When "2000 AD" was in preparation in 1977, an artist was needed for the revamped "Dan Dare", and Belardinelli tried out for no pay and got the job, and the rare honour of a byline, despite editor Pat Mills' reservations: although he excelled at visualising aliens, alien technology and alien landscapes, Mills thought "the hero looked awful". Belardinelli's work on the strip was not popular, and after a year he was switched to future sports series "Inferno", the sequel to the popular "Harlem Heroes", while former "Harlem Heroes" artist Dave Gibbons took over "Dan Dare".