The Christmas EAGLE (1966)
By 1966, Eagle was nearing its end (it would merge into Lion in 1969) but it was still a pretty good comic at this point. I don't know who the cover artist is of this Christmas issue but it's festive enough to make it into my festive comics selection for this year.
Ah, the days before the Internet. How to send a message around the world? By Telegram of course. This marvellous page by L. Ashwell-Wood explains how it all worked. How much simpler things are today!
Sadly, Dan Dare was definitely past his best and this was the penultimate episode of his final adventure before the strip went to reprints. Art by Keith Watson who, although a great artist, seems to have taken some shortcuts with this page as it's mostly close ups.
The centre pages featured one of the UK's forgotten superheroes, - Smokeman, the UFO Agent. Art by José Ortiz, who would still be around to illustrate stories for the new Eagle 20 years later...
Can anyone identify the artist of this historical strip?
This issue of Eagle also carried adverts for two movies that were out that Christmas, 1966. Raquel Welch in One Million Years B.C. and Norman Wisdom in Press For Time.
Another Christmas comic tomorrow! Which year will we visit next?
By the way, you might want to visit my other blog too, where I'll be posting a few of my own Christmas strips from the past 35 years...
http://lewstringercomics.blogspot.com
mm.. they are both good movies but I think i'll have to go for Press for Time.. the main interest in One Million Years B.C., is of course, Raquel Welch. second is the work of Ray Harryhausen which is always worth watching.
ReplyDeleteoh, and i'm gonna say the story is either false or incorrectly reported from the cover, but knowing what they are like, probably true... still, good cover
Hello Lew,
ReplyDeleteThe artist for Bids for Freedom : maybe Victor de la Fuente ? There's definitely a spanish vibe in that page. http://www.lambiek.net/artists/d/delafuente.htm
Thanks Roberto!
ReplyDeleteNo, it's untrue, Manic.
The plot of that episode of Dan Dare is a bit lazy too, using the same denouement as War Of The Worlds. And I'm guessing that it's the robot-man's name, but Dan addressing him as "Bro" makes him sound... er, well current, blood. (Sorry!)
ReplyDeletethought it sounded a bit iffy but normally, for a Christmas story like that, they go with something 'weird but true'.. so interesting ^_^
ReplyDeleteAnd of course, the cover of this wonderful copy is by Eric Kincaid who did many others in the 60s(http://www.erickincaid.com/)
ReplyDelete