The highlight is a two-page guide to drawing comics by Jamie Smart.
A slightly less rigorous analysis of the form than that offered by Thierry Groensteen, but fun nonetheless.
Wednesday 13 February 2008
Dandy surprise
As a random purchase this week, I picked up a copy of the current issue of The Dandy (no 3439, 31 January - 15 February 2008, D C Thomson), and was pleasantly surprised to find that it was almost entirely restored to being a traditional comic, with only half-a-dozen pages of non-comics material. However, it’s described on the cover as an “Awesome Mega-Comix Special”, so this may not last. This issue is only on sale for another day or two, so rush out now and inflate the sales figures!
The highlight is a two-page guide to drawing comics by Jamie Smart.
A slightly less rigorous analysis of the form than that offered by Thierry Groensteen, but fun nonetheless.
The highlight is a two-page guide to drawing comics by Jamie Smart.
A slightly less rigorous analysis of the form than that offered by Thierry Groensteen, but fun nonetheless.
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2 comments:
Ah, the Dandy. Easy to get sentimental about the comic's decline - read it myself in the late 70s, loving the Smasher, Jocks and the Geordies and, of course, Desperate Dan.
Interesting that the Beano is now almost in a field of its own in that there really isn't any other comic out there any more that has old fashioned comic strips based on in-house creations (as opposed to TV tie ins). I wonder if it's this unique factor that is helping it survive as opposed to decline?
Dandy is now about giving kids angles on other things in their lives - games, webpages, sport etc. whilst the Beano is just about the story telling. And it's encouraging to some degree that it continues to survive - kids are still interested in stories (ask JK Rowling)even if they're the sometimes banal little strips in the Beano (though I must admit I love Freddie Fear).
I've seen it suggested that one reason for the lack of new comics with original characters is that superstore chains like Tesco and Asda are reluctant to stock anything that isn't already ad established brand.
If so, that might explain why DC Thomson's last big launch (BeanoMax) reused the Beano brand.
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