, because he manages to propel himself all the way to the Moon and back in very little time. The Moon is 238,855 miles away from Earth. The issue of propulsion is briefly explained by saying that Mike can direct his movement by moving his arms about, but this is not a satisfactory explanation as there is nothing for him to push against in space. While a comic story cannot be expected to get bogged down with scientific explanation, the issues could have been better explored. 'The Guinea Pig' provided an excellent opportunity for a little science education 'without force'. Nevertheless, the story was well received and thanks to a wide variety of themes in the following stories, 'The Guinea Pig' quickly established itself as a popular strip. </p><p>Prominent in the early stories was one where Mike travels fifty miles beneath the Earth in 'The Braxby Mole', a craft which drills through rock. There, in a huge subterranean cavern he and his companions encounter the descendants of English and Spanish sailors from Elizabethan times, who still dress and speak as their ancestors did. The Spaniards live on a galleon which somehow made its way into an underground river four hundred years ago and became grounded in the cave. The two groups are still at war with each other, so Mike and his team from the Mole try to negotiate. However, this fails and the Mole undermines the galleon, which collapses. Mike and his team find a treasure hoard on the now wrecked ship and take it back to the surface along with a friendly Elizabethan called Trelawny, who has helped them. </p><p>Drawn by Brian Lewis, this exciting and memorable story ran for thirteen episodes, between March and June 1965. Unfortunately, once again adequate explanations for several important aspects of the story are not forthcoming. Mike speculates as to how exactly the Spanish galleon got into a cavern fifty miles below the Earth's surface. He suggests that the river, which is now fed by an immense waterfall, may "once have been navigable all the way to the Earth's surface..." and that "there must have been a huge rock fall." But this does not make much sense. It lacks any detail or logic and recalls the unsatisfactory lack of scientific explanation in the first stories. Perhaps a massive localised collapse of the river bed has created the waterfall and caused the river to now flow underground, but this is not what is suggested. Also, no explanation is proffered for the presence of the English people in the caves, except the lure of treasure aboard the galleon, but how did <i>they </i>get there? </p><p>When Mike and his friends return to the surface, neither Professor Dee, nor Trelawny, offer any further explanation. The professor is just delighted to get the treasure, which will pay for the whole cost of the Mole. Despite his intriguing background, the rescued Trelawny makes no further appearance in the strip after the story ends and we are never told why the Mole is called 'The <i>Braxby </i>Mole'.</p><p>These entertaining but flawed early stories do not speculate too much on the potential hazards of scientific enquiry and experimentation. They simply use the tests and experiments which Mike undergoes to tell exciting stories. However, as the strip progressed, the writers seized on the opportunity to encourage readers to reflect on more challenging issues. In a later adventure in the black and white era, Mike travels to the year 2070 in a prism shaped time machine. Here he finds that Dartmoor houses a city, in a crowded world where everyone's life is ordered and rigidly timetabled. He is forced to undergo 'citizenship' training, but he escapes and meets another fugitive who has rejected the discipline and rules of the society and this man helps him to return to his own time. An interesting feature of this story is its depiction of the future world. There were many speculative stories of the future produced in the twentieth century and many predicted an overcrowded world. However, other stories that predicted order and over population took a clear pessimistic tone, whereas 'The Guinea Pig' is more ambiguous. The major tension of the story is created by Mike's attempts to return to his own time and not by the horrors of the future society. Consequently it is able to show people happy with their ordered lives. It shows that there are reasons for the excessive control exercised by the authorities and that this order produces many benefits. 'The Guinea Pig' in no way advocates such a system, but it does not show the future world in simple terms of good and bad. For this reflective approach it must be applauded. </p><p>One of the best stories to convey the limitations of science was a relatively simple two part story, in which Mike, exhausted after yet another experiment, is sent to a totally computer operated hotel to rest and recuperate. Unfortunately the hotel is the brainchild of Professor Dee and no human staff are employed there. When thieves break in during Mike's stay, they cause some wires to short circuit and everything starts working at once. Mike is forced to break out to avoid being killed in the mechanical mayhem which ensues. The message of the story seems clear: Without human management, machines cannot be trusted to function properly. But again the message is not so simple. The mayhem was really initiated by human thieves breaking in and ultimately the real blame for the disaster lies as usual with Professor Dee. He could easily have incorporated adequate security measures in his hotel to prevent the break in. </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg3LsLyMrLJZe2Smpd1ZQuPqyyKiYQSsu7Fnl-STpUJHq_J6y6VBWuiLk-30A1yeE88TgFvSK3RzlioAxsKtkaZbZLbJm44Gs7lDf5iecNEVotAqUsWa6iNq_b9SWK2J833LwIJ_geJ7Gx6bUkMBbdAwkGkxkF837EyRQBej7h9KqNxIE8cwkWGP0IlML0T/s1280/GP1.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1280" data-original-width="955" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg3LsLyMrLJZe2Smpd1ZQuPqyyKiYQSsu7Fnl-STpUJHq_J6y6VBWuiLk-30A1yeE88TgFvSK3RzlioAxsKtkaZbZLbJm44Gs7lDf5iecNEVotAqUsWa6iNq_b9SWK2J833LwIJ_geJ7Gx6bUkMBbdAwkGkxkF837EyRQBej7h9KqNxIE8cwkWGP0IlML0T/w299-h400/GP1.jpg" width="299" /></a></div>In one of the later stories, when Mike's skin becomes as tough as steel following an accident, the professor outlines his philosophy to a new assistant.<div><br /></div><div>"Let's hope there's no mistake this time, professor!" says the assistant. </div><div><br /></div><div>"Burton, you have not been in my employment very long, so I will ignore that remark. I do not make mistakes! I delve into the unknown - and the answers are not always predictable!" replies the professor testily. </div><div><br /></div><div>When Dee delves into the unknown , the answers are never predictable, except when disasters are expected. In one adventure, the professor tries to transfer mike's law abiding thought patterns into the mind of a criminal, recruited from the nearby prison. At the start of the experiment, Mike comments "It sounds fine - so long as it doesn't work the other way round on me!" which anticipates exactly what is going to happen in the story. </div><div><br /></div><div>Like the other popular sixties characters, 'Blackbow the Cheyenne' and 'The Iron Man', 'The Guinea Pig' only ended to make way for <i>EAGLE's </i>merger with <i>Lion </i>in April 1969. The final adventure, which was written by Alfred Wallace, ended with Professor Dee gaining new funding for his experiments from a rich Arab sheik. Whether the British Government has withdrawn its support is not made clear, but if it has, then in my view it has acted wisely! Quite apart from the chaos that Dee's experiments cause in the towns and villages of Dartmoor, in one story, the evil side of Mike's nature is physically separated from his good side and the evil Mike kidnaps the prime minister and uses a shrinking ray to reduce him to toy soldier size! This adventure takes place just a few weeks before the one where Professor Dee is seeking new funding and it seems reasonable to assume that the two are connected. </div><div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg5XAHS0CNwGs1dCDd2ygP_CTTfk6z4sMymmjSZnYbrGpw3_9OYRztitQt4LcZlqeM88Lk_H4NgwQemgAfpLFIxu5TMLM9f2-LaLC_FDcFPKHFoDr9inUZBZLiSSnDakpmA8K2Od__JQIncnJxt3NxZq5BKnNo_Z2spcR47SYphSR4XWv0vwaQG2SjJpD4X/s798/GP9.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="798" data-original-width="600" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg5XAHS0CNwGs1dCDd2ygP_CTTfk6z4sMymmjSZnYbrGpw3_9OYRztitQt4LcZlqeM88Lk_H4NgwQemgAfpLFIxu5TMLM9f2-LaLC_FDcFPKHFoDr9inUZBZLiSSnDakpmA8K2Od__JQIncnJxt3NxZq5BKnNo_Z2spcR47SYphSR4XWv0vwaQG2SjJpD4X/w301-h400/GP9.jpg" width="301" /></a></div><div style="text-align: left;">Professor Dee may have been a genius, but he was also a liability. His surname surely comes from Doctor John Dee, the famous Elizabethan astrologer and alchemist, for like the alchemists of old, Professor Dee also tried to turn base metal into gold on several occasions and was always ultimately disappointed. His first name may come from the German alchemist, Heinrich Cornelius, who was a contemporary of John Dee. If the professor was named by William Patterson, who wrote the first story, then this is quite likely. In his 'Jeff Hawke' stories for the <i>Daily Express, </i>Patterson often linked events in the story with events and discoveries from the past. </div></div><div><br /></div><div>Writing in <i>Speakeasy </i>magazine in 1990, in his introduction to an interview with Grant Morrison and Rian Hughes about their version of 'Dan Dare', Nigel Curzon recalled 'The Guinea Pig' as an anti-authoritarian story. Presumably he saw Professor Dee as the unreasonable authority figure and Mike as the suffering victim. Dee certainly makes unreasonable demands of his employee and most of the drugs and treatments that Mike is subjected to would never be sanctioned in real life. However, on several occasions, Dee shows sympathy and concern for Mike. In a levitation experiment he ruins valuable equipment when he switches on the levitation ray to save Mike, who is falling from the top of a high ladder. He does this knowing that the machine will overload and his work will be wrecked. </div><div><br /></div><div>Likewise, Mike is certainly not a rebellious anti-authoritarian figure, although he does justifiably complain about the professor's unreasonable demands at times. One story which demonstrates Mike's willingness to take part in the experiments is when the professor puts an obedience drug in his tea. Mike is then ordered to undergo a series of extreme endurance tests, including a fight with a local boxing champion, to test the drug. He obeys all the orders enthusiastically and the professor declares the drug a success, only to find that Mike didn't drink the tea and hasn't taken the drug! </div><div><br /></div><div>The fact that Mike is often an enthusiastic participant in the professor's experiments does not mean that he is not the victim, but if the writers had intended the strip to be anti-authoritarian, I believe they would have made Professor Dee much worse and Mike much more complaining. One of the best aspects of 'The Guinea Pig' is that it avoids taking a clear position on the issues it covers, preferring to present stories in such a way that readers can draw their own conclusions. The idea that the strip is anti-authoritarian possibly comes from the reprint of the first and the linked second stories in <i>2000 A.D. Annual 1979 </i>where a new opening text box removes references to Mike having been a pilot and a revolutionary in South America and describes him simply as out of work because of his hot temper and a habit of telling his boss that he's wrong. It is likely that this change was made to make the character more like other heroes in <i>2000 A.D. </i>and to be fair, this story does feature the incident where Mike calls the professor an "old goat". 'Guinea Pig' strips were reprinted in the 1980 and 1981 <i>2000 A.D. </i>annuals and another appeared in the 1981 <i>Starlord Annual</i>. </div><div><br /></div><div>Although unique in so many ways, 'The Guinea Pig' was very much a child of the sixties <i>EAGLE . </i>Marcus Morris would never have entertained the idea of such a story when he was editing the paper. Quite apart from its flawed science, the idea of the 'hero' character being used for dangerous experiments which sometimes change his personality, making him the problem and not the solution, would have appalled <i>EAGLE'S </i>creator. Nevertheless, 'The Guinea Pig' was an imaginative and thought provoking series, with a clever premise and and two strong central characters, which challenged the simplistic view of the world presented by most comic stories and more importantly , challenged the equally simplistic notion that science has all the answers.</div><div><br /></div><div><i>I am grateful to David Gould for confirming and clarifying some information for this article.</i></div>Steve Windershttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00977131664169317705noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-933803321368486321.post-51401624698805965522024-01-14T19:39:00.002+00:002024-01-14T19:42:16.990+00:00IN AND OUT OF THE EAGLE 49<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgwp0jvT84zYJjF0zjTWh9fZOrr9qWBi5oFNsqXXksVeql7HbmtyNKqyvcjgdBeZ60B-aS10MjdhBuMM5lrxn5l8sZnYGHLuFcZPLClTpIv3RPEuPkCWsQmp_aVREeSjmasC9t1xIfWmBXp6e71tJ_gLlt9osH0X7hzC58vZ87JrdggMeQPH8_GwpkdlYv2/s320/Archie48.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="320" data-original-width="238" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgwp0jvT84zYJjF0zjTWh9fZOrr9qWBi5oFNsqXXksVeql7HbmtyNKqyvcjgdBeZ60B-aS10MjdhBuMM5lrxn5l8sZnYGHLuFcZPLClTpIv3RPEuPkCWsQmp_aVREeSjmasC9t1xIfWmBXp6e71tJ_gLlt9osH0X7hzC58vZ87JrdggMeQPH8_GwpkdlYv2/s1600/Archie48.jpg" width="238" /></a></div><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;">As this is my forty ninth page it seems only right that
it should focus on PC 49 or at least the actor who played him so successfully. </span><i style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;">EAGLE TIMES </i><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;">has often covered the radio,
film and stage career of Brian Reece, but he also appeared as a regular
character in two television series. The first was </span><i style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;">The New Adventures of Martin Kane </i><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;">in 1957, about an American
private detective based in London and working all over Europe. It starred William
Gargan who had previously played the part on American radio and TV, hence the
‘new’ title. Brian Reece played </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;">Superintendent
David Page – at last getting promoted from PC and a significant promotion at
that! He appeared in thirteen of the series’ thirty nine episodes, which were
produced by </span><i style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;">Towers of London Productions </i><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;">and
broadcast on ITV and in syndication in America.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;">His other series was a six part comedy
called </span><i style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;">Don’t Do it Dempsey! w</i><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;">hich
provided him with the starring role of James Dempsey, a man of eternal optimism
and ‘an eye for the girls’ who leapt headlong into any promising romantic situation.
