Eagle (British comics) the first issue of "Eagle" was released in April 1950. Revolutionary in its presentation and content, it was enormously successful; the first issue sold about 900,000 copies. Featured in colour on the front cover was its most recognisable story, "Dan Dare, Pilot of the Future", created by Hampson with meticulous attention to detail. Other popular stories included "Riders of the Range" and "P.C. 49". "Eagle" also contained news and sport sections, and educational cutaway diagrams of sophisticated machinery. A members club was created, and a range of related merchandise was licensed for sale. Amidst a takeover of the periodical's publisher
Dan Dare with the song "Dan Dare" The relaunch of the Eagle Magazine in 1982 saw a free single giveaway of a track called "Dan Dare" by the group Loose Talk. Characters inspired by or based on Dan Dare have appeared throughout British popular culture. One example is Wing Commander Leyton in "British Summertime" by Paul Cornell, which juxtaposes the utopian future portrayed in the original comics with the Britain of today. In the 1980s, "Private Eye" published "Dan Dire, Pilot of Future?". Dire was based on politician Neil Kinnock, the question being whether he'd ever become Prime Minister. Dire's enemy was