Dan Dare - Issue 2

[espanolbot]

Dan and his friend Digby meet up for the first time in years, and then meet Sub-Lieutenant Christian, the officer who saved the only ship to survive the Mekon's attack in the previous issue.






Meanwhile, Not!Tony Blair is setting up the totally unexpected twist at the end of the issue, while Dan and Digby go to a colony that has been attacked by creatures the Mekon genetically engineered to look like monsters from Treen fairy tales, just to mess with/kill people.

Comments

[razsolo]

I kind of like this a lot. Is this what Garth Ennis can do when he applies himself? It's pretty ace! :)

[golden_orange]

I'm convinced by this series that what Ennis primarily needs most of the time is someone/thing around to set some boundaries for him and reign in his more out-there tendencies.

The fact that he's clearly interested in and good at military-war comics (and sci-fi to a bit of a lesser degree) probably doesn't hurt either.

[filthysize]

I think it's less about boundaries and more about his interest, really. For example, The Boys got infinitely better when Ennis decided to pull the series away from just superhero satire and moved it to far more somber territory involving government conspiracies, military history and corporate greed. When things interest him, he gets excited and writes it well. When he's working in a genre just to work in that genre, his contempt shows through.

I admire Ennis for being one of those creators who dislike the superhero conventions, so he spends most of his time in smaller press writing short war and crime comics that he knows full well have limited audience. There are some writers who share Ennis' dislike but don't follow through, and instead spend their efforts trying to capitalize on the appeal of superheroes by "deconstructing" them.

[mola_ram]

so much motto.
he also seem to have a genuine fondness and respect when writing characters he grew up with (Dan Dare, Enemy Ace, Battler Briton, etc.)
I'm looking forwards to see what he'll do with the upcomming The Shadow comic.

[shadur]

"what Ennis primarily needs most of the time is someone/thing around to set some boundaries for him and reign in his more out-there tendencies. "

Someone with a plant mister and a rolled up newspaper to watch over his shoulder for the right moment to go "NO! No mutilation and dick jokes! BAD GARTH! *swat*" ?

Something like this sounds about right...

[jlroberson]

I don't mind his crazy shit. It wouldn't be Ennis if it was always thoughtful people having sober conversations about basic truths as we see here. I mean, i like that side of him but if he does it too much it can...get to be one of the reasons THE BOYS, when it doesn't repulse me, bores me to death. (sorry, I tried, I really tried. It's been stretched far beyond what its premise can bear for the sake of milking it. It's BORING. IMO) The thoughtful parts though need the black humor, except maybe in his historical war stories, but even then he isn't ALWAYS serious. Ennis needs to take the piss out of something inflated--he's good at it.

The balance seemed to be well-struck in PREACHER, and PUNISHER. The problem is then we also have things like CROSSED.