Written by Patrick Campbell and Vivienne Knight, it was a B.B.C. production,
made and broadcast in 1960. Brian also appeared in many one-off comedy and
musical plays, often adapted for television from West End productions. These
included a production of the musical </span><i style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;">Bless
the Bride </i><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;">in 1956, which Brian had played in the West End. His performance
in a radio adaptation of this play back in 1947 had won him the part of PC 49. Among
his other parts was the leading role of Charles Battle in W. Somerset Maugham’s
play </span><i style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;">The Breadwinner </i><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;">in 1960.</span></span><p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: medium; line-height: 107%; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB; mso-no-proof: yes;"><o:p></o:p></span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;">It is an
indication of Brian’s fame as an actor, presenter and personality that he appeared
twice as the celebrity ‘castaway’ on the long running radio series </span><i style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;">Desert Island Discs. </i><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;">These came in July
1953 and April 1961. Sadly he died in April 1962 of a bone disease, but despite
serious illness he continued to present the radio series </span><i style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;">Movietime </i><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;">until shortly before his death.</span></span></p>Jim Ducketthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06067404471748328655noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-933803321368486321.post-27920770420285878852024-01-14T19:29:00.003+00:002024-01-16T12:59:41.078+00:00IN AND OUT OF THE EAGLE 48<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg1b2_zlYVZb4UHDcamk6kx9mpmBkARTRUBE0q88uWy60EAVT1Fwclu1gdVP6m71RdxSaUKTb-YJ8RqIgGZtgFe79gJSuaZeXrn_Nxu9FuUB9w0kwkDxyz5xEmDtrdoic1g_D1DbNBIzBW2V02VE6yL5tKdxhoLjyhUPoHLDmU2IpknQPVJeEDy1zs6iBGv/s1442/DDPlay2.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1442" data-original-width="1024" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg1b2_zlYVZb4UHDcamk6kx9mpmBkARTRUBE0q88uWy60EAVT1Fwclu1gdVP6m71RdxSaUKTb-YJ8RqIgGZtgFe79gJSuaZeXrn_Nxu9FuUB9w0kwkDxyz5xEmDtrdoic1g_D1DbNBIzBW2V02VE6yL5tKdxhoLjyhUPoHLDmU2IpknQPVJeEDy1zs6iBGv/s320/DDPlay2.jpg" width="227" /></a></div><p></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;">I have mentioned several actors who portrayed Dan Dare in previous posts, but here is a list of all the professional productions in radio, audio CDs, stage and television, with all the actors who have played Dan and Digby. The very first production was a radio series which ran from 1951 until 1956 on Radio Luxembourg. This was a daily serial which featured Noel Johnson as Dan and John Sharp as Digby. Johnson had previously played Dick Barton for the BBC and this series of long serials, split into daily fifteen minute episodes, followed the structure of the 'Dick Barton' serials. The next adaptation was a stage play, produced in 1972 at the then new Half Moon Theatre in Whitechapel. Written by Michael Irving, it starred Alex Leppard as Dan and Terrence Dougherty as Digby. </span></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhi32WNV43ztZPzO2CffkLLqYYoDzyYk35rN-WeUCCiD-cJhxYIfe0FyU9h9KYSJoFyJPTqPtOqSOlyhqkc9CPpVCvPodhW9NkX_qZPZs4OdlYAYyvNvV2Th3K39699lArCXpxDD08VBNhQagvIfty9p0EHIs2uEvzLmGAOXGx7s4EomzEL89wjbLD_ll8w/s2048/DD11.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1536" data-original-width="2048" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhi32WNV43ztZPzO2CffkLLqYYoDzyYk35rN-WeUCCiD-cJhxYIfe0FyU9h9KYSJoFyJPTqPtOqSOlyhqkc9CPpVCvPodhW9NkX_qZPZs4OdlYAYyvNvV2Th3K39699lArCXpxDD08VBNhQagvIfty9p0EHIs2uEvzLmGAOXGx7s4EomzEL89wjbLD_ll8w/s320/DD11.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><p></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;">Although several attempts were made to produce a major live action TV series in the 1980s, with James Fox and later Gareth Hunt mooted to play Dan and Rodney Bewes signed to play Digby, a series was never made. Dan's first appearance on television was actually for a series of three humorous adverts on ITV for Mobil Motor Oil in 1987. These featured Niven Boyd as Dan and Jimmy Yule as Digby. The next version was a four part BBC radio serial based on Dan's original Venus story, produced in 1990. This featured Mick Ford as Dan and Donald Gee as Digby. Also in the 1990s, Colin Baker, who had played Doctor Who on television, produced a short experimental 'Dan Dare' audio with the company who would later become Big Finish Productions. Colin played Digby and David Banks played Dan. Unfortunately, this was not developed into a commercial release. A short TV pilot episode was made by Zenith Productions in 1994, with Robert Bathurst as Dan and Geoffrey Hughes as Digby (see picture alongside), but it was not commissioned. The pilot was screened at several Comic conventions and can be viewed on You Tube. Dan finally did get on television in a 26 part computer animated series in 2001, in which Greg Ellis voiced Dan and Julian Holloway was a cockney Digby! Aargh!</span></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh0wOt4Bi8WUJxZp1bi7gakegMhlLvIqn4w6w-DqXen950RouYjXM-PqC60XKFxvZtaTvEafTPN8tPOEQ7vBKt5cVYL5PaGLVAbxWKo3mBN3tUCHCZxtY157dTof1_EcKN8fKg7rlphVCbMzK9Qd_0AR-BpgRSvf713WQzpwDD7OV8lCS_JRfDSjgqQ6CCf/s500/DD10.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="493" data-original-width="500" height="316" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh0wOt4Bi8WUJxZp1bi7gakegMhlLvIqn4w6w-DqXen950RouYjXM-PqC60XKFxvZtaTvEafTPN8tPOEQ7vBKt5cVYL5PaGLVAbxWKo3mBN3tUCHCZxtY157dTof1_EcKN8fKg7rlphVCbMzK9Qd_0AR-BpgRSvf713WQzpwDD7OV8lCS_JRfDSjgqQ6CCf/s320/DD10.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><p></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;">Dan was back on stage for a musical version of his story in 2003, produced at the Customs House in South Shields. Scripted by Tom Kelly, with music by John Miles, Dan was played by Joe Caffrey and Digby by Gez Casey. In 2008, Orion released an audio dramatisation of the first Venus story as <i>Dan Dare: Voyage to Venus Part One. </i>This was an almost exact reading of Frank Hampson's text from <i>EAGLE </i>and featured Tom Goodman-Hill as Dan and Rupert Degas as Digby. Degas played several other parts as well. Unfortunately sales were not encouraging enough for the second part to be recorded. Finally B7 Media released a series of six audio CDs in 2016 and 2017, with Ed Stoppard as Dan and Geoff McGovern as Digby. These plays have subsequently been broadcast on BBC Radio Four Extra. </span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;">Essentially all these adaptations have been based on the original version of 'Dan Dare' in the 1950s and 60s <i>EAGLE, </i>with some being closer to the original than others. The Half Moon Theatre play, the Radio Luxembourg serials, the 1990 BBC version, the Orion audio and the Zenith pilot stuck very closely to the original. The Mobil adverts echoed Frank Hampson's designs, but as deliberate comedies they sent the characters up, although they managed this affectionately and successfully. The 2003 musical was also humorous, but parodied 1950s space fiction in general and in doing so, often ridiculed 'Dan Dare' unfairly and incorrectly. The 2001 CGI version changed Dan's appearance and failed to capture his personality, In attempting to update him, it presented him as a slightly pompous and even irritating character. Acknowledging and accommodating our greater knowledge of the planets of the solar system, the B7 audios were obliged to make significant changes to the stories. However, this was consistent with Frank Hampson's original, for he set Dan's adventures on what was then known of the planets. While changes were also made to several characters, such as Digby and Professor Peabody, Ed Stoppard's Dan was recognisably the <i>EAGLE </i>hero and this series successfully captured the spirit of the original. </span></p>Jim Ducketthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06067404471748328655noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-933803321368486321.post-34097158545868785552024-01-13T12:32:00.003+00:002024-02-19T18:50:38.471+00:00IN AND OUT OF THE EAGLE 47<p> </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgo7-Fm6M2JOgU0Tqiom4kEwpRnS8IXErV87SDW4KDWPE9wZxOBQdQgIvDq1UTnThptf9YcKQMuLizcDa9x04jQgXq1Key_eTONEseGCaeSRb4ewLz7vfTf6jgXpDaoOCcOmvUqRTw5XEkMUhzZUFde9mc-AFmhAgCOpI1rY2dMFfi6NZavrytp6S0Fx3NK" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="180" data-original-width="277" height="208" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgo7-Fm6M2JOgU0Tqiom4kEwpRnS8IXErV87SDW4KDWPE9wZxOBQdQgIvDq1UTnThptf9YcKQMuLizcDa9x04jQgXq1Key_eTONEseGCaeSRb4ewLz7vfTf6jgXpDaoOCcOmvUqRTw5XEkMUhzZUFde9mc-AFmhAgCOpI1rY2dMFfi6NZavrytp6S0Fx3NK" width="320" /></a></div><span style="font-size: medium;">The image alongside <span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;">of a never published </span><i style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;">Eagle </i><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;">was the mysterious issue that
appeared at the end of an episode of </span><i style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;">Midsomer
Murders </i><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;">called 'Electric Vendetta'</span><i style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;">, </i><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;">which
begs the question “Why didn’t they use a real </span><i style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;">Eagle</i><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;">?” I believe the answer lies in the picture of a ‘flying
saucer’ from the same ‘issue’. The saucer closely resembles one featured in the
episode, (shown below), so the page was specially drawn to link with the story. I don’t think
the artwork would pass muster in the real </span><i style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;">Eagle,
</i><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;">although to be fair, the pictures were photographed from a television </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;">screen. In
the programme, several real back pages of </span><i style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;">Eagle
</i><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;">are shown and these feature </span><i style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;">The
Travels of Marco Polo, </i><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;">drawn by Peter Jackson. In this episode, Inspector Tom Barnaby reveals that he was a keen <i>EAGLE </i>reader as a boy and he still has his collection, so it is no wonder he is such a good detective. </span></span><p></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhuRzlUdgzNW2aezAEZw_3l5IxvZoa7nxQxu8FKZQjXB6RHDoVIpjAem_8RrB44q1vr26WyQKPNopWG5R8ZFtuVwJjPTQGnxO0XW9EPO0-fckaQceIJ_bH5pgv57iRI3SnAQEQqrKug2cEGJ3E-Ugw3EQufm3Fyi0uuSo2Dvpq9YvuCnXCp_TB19X0w1Hiv" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><img alt="" data-original-height="194" data-original-width="277" height="224" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhuRzlUdgzNW2aezAEZw_3l5IxvZoa7nxQxu8FKZQjXB6RHDoVIpjAem_8RrB44q1vr26WyQKPNopWG5R8ZFtuVwJjPTQGnxO0XW9EPO0-fckaQceIJ_bH5pgv57iRI3SnAQEQqrKug2cEGJ3E-Ugw3EQufm3Fyi0uuSo2Dvpq9YvuCnXCp_TB19X0w1Hiv" width="320" /></span></a></div><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;"><i>EAGLE </i>has been mentioned and sometimes featured in several films and television programmes over the years. In the 1958 film <i>Violent Playground </i>which stars Stanley Baker and David Mc Callum, a young boy is shown buying a copy of <i>EAGLE </i>in a newsagent's and in the 1965 film <i>Doctor Who and the Daleks, </i>Peter Cushing as the Doctor is shown reading a copy. Not to be outdone, the <i>Doctor Who </i>TV series also features a character reading <i>EAGLE </i>in the 1987 adventure 'Delta and the Bannermen', which is set in a 1950s Holiday Camp in south Wales. (See the picture below). </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;">In the BBCs 1987 version of Agatha Christie's </span><i style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;">Miss Marple </i><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;">story, '4.50 From Paddington', copies of </span><i style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;">EAGLE </i><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;">are prominently displayed on the newsagent's stand on Paddington Station at the start of the film and later in the story, tw</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;">o boys are shown reading </span><i style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;">EAGLE. </i><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;">The most recent mentions of </span><i style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;">EAGLE </i><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;">on TV were in two episodes of the 2024 series of </span><i style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;">Grantchester, </i><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;">which is also set in the 1950s. In the first episode, the Rev. Will Davenport, played by Tom Brittney, punishes his stepson for a minor misdemeanour by banning him from reading </span><i style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;">EAGLE </i><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;">for a month, which seems a gross overreaction to me! Later in the episode, the boy's mother mentions Dan Dare and Digby. In the final episode of this series, the young boy is shown reading <i>EAGLE </i>dated 23rd July 1960. </span></span><div><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjDOcRJHuIf_-i1JtMzB8chJg-d4uH1H9_aiZnXm4ECyv3kC7Omtlrh37siDjOHg8ky_s0kO9ytjzLThlWOZ4Fw83jr62GGQ9y6jENZL7MF36bDA0YBB_aFQ0eLxExvH1IfzdYJXeRwNG46QZnPBxgtYUpfIr0TWoEeQ4RRdFKv64du2VME0QdeSRjVgdqR/s938/Dan%20Dare10.