Posted in: Comics, Rebellion / 2000AD, Titan | Tagged: alex de campi, marc laming

Dan Dare Without Cynicism or Nostalgia by Alex De Campi & Marc Laming

Dan Dare done right, without cynicism or nostalgia by Alex De Campi and Marc Laming in a new series of graphic novels on Kickstarter

I have known both Alex De Campi and Marc Laming for decades. Our combined years would be longer than I have been alive. And now they are working on a character who has been around, even longer, space explorer Dan Dare in a new series of graphic novels, beginning with Dan Dare: First Contact and starring a character who has been through the wringer in publishing terms over the past seventy years, veering from fifties colonialism to eighties political cynicism, to 21st century ennui. But now, on Kickstarter, they are trying something else.

Alex De Campi says, "The art (by Marc Laming and Michael Woods) is fantastic, and this is me doing big spectacular space opera emotion and action—but in a really hopeful way. Think James Gunn's Superman. Yes, parts of the book are terrifying but also parts are very funny, and there are lots of great spaceships. It's also Chapter One, bro. You don't need to know a damn thing about Dan Dare to enjoy the book fully. (But if you do grow up reading the Eagle, you'll see how much we love Hampson and Bellamy too—there's lots familiar.)"

Published by B7 Comics, known for titles like Pilgrim: Secrets and Lies and the graphic novel Hancock: The Lad Himself, the story follows Dan Dare in a "First Contact" scenario,  The Kickstarter, which officially launches today on March 9, 2026, after some scheduling tweaks, offers backers a range of formats including eBook, paperback, hardback, and a premium Kickstarter-exclusive hardback edition.  This isn't B7's first rodeo with Dan Dare; the company has previously produced audio dramas featuring the character, building a multimedia universe around the hero, so there should be no rights issue. There is also an early-bird discount if you pledge in the first 48 hours. The first 24 of which are currently up…

Dan Dare: First Contact will be published at the end of 2026 and marks the beginning of a planned trilogy of graphic novels that update the classic tales for contemporary readers. There is also an early-bird discount if you pledge in the first 48 hours. The first 24 of which are currently up... B7 asks

"Why doesn't Dan feel as present in modern comics culture as he deserves? Because the original vision of the future is very "tomorrow's world" and atomic age  – we've now surpassed that vision. In a messy, more cynical modern era, it's tempting to make everything grim and gritty. But Dan Dare isn't built for cynicism. The trick is keeping the wonder and the suspense… while making his world feel like it completely connects with our current one.  Alex de Campi has loved Dan Dare for years and she's planned an action-packed, page-turning three-book story designed to launch this legend into a new era without sanding off what makes him special. In First Contact, the science is updated making Dan's world one we can understand from our current point of view: a world of bickering oligarchs, broken nations, and climate disaster.  The stakes are immediate: humanity is only just getting faster-than-light travel. We're no longer the space-age grownups we think we are. We're the kids at the table, suddenly bumping into civilisations that are vastly older, stranger, and more powerful than anything we're ready for. And we don't explore because it's glamorous. We explore because we've pushed our own planet to the edge – and the wider universe is no safe harbour. It's breathtaking, yes; but also terrifying. At its heart, this is still what Dan Dare does best: big wonder, bigger danger, and characters you'll genuinely root for. It's the thrill of stepping into the unknown, the shock of discovering you're not the centre of the story, and the pulse-racing rush of trying to survive first contact when the odds look impossible, and turning back isn't an option."

Mark Laming says, "Alex and I are huge fans of Dan Dare from Frank Hampson and Frank Bellamy's original stories of the 50s and 60s through to 2000AD's more anarchic take on the character in the late 70s. We are both extremely excited to bring Colonel Dare to a new audience. I think our tale has something for fans of the original Eagle stories and for lovers of modern sci-fi action on the screen and in books."

Alex De Campi is one of the greatest living comic book writers, although she's managed to work in relative obscurity, including a forgotten-by-everyone-but-me look at digital comics creation called The Uncanny Valley Girl for Bleeding Cool. Other comics work includes the ground breaking digital comic Valentine which reinvented the medium, creator owned series such as Eisner nominated Parasocial, Dracula Motherf**ker, Full Tilt Boogie, No Mercy, Grindhouse, Ashes, Bad Karma, Scrapper, Astonisher, Smoke, Agent Boo, The Brandenburg School For Boys, Bank Shot, Mayhem And Magic, Kat And Mouse, Twisted Romance and Mayday, as well as working on Archie Vs Predator, Lady Zorro, Judge Dredd, My Little Pony, Josie And The Pussycats, Taarna, and Wonder Woman for other publishers. She wrote for the Blade Runner animated series, and directed music videos for Amanda Palmer, Evelyn Evelyn and The Puppini Sisters. Recently, she has worked with Duncan Jones on his graphic novels as well as for 2000AD with new Rogue Trooper stories ahead of the Duncan Jones Rogue Trooper movie release.

I first knew Marc when he was self publishing the comic Six Degrees back in the nineties, but he is better known for working on comics such as  American Century, Flash Godon, Red Sonja, Styar Trek, James Bond, Kings Quest, Planet Hulk, Ninjak, Bloodhot, The Rinse, Planet Of GThe Apes, Star Wars, Solar, Tom Clancy's Splinter Cell, Lone Ranger, Dajah Thoriks, Gyre, Invaders, Fantastic Four, Grindhouse with De Campi and recently with Stephanie Phillips on the Dstlry series Endeavour.

Dan Dare is a British science fiction comic hero, created by illustrator Frank Hampson who also wrote the series. Dan Dare appeared in the Eagle comic book weekly anthology as Dan Dare, Pilot of the Future from 1950 to 1967, as well as being dramatised seven times a week on Radio Luxembourg from 1951 to 1956. Set in the late 1990s, but reflecting war films of the fifties, Dan Dare was the British equivalent of the likes of Flash Gordon and Buck Rogers, with other artists Harold Johns, Don Harley, Bruce Cornwell, Greta Tomlinson, Keith Watson and most notably Frank Bellamy drawing the weekly strip.

Dan Dare returned in new strips in 2000 AD in 1977 until 1979 as well as their relaunched Eagle Magazine, from 1982 until 1984. It was also famously revived in Revolver Magazine in 1990 by Grant Morrison and Rian Hughes in a revisionist Thatcherite/colonialist/political take.  In  2003, Spaceship Away, a mail-order magazine created by Rod Barzilay attempted to reverse that course, to continue the original Dan Dare's adventures where the first Eagle Magazine left off, in a style as close to that of the classic strip as possible, with former Eagle artist Keith Watson and then Don Harley. In 2007, Virgin Comics published a 7-issue Dan Dare mini-series written by Garth Ennis, with art by Gary Erskine, because Sir Richard Branson was an early fan of Dan Dare. Most recently in 2017, Titan Comics published a Dan Dare mini-series by Peter Milligan and Alberto Foche, with a Dan Dare, who is struggling to adapt to a peaceful life after the Mekon has been defeated. This new version is ver much not any of these…

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