Eagle Times Vol 30 No 3

Autumn 2017 Contents

• ‘Swift’ - an examination of Eagle’s companion paper for younger  children (aged 7 - 9 years), which was launched by Hulton Press on 20th March 1954 and would eventually, after nine years, merge with the more successful Eagle
• ‘In and Out of the Eagle’ - more  instalments in the series presenting collections of Eagle-related snippets
• ‘PC49’s Last Case’, part 2 - concluding this new story based on the characters first created for radio (and then for Eagle) by Alan Stranks
• ‘Memories of Eagle - by Those in the Know’ - A look back to 1977, when The Best of Eagle was published, and an article in the Sunday Telegraph Magazine for which some of Eagle’s creators were interviewed 
• ‘Is the Prone Position Really Safer?’ - on the efficacy of the flying position adopted by Space Fleet pilots in Eagle's  ‘Dan Dare’ 
• ‘Space Fiction Movies in Eagle’s Times’, part 3 - continuing a look at films about space exploration and alien visitations to the earth, the bread-and-butter of the Eagle's Dan Dare's adventures between 1950 and 1969. This part covers 1956-1958 including QuatermasssII, Not of This Earth and the Soviet Doroga K Zvezdam (Road to the Stars)
• ‘A Trio of Dan Dare Artists at Epsom’ - recollections of the Eagle Society’s Annual Gathering held at Epsom in 1992, attended by three former Dan Dare artists: Keith Watson, Greta Edwards (née Tomlinson) and Don Harley  
• ‘The Gordon and Gotch Story’ - an examination of the remarkable story of Eagle’s principal international distributor
• ‘Dan Goes Dutch’ - How ‘Dan Dare’ (or ‘Daan Durf’) appeared in the first edition of Arend (the “Dutch Eagle”) which was published for ten years (1955-66) in The Netherlands
• ‘Why We Won’t Travel Like Dan For at Least Fifty Years’ - and ‘Why, in 100 years our spaceships will be better than Dan’s’.  
• ‘The Shepherd King’, part 3 - concluding an examination of Clifford Makins' and Frank Bellamy's strip about the biblical King David, comparing Eagle's strip with biblical accounts of David's life
• ‘The Boys and Girls Exhibition, 1960’ - the third part of a series looking at programmes published for the (formerly Hultons’) Boys and Girls Exhibition that was held annually at the National Hall, Olympia in London
• ‘They Helped to Bring You Eagle, No 4 - Dan Lloyd, Chief, Sub Editor’  - continuing a series of recollections of a former Eagle employee
• ‘Wes Cardy and the Eagle Jumper’ - how a knitting pattern for an Eagle cardigan became a commemorative jumper 
• ‘The Front Page’ - a look at the changing look and contents of Eagle’s front page through the 1960s
• ‘Eagle Times - Results of the Readers’ Survey’ - analysis and commentary on results from a Survey of Eagle Society members that was included with the previous issue of Eagle Times 

Eagle Times Vol 29 No 3

Autumn 2016 Contents

• 'Artist of the Future' - an exploration of some of Frank Hampson's inspirations and visionary ideas that he brought to the 'Dan Dare' strip
• 'Jeff Arnold's Hat' - a comparison of the hats worn in the 'Riders of the Range' strip in Eagle with those of the real "Wild West"
• 'Deep Sea Doctor' - an examination of the "real life" adventure of Wilfred Grenfell as told in strip form on the back page of Eagle in 1952, written by R.B. Saxe and drawn by Norman Williams
• 'In and Out of the Eagle' - more episodes in the series presenting collections of Eagle-related snippets  
• 'PC49 and the Case of the Stolen Half Crowns' - a new PC49 story, based on the characters originally created for radio by Alan Stranks
• 'Martin Asbury (part 2) Storyboardman' - a look at the prolific work of former 'Garth' artist, Martin Asbury as a storyboard artist on over fifty mainstream movies
• '1954. The Eagle is Changing' - on the many changes to Eagle around its fifth year of publication
• 'More Eagle Miscellany' -  a collection of notes on Eagle history, largely gathered from conversations with former Eagle contributors, guests at Eagle Society Dinners
•  'Shadow Artists' - on the various artists who took over from or stood in for the principal artists of many of the strips in Eagle 
•  'Marcus Morris: The TV and Radio Star' - on the various radio and television appearances of Eagle's Editor, during Eagle's times and later
• 'The Earth Stealers' - recollections of the 'Dan Dare' strip that ran in Eagle from December 1961 to March 1962
• 'Island of Fire' - a look at Richard Jennings' colour strip, which appeared in Eagle in 1962 (and would later be reprinted in TV21 Annual, in edited form, as 'Volcano Island')
• 'Playing the Game' - how Eagle covered sport in the early days
• 'Roger Perry, 1938-2016' - an obituary of the former Hulton Press photographer and Eagle contributor (he was the model for Eagle's 'Roving Reporter'), and who, following his professional retirement, contributed many articles to Eagle Times about Eagle, Hulton Press and the people who worked there