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><img border="0" data-original-height="724" data-original-width="938" height="247" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjDOcRJHuIf_-i1JtMzB8chJg-d4uH1H9_aiZnXm4ECyv3kC7Omtlrh37siDjOHg8ky_s0kO9ytjzLThlWOZ4Fw83jr62GGQ9y6jENZL7MF36bDA0YBB_aFQ0eLxExvH1IfzdYJXeRwNG46QZnPBxgtYUpfIr0TWoEeQ4RRdFKv64du2VME0QdeSRjVgdqR/s320/Dan%20Dare10.jpg" width="320" /></span></a></div><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;">In Michael Palin's 1989 travel series, <i>Around the World in Eighty Days, </i>Michael is shown wearing a 'Dan Dare' tee shirt and Nicholas Lyndhurst, playing Rodney Trotter, wears a similar shirt in an episode of the comedy series <i>Only Fools and Horses </i>in 1981. The 1980s <i>EAGLE </i>appears in a 1983 episode of <i>Coronation Street, </i>being read by Eddie Yeats, played by Geoffrey Hughes. Geoffrey was a keen 'Dan Dare' fan and he played Digby in a short pilot film made in the hope of being commissioned for a TV series in 1994. </span><i>EAGLE </i>and Dan Dare are often featured on Quiz shows, but if you know of any other mentions of <i>EAGLE </i>and <i>EAGLE </i>characters in drama or comedy productions, then please let us know. </span><div><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif; font-size: medium;"><br /></span><div><div><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: medium;"> <i> </i></span><p></p></div></div></div></div>Jim Ducketthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06067404471748328655noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-933803321368486321.post-75970097490230808232024-01-10T21:22:00.001+00:002024-01-14T22:35:39.127+00:00IN AND OUT OF THE EAGLE 46<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjIhPJ-7fglCieX_j0pNw02CPZN0RsGmyGqGO3xf4EHRYVhFfoMLT6Wx9awtDasjwjTbV1FKYSgWwLx3nhZgLDszJOijTI3SqcNxICIBX5ew32zzB2iW5LnAOLjyjYR_hyphenhyphenpwsz0NWnKN8smBRlWETDPKB6wrbj77qN-UP4iTGgwrZKQXpHaXbebBPHTuHu4/s1600/Wickham2.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjIhPJ-7fglCieX_j0pNw02CPZN0RsGmyGqGO3xf4EHRYVhFfoMLT6Wx9awtDasjwjTbV1FKYSgWwLx3nhZgLDszJOijTI3SqcNxICIBX5ew32zzB2iW5LnAOLjyjYR_hyphenhyphenpwsz0NWnKN8smBRlWETDPKB6wrbj77qN-UP4iTGgwrZKQXpHaXbebBPHTuHu4/s320/Wickham2.jpg" width="240" /></a></div>In 1956, <i>EAGLE's </i>publisher Hulton Press began to publish a series of novels featuring popular characters from the weekly. These included <i>Dan Dare on Mars, Storm Nelson and the Sea Leopard, Jack O'Lantern and the Fighting Cock </i>and <i>Luck of the Legion's Secret Mission. </i>However, there were also two novels by the well known historical novelist, Henry Treece. These were <i>The Return of Robinson Crusoe, </i>published in 1958 and <i>Wickham and the Armada, </i>published in 1959. They were printed on better paper than the other <i>EAGLE </i>novels and did not follow the layout of their dustjackets. The earlier'character' novels all had yellow jackets with a large red eagle emblazoned on them and a small colour picture depicting a scene from the story set near the top of the page, whereas these pictures show that the Treece book covers were quite different. <i>The Return of Robinson Crusoe</i> contained several colour and black and white illustrations inside the book and <i>Wickham and the Armada </i>contained<i> </i>several black and white illustrations, whereas the character novels each contained only one black and white illustration inside. The Treece novels were also higher priced than the others, retailing at 12s 6d as opposed to 7s 6d. It is impossible to say whether the publication of other new novels was abandoned because of disappointing sales of the Treece books, because Hulton Press sold <i>EAGLE </i>to Odhams Press in 1959 and while they continued to publish larger annual style books, such as <i>EAGLE Sports Annuals, </i>the <i>EAGLE Book of Trains </i>and the <i>EAGLE Book of How it Works, </i>the only new novel they published was the <i>Swift </i>novel, <i>The White Hart Lane Mystery </i>(in 1960), about 'Dixon of Dock Green', who featured in a comic strip in the weekly, which had probably been commissioned by Hulton. Odhams (under their 'Longacre' label) made many changes to the way that <i>EAGLE </i>had operated, scaling back several initiatives, so it is quite possible that the Treece novels sold well. <div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhldtpUNINwJOPSqind1Syt4pi8cF-6Nspnn3UfXbATDnivGocGIP287RypnhWRrGFCJCa-W5Rb52feL2MuspAQ5trB266RiSIoIRm3hVJA9aTPLBaIFZs5FB_IKUYt-_5XgiUQuIlybS0ni0wU7zHSqvAEBqaZfxCEx84PANX6hy0v1Vfysyu3VP0MSG90/s4496/Wickham3.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4496" data-original-width="3000" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhldtpUNINwJOPSqind1Syt4pi8cF-6Nspnn3UfXbATDnivGocGIP287RypnhWRrGFCJCa-W5Rb52feL2MuspAQ5trB266RiSIoIRm3hVJA9aTPLBaIFZs5FB_IKUYt-_5XgiUQuIlybS0ni0wU7zHSqvAEBqaZfxCEx84PANX6hy0v1Vfysyu3VP0MSG90/s320/Wickham3.jpg" width="214" /></a></div><i>The Return of Robinson Crusoe </i>brought back Daniel Defoe's shipwrecked hero, now free from his desert island and living in England in the late seventeenth century. Treece's novel takes him on a perilous search for Henry Morgan's treasure. Defoe himself actually wrote an almost forgotten sequel to his famous book, but Treece ignores the events of the second book and his own story takes place at the same time. As the title suggests, <i>Wickham and the Armada </i>is set in the reign of Elizabeth I and the hero, Giles Wickham undergoes a series of perilous adventures after he becomes a fugitive, following a poaching incident. He then becomes an actor, a soldier a highwayman, a reluctant pirate and a prisoner of the Spanish Inquisition, before capturing a Spanish Galleon in the Queen's name. </div><div> </div><div>Both books keep the reader's attention, with exciting narratives and both bring the periods they are set in to life. Henry Treece was a successful author of historical novels and particularly those for young readers and his skills in storytelling and conveying authentic period settings are evident in both of his <i>EAGLE</i> novels. <br /><br /> <p></p><p></p></div>Jim Ducketthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06067404471748328655noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-933803321368486321.post-57594347172039918222024-01-01T13:04:00.001+00:002024-01-02T22:30:27.488+00:00JOHN M. BURNS (1938 - 2023) <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjwggcnz7TTFJpprQXNz35kt5CzHT_Mz0h1tEdos6MGUcRt6Gg5dRvs4Pxg-Hxpdg0qYNst_ucWAx9Lno1Ot1zFLPQO_kmZovUTzQG8Hy1qvvAyJnPQLH1bMchRBF9wPvizTKX9zwmazu26pX6TZxPLSU5bhtuO9LWCo-VTgIpN9rS42s_hyphenhyphenLFp0sNNYK4K/s2048/Wrath5.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1312" data-original-width="2048" height="410" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjwggcnz7TTFJpprQXNz35kt5CzHT_Mz0h1tEdos6MGUcRt6Gg5dRvs4Pxg-Hxpdg0qYNst_ucWAx9Lno1Ot1zFLPQO_kmZovUTzQG8Hy1qvvAyJnPQLH1bMchRBF9wPvizTKX9zwmazu26pX6TZxPLSU5bhtuO9LWCo-VTgIpN9rS42s_hyphenhyphenLFp0sNNYK4K/w640-h410/Wrath5.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><p>John Burns, who died on December 29th, aged eighty five, was one of Britain's greatest and most prolific comic strip artists. He was one of a very small group of artists who contributed to both versions of <i>EAGLE. </i>For the original version he illustrated the famous <i>Wrath of the Gods strip, </i>which joined <i>EAGLE </i>from <i>Boys' World </i>in 1964. He also illustrated episodes of the non fiction series 'Bids for Freedom' and 'Roving Reporter'. For the 1980s <i>EAGLE </i>he illustrated 'The Fists of Danny Pike', 'Dolebusters' and a 'Dan Dare' adventure. But <i>EAGLE </i>forms just a small part of his contribution to comics. His work in comics began with illustrations for <i>Girl's Crystal </i>and <i>School Friend </i>in the 1950s. After completing his National Service, he illustrated strip versions of several classic novels for D.C. Thomson. He illustrated 'Wulf the Briton' for <i>Express Weekly </i>in 1961 and then several strips and story illustrations for <i>EAGLE's </i>companion paper <i>Robin, </i>'Kelpie the Boy Wizard' for <i>Wham! </i>and in the late sixties and early seventies, many strips for the TV based comics <i>TV 21, Lady Penelope, Countdown </i>and <i>TV Action. </i>He subsequently contributed many strips for the long running TV based magazine <i>Look-In. </i>He is well known on the continent for the Dutch sword and sorcery strip <i>Zetari.</i></p><p><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhuiaBvvSwHdyn6N8yCKXLukgdtJcHhIs4L03-8U4KmzEGVx6oDUIgFXXxfS8RPiKzIROy5dIqc9dX-qLqg1fqjJLF-0CTOcEtqE0yBVqTg10C9Aov7bf4woInOVJXwYFxocuSfBTqK-UYoD8aicSiwZNKW3KU23gIbXkBJdAzIue8vxnmtxQU8MyalNjZu/s1753/Dredd.jpg" style="clear: right; display: inline; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1753" data-original-width="1280" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhuiaBvvSwHdyn6N8yCKXLukgdtJcHhIs4L03-8U4KmzEGVx6oDUIgFXXxfS8RPiKzIROy5dIqc9dX-qLqg1fqjJLF-0CTOcEtqE0yBVqTg10C9Aov7bf4woInOVJXwYFxocuSfBTqK-UYoD8aicSiwZNKW3KU23gIbXkBJdAzIue8vxnmtxQU8MyalNjZu/w293-h400/Dredd.jpg" width="293" /></a><br /></p><p>Excelling in both black and white and colour work, he also drew many newspaper strips, including 'The Seekers' for <i>The Daily Sketch, '</i>The Tuckwells' for <i>The Sunday Citizen, '</i>Jane' and 'Girl Chat' for <i>The Daily Mirror, </i>'George and Lynne' for <i>The Sun, </i>'Danielle' and<i> </i>'Smythie'<i> </i>for <i>The Evening News, </i>'Julia' for the German newspaper <i>Bild </i>and briefly, 'Modesty Blaise' for the Evening Standard. In recent years he became a major contributor to <i>2000 A.D. </i>weekly, illustrating 'Nicolai Dante', 'Sinister Dexter', 'The Order' and 'Judge Dredd'. He also illustrated 'The Bendatti Vendetta' for the <i>Judge Dredd Megazine. </i><i> </i><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 13px;"> </span></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjxm1c9eYWj9lgS7xE3-xX7w4tqT_CbudpJYkmKyz_ZPoBz6IeSD_eqXxA_2yIX2fvKjSVEIoAoAna7c8kFJtggeXdaPUi9CRCTWNZgsptPOBjewDBwVuKwQMIvnF1OxKVbBe5I2wJsTksjFaXKsACxgjHM044YAu_NcWAyVrkd3enjIZ1obyFEX7ASuIuk/s701/Wrath11%20(2).jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="701" data-original-width="526" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjxm1c9eYWj9lgS7xE3-xX7w4tqT_CbudpJYkmKyz_ZPoBz6IeSD_eqXxA_2yIX2fvKjSVEIoAoAna7c8kFJtggeXdaPUi9CRCTWNZgsptPOBjewDBwVuKwQMIvnF1OxKVbBe5I2wJsTksjFaXKsACxgjHM044YAu_NcWAyVrkd3enjIZ1obyFEX7ASuIuk/w240-h320/Wrath11%20(2).jpg" width="240" /></a></div>John had been in poor health for some time, finally retiring from illustration earlier this year. I was fortunate enough to meet him and his wife, Julia in 2005 at the Bristol Comic Expo and he kindly drew this pencil sketch of Arion, the hero of 'Wrath of the Gods' for me. Our condolences to Julia and his family. He will be greatly missed. <div><br /></div><div><i>Steve Winders</i><br /><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><br /><p><br /><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 13px;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 13px;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 13px;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 13px;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 13px;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 13px;"><br /></span></p></div>Jim Ducketthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06067404471748328655noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-933803321368486321.post-53911017819327560742023-12-22T18:30:00.001+00:002023-12-23T13:11:49.663+00:00EAGLE TIMES VOL. 36 NO. 4 WINTER 2023<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhMHU8u0Ad3i8spkXUFfpZCJka7OgmANzL9RPBiEYqqjOv9hyphenhyphenrDTPdL68LZs2RooSBkB9C6Oje1O2LBIWP91ZCUgWiwtipXeLKG5XNy-hpUlfJTkarn6W7E-HUopacyjqUnTg_I8g_vzsoup1rydppirqRecVE968oU-Zbl0pgy7450gKJObFyuSz8swN8U/s1000/Eagle%20Times5.