CAN YOU HELP SOLVE THE MYSTERY?

Frank said Dan ‘was the man I wanted
to be’, but he said it in jest, knowing it
would make good newspaper copy.

This website, devised by Wakefield Carter and Alastair Crompton, is here for two reasons. Primarily we want it to be known that Frank Hampson created more characters than Dan Dare, and we want to dramatise the quality, ingenuity and originality of his work.

But we are also keen to know why, in 1961, when he was desperate to start a new strip, and offered so many ideas for his employers to chose from, that Fleetway refused to work with him. He had, after all, been the true begetter of Eagle, and for 10 years his space-hero had made a million schoolboys happier.


Much has been made of his reclusive nature, his reluctance to mix it with executives, and the fact that he was being paid more than any other strip cartoonist in the land - possibly the world. But who decided he should be side-lined, ostracised and left to rot? And why? It was obvious to anyone in the comics business, his refuge was Eagle or nowhere.

If you can help us solve this mystery, if you know what went on during those times, if you have heard speculation, or would like to speculate yourself, we would be grateful to hear from you. If what you tell us seems valuable, we will ask your permission to repeat it on this site.