Eoghann Mill Irving reviewed Dan Dare by Garth Ennis
Review of 'Dan Dare' on 'Goodreads'
4 stars
For those of you who are not British I suspect the name Dan Dare means nothing at all (even for those who are British it won't mean much if you're under 30). I think the best comparison is with Flash Gordon. They are from a similar era and in many ways have similar feels to them, although Dare is unquestionably British in demeanor.
Like Flash Gordon, reimagining Dare for a modern more cynical audience has proved difficult despite multiple attempts. Here Garth Ennis, best known for violence and foul language in this like Preacher, shows his other side (he also writes some excellent war comics). Dare was a direct result of the impact of the war on creator Frank Hampson. That is the worldview that the comics embody.
So instead of trying to update that, Ennis leaves the characters largely alone and simply updates the world around them. Other people …
For those of you who are not British I suspect the name Dan Dare means nothing at all (even for those who are British it won't mean much if you're under 30). I think the best comparison is with Flash Gordon. They are from a similar era and in many ways have similar feels to them, although Dare is unquestionably British in demeanor.
Like Flash Gordon, reimagining Dare for a modern more cynical audience has proved difficult despite multiple attempts. Here Garth Ennis, best known for violence and foul language in this like Preacher, shows his other side (he also writes some excellent war comics). Dare was a direct result of the impact of the war on creator Frank Hampson. That is the worldview that the comics embody.
So instead of trying to update that, Ennis leaves the characters largely alone and simply updates the world around them. Other people may be cynical and have lost hope, but not Dan Dare. He remains the pinnacle of an English (yes distinctly English more than British) hero.
Of course a modern view of Britain points out all the horrible things we did as an Empire (it's quite a list) and culturally we're not really into the flag waving in the way that American's are for example. But Ennis references some points in history when the people of Britain were engaged in something unquestionably heroic and largely selfless.
It's a moment in time that deserves to get more credit and attention than it does (usually swamped by US self-congratulatory movies) and it's something the country has a right to be proud of. Even if it is old-fashioned.
The story in the comic itself is simple enough. Involving the return of Dan Dare's nemesis The Mekon. The action plot deliberately echoes a number of recognisable British battles of the past but eventually places Dare face to face with his enemy in a battle to save the Earth.
I'm on record as thinking that "Grim 'n Gritty" has gone too far so perhaps this is something perfectly tailored to my tastes, but I really enjoyed both the story and the artwork (which also deliberately aped WWII Britain in a number of ways) even if I think that Erskine's faces looked a little frozen at times.