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1000" data-original-width="710" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhMHU8u0Ad3i8spkXUFfpZCJka7OgmANzL9RPBiEYqqjOv9hyphenhyphenrDTPdL68LZs2RooSBkB9C6Oje1O2LBIWP91ZCUgWiwtipXeLKG5XNy-hpUlfJTkarn6W7E-HUopacyjqUnTg_I8g_vzsoup1rydppirqRecVE968oU-Zbl0pgy7450gKJObFyuSz8swN8U/s320/Eagle%20Times5.jpg" width="227" /></a></div>The final <i>EAGLE Times </i>of 2023 is out now and as the cover shows, there is an article about the <i>Classics Illustrated </i>series in this issue. Written by Kevin O'Donnell, it examines this popular publication which told many classic stories in strip form. Also in this issue is the final part of Steve Winders' reviews of the <i>Luck of the Legion </i>novels; a detailed look at the first 'Dan Dare' who was an American detective, by David Britton; a new series about the great illustrators of the 1950s by Adam Goodman, with Milton Caniff being the first subject; an article by Harry Royle about the actress Shirley Cain, whose early career was featured in <i>Girl Annual; </i>a piece by Peter Barr about the cricketer Patsy Hendren, who was a significant contributor to the early <i>EAGLE;</i> a one off Christmas story of Archie Willoughby by Steve Winders and an article about the 1960 - 62 strip 'Knights of the Road' by myself. <br /> <p></p>Jim Ducketthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06067404471748328655noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-933803321368486321.post-1193159253012470752023-12-04T12:46:00.000+00:002023-12-04T12:46:04.969+00:00THE SECOND CHRISTMAS EAGLE by John Culshaw<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj1yMceDJJATWbreYu0Pkp853oaQFI1CIwpRASLhnv4n6BJIAoIvVI5y3NvJNAXnqgRNYeomPt6FobFH7fpTE6C6_yxkx3JnXfeegojkUyWBF7TcFdLTTEbMD5omeZ65f33LWeCrcDHPYqOdwC1xe0hhAhSmERu5RVPSh0Bu4J2uKP08g4iswoYSNVmqY_L/s1017/Christmas%20EAGLE%201951.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1017" data-original-width="736" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj1yMceDJJATWbreYu0Pkp853oaQFI1CIwpRASLhnv4n6BJIAoIvVI5y3NvJNAXnqgRNYeomPt6FobFH7fpTE6C6_yxkx3JnXfeegojkUyWBF7TcFdLTTEbMD5omeZ65f33LWeCrcDHPYqOdwC1xe0hhAhSmERu5RVPSh0Bu4J2uKP08g4iswoYSNVmqY_L/s320/Christmas%20EAGLE%201951.jpg" width="232" /></a></div><p>By Christmas 1951, <i>EAGLE's </i>huge popularity was well established and a wide range of <i>EAGLE </i>and 'Dan Dare' related products had appeared on the market, creating Britain's first character based merchandising success. In the weeks leading up to Christmas, <i>EAGLE </i>advertised many of these products in its pages. They included <i>EAGLE </i>card games, jigsaws, projectors, stationery, balloons, transfer sheets, 'Dan Dare' ray guns, telescopes and ties, 'Riders of the Range' cowboy outfits, ties and braces and the first <i>EAGLE Annual. </i>In addition to the royalties they received for 'Dan Dare' and <i>EAGLE </i>related products, the copyright holders, Hulton Press also gained from the advertising potential that <i>EAGLE </i>provided. At a time when the market for toys, sweets and other merchandise for children and young people was large and growing and commercial television had not begun, <i>EAGLE's </i>popularity made it the ideal place to advertise and advertise they did. In the last November and the first December issues of 1951, <i>EAGLE </i>produced four page supplements filled with adverts for Christmas gifts and for many years to come, these supplements would continue. </p><p>The Christmas issue celebrated the occasion in style, with the letters of the title logo being covered with snow for the first of many times. The <i>EAGLE </i>symbol itself was backed by a Christmas night sky with the star of Bethlehem displayed prominently. At the top of the page, readers were greeted with 'A MERRY CHRISTMAS TO <i>EAGLE </i>READERS' and a decorative trim ran down the left side of the title box. Frank Hampson's 'Dan Dare' strip made a brief acknowledgement of Christmas, despite being in the middle of Dan's second adventure 'The Red Moon Mystery', which was not set at Christmas, when Digby compares himself to Rudolf the red nosed reindeer while struggling through a snowy Martian landscape. </p><p>On page three, the 'PC 49' adventure was also an ongoing serial and made no mention of the season. This strip by Alan Stranks was now drawn by John Worsley, who had replaced Strom Gould earlier in the year. Christmas was recognised in an article on pages four and five, by <i>EAGLE's </i>Special Investigator Macdonald Hastings, who wrote about driving an old Royal Mail Coach pulled by four horses, which is an image often depicted on Christmas cards and strongly associated with Christmas, thanks to Charles Dickens. This page also carried an '<i>EAGLE </i>Window' box. These small boxes appeared weekly and advertised <i>EAGLE </i>merchandise<i>. </i>The '<i>EAGLE </i>Window' in the Christmas issue was number 34, which gives an indication of the number of licensed products available and there would be many more. This particular window listed several products which cost less than four shillings and gave their prices. The bottom half of page five was devoted to adverts for Caley's Chocolates and Philidyne Cycle Dynamo Lighting Sets.</p><p>Page six was the Sports page and it acknowledged the season with a Christmas Soccer Quiz, with questions set by Arsenal's players. At the bottom of the page, the comedy strip 'Grandpa' by Peter Probyn shows the title character buying and wrapping a large present and then opening it himself on Christmas morning - a joke used many years later by Rowan Atkinson as Mr. Bean. Page seven was the 'Riders of the Range' serial 'The Secret of Ghost Mountain', which made no mention of Christmas. This strip, written by Charles Chilton, was now drawn by Angus Scott, who drew three serials before being replaced by Frank Humphris in 1952. The top half of the colour centrespread was a series of pictures by Leslie Ashwell Wood, showing how the King's Christmas Message was transmitted from Sandringham via Broadcasting House to homes in Britain and throughout the Commonwealth. Readers would be unaware that his 1951 Christmas Message would be the King's last, as he died less than two months later, to be succeeded by his daughter, Queen Elizabeth II. The Christmas Messages were only broadcast on radio until 1957. </p><p>The lower part of the centrespread was the latest episode in the 'Tintin' adventure 'King Ottokar's Sceptre'. This story marked Tintin's first ever appearance in English and came seven years before Methuen began publishing his adventures in albums. Created by the Belgian artist, Georges Remi (who wrote and drew as Herge), the boy reporter Tintin was a huge success with young readers on the continent and would later enjoy great success in Britain, with translations by Leslie Lonsdale Cooper and Michael Turner. However, his first appearance was not a great success in <i>EAGLE </i>and this was the only story to be adapted. This first translation, by an unknown translator retained all the original French names of the characters, with the exception of the inept detectives Dupond and Dupont, who were renamed Thompson and Thomson. Lonsdale Cooper and Turner kept these English names in their own translation and anglicised the names of the other characters, such as Tintin's dog Milou, who was renamed Snowy. As an ongoing serial and part of an already completed story, the 'Tintin' strip made no mention of Christmas. </p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiwhLPGm8sFLEc8jvmqK1tH5Fld7_EemxsQ936tuELbjciuTlw980kQywnXqzcWVGOrY8AJ-JWnBFYlE-0Xpq81s8XnwQy_2QDLTtoBgiXzf2FC5oZm_vn9a-i05QbOcIdJ42HjuxFKdCnqSl34PVFtIXYAIDwSAxB1ARseLwHVhyphenhyphenJhPRUJDAJzCBvGSCVw/s4325/P1050663.JPG" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1885" data-original-width="4325" height="174" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiwhLPGm8sFLEc8jvmqK1tH5Fld7_EemxsQ936tuELbjciuTlw980kQywnXqzcWVGOrY8AJ-JWnBFYlE-0Xpq81s8XnwQy_2QDLTtoBgiXzf2FC5oZm_vn9a-i05QbOcIdJ42HjuxFKdCnqSl34PVFtIXYAIDwSAxB1ARseLwHVhyphenhyphenJhPRUJDAJzCBvGSCVw/w400-h174/P1050663.JPG" width="400" /></a></div> Two half page informative strips occupied page ten and both related to Christmas. The first was in the series 'Great Headlines of the Past' and covered the unofficial 1914 Christmas Truce in the First World War, which oddly did not mention the football matches which took place between British and German troops. The second strip was in the series 'Eagle Eye Nature Detective', a series sponsored by Rowntree's Chocolate, which told the story of mistletoe. Page eleven was the Editor's Page and <i>EAGLE's </i>editor, the Rev. Marcus Morris used his letter to remind readers of the religious basis of Christmas. His reason for launching <i>EAGLE </i>was to promote Christian values and ironically, its success had led to it becoming rather focussed on promoting merchandising! He was clearly anxious that its primary purpose should not be lost. To this end, he also encouraged readers to attend <i>EAGLE's </i>first Carol Service, which was to be held at St. Paul's Cathedral on December 22nd. There was clearly a minor panic behind the scenes about the Carol Service as Morris informed readers in two places on the page and in bold letters that the service would begin at 2.30 p.m. and not 3.30 as stated in previous issues! In future years, <i>EAGLE </i>would organise several carol services each Christmas, which would be held all over the country, usually presided over by either Morris himself or the Rev. Chad Varah, who wrote many back page biographical strips and other features for <i>EAGLE. </i>Varah also took over the scripting of the next 'Dan Dare' adventure 'Marooned on Mercury' when Frank Hampson fell ill. The Editor's Page also included Christmas Greetings accompanied by small pictures of their characters, by <i>EAGLE's </i>artists and the three picture 'Chicko' strip by Norman Thelwell also took a Christmas theme as Chicko slept in his Christmas stocking, leaving a note asking Santa to put his presents in his bed. <div><br /></div><div>Also on the Editor's Page was a 'Competition Corner' with Christmas based puzzles and a 'Bertram Mills Circus Competition' offering prizes to <i>EAGLE </i>Club members of tickets for the Circus, which in those days spent the Winter season at Olympia in London. The bottom corner of the page advertised the latest <i>EAGLE Club Diary. </i>Readers were regularly invited to join the <i>EAGLE </i>Club, which offered tickets to sports events and shows as well as special offers on some merchandise and access to certain competitions. Initially readers could join for a shilling, which quickly rose to one shilling and sixpence, for which they received a membership card and a metal badge. The Club was a way of securing reader loyalty, but it also emphasised that <i>EAGLE </i>wanted to be more than just a weekly magazine. It wanted to guide its readers to become responsible people. Such innovations as 'Mug of the Month', which rewarded readers for service to others, show this aim quite clearly. <i>EAGLE </i>also organised activity holidays for Club members, including the <i>EAGLE/YHA </i>Adventure Holiday Scheme. Another innovation was the <i>EAGLE and Girl </i>Table Tennis Tournaments, which began in 1954. Although many readers joined the Club, obviously many others did not and consequently <i>EAGLE </i>offered many activities that were not available to everyone. The first clear sign of this problem came with the second year of the Table Tennis Tournament. In the first year, only Club members could take part, but in the second it was open to all and this was strongly emphasised in the publicity. The Club was nevertheless a success for it ran for ten years before being disbanded during Clifford Makins' editorship, but opportunities for readers were maintained. </div><div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgeyemD8LjWu6RItkVU2nl6SCVg0IYCF8IxV_Lv2SwefizlmBwW0Yr04-5Xva2KL107dTfbE8htWTpV8bMTMEStm8zawGUuJenDa0MsTdXjh3-4uLNz3piYVkxpvi1ZrFKtwUOVl6nbpKNf4Twv3wxQGTALqDyN1sGwkZSXKe04m6DyWYsnaZ_fPXp5q53p/s1422/Eagle3.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="919" data-original-width="1422" height="129" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgeyemD8LjWu6RItkVU2nl6SCVg0IYCF8IxV_Lv2SwefizlmBwW0Yr04-5Xva2KL107dTfbE8htWTpV8bMTMEStm8zawGUuJenDa0MsTdXjh3-4uLNz3piYVkxpvi1ZrFKtwUOVl6nbpKNf4Twv3wxQGTALqDyN1sGwkZSXKe04m6DyWYsnaZ_fPXp5q53p/w200-h129/Eagle3.jpg" width="200" /></a></div><div><p>Page twelve was entirely devoted to 'Christmas Party Games'. Most of the games described were traditional games, but intriguingly the last game was 'The Dan Dare Game'. However, this was actually a simple tag game, with space pilots trying to get from one base (Earth) through 'space' occupied by Treens, who would try to tag the pilots before they reached their other base (Venus). The top half of page thirteen was 'Can You Beat It?' a regular informative strip and in this issue the information was all about Christmas. Readers were informed that there had only been nine white Christmases in the twentieth century (up until then) and that the first Christmas card had been designed by J.C. Horsley in 1843. The bottom half of the page was devoted to adverts for Subbuteo Table Soccer, Stamp Collecting and ballpoint pens and a plea for readers to save money for the N.S.P.C.C. Both Subbuteo and Philidyne Cycle Dynamo Lighting Sets were also advertised in the 1950 Christmas issue. On page fourteen was John Ryan's comedy strip 'Harris Tweed, Extra Special Agent' and as Tweed's adventures were single episode stories, this one was devoted to Christmas, with Tweed being tied up by thieves at a Christmas party and wrapped up in a giant Christmas Cracker. Fortunately his young assistant manages to catch the thieves and Tweed manages to claim the credit as usual.