This issue's cover picture is from from Eagle No 5 (12 May 1950). It may have been based on a photograph of a prone USAF pilot that appeared in National Geographic magazine the previous year 

Eagle Times Vol 28 No 3

Autumn 2015 Contents

• 'The Story of Lightning': David Slinn, himself a contributor to Eagle and Swift in 1960, tells the background story of a new children's magazine that (never saw the light of day, but) was proposed for publication by the National Magazine Company Limited in 1973
• 'PC49 and the Case of The Case of the Gypsy's Warning': one more in the series of adaptations from the PC49 BBC radio stories originally written by Alan Stranks  
• 'Mark the Youngest Disciple': Part 2 of an examination of the background to Chad Varah's version of the events surrounding the Passion of Jesus, which appeared in Eagle between November 1954 and June 1955, drawn by Giorgio Bellavitis
• 'Dan Dare's Back in Southport': a report on the new Atkinson Gallery in Southport, the birthplace of Eagle, which features a collection of 'Dan Dare' memorabilia on permanent display
• 'How the Future Took a Turn for the Worse': regretting the change in predicted futures from Frank Hampson's vision in 'Dan Dare' to the dystopian visions predicted in the comics of today 
• 'The Mystery of the Bovril Brigade Advertisement': on the two advertising strips which appeared in Eagle in 1962/63, drawn by Frank Hampson
• 'In and Out of the Eagle' - some more of the series presenting collections of Eagle-related snippets
• 'Eric Dadswell': on the artist, who drew for a number of Hulton's titles, including Girl, Swift and Eagle in the 1950s 
• 'Biggles Flies With Eagle': recollection of the Biggles serials and short stories, written by Capt. W.E. Johns and which appeared in Eagle and its annuals
• 'Pop Chalmers was created to say Thank You': How the National Coal Board commissioned 'Dan Dare' creator Frank Hampson to draw the advertising newspaper strip series 'The Chalmers' in 1962
• 'The Eagle Riders of the Range Annual No 1': a review of the first of the scarlet-covered Hulton annuals, which followed five previous Juvenile Productions editions  
• 'John Worsley - War Artist': a short article inspired by the inclusion of three paintings by John Worsley in the War Artists at Sea exhibition, which was held at Queen's House, Greenwich between February and August 2015. Worsley is better known to Eagle readers as the artist of 'PC49'
• 'More on the Spaceship Builder Mystery': with thanks to Tony Knowles of the Midland Meccano Guild, some further information on the Dan Dare Spaceship and other manufacturers' spaceship kits 
• 'Rex Milligan on Television': the details of Eagle's "first television star". Rex Milligan was created for Eagle by Jennings author Anthony Buckeridge, and was adapted for BBC television by Buckeridge himself in 1956. It beat John Ryan's 'Captain Pugwash' to television by a year, and 'Dan Dare' by forty six. 
• 'Frontiers of Science': the roots of the informative strip from the last years of the Eagle (1967 - 1969)
• 'When Dan and Digby sneaked into 2000AD': on the depiction of Dan Dare, with a striking resemblance to the Eagle original (rather than his 2000AD "reincarnation"), alongside a Digby lookalike (called "Wilmo") in the second 2000AD Annual  

