Dan Dare Mekon. The initial artist was Gerry Embleton, who drew Dan to resemble the original exactly, but he was quickly replaced by Ian Kennedy, who gave the hero a younger look and blond hair. The opening "Dan Dare" story was an epic, lasting 18 months, written by Pat Mills and John Wagner. It opened with a flashback to the unseen final defeat of the Mekon by the original Dan, after which he was sealed inside an artificial asteroid and exiled into space. Centuries later he was accidentally freed and returned to conquer Earth. A few years later the descendant of his
Vermont Eagle practices." Antagonistic editorials continued back-and-forth into the beginning of 2002. Around that time, facing financial troubles, the "Eagle" announced that it would begin charging readers .50 per copy. In 2003, because of ongoing financial struggles, the "Vermont Eagle" was purchased by New Market Press. New Market Press was co-founded by Dan Coats and Dan Alexander, who went on to own Denton Publications, which now owns the "Vermont Eagle". Denton Publication is considered a sister publication group to the New Market Press. In 2009, the Vermont Times was absorbed into the "Vermont Eagle". In 2016, the Green Mountain Outlook was absorbed