ROD BARZILAY

We were sorry to read of the death of Rod Barzilay, who passed away in August. Rod was a founder member of the EAGLE Society. He nurtured a long time ambition to produce a new 'Dan Dare' story in the style of the original, which he finally achieved at personal expense, writing a story himself set in the 'Sargasso Sea of Space' featured in the 'Dan Dare' story 'Reign of the Robots'. He engaged the services of former 'Dan Dare' artist Keith Watson, who sadly died after completing preliminary artwork and the first episode of the strip, which was called 'The Phoenix Mission'. Rod then engaged Don Harley to complete the ten part adventure, which led into a sequel called 'Green Nemesis'. After Rod struggled to find a publisher, he eventually decided to publish it himself and did so in a new high quality full colour publication called Spaceship Away! which began in 2003, a decade after Keith Watson had completed the first episode. Spaceship Away! also carries other science fiction strips and features. Charles Chilton's 'Journey Into Space' strips from Express Weekly were reprinted there. 

Don Harley also worked on 'Green Nemesis', but other commissions delayed him, so Tim Booth, an Irish artist who had submitted a new 'Dan Dare' strip of his own to Spaceship Away! helped to complete it. The strips copy the format from the original EAGLE, with each episode being set out as the first and second pages of the weekly, carrying the red title block with the flying eagle. I met Rod on several occasions during the many years he was working on the story and having heard about all the problems and setbacks he suffered, I never believed it would be completed and see the light of day, but it did and in Spaceship Away! which is now produced by Des Shaw, his dream and legacy live on. Rest in peace Rod and thank you for your perseverance and determination.     

IN AND OUT OF THE EAGLE 31

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

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

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

Eagle Artists - Keith Watson

Keith Watson (1935 – 1994) was born in Ormesbury, Middlesborough. In 1950, at the age of fifteen, he was inspired by seeing Frank Hampson’s ‘Dan Dare’ in Eagle and he became an instant fan. Although he had received no formal art training, in 1957 or early 1958 he submitted what was to be a successful job application to Frank Hampson, a pastiche front page of Eagle showing, in strip form, Dan & Co.’s reaction to the arrival a new artist – himself. Although there was no vacancy, Hampson was suitably impressed, and in 1958 Keith joined the ‘Dan Dare’ studio team as an assistant artist. After Hampson left in 1959, and Frank Bellamy took over as lead artist on ‘Dan Dare’, Keith continued along with the remainder of Hampson’s team but, dissatisfied at the way of working, he too left in 1960 - to draw ‘Captain Condor’ in Lion.

Two years later, he returned to Eagle as the sole artist on ‘Dan Dare’, and continued until early 1967 when Eagle began reprinting old ‘Dan Dare’ strips. After Eagle, Keith drew strips for a number of comics: ‘Sky Shark’ in Topper, ‘The Space Girls’ in Tina and Princess Tina. In 1968 he drew ‘Captain Scarlet and the Mysterons’ in TV21, and the next year, the title strip in Joe 90. In the late 1970s, he took over the ‘Roel Dijkstra’ football strip for a Dutch publisher. In 1989, he revived the “original” ‘Dan Dare’ for Fleetway's “new” Eagle, after which, in the early 1990s, he drew for Thunderbirds: the Comic. His final work, commissioned by Eagle Society member Rod Barzilay, was for a new “old school” ‘Dan Dare’ strip. After producing some designs and the first page, Keith was diagnosed with cancer. The opening page of ‘The Phoenix Mission’ (which appeared, posthumously, in the first issue of Spaceship Away in 2003) was to be the last he drew.

Eagle 'Dan Dare'strips:

• The Ship that Lived* ( Vol 9 Nos 5 - 16)
• The Phantom Fleet* (Vol 9 Nos 17 - 52)
• Safari in Space * (Vol 10 Nos 1 -18)
• Terra Nova* (Vol 10 Nos 19 - 40)
• Trip to Trouble* (Vol 10 No 41 - Vol 11 No 11)
• Operation Earthsaver (Vol 13 Nos 10 - 23)
  
• The Evil One (Vol 13 Nos 24 - 32)
• Operation Fireball (Vol 13 Nos 33 - 42)
• The Web of Fear (Vol 13 Nos 43 - 52)
• Operation Dark Star (Vol 14 Nos 1 - 9)
• Operation Time Trap (Vol 14 Nos 10 - 38)
• The Wandering World (Vol 14 No 39 - Vol 15 No 13)
• The Big City Caper (Vol 15 Nos 14 - 22)
• All Treens Must Die (Vol 15 Nos 23 - 42)
• The Mushroom (Vol 15 No 43 - Vol 16 No 6)
• The Moonsleepers (Vol 16 No 7 - Vol 16 No 29 )
• The Singing Scourge Vol 16 No 30 - Vol 17 No 6)
• Give me the Moon (Vol 17 No 7 - Vol 17 No 26)
• The Menace from Jupiter (Vol 17 No 27 - Vol 18 No 1)

*Assistant on the Dan Dare studio/team

The illustration is a self portrait of Keith sent in by Richard Sheaf, who informs us it is from Strips '80, the handook of the Society of Strip Illustration. It is part of a directory of SSI members and was intended as an introduction for those who attended the SSI conference in November, 1980.

ET Refs:

• Roger Coombes Keith Watson interview (1991). Eagle Times Vol 4 No 3 – Vol 6 No 1 (7 parts)
• Vince, Alan. Keith Watson – the artist and friend (obituary) Eagle Times Vol 7 No 2
• Coombes, Roger. Keith Watson, a tribute (obituary) Eagle Times Vol 7 No 2
• Britton, David. He wants to be a ... Dan Dare Artist (on Keith Watson’s original job application) Eagle Times Vol 16 No 1
• Winders, Steve. Keith Watson’s Dan Dare Eagle Times Vol 20 No 1 – Vol 20 No 3