Eagle Times Vol 27 No 3

Autumn 2014 Contents

• 'Frank Bellamy - trademarks and techniques' - on the development of the skills of one of Britain's greatest illustrators and comic strip artists
• 'The two artists of Jack o'Lantern' - comparing Robert Ayton, the artist who drew the majority of the Jack o'Lantern strip, and Cecil Doughty, the artist who replaced him for the last 30 or so episodes
• 'In and Out of the Eagle' - another couple of doses of the series presenting collections of Eagle-related snippets
• 'PC49 and the Case of the Rajah's Ruby' - a text story adaptation from one of Alan Stranks' original BBC radio plays telling the adventures of an East End "copper".
• 'Comics Unmasked' - a review of the exhibition, subtitled 'Art and Anarchy in the UK', which was held at the British Library from 2nd May - 19th August 2014
• 'Bellamy at home' - some rare pictures of Frank Bellamy, donated to the Eagle Society by Frank's widow, Nancy Bellamy, some years ago and published in Eagle Times for the first time
• 'A Table of Cutaways' - a member ranks and discusses his favourite centrespreads from Eagle
• 'More Art of Tacconi' - as an addendum to the recent series on the artist FernandoTacconi, some more examples are shown from his prolific output for comics and magazines
• 'Remembering Mission of the Earthmen' - a re-look at the 'Dan Dare' story from Eagle in the early 1960s, drawn by Don Harley and Bruce Cornwell
• 'Colin Pillinger - farewell to a starman' - the life of the Cambridge planetary science professor, best known for Britain's Beagle 2 Mars mission, as reported by the local press, and recollections by a member of the Eagle Society of the professor's talk to the Eagle Society at Manchester in 2004
• 'Frank Bellamy's Heros the Spartan' - a review of the recently published book, which reprints all Bellamy's 'Heros the Spartan' strips from Eagle
• 'Eric Bemrose, Sun Printers and Eagle' - on the part apparently played by Sun Printers (Watford) in the early days of Eagle, before the Bemrose photogravure presses were ready to take on production 
• 'Eaglewall kits in Eagle' - on the advertising carried by Eagle for the aircraft and naval plastic construction kits produced by Eaglewall Plastics Limited in the late 1950s - early 1960s, including their appearance in 'Eagle Window'
• 'Rivals of Jeff Arnold: No. 14 - The Cisco Kid' - recalls the origin of The Cisco Kid in a story by O. Henry, through movies, a 1950s TV series (the first filmed in colour) and into comics

Eagle Times Vol 26 No 3

Autumn 2013 Contents

• 'Laurence Dunn – Maritime Artist', reviews the career of Eagle's third most prolific cutaway artist (after L. Ashwell Wood and J. Walkden Fisher), whose career as a (predominantly) maritime artist and author began in the mid 1930s

• 'Winding my way down Baker Street' – an appreciation of the artist and illustrator Don Harley – whom 'Dan Dare' creator Frank Hampson (the best, of course) once described as “the second best 'Dan Dare' artist” 

• 'PC49 and the Case of the Counterfeit Copper' – part 2, concluding a text story, specially adapted for Eagle Times from one of Alan Stranks' famous BBC radio plays

• 'Frank McDiarmid' - an article-with-Q&A on an artist whose career began over fifty years ago with D.C. Thompson and who (in 1967, for Fleetway/IPC) drew 'Mickey Merlin' in Eagle 

• 'Tea-gle' - on the Eagle cutaway of the Cutty Sark which is included as part of an exhibition at the National Maritime Museum at Greenwich 

• 'Die-Cast Comics' - on the numerous die cast vehicle models that feature story papers or comics and their characters, such as Boy's Own Paper,  Eagle and 'Dan Dare', Beano and 'Biffo the Bear', Tiger and 'Roy of the Rovers', etc.

• 'Dan Dare Holiday Special, 1991': the fourth in a series of articles about Eagle holiday specials examines the second (and last?) Dan Dare Special.

• 'Celebrating Ten years of Spaceship Away' - a review of the first ten years of the magazine that publishes (3 times a year) new adventures of the original 'Dan Dare', along with other science fiction strips.

