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Contrary to what you've been led to believe (especially if you're British), DAN DARE is not a spaceman who appeared in the first issue of EAGLE in 1950, but a private detective who debuted in WHIZ COMICS #2 (but was actually the first issue), cover dated February 1940. (Which means it may've went on sale around November 1939.) This means that a Dan Dare was featured in comics a whole ten years before his admittedly more iconic namesake first saw the light of day.
'Tis said that our Dan was named after the Sunday School song "Dare To Be A Daniel", but I wonder if MARCUS MORRIS and FRANK HAMPSON were aware of their character's predecessor and 'borrowed' the name? The fact that it so appropriately tied in with the mood of the song could've been the deciding factor in them using it for their own comic strip creation. After all, both explanations aren't necessarily mutually exclusive, though admittedly the possibility of there being a connection is pure speculation on my part.
Anyway, enjoy the first Dan's debut adventure from another century (and millennium).
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