The Eagle Comic originally ran from 1950 to 1969 and was reprinted between 1982 and 1994.
Many of Dan’s exploits took place on Venus, a divided planet, inhabited by the emotionless Treens and their megalomaniac leader The Mekon in the north, and the peaceable Therons in the south.
A cheerful, trustworthy soul, Dan had many friends who aided him in his exploits, including faithful batman Spaceman Class 1 Albert Digby, his boss, Sir Hubert Guest, Spacefleet Controller, fellow pilots Hank and Pierre, and boffin Professor Jocelyn Peabody.
Missions were usually undertaken in his personal spaceship, the Anastasia.
Laming recalls that his father “did not approve” of the 2000AD version of Dan Dare, which hit news stands in 1977, which was very different to what had gone before.
“I hid my copies of 2000AD under my bed,” said Laming.
That same year his father came home “with a huge hardback book which was a new collection of the best of The Eagle, so I got to see and fall in love with the original Dan Dare.”