• 'Randolph Turpin – Eagle Sports Personality 1951-52'. On the ultimately tragic life of the boxer from Leamington Spa who won the World Middleweight Championship against Sugar Ray Robinson in July 1951, and was voted Sports Personality for two successive years by Eagle readers

• 'In Memory of Charles Chilton' - an account of the celebration of the life and work of the famous writer and producer, that was held at the BBC on 29th June, 2013

• 'Hornblower in Eagle' - an examination of the strip, based on C.S. Forrester's Hornblower stories, that appeared in Eagle between and 1962 and 1963, drawn by Martin Aitchison

• Reggie Musgrave – obituary

• 'Dan Dare Pilot of the Future Spacefleet Operations Manual' – a review of the recently published Haynes guide to Spacefleet 

• 'Eagle Day 2013' - a photo-illustrated report on the exhibition/bring-and-buy held at Great Staughton, Cambs., on 8th September, 2013

• 'No Eagle this week?' - features a book illustration (dating from 1890) for a story which concerned another publication called the "Eagle"

• 'The Allisons Spread their Wings' - on the career of the 1960s pop duo, one of whose earliest broadcast performances was on the Hulton Press-sponsored Spread Your Wings programme on Radio Luxembourg

• David Jacobs CBE – noting the recent recent death (on 2nd September, 2013) of the famous actor and presenter

Eagle Times Vol 25 No 3

Autumn 2012 Contents

• 'Charles Chilton - the Modest Showman - and Journey into Space'. Inspired by Chilton's recent autobiography, Charlie's Auntie, Alan Vince looks back at his own interest in Chilton's work and an unsuccessful attempt to put together a book on Journey into Space. 
• 'Riders of the Range Photographs' - a reader shares his nostalgia for Charles Chilton's western, which began on BBC radio before appearing as a comic strip in Eagle, in the form of autographed photographs of the cast of the radio series, which he was given as a child in the early 1950s 
• 'A Look at Luck' - part 5 of a series examining the French Foreign Legion strip by Geoffrey Bond and Martin Aitchison, which ran in Eagle from 1952 - 1961
• 'Susan Travers' - the first, and only, female to serve officially, in the the French Foreign Legion.
• 'Royal Mail Comics Stamps' - a look at the recent (March 2012) issue of Royal Mail stamps, commemorating a variety of British comics (including Eagle) in the 75th year of publication of Britain's longest-running comic - The Dandy
• 'Visual Memories of Eaglecon 80' - part 4 of this illustrated series remembering the only London comics convention ever held solely for Eagle enthusiasts
• 'Picture cards' - on the variety of collectable picture cards available in the 1950s, from sources as diverse as weighing machines, sweet and real cigarettes, toothpaste, tea, bubble-gum and comics
• 'Dan Dare projected' - part 2, looking at the various non-projection devices available from manufacturers in the 1950s, by which 'Dan Dare' and other film strips could be viewed.
• 'Eagle Holiday Extra' - a look at one (of only two) holiday special issues of Eagle that appeared in the 1960s. This one, comprising 48 pages, was from 1962.
• 'Nando Tacconi' - an appreciation of the man and artist, best known in Britain for his illustration of Charles Chilton's 'Journey into Space' for Express Weekly 
• 'Eaglewall's Table Top Navy' - a review of the book by Donald D. Hood about the Dorking-based firm that produced plastic models under the Eagle logo.
• A PC49 Radio script: 'The Case of the Haunting Refrain', reproducing an Alan Stranks written performance script, part 2
• 'Dan Dare's castlist' - a reader's "dream team" for a Dan Dare film, compiled from actors of the silver screen, both living and deceased.

This issue's cover photograph of Charles Chilton is from a 1985 issue of Radio Times

