Dan Dare is a British science fiction comic hero, created by illustrator Frank Hampson who also wrote the first stories. Dare appeared in the Eagle comic series Dan Dare, Pilot of the Future from 1950 to 1967, and dramatised seven times a week on Radio Luxembourg (1951–1956).
Eagle was a British children's comics periodical, first published from 1950 to 1969, and then in a relaunched format from 1982 to 1994. It was founded by Marcus Morris, an Anglican vicar from Lancashire. Morris edited a Southport parish magazine called The Anvil, but felt that the church was not communicating its message effectively. Simultaneously disillusioned with contemporary children's literature, he and Anvil artist Frank Hampson created a dummy comic based on Christian values. Morris proposed the idea to several Fleet Street publishers, with little success, until Hulton Press took it on.
Tornado was a British weekly boys' adventure comic published by IPC Magazines from 24 March to 18 August 1979. The comic was partly created as a way to use up stories already commissioned for the other titles, and was marred by a difficult production. Tornado sold poorly and was merged with 2000 AD after 22 issues.
Tiger was a weekly British comics periodical published by Amalgamated Press, Fleetway Publications and IPC Magazines from 11 September 1954 to 30 March 1985. The title was initially launched in a large tabloid size to mimic newspapers; while it featured some action-adventure stories Tiger contained a large number of sport strips. The most famous of these was "Roy of the Rovers", which debuted in the first issue and was the comic's most popular feature, eventually transferring to its own comic in 1975. Tiger would go on to become one of the company's longest-running titles, with 1,573 issues published before being merged with Eagle in 1985. Over the course of its run, Tiger featured columns by numerous famous sports figures, including Ian Botham, Geoff Boycott, Tony Greig, Trevor Francis and Charlie Nicholas.
Ranger was a weekly British comics periodical published by Fleetway Publications from 18 September 1965 to 18 June 1966. Intended as an educational publication, the cover described it as "The National Boys' Magazine" and the content mixed comic strips with a much larger quotient of factual articles than most other Fleetway children's titles of the time. Ranger lasted 40 issues before being merged with Fleetway's fellow educational title Look and Learn in 1966.
The Steel Claw was one of the most popular comic book heroes of British weekly adventure comics of the 1960s and 1970s. The character was revived in 2005 for Albion, a six-issue mini-series published by the Wildstorm imprint of DC Comics.
Lion was a weekly British comics periodical published by Amalgamated Press from 23 February 1952 to 18 May 1974. A boys' adventure comic, Lion was originally designed to compete with Eagle, the popular weekly comic published by Hulton Press that had introduced Dan Dare. It debuted numerous memorable characters, including Captain Condor, Robot Archie, Paddy Payne and the Spider. Lion lasted for 1,156 issues before being merged with stablemate Valiant.
Valiant was a weekly British comics periodical published by Fleetway Publications and later IPC Magazines from 4 October 1962 to 16 October 1976. A boys' adventure comic, it debuted numerous memorable characters, including Captain Hurricane, The Steel Claw and Mytek the Mighty. Valiant lasted for 712 issues before being merged with stablemate Battle Picture Weekly.
Robot Archie is a British comic character, appearing in strips published by Amalgamated Press, Fleetway Publications and IPC Magazines. Created by Ted Cowan, the character first appeared in a serial called "The Jungle Robot" in the first issue of Lion on 23 February 1952. While the initial stint only lasted six months, Archie returned 1957 and would become one of the most enduring characters in Lion, running until the comic merged with Valiant in 1974, with the majority of his adventures drawn by Ted Kearon.
The Spider is a British comic book character who began as a supervillain before becoming a superhero. He appeared in Lion between 26 June 1965 and 26 April 1969 and was reprinted in Vulcan. He was created by writer Ted Cowan and artist Reg Bunn. Superman co-creator Jerry Siegel took over the writing of the character with his third adventure, and would write the bulk of his adventures.
Reginald Thompson Eves was a British editor and writer of comics and story papers for the Amalgamated Press.
Frank Stuart Pepper was a British writer of comics and story papers for Amalgamated Press, best known as the creator of Roy of the Rovers and Captain Condor.
Carlos Cruz González, usually known simply as Carlos Cruz (1 June 1930 – 27 March 2018, was a Spanish comics artist.
Treasury of British Comics is a line of comic book collections published by Rebellion Developments, collecting British comics stories from the libraries of Amalgamated Press/Fleetway Publications/IPC Magazines.
Wildcat was a fortnightly British comics periodical published by Fleetway Publications from 22 October 1988 to 25 March 1989. A science fiction adventure comic, the title only lasted for 12 editions before being merged with another Fleetway title, Eagle.
Battler Britton is a British comics character created by Mike Butterworth and Geoff Campion. He first appeared in Amalgamated Press' Sun in 1956, and later featured in Knockout, and the long-running digest titles Thriller Picture Library, Air Ace Picture Library, and War Picture Library.
The Steel Commando is a British comic character, appearing in strips published by IPC Magazines. Created by Frank S. Pepper, the character first appeared in the first issue of the short-lived boys' weekly adventure anthology comic Thunder, dated 17 October 1970. After Thunder ended in March 1971 the strip continued in Lion until 1974. The character is a robotic soldier fighting for the British Army in World War II; due to a programming error the mechanical man will only obey the orders of layabout Private Ernest 'Excused Boots' Bates.
"The Indestructible Man" is a British comic strip published by Fleetway Publications and later IPC Magazines in the boys' comic anthology title Jag between 4 May 1968 to 29 March 1969. Written by Scott Goodall and drawn by Jesús Blasco, the story followed an Ancient Egyptian warrior who survived into the present day after learning a number of skills while entombed, and took on the identity of crime-fighter Mark Dangerfield.
Eagle, sometimes referred to as The New Eagle and known at various points in its life as Eagle and Scream!, Eagle and Tiger, Eagle and Battle, Eagle and M.A.S.K. and Eagle and Wildcat, was a British boys' adventure comic published by IPC Magazines from 27 March 1982 to January 1994. A revival of the famous Eagle, the title was initially a weekly publication until turning into a monthly in May 1991. The title was finally cancelled in January 1994, after 505 issues.
"Dare", also known as Dare - The Controversial Memoir of Dan Dare, Pilot of the Future is a British dystopian science fiction comic story, starring the character Dan Dare. Written by Grant Morrison and illustrated by Rian Hughes, the story originally began publication in the Fleetway Publications anthology Revolver in July 1990 before concluding in Crisis. The story is a revisionist take on Dare, using the character to satirise the government of Margaret Thatcher, and the treatment of the character's creator Frank Hampson.
