Dan Dare revived from suspended animation after two hundred years to find himself in a different world. The Mekon had also survived but otherwise the cast was different, as was the tone of the strip (heavily influenced by the punk movement, as was much of "2000 AD") and the personality of the title character. Written by Kelvin Gosnell and then Steve Moore, the strip was initially illustrated by Massimo Bellardinelli, whose Dare owed nothing to the original apart from the wavy eyebrows. After 23 issues in this format the strip took a break for a month and then returned in a revamped
Dan Dare new supporting cast, who remained with the series throughout the rest of its run. Spacecraft of various designs were presented as the product of inhabitants of various planets. The vehicle most identified with Dan was the winged "Anastasia". Designed by Sondar, it employed both Venusian and Earth space drives. Later, an alien ship was adopted and renamed the "Zyl-bat". There was also an experimental time-travelling ship called "Tempus Frangit" (Latin: "it breaks time" or "time breaks"). There were land and air vehicles – in the first stories, cars conform to styling of the time, while some flying machines were based