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEivsytDwTTl8u8zrDkZ_a-nxzY0SMRy4JhLofkoeyhnBcDUULvvw8zMGtNGMnL9mknLf1OIPMN-3RelGAAGCSKogqbog-7ZPMR2PqxWbjoxYCLBUuFiFRMgu_QARejyNRMTU-1TIaFndpmGZdjGSGMkbYFpcwRfK5E07X4ScBQZD_CchjigqQ8v_06HkFyw/s2806/P1050664.JPG" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2806" data-original-width="2806" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEivsytDwTTl8u8zrDkZ_a-nxzY0SMRy4JhLofkoeyhnBcDUULvvw8zMGtNGMnL9mknLf1OIPMN-3RelGAAGCSKogqbog-7ZPMR2PqxWbjoxYCLBUuFiFRMgu_QARejyNRMTU-1TIaFndpmGZdjGSGMkbYFpcwRfK5E07X4ScBQZD_CchjigqQ8v_06HkFyw/s320/P1050664.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><p>On page fifteen in the 'Tommy Walls' strip, sponsored by Walls Ice Cream, Tommy and his friends catch a villainous department store Santa who is hiding stolen watches in one of his Christmas present boxes, ready to sneak them out of the store later. This strip was drawn and probably also written by Richard Jennings, who had a long run illustrating 'Tommy Walls' before moving on to 'Storm Nelson' in October 1953. Jennings also wrote many of the 'Tommy Walls' stories. He would later take over the writing of 'Storm Nelson' when the original writer left the strip and he adapted Arthur Conan Doyle's <i>The Lost World</i> for <i>EAGLE </i>in 1962, for a strip drawn by Martin Aitchison. </p><p>The final page of this issue was the first part of a retelling of the story of the birth of Christ, from the viewpoint of a shepherd boy. Called 'The Shepherd Lad of Bethlehem' it was drawn by the regular back page artist Norman Williams and ran to just two instalments. The first episode ends with the shepherds visiting the baby Jesus and the second features the wise men, one of whom arrives on an elephant! Camels -yes, but an elephant!? The strip also features a winged angel choir and snow on the hills, which contrasts strongly with Morris and Frank Hampson's 1960 retelling of the story of Jesus' life, which took a more grounded approach. </p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjS60fJa0APKfHCuzjy54TNCK4fNkVl-Vzibnj0JRsnPj0KXKVcKgiqjrbDdMxk1zojMcYxS_uoDXj5N_8v0eDT9qP-J6krkx_I9XMfbeQamcjJk4DO2z-p9qfZX0HAHW_kv2IMuUbFedxKLywgVhFgztGIdAajJvgLRjR5UE9FMiIllqNi72LFjHDYbYJB/s1004/Eagle4.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="919" data-original-width="1004" height="366" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjS60fJa0APKfHCuzjy54TNCK4fNkVl-Vzibnj0JRsnPj0KXKVcKgiqjrbDdMxk1zojMcYxS_uoDXj5N_8v0eDT9qP-J6krkx_I9XMfbeQamcjJk4DO2z-p9qfZX0HAHW_kv2IMuUbFedxKLywgVhFgztGIdAajJvgLRjR5UE9FMiIllqNi72LFjHDYbYJB/w400-h366/Eagle4.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>This second Christmas <i>EAGLE </i>certainly acknowledged the season and despite the fact that its popularity had made it a merchandising gold mine, it also managed to promote the Christian significance and message in its pages. The confusion about the starting time for the Carol Service did not affect its success and the Annual Carol Services became a highlight of the Christmas season for many readers as services were held all over the country for the next decade. <br /> <p></p><p><br /></p></div>Jim Ducketthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06067404471748328655noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-933803321368486321.post-34854245580775498402023-11-03T16:59:00.000+00:002023-11-03T16:59:39.359+00:00IN AND OUT OF THE EAGLE 45<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhb4ctJCHHICGf9HYtLmg-yn_gacvlZG7AcrmifFmwP9Q19Hbuv890l-geNoFl3o9vTD1ikRS1T0wNIzwkfn7iJGul96FhYJG2tDp3mT_Fz-ktPtpudTVt1ZCUm_SyVrGU9twz3ZgRAvVUTjiF_8xs7FESqcvletK0FIdBtuW-_mqjj1xsa6yhqy1BZ0jlb/s274/Anastasia.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="274" data-original-width="184" height="274" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhb4ctJCHHICGf9HYtLmg-yn_gacvlZG7AcrmifFmwP9Q19Hbuv890l-geNoFl3o9vTD1ikRS1T0wNIzwkfn7iJGul96FhYJG2tDp3mT_Fz-ktPtpudTVt1ZCUm_SyVrGU9twz3ZgRAvVUTjiF_8xs7FESqcvletK0FIdBtuW-_mqjj1xsa6yhqy1BZ0jlb/s1600/Anastasia.jpg" width="184" /></a></div><p>A notable feature of the 'Dan Dare' strip, particularly in the early days, was that Dan and Digby had relatives, several of whom appeared in the strip. In the original Venus story, Digby actually has a wife and family, who are again featured in a text story in the 1953 <i>Dan Dare Annual, </i>called 'Aunt Anastasia Comes to Stay'. However, with the notable exception of Aunt Anastasia, Digby's family are forgotten in later stories. Aunt Anastasia actually helps to defeat the Mekon's plans to conquer Earth in the first Venus story, when she realises that Digby's apparently reassuring message from Venus about the Treens (made under duress) is actually a clever coded warning. Her contribution leads to Dan Dare calling his new Spaceship 'Anastasia' in her honour. Digby's Aunt appears again at the end of 'Marooned on Mercury' and in two <i>EAGLE Annual </i>stories 'The Double Headed Eagle' and ''Operation Triceratops'. She features alongside many other characters from the saga in Keith Watson's final frame for 'The Menace From Jupiter' in 1967, when Dan was promoted to Spacefleet Controller and even appears in a 'Dan Dare' strip in the new version of <i>EAGLE </i>in 1990 in a story also drawn by Keith Watson. </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgTxDSP-NFIrnPXXykGK_rjkHvX94onCtfyhUiisuWqla3hY2RCAiiSwnq4AYj0ibfkXhqM_vG_KfCcuRsRiniUJt5alzO3VAWJS-gbAqkAgciJ6blnFYRdJcgabVNTF3R1Wq0vCkyITmucbH_pzzrk3AJls74JMaycrmbHymyeQuvhkgrwHpyAnatEsp9P/s254/Ivor.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><br /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhXCgfuOvouxEbt7f1NabG119u57BTczhQTsfbpCHLLKWjdRStW8ptqD36ZrtpAb2cBmYf_n6EV_JG6iBdDihdVNS0qCMteYIMhkNlqyNSGAH6OQvjJ_sWuSOKbGKGXql_eDuoaQ01ceqzeT5uvbfp1TpCkvH7QwN5PEyJQ_pws-Rg8A0QwD06sDV8IfJds/s254/Ivor.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="254" data-original-width="199" height="254" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhXCgfuOvouxEbt7f1NabG119u57BTczhQTsfbpCHLLKWjdRStW8ptqD36ZrtpAb2cBmYf_n6EV_JG6iBdDihdVNS0qCMteYIMhkNlqyNSGAH6OQvjJ_sWuSOKbGKGXql_eDuoaQ01ceqzeT5uvbfp1TpCkvH7QwN5PEyJQ_pws-Rg8A0QwD06sDV8IfJds/s1600/Ivor.jpg" width="199" /></a></div><p>Not to be outdone, Dan Dare's Uncle Ivor, an archaeologist, plays a major part in the second 'Dan Dare' adventure 'The Red Moon Mystery', informing Dan of the last visit of the deadly 'Red Moon', many thousands of years earlier, when it destroyed civilisation on Mars. He also appears briefly alongside Aunt Anastasia at the end of 'Marooned on Mercury', but plays a bigger role in 'The Phantom Fleet', where he is one of a group of V.I.P.s on a new spacecraft which is captured by an aquatic race who wish to settle in one of Earth's oceans and he becomes involved in successful peace talks with them. He makes his last appearance in <i>EAGLE </i>in<i> </i>the final frame of 'The Menace From Jupiter'. He also appears in Basil Dawson's 1956 novel <i>Dan Dare on Mars. </i>Three other relatives of Dan also feature in the saga. His nephew, Alastair features in 'The Double Headed Eagle' in <i>EAGLE Annual Number Three, </i>when he competes in the Interplanetary Olympic Games on Venus. Another nephew, Nigel, appears in the weekly <i>EAGLE </i>in the 1964 adventure 'The Big City Caper'. He is a member of a group of disaffected youths who the villain Xel tries to recruit to his cause, but is too sensible to be influenced by the evil megalomaniac. We never learn whether Nigel and Alastair are brothers. The eccentric Uncle Ivor comes across as a confirmed bachelor, which suggests that Dan must have at least one more Uncle. </p><p>The last member of Dan's clan to play a part in the saga is his father, William Dare, who does not actually appear in the story, but is strongly referenced in 'Safari in Space', 'Terra Nova' and 'Trip to Trouble' in 1959. In this series of adventures, Dan travels to another star to search for his father who went missing on an expedition many years earlier. Sadly, the story ends with the discovery that his father has died. </p>Jim Ducketthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06067404471748328655noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-933803321368486321.post-75885313063488465602023-11-03T11:03:00.001+00:002023-11-03T17:01:02.467+00:00SIR BOBBY CHARLTON (1937 - 2023)<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiKH9iy_ipfBhaJ3BgYZS76VBHWCFYJgBiqJr3-9Ex1X7vcEVxUhedNsigTvACcyw-dUMvdJ16j6Xxnlkwk5tNFbAFmOlTw7opu-joaaG9_rCs45sxS8APDR59uBDXFRYz15ESz0dEc7SWnwl4SsRpiQ5O7jWRmHHPJa8QHISB_50MRRlfd-Mqi6RkJjnNS/s1551/20231102_145758.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><br /></a></div></div><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px; text-align: left;"><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: arial; text-align: justify;">Eaglers were sorry to hear of the death of Sir Bobby Charlton last week. Bobby had a strong connection with </span><i style="font-family: arial; text-align: justify;">EAGLE </i><span style="font-family: arial; text-align: justify;">many years before he became a World Cup winner with England and a European Cup winner with Manchester United, for he was voted </span><i style="font-family: arial; text-align: justify;">EAGLE </i><span style="font-family: arial; text-align: justify;">Sportsman of the Year for three years in succession, from 1958 to 1960, being the final recipient of the award and the only person to win it three times. He also contributed to a series called 'Soccer- The Bobby Charlton Way' for </span><i style="font-family: arial; text-align: justify;">EAGLE </i><span style="font-family: arial; text-align: justify;">in 1960, where he demonstrated skills in a series of photographs. Bobby experienced tragedy as well as success in his life, surviving the Munich air crash in February 1958, when many of his team mates were killed. </span><span style="font-family: arial;">The picture below was published in </span><i style="font-family: arial;">EAGLE </i><span style="font-family: arial;">when Bobby won his first Sportsman of the Year award. Bobby told readers that he enjoyed reading the Cutaway drawings as he had considered a career in engineering. </span></span></div></blockquote><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px;"><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px;"><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px;"><p style="text-align: justify;"><br /></p></blockquote></blockquote></blockquote><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px; text-align: left;"><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="clear: left; float: left; font-family: arial; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1415" data-original-width="1551" height="292" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiKH9iy_ipfBhaJ3BgYZS76VBHWCFYJgBiqJr3-9Ex1X7vcEVxUhedNsigTvACcyw-dUMvdJ16j6Xxnlkwk5tNFbAFmOlTw7opu-joaaG9_rCs45sxS8APDR59uBDXFRYz15ESz0dEc7SWnwl4SsRpiQ5O7jWRmHHPJa8QHISB_50MRRlfd-Mqi6RkJjnNS/s320/20231102_145758.jpg" width="320" /></span><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">After leaving Manchester United in 1973, Bobby became manager of Preston North End and later also played for Preston, where I watched him many times. After leaving Preston, he became a Director of Wigan Athletic and subsequently joined the Board of Manchester United. He was a true sportsman and a great example to the young - a worthy <i>EAGLE </i> Sportsman of the Year. </span></div></blockquote><p>(Tribute by Steve Winders) </p><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px; text-align: left;"><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"> </span></div><div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div></div></blockquote><div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhOoxgsOM4H0NqCgBWHm_wSx1PtfRTtuf48dKZfSTyaYTXgGRYQVG4uHQqPZeGNZtIbzCtEREtf10JhxkaCD0vqTGd7E0wHrwhbbBuP-SkFIbhgO1ws17FLWfAFrl7i5SDUC7bnvvaXs4cwPG8JIlKaw2JcMLJB40P-MqBtKa_9nX3yhrtPgjE568X9odaB/s956/PNE5.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><br /></a></div><br /><br /></div>Steve Windershttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00977131664169317705noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-933803321368486321.post-19160478420737511382023-10-09T09:24:00.000+01:002023-10-09T09:24:10.270+01:00EAGLE TIMES VOL. 36 NO.3 AUTUMN 2023 <p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj9cJ-MkQfIze709vRXqzPK4GF9wgjOp2VM7LLWoE6kvfMWCvi9HxOTNRlGGAO-XKVPngEfsbxSA38O4p6g9ftjnao8Q0-GnDlRxdCqPnO_fzRaw9a7KWxRzTTJwtIFmxZDDLYhKbjWg28rhgPdCBWi4New3tx6hL7lzfVJUUvN6JgYyRu8ddAbha_S9-5i/s580/Abe14.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="580" data-original-width="407" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj9cJ-MkQfIze709vRXqzPK4GF9wgjOp2VM7LLWoE6kvfMWCvi9HxOTNRlGGAO-XKVPngEfsbxSA38O4p6g9ftjnao8Q0-GnDlRxdCqPnO_fzRaw9a7KWxRzTTJwtIFmxZDDLYhKbjWg28rhgPdCBWi4New3tx6hL7lzfVJUUvN6JgYyRu8ddAbha_S9-5i/s320/Abe14.jpg" width="225" /></a></div>The Autumn edition of <i>EAGLE Times </i>is out now. It features a wide range of articles including a look at 'Riders of the Range' and 'Blackbow the Cheyenne' artist Frank Humphris' sketchbook, by Richard Sheaf and a piece by Brett Gooden about the early cutaway drawings of Leslie Ashwell Wood. Also in this issue are articles by Steve Winders about the 'Mark Question' strip, 'The Great Charlemagne' and the <i>EAGLE </i>novel, <i>Luck of the Legion's Desert</i> <i>Adventure</i>, an article by Peter Barr about the sports strip artist Mazure, a selection of readers'letters from the 1950s <i>EAGLE </i>by David Britton, a complete new Archie Willoughby story and two of my 'In and Out of the <i>EAGLE' </i>pages. My recent post from the blog about 'Eagles Dare' beer (see below) is also included, along with our editor's review of the beer which he bought on a recent visit to Southport. Copies can be ordered from Bob Corn at the address on the right. <br /> <p></p>Jim Ducketthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06067404471748328655noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-933803321368486321.post-8412437071652080502023-08-21T12:21:00.001+01:002023-08-21T14:52:03.263+01:00IN AND OUT OF THE EAGLE 44<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh-PFlZEpwuayNeUpgOZi2BAP7Dugbqn3IYokwNrOTC4YdESWvsAn8M-yLw0ntcaP7ClBoLX1GEnmbaCDyCPijK2BPuliOl6R03OPsIvWpSoB1UYcnGgS-Dt6PHVlyR6NO5udVfKNh1RwmUpRPi0LzwK2i20VFZdjyxTxbNvEuXe4ZsdmqpxKkz_mvKriPP/s1107/Dan%20Dare%20Beer.