Eagle was the most famous of countless boy's own comic books that shot to popularity in fifties Britain, capturing young lads' imaginations with the exciting tales of Dan Dare, fighter pilot in a far-flung future. Whilst Dan might not have been the most accurate piece of speculative fiction ever committed to the page, that didn't make the rest of the anthology title completely off the mark. In fact, sometimes it was bang on the money. Specifically, with a one-page piece that guessed what the internet would be like, and was 100% correct. Of the uses, at least, if not what the information superhighway would look like. The screen size is about right in the picture above, but there's yet to be a Macbook that incorporates reel-to-reel tapes. Still, the comic Computers For Everyone was right that by the nineties we'd have "world knowledge at your fingertips", we'd be using videophones, be able to read any book instantly, and would replace our TVs and stereos with computer screens. Venture capitalists, be sure to skim the page to pick out the next technological innovation, it's sure to be a success! (Note: Not an actual guarantee).
Tom Baker is the Comics Editor at WhatCulture! He's heard all the Doctor Who jokes, but not many about Randall and Hopkirk. He also blogs at http://communibearsilostate.wordpress.com/