Eagle Times Vol 24 No 3

Autumn 2011 Contents

• A Look at Luck - the first in a series examining 'Luck of the Legion', the French Foreign Legion strip written by Geoffrey Bond and drawn by Martin Aitchison, that ran in Eagle from 1952 - 1961 
• The XCH-4 Hydrofoil - the real-life flying machine that inspired Frank Hampson's futuristic designs for the Turmoil and the Poseidon, which appeared in the 'Dan Dare' strip, 'The Man From Nowhere' 
• Wulf the Briton conquers them all - a close look at the Palace Books' reproduction of the 1950s strip from Express Weekly, drawn (or, rather, painted) by Ron Embleton 
• PC49 and the Case of the Frightened Flower Girl - the beginning of a new adaptation from one of Alan Stranks' radio plays 
• Eagle Times Window, taking a look at The Dan Dare Space Journal, Orion Books' latest Eagle-inspired publication
• L. Ashwell Wood - Cutaway Maestro, taking a look at the life and career of Eagle's most prolific Cutaway artist
• Journey into Space with Auntie's Charlie - a report on the combined Book Launch for Charles Chilton's autobiography and the first of his Journey into Space novels.
• Working with David Hunt, memories of working on 'Dan Dare' projects for the "new" Eagle editor in the early 1980s 
• Rivals of Jeff Arnold - Kit Carson part 8 of an ongoing series looking at the real and fictional Wild Western characters that appeared in British comics in the 1950s
• The David Pugh 'Dan Dare', part three: continuing an examination of the 'Dan Dare' stories drawn by one of the artists who took on the resurrected "original" Dan Dare in "new" Eagle 1989-1994
• Spotted in the Press - "Now I'll Never be Dan Dare": on the the demise of the Space Shuttle
• Remembering 'Reign of the Robots' - a re-look at Dan Dare's adventure on a Mekon-subjugated Earth, after the return from Cryptos
• Eagle's Wanderers: an examination of two fictional football strips that appeared in Eagle. Part 2 The Circus Wanderers

Eagle Times Vol 23 No 3

Autumn 2010 Contents

• A look at the "Realtime" chronology of the original Dan Dare saga, from the birth of Sir Hubert (1943), to Dan's appointment as Spaceship Controller (2022) 
• Memories of Marcus Morris - the man - provided by former members of the St James Youth Club, which was set up by Marcus in the 1940s.
• A summary history of 46 years of Eagle enthusiast publications, from the Dan Dare Club Newsletter (1964) to Eagle Times (1988 to date).
• The Case of the Lone Wolf - the first part of another 'PC49' story adapted from an Alan Stranks' radio play
• The Name's the thing - a humorous look at the varied and strange names of aliens in the Dan Dare saga. 
• Measuring Eagle's success - a look at the readership survey instigated by Hulton Press in 1950, which concluded that Eagle then had a readership of 60% of the boys of Britain.
• Now you see him - now you don't - how in the early 1980s a flying Dutchman tried, and failed, to publish reprint books of the Eagle strips 'Heros the Spartan' and 'Dan Dare'
• 'Rogue Planet' remembered - a personal reflection highlighting iconic moments from Dan Dare's 7th Eagle adventure.  
• Putting Eagle Times together - how the editorial team (and some unsung helpers) put together a 56-page magazine every quarter 
• 'Nightmare on Dreamland' - a look at the 1986 story from the "new" Eagle, when Dan Dare (the great-great-grandson) meets the original Dan Dare in an encounter with their arch enemy - the Mekon
• Rivals of Jeff Arnold - the fifth in this ongoing series looks at the impact of western hero Davy Crockett, brought to screen in 1955 by Walt Disney. 
• Eaglers of the future - a former Eagle reader introduces his collection to his grandchildren
• Did You Really Shoot the Television? - a review of the Family Fable by Max Hastings, journalist son of Eagle's Special Investigator, MacDonald Hastings
• Bill Dean, Kenneth McDonough and Ray Malstrom - a short illustrated article on the prolific model aircraft and vehicle designers who contributed to Eagle and Eagle books throughout the 1950s and 1960s 
• Lancastria - a relook at Eagle writer Geoffrey Bond's book (published in 1959 and serialised in John Bull magazine), following the 70th anniversary (in June 2010) of the biggest maritime disaster in British History

The picture on this issue's front depicts the Launch of the Hirondelle by John Yardley (after Frank Hampson studio). It is based on the opening frame from the 4th episode of 'The Red Moon Mystery' first published in Eagle, Vol 2 No 29, 26th October, 1951.