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1107" data-original-width="890" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh-PFlZEpwuayNeUpgOZi2BAP7Dugbqn3IYokwNrOTC4YdESWvsAn8M-yLw0ntcaP7ClBoLX1GEnmbaCDyCPijK2BPuliOl6R03OPsIvWpSoB1UYcnGgS-Dt6PHVlyR6NO5udVfKNh1RwmUpRPi0LzwK2i20VFZdjyxTxbNvEuXe4ZsdmqpxKkz_mvKriPP/s320/Dan%20Dare%20Beer.jpg" width="257" /></a></div>Dan Dare has lent his name to a wide variety of merchandise over the years, with everything from pyjamas to tooth powder being licenced. However, there has never been a 'Dan Dare' beer until recently when Southport Brewery launched their 'EAGLE'S DARE' bronze bitter. I contacted the brewer, Paul Bardsley to enquire ask about it and he replied: <div><br /><div>"We started making it (using its current recipe) in July 2021 and since then have made an estimated 8000 litres of it.<div style="box-sizing: border-box;">The original recipe for it was shared with another beer we named 'Ruck & Maul' that we had created in partnership with the local rugby club. However, as the name is owned by Tatton Brewery, we were limited to selling it to the Southport area (with their permission). Using the alternate name of EAGLE'S DARE allowed it to be sold outside of our seaside town.</div><div style="box-sizing: border-box;"><br style="box-sizing: border-box;" /></div><div style="box-sizing: border-box;">In July 2021, we made the decision to give Eagle's Dare its own recipe as it is, in my view, the best looking badge we have for our beers.</div><div style="box-sizing: border-box;">All our beers are Southport themed. As you well know, the Eagle has links with our town and we're very proud that is does so. There is an Eagle/Dan Dare display in the Atkinson (the local art centre) on the second floor which makes me childishly giddy every time I see it. I only got into it in the 90's when I was but a laddie up in Scotland but my boss (Boss Paul as opposed to Other/Scapegoat Paul who is currently writing this) used to nick the magazine from his older brother when he was a child, back in the 1960s.</div><div style="box-sizing: border-box;"><br style="box-sizing: border-box;" /></div><div style="box-sizing: border-box;">The beer itself is a bronze bitter. It has a really powerful and satisfying bitter bite at the start and is followed with a dry, floral palate. It's a 'standard' bitter to our standards, although with considerably more hops than the 'standard bitters' that are touted by chain pubs. It's quickly achieved its own following locally which is really nice to see and makes us feel validated as brewers.</div><div style="box-sizing: border-box;"><br style="box-sizing: border-box;" /></div><div style="box-sizing: border-box;">At the moment, it's currently available in cask only. Even worse, it's only available locally to us as we are a small brewery and our range is limited. Best place to find it is either The Waterpudlian in Waterloo/Crosby, or The Guesthouse in Southport. Unfortunately, we have no control as to when it goes on asides from delivering the beer.</div><div style="box-sizing: border-box;"><br /></div><div style="box-sizing: border-box;">We do also offer it in 5 litre (9 pints) cans when we make a batch. Only while stock lasts but it's semi-permanent. If it's out of stock, it's usually only for a couple of weeks before we can make a fresh batch. Available from our online shop or, if you're in Southport, Portland Wines on Portland Street (though you can always come by and get one from us too)".</div><div style="box-sizing: border-box;"><br style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #333333; font-family: OpenSans-webfont; font-size: 16px;" /></div><p></p></div></div>Jim Ducketthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06067404471748328655noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-933803321368486321.post-71894510351518215062023-08-13T14:26:00.002+01:002023-08-13T14:26:46.097+01:00PLEASE NOTE - OUR NEW SUBSCRIPTION ADDRESS<p> Our subscription address has now changed. Our secretary has moved to Wales and the new details are on the right. </p>Jim Ducketthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06067404471748328655noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-933803321368486321.post-91457541232346771862023-08-06T08:05:00.004+01:002023-08-09T14:57:38.457+01:00IN AND OUT OF THE EAGLE 43<p>Superheroes in comics often have secret identities and while the original <i>EAGLE's </i>heroes had no need for them, some of their creators certainly used false names. Between 1950 and March 1962, <i>EAGLE </i>printed writer and artist credits on most strips, text stories and articles, but several contributors used pen names for their work. Geoffrey Bond wrote 'Luck of the Legion' using his own name, but wrote the back page biographies of Baden Powell and Abraham Lincoln as Alan Jason. Alan Stranks wrote 'PC 49's adventures as himself, but wrote the short 'Marvell of M.I.5' series as David Cameron. The screenwriter Guy Morgan didn't use his own name at all in <i>EAGLE, </i>writing 'Storm Nelson' as Edward Trice. Likewise, the television and film writer Leonard Fincham wrote 'Danger Unlimited' as Steve Alen and several text serials, including the 'Special Agent' series about Inspector Jean Collet of Interpol as Lee Mayne. He later developed this into a TV series called <i>Interpol Calling, </i>although he created new stories and changed the names of the heroes to avoid copyright issues. Another television writer, Basil Dawson, wrote part of the 'Dan Dare' story 'Operation Saturn' as Don Riley, but he wrote the novel <i>Dan Dare on Mars </i>using his own name. Francis Dickson wrote several books and three back page biographies for <i>EAGLE </i>as R.B. Saxe and J.H.G. Freeman, usually known as Don Freeman, wrote several books as well, as 'Knights of the Road' for <i>EAGLE </i>as Gordon Grinstead. The celebrated science fiction writer Arthur C. Clarke had a short story 'The Fires Within' published in an early issue of <i>EAGLE </i>under the pen name of Charles Willis, which he used for several short stories at the time and Clifford Makins, who succeeded Marcus Morris as editor of <i>EAGLE, </i>wrote the back page biography of Nelson as Christopher Keyes. An <i>EAGLE </i>artist who used another name was Bruno Kleinzeller, who escaped from Czechoslovakia shortly before the Nazis invaded and subsequently used the name Peter Kay for his work in Britain, which included 'drop in' illustrations for the text stories of 'The Three 'J's' in <i>EAGLE </i>as well as several strips for <i>Girl. </i> </p><p>The contributors had different reasons for using pseudonyms but none were for tax evasion or anything else illegal. The real writers have often been identified through surviving payment details which clearly record their true identities. As a contributor to the <i>Daily Mirror, </i>J.H.G. Freeman used 'Gordon Grinstead' for his other work. Geoffrey Bond used 'Alan Jason' to avoid having two strips appearing in <i>EAGLE </i>at the same time using the same name and Francis Dickson used 'R.B. Saxe' for all his writing. However, in the 1960s when <i>EAGLE </i>was produced by Odhams, there was a company rule that editorial staff should not be paid for any scriptwriting they did, leading to several staff being paid through agents when they were called upon to write stories. While writers and artists were no longer credited in the weekly, records of payment were obviously kept and could have revealed staff breaking company rules, so agents were used and named on the records. </p>Jim Ducketthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06067404471748328655noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-933803321368486321.post-81998615196663756802023-07-27T09:53:00.001+01:002023-07-27T18:40:33.309+01:00BEANO IS 85!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgCkJb9As1e7HWevwNzUpM-j7PL6yD4z6biiBuOegg3ZJ7u23myGKy4sEb2R-p-XLYgTpt9JNZmAmwBE5ZpoNPfnXZeiTeJ25WywFgQK15szTJqLQQHKn8RlWXF22gKX0qNS9e1IX1RfzIkRLzB82imbhs3X5fcY6J0PvFCPLUuLNnwstHiKdvLHEDpR7qW/s500/Beano.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="500" data-original-width="363" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgCkJb9As1e7HWevwNzUpM-j7PL6yD4z6biiBuOegg3ZJ7u23myGKy4sEb2R-p-XLYgTpt9JNZmAmwBE5ZpoNPfnXZeiTeJ25WywFgQK15szTJqLQQHKn8RlWXF22gKX0qNS9e1IX1RfzIkRLzB82imbhs3X5fcY6J0PvFCPLUuLNnwstHiKdvLHEDpR7qW/s320/Beano.jpg" width="232" /></a></div><p>Congratulations to <i>Beano </i>which celebrates its eighty fifth birthday this week and most importantly is still going strong and is still funny! It has entertained readers since 1938, introducing such iconic characters as Dennis the Menace, The Bash Street Kids, Minnie the Minx, Roger the Dodger, Jonah and Lord Snooty and his Pals to British readers. Well served by talented artists like Dudley D. Watkins, Leo Baxendale, David Law, Ken Reid, Jim Petrie, Nigel Parkinson, Tom Paterson, Lew Stringer, Kev F. Sutherland and David Sutherland, it is Britain's longest running comic by some distance. Currently edited by John Anderson, it has benefitted from good editorship, with George Moonie, Harold Cramond and Euan Kerr all having long runs in the role. Long may it continue! </p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><br /><p><br /></p>Steve Windershttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00977131664169317705noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-933803321368486321.post-73740127143375979882023-06-11T15:11:00.002+01:002023-06-12T13:33:23.378+01:00EAGLE TIMES Vol.36 No.2 SUMMER 2023<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhwWxdyaE_YGJrebwz5jZDfD8waKK4CPSa1T2S9O0pMES_SPMisavTs14qZ3t-rA60Y2UacQetQqbdBUG3P-mrAm_cgVQBKuJSHhkMgR4URTWngwxqxOFY4vWaBWxOie92cTCP1XRFSF5dsD_Cc45MfUAsTwyZ7NbruqjR2JXyr9qSzqkLXYhUQ8_hvpg/s709/Eagle%20Times4.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="709" data-original-width="500" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhwWxdyaE_YGJrebwz5jZDfD8waKK4CPSa1T2S9O0pMES_SPMisavTs14qZ3t-rA60Y2UacQetQqbdBUG3P-mrAm_cgVQBKuJSHhkMgR4URTWngwxqxOFY4vWaBWxOie92cTCP1XRFSF5dsD_Cc45MfUAsTwyZ7NbruqjR2JXyr9qSzqkLXYhUQ8_hvpg/s320/Eagle%20Times4.jpg" width="226" /></a></div>The Summer issue of <i>EAGLE Times </i>has arrived early. It features a report on this year's <i>EAGLE Society </i>Gathering in York, by Reg Hoare, an article on 'Spaceships - from Buck Rogers 1928 to Dan Dare 1950' by David Britton and the final part of David's long running series 'Charles Chilton and the Indian Wars'. There are two pieces by Steve Winders<i> </i>about <i>EAGLE's </i>back page biographies in this issue. The first is the final part of 'The Baden Powell Story'<i>, </i>about the founder of the Scouting Movement and the second is Part One of 'The Great Charlemagne', about the famous Frankish Emperor. The issue also includes Steve's article about the short lived 1958 - '59 strip 'Cavendish Brown' and the text of his speech 'Infinite Possibilities', given at the York Gathering. Finally, there is the second and final part of 'the Archie Berkeley-Willoughby adventure 'The Case of the Providential Puncture'. Copies are available from Bob Corn at the address on the right.<div>The latest issue is reviewed on the Down The Tubes site: <p></p></div><div><span style="background-color: #e7f3ff; color: #050505; font-family: "Segoe UI Historic", "Segoe UI", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px;"> </span><a class="x1i10hfl xjbqb8w x6umtig x1b1mbwd xaqea5y xav7gou x9f619 x1ypdohk xt0psk2 xe8uvvx xdj266r x11i5rnm xat24cr x1mh8g0r xexx8yu x4uap5 x18d9i69 xkhd6sd x16tdsg8 x1hl2dhg xggy1nq x1a2a7pz xt0b8zv x1fey0fg" href="https://downthetubes.net/latest-eagle-times-explores-infinite-possibilities-of-the-universe-and-small-corners-of-the-classic-comic-too/?fbclid=IwAR2N4wy-ztoJJkrzhKkXpOnXPsrv1o7t2SSYFbSshiU05r_Ki2D5FEHKlhg" rel="nofollow noreferrer" role="link" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; background-color: #e7f3ff; border-color: initial; border-style: initial; border-width: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; cursor: pointer; display: inline; font-family: "Segoe UI Historic", "Segoe UI", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; list-style: none; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px; text-decoration-line: none; touch-action: manipulation;" tabindex="0" target="_blank">https://downthetubes.net/latest-eagle-times-explores.../</a></div>Jim Ducketthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06067404471748328655noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-933803321368486321.post-31761093074403883542023-05-07T11:45:00.000+01:002023-05-07T11:45:24.994+01:00IN AND OUT OF THE EAGLE 42<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg4rOxnqDmtdcAyw73qs8mQ11qIXcO6u0U1EtudRe4D1iqJd_R8D5K6J744f_7WaqK-dSj8bgMkUETxgndsjyrtgx44F3traETc0cp1D9Oeb2EfxXoQkFo3Q_GE4DiUO6dUSVNx_GR2V0N8auw8mR1WYJmc5z01u0NHN9p8DXGp9LO8BcIUeNwhHJZwxg/s1177/Coronation2.