Dandy on the brink?

[James Stacey]

Just had a look in the local whsmiths. Any reason why the Dandy is a third more expensive for the same content as the Beano? That's a hell of a difference

[M.I.K.]

it has a disasterous leaning towards cultural characters whom the target audience just dont care about (harry hill, notably, but david cameron, simon cowell, etc) and the abandoning of traditional comic strip cartooning in favour of manga-influenced angular shapes has given us pages of badly-drawn crap with often only one or two gags per page.

The Harry Hill stuff was one of the best written stories after the revamp, (though I have no argument with regards the other celebrities), and I thought the funniest and most appealing stuff was by Jamie Smart, whose art you'd probably put in the "manga-influenced angular shapes" bracket. His Desperate Dan might look different from how you remember (or prefer), but the stories are arguably some of the best there's been since Dudley D Watkins was drawing it.

Incidentally, I bought an issue a couple of months back and the celebrity guff seemed to have been drastically cut down on, and Harry Hill was nowhere to be seen.

[Buttonman]

I've not picked up a copy in 20 years so I'm not qualified to comment on the quality but as with anything else market forces will dictate its fate. Do kids today want pay two quid for a plastic toy and a poorly drawn, celebrity fawning comic? Doubtful if that's what's being offered, and going by the pictures and comments posted so far, it is.

I remember buying the Beano, Dandy the Topper, Jackpot and Whizzer & Chips for 8p each and I had change for some Spangles and a Splicer. But we didn't have the internet and drugs back then...

[M.I.K.]

Actually, I've just realised the issue I bought was the jubilee thing featured in the blog which Mr. Ewing posted a link to. (I think it was the pig in a hat going 'woof' what made me do it.)

[Trout]

I think everything should stay the same as it was when we were children. If it changes, it's wrong.

And EEEEVIL.

[Jimmy Baker's Assistant]

I am sorry so many people are now feeling as I did the day Whoopee! bit the dust.

[starscape]

I don't think the Dandy has ever been funnier than it is these days.  Reminds of Oink! or Krazy.  It actually sells the same amount per month as it did before the revamp (prior to that, it was a fortnightly).  It's biggest sellers are the ones with a cheap piece of plastic tat attached for 50p extra.  They tried without it.  Didn't sell.

The Dandy was failing.  They tried making it Xtreme lifestyle mag with comics.  Didn't work.  They tried making it all comic, cheaper than the Beano and with tv characters kids liked.  Didn't work.  One last throw is to announce it might close.  I hope it works but I'm not going to put any money on it.

I presume that means no relaunch of Warlord then too?

[M.I.K.]

Maybe they just need a decent marketing campaign?

[maryanddavid]

Hopefully this is a bit of a non story. The last ABC figures from the comics uksite have the Dandy and Beano for the period june to dec 2011 as follows
The Dandy 7,489 (7,448) UP
The Beano 38,333 (37,145) UP

They are under the impression that these are weekly sales figures.

As to the quality its top notch, every bit as good, if not more zany than the Beano.

We tried the relaunch Dandy when it came out, and neither of my two oldest liked it, too many tele references that they didnt get.

But we have been getting it again and Brendan loves it, he loves the skit on Batman and the avengers, and he loves Jaime Smarts stuff, he does'nt know the name but he knows the style.
And Like MIK says, Dan is absolutly brilliant, I never liked Dan, he always seem old fashioned, Smart has made it funny. Gary Northfield has done some good stuff as well, and the 3 panel strips are a kind of throwback to the Topper. It does remind me a bit of Oink when it came out.

It would be shame if it does die, but I suppose everything has an end.

[James Stacey]

What were the numbers for the old 'hatch, match and despatch' model? It's shocking to see such a low distribution for both Beano and Dandy. Could an 'exciting new announcement for all readers' be heading their way.

[IndigoPrime]

The numbers used to be significantly higher than that, IIRC around 100,000 at one time. But no comics sell anywhere near that figure now. I suspect the more likely scenario is Dandy will end (I'm hearing as early as September now) and a few popular characters will end up in the Beano.

[Mardroid]

I was more a Beano-boy. I did read the Nutty though (that's the one where Bananaman started) and I got the Dandy regularly when the Nutty joined with it (i.e. folded).

I haven't read the Beano or Dandy in recent years apart from a quick perusal of The Beano in W H Smiths a while back, but this is a big shame.

I'm a big shocked at reading about all the changes with the incorporation of lots of celebrities, etc!  And that Art style isn't what I remember, although I wouldn't say it's particularly bad. Not really my cup of tea though.

Here's hoping the Beano continues to sell well, and it would be good if some of the Dandy characters continue in some form be it digital or as part of The Beano. Desperate Dan and Bananaman in particular.

[radiator]

It was always The Buster for me. Had better artwork and more colour IIRC. Whizzer and Chips was good, too, and I always had a soft spot for The Beano.

Never really cared for The Dandy if I'm honest.

[Professor Bear]

Dandy numbers may be low, but the Beano is "only" selling 38, 000 copies a week?
Marvel's Wolverine sells less copies than that every month, and that's in North America.

[vzzbux]

I cant see the need for the reimaging of main characters. As a kid I was happy with the art style. Maybe this is one of the reasons of the decline.






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