The Mekon he doesn't know it, but I like the Mekon." British rock band The Mekons named themselves after the character in 1977. In May 2013, the BBC radio soap opera "The Archers" featured a storyline in which regular character Brian Aldridge was aggrieved by a local newspaper article that compared him to the Mekon. The Mekon The Mekon (of Mekonta) is the arch-enemy of the British comic book hero Dan Dare, first appearing in 1950 in the "Eagle" comic strip "Dan Dare, Pilot of the Future" and created by Frank Hampson. Apart from Dan Dare himself, he is the only character
Dan Dare Dare, assisted by Digby (who sacrifices himself in battle) leads a spirited defence of both Earth and his honourable principles. Launched in October 2003, Spaceship Away magazine was originally created in order to get "The Phoenix Mission" (a 1950s style story by Rod Barzilay with art by Keith Watson and Don Harley) into publication, with the agreement of the Dan Dare Corporation. Response was good enough to warrant the magazine's continuation following that strip's conclusion, initially with "Green Nemesis" (again by Barzilay and Don Harley, with later chapters drawn by David Pugh and Tim Booth. Other stories have since followed.