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="801" data-original-width="1177" height="436" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg4rOxnqDmtdcAyw73qs8mQ11qIXcO6u0U1EtudRe4D1iqJd_R8D5K6J744f_7WaqK-dSj8bgMkUETxgndsjyrtgx44F3traETc0cp1D9Oeb2EfxXoQkFo3Q_GE4DiUO6dUSVNx_GR2V0N8auw8mR1WYJmc5z01u0NHN9p8DXGp9LO8BcIUeNwhHJZwxg/w640-h436/Coronation2.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Seventy years ago, in 1953, <i>EAGLE </i>celebrated the last Coronation in style. For five issues the centre pages were entirely devoted to Coronation matters, including the Coronation route and how the B.B.C. would film the event. There were also several features about the Kings and Queens of Britain, the Royal Family and the Coronation itself. There was a Coronation Competition with prizes and <i>EAGLE's </i>editor, Marcus Morris even released a record in which he explained the significance, the events and the traditions of the Coronation for readers. In 1953, two of <i>EAGLE's </i>most popular strips 'PC 49' and 'Riders of the Range' were also successful B.B.C. radio series and two days after the Coronation, both were featured in a special Gala Night on the 'Light Programme' as the above extract from the <i>Radio Times </i>shows. Brian Reece, who played P.C. 49 introduced the programmes in character, along with Noel Johnson (also in character), as Dick Barton, the special agent he had played for three years in the popular daily serial. 'Riders of the Range' was one of the shows featured in the Gala. This was a short special edition of the western, but it featured all the major characters, including Paul Carpenter, who played Jeff Arnold, Charles Irwin as Luke and Macdonald Parke as the rancher J.C. Macdonald. The episode also featured Guy Kingsley Pointer, who would go on to play Doc in Charles Chilton's next radio series 'Journey Into Space' and Alan Keith, who played several parts in 'Riders of the Range' and would later create the long running 'Your Hundred Best Tunes' for B.B.C. radio, which he would present from 1959 until 2003, when he was ninety four. Sadly, the final series of 'The Adventures of PC 49' ended on radio shortly before this Coronation Special, so this was Reece's last appearance in the role. 'Riders of the Range' also ended its radio run later in 1953, but continued in <i>EAGLE </i>until 1962. 'PC 49' would continue in <i>EAGLE </i>until 1957. Dick Barton's radio adventures had concluded in 1951 and Noel Johnson had left the role in 1949, but as this was a Gala Night with the focus on popular programmes from the previous seven years, the character's inclusion made sense. 'Dick Barton: Special Agent' was still hugely popular when it ended and there were major protests at its cancellation. Some people are still feeling bitter about it now! </div>Jim Ducketthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06067404471748328655noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-933803321368486321.post-51880751950534602702023-04-12T17:40:00.001+01:002023-04-13T15:30:35.886+01:00EAGLE TIMES VOL. 36 NO. 1 SPRING 2023<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEicX7CmXEi-sZmMUF64N7jSGxiEgLhfwxjlzqJURvZQu2M41dyP2FEv2NP1SUXXTFF88lq4CBk20fOJ4Z545I3Xij8mzb2fALNyG8lgg6ixiu1iZiSFGqBGWGpSJRy42CLO8wx9X_h5Pi9r_gVJFi0cTFWeJsCDQguAP2GNkAYyMaPKH4NnIwWdaOp4sw/s4387/P1050507.JPG" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4387" data-original-width="3235" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEicX7CmXEi-sZmMUF64N7jSGxiEgLhfwxjlzqJURvZQu2M41dyP2FEv2NP1SUXXTFF88lq4CBk20fOJ4Z545I3Xij8mzb2fALNyG8lgg6ixiu1iZiSFGqBGWGpSJRy42CLO8wx9X_h5Pi9r_gVJFi0cTFWeJsCDQguAP2GNkAYyMaPKH4NnIwWdaOp4sw/s320/P1050507.JPG" width="236" /></a></div><p>The first <i>EAGLE Times </i>of 2023 is out now. Issues can be ordered from Bob Corn at the address on the right and a four issue subscription is just £30. The lead article by Eric Summers was inspired by a readers' book review featured in <i>EAGLE </i>in 1952. Readers had been invited to review their favourite books and eight were chosen for publication. Eric read all these books and reviewed them himself for <i>EAGLE Times. </i>This edition continues with a tribute to the late Joan Porter, who was the last surviving member of Frank Hampson's team, written by Darren Evans. Steve Winders reviews the fourth <i>Luck of the Legion </i>novel, <i>Sergeant Luck's Secret Mission </i>and David Britton continues his long running feature on The Indian Wars as they were covered in <i>Riders of the Range. </i>Two of David's short <i>Tail Pieces </i>are also included in this issue, focussing on <i>Captain Future, </i>an American space hero of the 1940s and the 'Last Three of Venus', the mysterious 'Mekonlike' beings who appeared in <i>Dan Dare. </i>The Spring issue also features the first part of Steve Winders' latest <i>Archie Willoughby </i>adventure <i>The Case of the Providential Puncture </i>and a new front cover illustration by Carol Tarrant of Archie in his original incarnation as <i>PC 49 </i>alongside his latest role as a Detective Sergeant references the story. An <i>In and Out of the EAGLE </i>by myself, covers the several 'Mekons' in popular music. Steve Winders then continues his examination of the back page biographical strips with the first of a two part look at Baden Powell. Peter Barr then looks at the life of Freddie Mills, the boxer, who featured regularly in the early <i>EAGLE. </i>A short piece by David Britton looks at an image from <i>The Man From Nowhere </i>and provides a new version of it by Berislav Krzic, with the <i>EAGLE </i>masthead and the speech bubbles removed. Finally the issue ends with a Letters page. </p>Jim Ducketthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06067404471748328655noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-933803321368486321.post-44855474987308625802023-04-12T15:53:00.001+01:002023-04-12T15:53:26.850+01:00IN AND OUT OF THE EAGLE 41<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgy1KfmZBdSzlvTYAsiLvCNOLt5hgti3llo_z8NRSWfnXltLOmmdd0dPdtQqKtw371F4one5kgsQj2xOXmV8NyUcusOX0-HkgTTwgX-D5fl0DtPTQkB6gDOKe3doRJMnYPslBWkTYYI__iCajFf1fr67SADzJjdT-WVD32l63KX1Era8QOL4KymRJVPoQ/s400/All.webp" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="400" data-original-width="309" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgy1KfmZBdSzlvTYAsiLvCNOLt5hgti3llo_z8NRSWfnXltLOmmdd0dPdtQqKtw371F4one5kgsQj2xOXmV8NyUcusOX0-HkgTTwgX-D5fl0DtPTQkB6gDOKe3doRJMnYPslBWkTYYI__iCajFf1fr67SADzJjdT-WVD32l63KX1Era8QOL4KymRJVPoQ/s320/All.webp" width="247" /></a></div><p>Surprisingly <i>EAGLE </i>has a connection to the <i>Eurovision Song Contest </i>through the <i>PC 49 </i>and <i>Dan Dare </i>writer, Alan Stranks, who was also an accomplished writer of song lyrics. He wrote the lyrics for Britain's first ever entry in the competition, in 1957. The song <i>All </i>was sung by Patricia Bredin and it finished seventh of the ten entries. The competition was held in Frankfurt. Among Alan's other songs are the lyrics to <i>Cuckoo Waltz, Love Steals Your Heart </i>and <i>No Orchids for My Lady, </i>which was recorded by Frank Sinatra. Alan's work on <i>Dan Dare </i>began with <i>Prisoners of Space </i>in 1954 and continued until his untimely death in 1959. He also wrote the strips <i>Mark Question </i>and <i>Marvell of M.I.5. </i>He is the father of Susan Stranks, who presented the popular children's TV series <i>Magpie </i>from its launch in 1968 until 1974. </p>Jim Ducketthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06067404471748328655noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-933803321368486321.post-71766483408149307002023-04-12T15:51:00.000+01:002023-04-12T15:51:00.636+01:00IN AND OUT OF THE EAGLE 40<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEikPQkp_jEb6zFkVwdjQ2LtTB0LT4qSAWpEd9-U7zYtEvq38XxnuvKcETnei_trt7FG7x0EP7SsOkhJtqS_TptAZHg4Rk4gUOO3ej1WaR0GLKr97CFM_7viWYXMtrL6H9NNM5r7bcGB69g5hQonh_kiiqK2EaKA0M9aec-W3k8KX4Ko7PVFRwzXL4geBg/s768/Churchill.webp" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="478" data-original-width="768" height="398" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEikPQkp_jEb6zFkVwdjQ2LtTB0LT4qSAWpEd9-U7zYtEvq38XxnuvKcETnei_trt7FG7x0EP7SsOkhJtqS_TptAZHg4Rk4gUOO3ej1WaR0GLKr97CFM_7viWYXMtrL6H9NNM5r7bcGB69g5hQonh_kiiqK2EaKA0M9aec-W3k8KX4Ko7PVFRwzXL4geBg/w640-h398/Churchill.webp" width="640" /></a></div><p>In 2002 the B.B.C. held a poll among viewers to find the <i>One Hundred Greatest Britons. </i>While polls give different results every time they are taken, it is interesting to note how the 2002 poll compared with the great Britons who featured on the back page of <i>EAGLE </i>in the 1950s. Top of the poll was Winston Churchill, who appeared on the back page in <i>The Happy Warrior </i>in 1957 - 58. Also in the top ten was Horatio Nelson at number nine, whose story was told in <i>The Great Sailor </i>in 1956 - 57. At number thirteen was Baden Powell, the founder of the Scouting Movement, who appeared on the back page in 1954 and at number fourteen was King Alfred the Great, featured in 1953 - 54. We then have to wait until number eighty eight and Bernard Law Montgomery, the Second World War General whose story was actually featured on <i>EAGLE's </i>centre pages in 1962 and was the last of <i>EAGLE's </i>serialised biographies. At number ninety three was the Elizabethan hero Walter Raleigh, featured in <i>The Golden Man </i>on the back page in 1961 and finally at number ninety eight was David Livingstone, the Victorian missionary and explorer, who featured on <i>EAGLE's </i>back page in 1957. Many of the back page heroes weren't British, so obviously didn't qualify for the poll, but there were two back page Britons who didn't make the hundred. These were St. Patrick, featured in <i>EAGLE </i>in 1951, who some people don't realise was British and Wilfred Grenfell, the Labrador doctor and missionary, featured in 1952 - 53, who is less well remembered in Britain today than he was in the 1950s. </p><p>The B.B.C. top ten also included Isambard Kingdom Brunel (2), Diana, Princess of Wales (3), Charles Darwin (4), William Shakespeare (5), Isaac Newton (6), Queen Elizabeth I (7), John Lennon (8) and Oliver Cromwell (10). Princess Diana wasn't born when most of the back pagers appeared in <i>EAGLE </i>and John Lennon was not quite ten years old when <i>EAGLE </i>was launched. </p>Jim Ducketthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06067404471748328655noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-933803321368486321.post-53597551182462593382023-03-27T11:35:00.003+01:002023-03-27T22:54:33.903+01:00IN AND OUT OF THE EAGLE 39<p><i>.</i></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiSWP6lZL1w73SB4A7bhd0pxCjDaU98A6WLJVa_-MZug3bhZI5KH9VCdslfdEdjfQawA-9v0eaUNVvmsBA3-_vGnb1-dAnNcEQ4t25GH_a8imVVDeej24Bt3SR3cHTjGHLjOiwhAxWNF-fe8a-ys33omXDOst-JZsbU5Ms_24BFtqtbJuM1DdIEtFD4Ug/s3664/Poem.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3068" data-original-width="3664" height="335" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiSWP6lZL1w73SB4A7bhd0pxCjDaU98A6WLJVa_-MZug3bhZI5KH9VCdslfdEdjfQawA-9v0eaUNVvmsBA3-_vGnb1-dAnNcEQ4t25GH_a8imVVDeej24Bt3SR3cHTjGHLjOiwhAxWNF-fe8a-ys33omXDOst-JZsbU5Ms_24BFtqtbJuM1DdIEtFD4Ug/w400-h335/Poem.JPG" width="400" /></a></i></div><p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%;">Thanks to the
‘Eagle-eyed’ David Gould for this item. In Volume 4 no.28 (October 16<sup>th</sup>
1953), a poem promoting the joys of <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Eagle,
</i>beginning with the phrase ‘Grand was the day when <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Eagle </i>came…’ appeared in the <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Eagle
Extra </i>section. Written by a staff member, this poem reappeared in April
1958, sent in by a dishonest reader, who made a few minor updates, replacing <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Tommy Walls </i>with <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Storm Nelson</i> and <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">PC 49 </i>with
<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Mark Question. </i>The plagiarist failed
to notice that the first letter of each line should read, downwards, ‘GOOD OLD
EAGLE’. His change to the final line made it read ‘GOOD OLD EAGLH’! Remarkably
this wasn’t the last time that the poem appeared. Another reader sent in his
own modified version in December 1967! This time the reader replaced <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Harris Tweed </i>with <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">The Iron Man</i>, <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Storm Nelson </i>with
<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Mike Lane </i>and <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Mark Question </i>with <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Grant
C.I.D. </i>This reader realised that the letters down should read ‘GOOD OLD
EAGLE’, for he pointed it out at the end of the letter, leading me to suspect
