EAGLE-TIMES: Eagle and Dan Dare Commemorated on a Stamp

Monday 12 March 2012

Eagle and Dan Dare Commemorated on a Stamp

On 20th March 2012, Eagle and its leading character, Dan Dare, will be featured on one of a set of 1st class postage stamps issued by the Royal Mail. The Comics stamps issue comprising ten designs marks the 75th Anniversary of the first issue (in December 1937) of The Dandy (which is Britain's longest running comic) and some of the comics (and characters) that have since followed, including Eagle and Dan Dare.

The full set of ten stamps is shown below and includes:

The Dandy & Desperate Dan. First published by D.C. Thomson in December, 1937, The Dandy featured Desperate Dan from the start although not initially on its cover.
The Beano & Dennis the Menace. Also from D.C. Thomson, The Beano first appeared in July, 1938, though Dennis the Menace did not appear until 1951.
Eagle & Dan Dare. First published by Hulton Press in 1950, Eagle featured Dan Dare, Pilot of the Future, whose full-colour space adventures took off on the cover of the first issue.
The Topper & Beryl the Peril. Published by D.C. Thomson from 1953 until 1990, The Topper featured Beryl the Peril from the first issue, although this "female Dennis the Menace" did not reach the cover until 1986.
Tiger & Roy of the Rovers. Published from 1954 to 1985 by Amalgamated Press/IPC/Fleetway, Tiger featured predominantly sporting strips, the most popular being football hero Roy (Race) of the (Melchester) Rovers, who later spawned his own comic.
Bunty & The Four Marys. Published by D.C. Thomson from 1958 to 2001, Bunty was aimed at the young female market, and The Four Marys featured the adventures of four girls at boarding school.
Buster & Buster. Buster comic was published by IPC/Fleetway from 1960 to 2000. The character who shared the comic's title was originally billed as "Buster: Son of Andy Capp" (of Daily Mirror fame).
Valiant & The Steel Claw. Valiant was published by IPC/Fleetway from 1962 to 1976, featuring World War II and other adventure series, as well as science fiction strips like the Steel Claw, which featured a scientist who is rendered invisible, apart from his artificial hand.
Twinkle & Nurse Nancy. Twinkle was published by D.C. Thomson from 1968 to 1999, aimed at young girls. Nurse Nancy ran a toy hospital with her grandfather.
2000 AD & Judge Dredd. The long-running 2000 AD is a science fiction-oriented comic, first published in 1977 by IPC (when the year 2000 seemed a long way off!). Judge Dredd, whose powers of law enforcement include those of police, judge and jury plus executioner, made his first appearance in the second issue.