Dan Dare to celebrate their 20th anniversary, "2000 AD" published two issues with additional free comics, the first a reprint of the first issue of "2000 AD", which starred Dan Dare. The second free comic was a speculative issue called "3000 AD" which contained strips partially based on the first issue of "2000 AD". One strip was entitled "The Return of Dan Dare", which also featured the return of the Mekon. In 1982 "Eagle" was re-launched, with "Dan Dare" again its flagship strip. The new character was the great-great-great-grandson of the original hero—the only surviving character from the original strip being the
Frank S. Pepper Comet", as John Morion. For "The Children's Newspaper", he wrote the adventures of twins "Bill and Jill", starting in 1948. In 1952 AP launched "Lion", a weekly adventure comic designed to compete with Hulton Press' "Eagle", for which Pepper wrote the cover feature "Captain Condor", a space hero created to rival "Eagle"<nowiki>'</nowiki>s "Dan Dare", for twelve years. He also created the cover feature for AP's sports comic "Tiger", in 1953: editor Derek Birnage requested a more realistic football series than "Danny of the Dazzlers", and Pepper gave him "Roy of the Rovers", illustrated by Joe Colquhoun, who took over writing