Eagle Times Vol 22 No 3

Autumn 2009 contents

• What's in a name? - The first part of a look at the career of multi-talented artist Gerry Embleton, who contributed to the original Eagle as well as drawing the revamped 'Dan Dare' for "new" Eagle in 1982
• The Eagle art of George William Backhouse - a review of the career of the artist, concentrating on his work for Hulton Press.
• Dimworthy and Co. - an exploration of the schoolboy comic strip series from the 1960s Eagle
• The Rivals of Jeff Arnold, part 2 - 'Steve Larrabee' from Lone Star comic
• Danny Dare - a review of the 1964 comic strip about "Dan Dare's Number One Fan!", created for Wham! by Leo Baxendale and later drawn in part by Dan Dare artists Bruce Cornwell and Don Harley
• Colour Printing in Eagle - a brief account of the four-colour photogravure process used to produce Eagle, with examples of the colour separations and print combinations that led to a page of 'Dan Dare'
• Journey into Space: The Host - a review of Julian Simpson's new radio play featuring the latest adventure of Charles Chilton's Jet Morgan and his team of space explorers
• John Ryan (1921-2009) - an obituary of the creator of Captain Pugwash and Harris Tweed (Eagle), Lettice Leefe (Girl) and Sir Boldasbrass (Swift), plus John Ryan Remembered
• The musical George Backhouse - illustrating Master Melodies of the World for Amalgamated Press in the 1930s
• PC 49 and the Case of the Murderous Mouse - the 3rd and concluding part of the story adaptation
• Lost Continuity in the Dan Dare strip - commentary on an apparent inconsistency in the fictional Dan Dare timeline
• Hulton's Merchandising - an example of an Eagle and Girl merchandising advertisement that appeared in the trade magazine Games and Toys in 1954
• Another Eagle dummy?
• Pop Music during Eagle Times - 1966

The cover art illustration for this issue is by Gerry Embleton and features 'Dan Dare' from the "new" Eagle, 1982

Eagle Times Vol 21 No3

Autumn 2008 contents

• The Career of Ian Kennedy - part 1, the 1950s to the 1970s
• More of the EAGLE's second issue dummy (including 'Rob Conway' in colour!)
  
• The Final Winner? - what happened to the EAGLE 'Sportsman of the Year' trophy
• Frank Hampson at NESCOT (1972 to 1977) - another 'I was there' article
• Tony Weare, artist for all seasons - who turned down an offer to draw 'Dan Dare'!
• Another 'Anastasia' - how a classic car artist (Jack Lewis) came to create a tribute to Bruce Cornwell
  
• Marcus Morris and the 1953 Coronation recording
• Dan Dare, the Audio Book: Voyage to Venus - part 1 (a review)
• The magic of Pelikan Inks
  
• EAGLE on the web
• PC49: The Case of the Pink Panic - part 3 (conclusion)
• Nether Wallop - in Surrey? - a church that might have been the model for a scene in the first 'Dan Dare' story
• Dan Dare - the Virgin Version - a review
  
• Crockett & Krispies - on Ron Embleton's 1956 'Heros of the West' series for Kellogg's
• Snakes Alive! - artist Geoffrey ('Luck of the Legion') Bond's fascination with snakes
  
• Looks familiar! - How 1959 'Dan Dare' artwork provided the reference for newspaper illustrations ten years later
  
• Pop Music in EAGLE times - 1962

The 'Dan Dare' illustration on the front cover this issue of Eagle Times is by Ian Kennedy
and appeared in the ('new series') Eagle, 8th January, 1983.

Eagle Times, Volume 20 No 3

Autumn 2007 Contents

• Frank Hampson's pre- and post-Dan Dare Art (part 2)
• Some thoughts on Dan Dare's 'Operation Saturn'
• Jack o'Lantern in Wiltshire, an exploration of setting (part 2)
• EAGLE Autographs (part 1)
• Hulton's Book Flyers
• PC49 - Cases from Radio Times
• If Hampson was drawing Dan Dare Today..?
• Whatever Happened to Harold Johns (part 2)
• PC49 - Case of Black Daffodil (part 3)
• Keith Watson's Dan Dare (part 3)
• EAGLE on the Web
• Frank Hampson's 'Doctor Who'
• Pop Music in Eagle Times - 1959
• Dick Barton (part 4) Films (2)