Big Finish has announced today that we will be seeing Dan Dare arrive as a brand new audio production from B7 Media which will star Ed Stoppard as the titular hero alongside Geoff McGivern as Digby, Heida Reed as Professor Peabody and Raad Rawi as the villainous Mekon.
Created by Frank Hampson, Colonel Daniel McGregor Dare appeared in the British action comic The Eagle from 1950 – 1967. In 1977 Dan Dare continued his adventures in the 2000AD comic under the helm of a cluster of writers and artists, including Pat Mills and Dave Gibbons. You can check out our review of Dan Dare – The 2000AD Years – Vol. 1 here and read our Pat Mills interview too.
Jason Haigh-Ellery (Big Finish Managing Director) explained, “My first introduction to Dan Dare was at the age of nine through the pages of the legendary comic 2000AD. He was the pilot of the future and artist Bellardinelli brought to life a whole new world that I was previously unaware of. Dan Dare quickly became one of my favourite comic strips and I missed the character terribly when his adventures came in an end after two years of fighting the Mekon and the Star Slayers. Now I have the chance to be a kid again — as B7 Media and Big Finish Productions brings to life one of the UK greatest comic book heroes, but this time as full cast audio productions. I can’t wait!”
Nicholas Briggs, the Big Finish Exec Producer, also star the of numerous Big Finish productions and the voice of many a Dalek in the Doctor Who television series added, “We’re delighted to be releasing Dan Dare: Pilot of the Future on the Big Finish site. I’ve been a massive fan of Dan Dare for years. The way B7 have reinvented it is spot on. They’ve lovingly nurtured the spirit of the original to create something new and exciting that still manages to stay thoroughly faithful to all the beauty of the original. I would have loved to have played the Mekon, so, rather fittingly, I got to play an alien who really wanted to be the Mekon!”
B7 Media Producer and Director Andrew Mark Sewell observes: “Ever since my father first introduced me to Dan Dare I’ve been captivated by his space adventures – so brilliantly realised by the creative genius that was Frank Hampson. It also ignited my fascination with mankind’s quest to journey beyond our blue planet and explore strange new alien worlds. With the world of film and television drama now seemingly dominated by American comic book heroes, Dan Dare has always stood out as the definitive ‘British’ comic book space hero — a bright light of optimism that captured the hearts and imagination of a generation. The opportunity to realise Dan Dare for audio, and to partner once more with Big Finish, was an opportunity too great to turn down. Audio is unquestionably the perfect home to deliver truly epic Dan Dare audio adventures that are the embodiment its comic book inspiration.”
If you wish to purchase this Dan Dare audio production from Big Finish, the first volume, which contains three stories (Voyage to Venus, The Red Moon Mystery & Marooned on Mercury) and a disc of extras will be landing on the December 2016, this will be followed by the second volume – arriving in February 2017 – which will contain Reign of the Robot’s, Operation Saturn and Prisoners of Space along with another bonus disc.
There will be a special price for one day only, as the normal pre-order price will be £20 on Download and £25 on CD (unlocking an instant download on release), but in a Dan Dare Day offer on 12th September, for the following 24 hours, each release can be pre-ordered instead for £15 and £20 respectively. This offer ends at mid-day on Tuesday (UK time) — and the clock’s ticking!
As ever keep checking the Big Finish website for all the latest up to date news.