Editing Dan Dare (section)

===''2000 AD''===
In 1977, Dan Dare appeared again in the first issue of ''[[2000 AD (comics)|2000 AD]]'' (26 February 1977).<ref>[http://2000ad.org/?zone=thrill&page=profiles&Comic=2000AD&choice=DANDARE List of ''Dan Dare'' stories in ''2000AD''] at 2000ad.org</ref> The first installment, scripted by Ken Armstrong and [[Pat Mills]], had the character revived from suspended animation after two hundred years to find himself in a different world. The Mekon had also survived but otherwise the cast was different, as was the tone of the strip (heavily influenced by the [[Punk subculture|punk]] movement, as was much of ''2000 AD'') and the personality of the title character. Written by [[Kelvin Gosnell]] and then [[Steve Moore (comics)|Steve Moore]], the strip was initially illustrated by [[Massimo Belardinelli]], whose Dare owed nothing to the original apart from the wavy eyebrows. After 23 issues in this format the strip took a break for a month and then returned in a revamped format with a more realistic style, written by [[Gerry Finley-Day]] and Jack Adrian (Chris Lowder) and illustrated by [[Dave Gibbons]]. Dare was now launched on a deep space mission, much in the style of ''[[Star Trek: The Original Series|Star Trek]]'' but with technology designs very much influenced by ''[[Star Wars]]''. In a series of episodic adventures, Dare encountered various threats, including an extended multi-episode adventure uniting slave races in opposition to the "Star Slayers" – the oppressive race controlling that region. The overall mission had a surprisingly downbeat ending, leaving a space-suited Dare the only survivor, adrift in space on wreckage.

The strip was rested for 14 issues, returning early in 1979 in ''2000 AD'''s 100th issue. The amnesiac Dare is rescued from space by the Mekon and indoctrinated into the Mekon's army before eventually recovering his memory. Now penned by [[Tom Tully (writer)|Tom Tully]] but still drawn by Dave Gibbons, this re-imagining of Dare casts him almost as a superhero with a colourful tight-fitting uniform provided by the Mekon. Dare escapes to a planet that is home to an amphibian-like race, which claims he is their Chosen One. There he receives a semi-mystical glove that can shoot energy beams but is unable to prevent the Mekon from acquiring the mystical Crystal of Life. On his return to Earth, he and his Treen companion Sondar find themselves branded traitors and found guilty of helping the Mekon to steal the Crystal. This story arc concluded with the pair escaping the Earth authorities and going on the run to try to clear their names by tracking down the Mekon and recovering the Crystal, establishing the format for the next story arc. Despite promises that Dare and Sondar would be back, the ''2000 AD'' Dan Dare strip "Attack on Eternium" ended here in prog 126 (18 August 1979).

In 1997, to celebrate their 20th anniversary, ''[[2000 AD (comics)|2000 AD]]'' published two issues with additional free comics, the first a reprint of the first issue of ''2000 AD'', which starred Dan Dare. The second free comic was a speculative issue called ''3000 AD'' which contained strips partially based on the first issue of ''2000 AD''. One strip was entitled "The Return of Dan Dare", which also featured the return of the Mekon.