Although the introduction of speech balloons and new printing techniques in the 1930’s was seen as innovative, comics continued with the same premise and format until the groundbreaking arrival of the Eagle in 1950. The Eagle was the brainchild of Reverend Marcus Morris, who created the title in response to what he saw as the growth in popularity of violent American comics. In an era of post war optimism, hooped dresses, bouffant hair and Teddy Boys a ground breaking British comic produced by a reverend seemed unlikely.

Morris and local artist Frank Hampson took their idea of wholesome boy’s comic including ‘Dan Dare – Pilot of the Future’, to Hulton Press who knew a good thing when they saw one. The Eagle was hugely influential and marked a departure from its contemporaries especially the British comics which had to sit up and take notice and change to compete with the new bigger kid on the block.

The secret of the Eagle’s success was not necessarily due to its innate moral underpinning but its outstanding artistry and production values. The Eagle, which typically saw eighty percent of its pages in full colour photogravure was an over night success. The comic introduced such characters as PC 49, Captain Pugwash, Skippy the Kangaroo and many more during its nineteen year run but it was Dan Dare that became synonymous with both the Eagle and British comics. With the aid of his trusty friend Digby, Dan Dare’s encounters with the Mekon made him not only an icon of British comics but also an iconic figure in British pop culture.