that he adapted it from the 1953 original and not the 1958 copy. The two chancers in <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Eagle </i>won
prizes of five and ten shillings, but their sins have found them out in the
end. Above is the original version from 1953.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%;"></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%;">David, who worked as a letterer on <i>Eagle </i>in the 1960s<i>, </i>reports that the weekly itself
was not averse to a little dishonesty in its later years, telling me that
several jokes were published with staff members’ or fictitious names. Shades of
<i>Blue Peter’s </i>notorious invention of a
competition winner here! <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%;"><br /></span></p>Jim Ducketthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06067404471748328655noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-933803321368486321.post-44305272715699598502023-03-25T09:45:00.001+00:002023-03-25T17:14:59.181+00:00IN AND OUT OF THE EAGLE 38<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgb7cmizSyN3VaWeJ0XFAcc2hze5WJW-myJDq5XPXbEt3wNLKgfVXgLDKQewcAaRFisv22dSQ8dFndrfAfZo4rHQBaT7_AbD1MdSbi28TmOne41l6a5MKSBl8meCovjArTEeZWCK0pZYXUcH3KejGF8TuW01rArNb-x_hHPg-EnFTWjPbnZ_8gl6YZJYg/s774/Detective%20Dan.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="705" data-original-width="774" height="582" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgb7cmizSyN3VaWeJ0XFAcc2hze5WJW-myJDq5XPXbEt3wNLKgfVXgLDKQewcAaRFisv22dSQ8dFndrfAfZo4rHQBaT7_AbD1MdSbi28TmOne41l6a5MKSBl8meCovjArTEeZWCK0pZYXUcH3KejGF8TuW01rArNb-x_hHPg-EnFTWjPbnZ_8gl6YZJYg/w640-h582/Detective%20Dan.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">There was another comic character called Dan Dare, created almost a decade before our own. This 'Dan' was an American 'private eye' who made his debut in a publication called <i>Whiz Comics, </i>produced by <i>Fawcett </i>in February 1940. Created by Bill Parker, Dan's adventures were produced by several artists and writers and appeared in thirteen issues of the monthly comic, although the strip was always a back up story. Detective Dan's first appearance was overshadowed by the first appearance of <i>Captain Marvel, </i>a popular superhero whose greatest battles were in court because <i>D.C. Comics </i>sued <i>Fawcett </i>for breach of copyright, claiming that the Captain was too similar to their own <i>Superman. Fawcett </i>resisted and once established, <i>Captain Marvel's </i>adventures began to outsell <i>Superman's. </i>The ongoing case was finally settled out of court in 1953, when <i>Fawcett </i>also ceased publication of their superhero titles as a result of falling sales. </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both;">The name <i>Captain Marvel </i>was later used by <i>Marvel Comics </i>for a character of their own, who first appeared in 1967, but in 1972 <i>D.C.</i> revived<i> Fawcett's </i>original character! However they were forced to use the name <i>Shazam! </i>for their comic because <i>Marvel </i>had established their rights to the name, suggesting that our <i>Dan Dare </i>is safe from a legal challenge. Often referred to as 'Shazam', which is actually the name of the wizard who gave him his powers, the <i>D.C. </i>owned superhero starred in the film <i>Shazam! </i>in 2019 and a sequel <i>Shazam! Fury of the Gods </i>in 2023. A <i>Captain Marvel </i>film featuring <i>Marvel's </i>version, now a female superhero also appeared in 2019. Confused? I am! </div></div><p></p>Jim Ducketthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06067404471748328655noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-933803321368486321.post-21036527321988679902023-03-11T11:30:00.003+00:002023-03-11T11:33:07.913+00:00HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO JOHN M.BURNS <p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiTvm89S2PU0JPqCfj8DyO4pBrIQn6-GzL5lNtdms78avjzPO7C1VSM6m1QUOAD0pqEKuzHMR2cYVQU7I0vEOiqipGdfWFDI22Lo46-NZ2mT18zjwlDGP7nir3MQD1s7YhcmyTClqpEbSsalqAFXDqHPZpgFVI4dOowOD1-SSrlB6m-n8W7lalOIPXYvg/s800/John%20Burns.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="543" data-original-width="800" height="217" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiTvm89S2PU0JPqCfj8DyO4pBrIQn6-GzL5lNtdms78avjzPO7C1VSM6m1QUOAD0pqEKuzHMR2cYVQU7I0vEOiqipGdfWFDI22Lo46-NZ2mT18zjwlDGP7nir3MQD1s7YhcmyTClqpEbSsalqAFXDqHPZpgFVI4dOowOD1-SSrlB6m-n8W7lalOIPXYvg/s320/John%20Burns.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>Congratulations to John M. Burns on his eighty fifth birthday. John is one of a small group of artists who contributed to both the original <i>EAGLE </i>and the 1980s version. Over a sixty year career he has produced a massive amount of impressive comic strip work. For <i>EAGLE </i>in the 1960s he illustrated episodes of <i>Roving Reporter, B</i><i>ids for Freedom </i>and the final six episodes of <i>Wrath of the Gods, </i>which joined <i>EAGLE </i>when it absorbed <i>Boys' World </i>in October 1964. He had illustrated this famous colour strip for <i>Boys' World </i>since July 1963, when he took over from Ron Embleton and he produced seventy two episodes in total. For the 1980s <i>EAGLE </i>he illustrated <i>The Fists of Danny Pike, Dolebusters </i>and a <i>Dan Dare </i>adventure. His other work includes <i>Wulf the Briton </i>for <i>Express Weekly </i>in 1961, which he also took over from Ron Embleton, several strips for <i>EAGLE's </i>companion paper <i>Robin, Kelpie the Boy Wizard </i>for Wham!,many strips for the TV based comics <i>TV21, Lady Penelope, Countdown, TV Action </i>and <i>Look -In, The Seekers </i>for <i>The Daily Sketch, Jane </i>and <i>Girl Chat </i>for <i>The Daily Mirror, </i><i>George and Lynne </i>for <i>The Sun, Julia </i>for the German newspaper <i>Bild, </i><i>Nicolai Dante, Sinister Dexter The Order </i>and <i>Judge Dredd </i>for <i>2000 A.D. </i>and <i>The Bendatti Vendetta </i>for the <i>Judge Dredd Megazine. </i>John has also illustrated comic strip versions of several classic novels.<p></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi74D902vUikZT8tETOi8EZOatuLELIpk9AME3lcS1iW74sqBOpNWcIqbCxZoY78xYv87oPCIg7Tnr-FBsJ-5UUaoWCbg8I5JnbLHDckvRfNKAdTaLXA8mib3-elyGlNi3JU87nb5ctXylfTGlDo5ia-1V_iOy3vZp8m4_m4pMyjsYQJQ1FKsaRFBP-yQ/s2048/Wrath3.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1318" data-original-width="2048" height="412" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi74D902vUikZT8tETOi8EZOatuLELIpk9AME3lcS1iW74sqBOpNWcIqbCxZoY78xYv87oPCIg7Tnr-FBsJ-5UUaoWCbg8I5JnbLHDckvRfNKAdTaLXA8mib3-elyGlNi3JU87nb5ctXylfTGlDo5ia-1V_iOy3vZp8m4_m4pMyjsYQJQ1FKsaRFBP-yQ/w640-h412/Wrath3.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /> <p></p>Steve Windershttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00977131664169317705noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-933803321368486321.post-42082980574026256792023-02-18T11:21:00.000+00:002023-02-18T11:21:59.160+00:00IN AND OUT OF THE EAGLE 37<p> </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjsutdXQCcM1NCzD8ij_mUtyYkzrzZJcSnUfgrX2WheYLOBSa5C2AMgpT3fq9Tmr9HtoFioLJhclJNdsXuTVn5CHdpa1jfNeDc8URLRdULATBv8_VyEwcnl-latIvUvKGwmLQ5oEVXUATAzalcpzTmwQ1xQzqwh8OSKsqE3FyINwwvDzCYAtKe9jwJ2nA/s960/Ham1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="960" data-original-width="834" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjsutdXQCcM1NCzD8ij_mUtyYkzrzZJcSnUfgrX2WheYLOBSa5C2AMgpT3fq9Tmr9HtoFioLJhclJNdsXuTVn5CHdpa1jfNeDc8URLRdULATBv8_VyEwcnl-latIvUvKGwmLQ5oEVXUATAzalcpzTmwQ1xQzqwh8OSKsqE3FyINwwvDzCYAtKe9jwJ2nA/s320/Ham1.jpg" width="278" /></a></div><p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%;">The <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Dan Dare </i>strip
has inspired many parodies and other humorous strips. <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Danny Dare </i>in <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Wham! </i>comic
was an early example. There were two <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Dan
Dires; </i>one by fan Eric Mackenzie and the other a political satire in <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Private Eye </i>magazine. Another political
satire was <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Dan Blair </i>in the <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Times </i><span style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">by Peter Brookes</span><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"> </i>and our own Ray Aspden produced <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Mekki </i>and <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Our Albert </i>for <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Spaceship
Away. </i>However the strip which most impressively reflected Frank Hampson’s
splendid visuals was <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Ham Dare, </i>a
strip which ran in <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Oink! c</i>omic in 1986.
<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Oink! </i>was an attempt to create an anarchic
children’s comic in the style of the adult <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Viz.
</i>As its name suggests, <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Oink! </i>adopted
a pig theme in keeping with its often vulgar humour and several popular
fictional characters were reimagined as pigs. <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></i></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;">Written by
Lew Stringer and illustrated in lavish colour by Malcolm Douglas (using the
pseudonym J.T. Dogg), </span><i style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;">Ham Dare </i><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;">stayed
remarkably faithful to Hampson’s designs, contrasting strongly with the
‘serious’ attempts to bring </span><i style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;">Dan Dare</i><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;">
back. The story, which also featured ‘Pigby’, ‘Sir Hogbert’ and the ‘Weakon’
avoided the vulgarity that was often prevalent in some of </span><i style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;">Oink’s </i><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;">other stories. The </span><i style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;">Ham
Dare </i><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;">serial ran from issues 15 to 19 of the then fortnightly comic, but </span><i style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;">Ham</i><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;"> also featured in the 1989 </span><i style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;">Oink! Annual </i><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;">and the 1989 </span><i style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;">Summer Special. </i><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;">Sadly, Malcolm Douglas
died in 2009 at the early age of 54, but Lew Stringer, who is also a prolific
comic artist,</span><i style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;"> </i><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;">is still going strong. </span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB; mso-no-proof: yes;"><o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></p>Jim Ducketthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06067404471748328655noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-933803321368486321.post-42542453166127792402023-02-18T11:20:00.000+00:002023-02-18T11:20:36.474+00:00IN AND OUT OF THE EAGLE 36<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjTxGK0-V99_gYfebdt_KenwwpR0nig6uP2BlnX7whZuW0edeupoVklavDhG1Xn_WI0IYCohmOAPRY-1V4erg-F96AJOqzuiTM37Qog-BMLXZhIecc9tQ9ccbP5QoG7wRaylBYE2iVE5Z7tq0y1uQI5x5moh4MGumlHFeTlzl1FtKBZv6e80YCkQKK3xw/s424/Aquila.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="424" data-original-width="300" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjTxGK0-V99_gYfebdt_KenwwpR0nig6uP2BlnX7whZuW0edeupoVklavDhG1Xn_WI0IYCohmOAPRY-1V4erg-F96AJOqzuiTM37Qog-BMLXZhIecc9tQ9ccbP5QoG7wRaylBYE2iVE5Z7tq0y1uQI5x5moh4MGumlHFeTlzl1FtKBZv6e80YCkQKK3xw/s320/Aquila.jpg" width="226" /></a></div>There is still a publication that bears the name <i>EAGLE </i>produced currently in Britain, although the title is actually in Latin. <i>Aquila </i>is a monthly educational magazine for 8-14 year olds which contains a mix of factual articles, challenging puzzles and fun activities, designed to stimulate and enhance children's skills and knowledge. It is produced by a small independent publisher called <i>New Leaf Publishing, </i>based in Eastbourne and is available internationally by subscription, with many schools as well as individuals subscribing. It carries no advertising and prides itself on its substantial text content, which contrasts strongly with most magazines published for children today. Despite its aims and educational content, <i>Aquila </i>bears little resemblance to our <i>EAGLE </i>or indeed to the famous educational magazine <i>Look and Learn. </i>Nevertheless it is a commendable publication and most importantly it is actually read by children. It has been running for thirty years and has a readership of 35,000. <br /> <p></p>Jim Ducketthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06067404471748328655noreply@blogger.com0