I've been asked about the meaning of the Mekons name.

There are some fantastic website dedicated to Dan Dare and the Mekon, and a second one

This story is told in the words of Iain Noble.

The Mekon was the leader of The Treens, who were a load of bald green scary and, quite frankly, rather antisocial types from Venus, in a strip that appeared in a 50s/60s UK comic called 'The Eagle'. The Mekon, with his plans for total galactic domination, was the arch enemy of Dan Dare the comic strip's titular hero (a frightfully British cleancut type with the same jaw and extensive range of facial expressions as Roger Moore). He had a very large, very green, head but was otherwise smaller than the other Treens, used to jet around sitting on what looked like a pudding basin with puffs of vapour coming out of it (terrible flatulence problems on Venus) and was behind most sorts of badness in The Galaxy (though a clear link wth rock and roll was never established). He also had a certain resemblance to Garth Brooks which has troubled me much in recent years. I believe The Treens now support Millwall.

I seem to recall one story line where The Mekon invented some substance which would dissolve all known defence materials and it looked like Earth was doomed until Dan Dare discovered that it wouldn't work with rubber. As a result all of Earth's spaceships were sprayed with rubber and all of the crews had to wear skin tight rubber suits, including Dan's faithful - but platonic - female assistant (whose name escapes me just now). Amazing what you could get away with in those days.

'The Eagle' (home of Dan Dare, Space Pilot and The Mekon) was part of a stable of UK comics, put out in the 50s by a religious gent anxious to counter the insidious dangers thought to be posed at the time to wholesome British youth by American comics. The latter were believed to be responsible for a wide range of social ills including juvenile delinquency, gum chewing, avoidance of attendance at church and overuse of hair cream. Clearly ineffective.

As to musical relevance The Mekon was obviously one of those sorts who maintain an extensive collection of Death Metal while Dan Dare probably relaxed to the swinging sounds of Anne Shelton and Vera Lynn. Except when he fancied getting down and dirty with his female assistant in which case it was rubber suit time all round and something wild and dangerous like Chris de Burgh or Phil Collins.


Go to the top