JAMES SWALLOW

The Official Site of Bestselling Author James Swallow - COMING SOON!

Dan Dare Returns!

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When the Galaxy’s Greatest Comic 2000AD arrived in the late 70’s to rock my young pre-teen mind, one of the things that came with it was a revival of a classic British space hero – Dan Dare, star of the old Eagle comics that had been the equivalent entertainment for my dad’s generation. The UK’s Buck Rogers or Flash Gordon, Dare was a two-fisted interplanetary adventurer in the mould of an RAF fighter ace or jungle explorer – and while his 1970’s incarnation was different to his original 1950’s version, he remained the very model of True Brit, with a stiff upper lip, a line in cool banter a steady hand on the stick.

Dan’s been reinvented a bunch of times, not just in comics but also in cartoons and for radio – and so when B7 Media decided to tackle the character for the 21st century, I was delighted to be asked to take part!
 

 
As announced this week, Dan Dare: The Audio Adventures will be released in a few months time by the folks over a Big Finish (with whom I’ve previously worked on Doctor Who, Stargate and Highlander audio dramas); two box sets are on the way, with volume one featuring my episode The Red Moon Mystery coming out in December and volume two due in February 2017.

Working from the original take on Dare, we’ve written stories that are inspired by the classic Eagle comics tales – here’s the blurb for mine:

The Red Moon Mystery – Unable to return to Earth, Dan Dare and the crew of the Anastasia head to the desolate planet Mars, where Dan’s estranged Uncle Ivor is part of a research team working on a top-secret archaeological dig; but when they find the base wrecked and the scientists missing, Dare, Digby and Professor Peabody soon discover that the Red Planet is not nearly as dead as everyone thought and that Ivor’s expedition has woken an army of deadly insect-creatures that threaten to swarm and engulf the Earth… Dare must stop the aliens, but can he really resort to genocide in order to save the human race?

Read the full press release from B7 Media Here or visit Big Finish’s website to pre-order the box sets Here.