Doctor Who Adventures revamped as series returns to BBC

Coinciding with new episodes of Doctor Who hitting TV screens on Easter Saturday, Immediate Media Co is re-launching Doctor Who Adventures magazine and its website with a new logo, fresh design and brand-new features today, Thursday 28th March 2013.

With weekly sales of over 31,000 and ranked Number One in the primary boys magazines market, the title gives young Doctor Who fans a chance to tap into the world of their favourite Time Lord, his best friends and his greatest enemies.

Along with the regular strip drawn by John Ross - albeit in a younger style than before - the new-look Doctor Who Adventures also features a new comic, ‘Alien Babies’, by Jamie Smart, cool monster makes, a collectable Whoniverse guide, behind the scenes secrets and loads more!

The Doctor Who Adventures website will also carry extra videos, downloads and even more content.

To celebrate, the magazine is inviting kids to their ‘Monster Day Out’ event - the world’s first ever kids only Doctor Who event at the Doctor Who Experience in Cardiff on Wednesday 3rd April. A day packed with monster fun, visitors can meet the show’s widely popular Sontaran, Strax (played as on the show by Dan Starkey), and find out how he feels about being called a potato head during a special Q&A session.*

“We’re really excited to be re-launching Doctor Who Adventures with a dynamic new look and fantastic new content," enthuses the title's editor Natalie Barnes. "This is a brilliant year for the show, and it’s great to be a part of it.

"Our Monster Day Out is the perfect way for us to give something back to our readers – and for them to come face-to-face with one of the Doctor’s most fearsome (and shortest) allies, Commander Strax!”

• Doctor Who Adventures magazine is priced at £2.99 and is available now at all major retailers and independents around the UK. Web: www.dwamag.com

• * Parents will need to register to ask a question during Strax's sesssion. What do you want to know about everybody's favourite Sontaran, Commander Strax? Would you like to know how he became a nurse? Or why he likes being a butler to Madame Vastra? Or how he gets his head so shiny? Then simply email Doctor Who Adventures at hello@dwamag.com and they'll pass your questions on!

Crumbs! Artist Steve Beckett creates new humour comic

 

With the move by DC Thomson to online publishing of The Dandy still an item of debate by British comic fans, and with creators such as Jamie Smart suggesting the launch of an all-new creator-driven humour title, Dandy artist Steve Beckett hasn't been letting the grass go - he's only gone and started one.

Steve describes CRUMBS! – The Online Story Paper as "the place to be for brand new daft comics... presented in a fun vintage British comics style, developing and growing over time and will showcase a whole host of new characters.

"The plan is to give Crumbs! comic its own dedicated web site," he says, "once a substantial body of work has been produced."

Right now it's a comic featuring just one artist - Steve - and it's only just begun, but perhaps other creators should drop him a line and suggest combining forces?

Steve Beckett is a Grimsby based graphic designer and Illustrator with several years experience of working in a range of print and digital media. He produces vibrant and exciting design and illustration work for a variety of clients, including corporate, small business, business, publishing and charitable organisations. Current and previous clients include record labels, broadcasters, clothing manufacturers, NGO’s, shops, and both the Beano and Dandy comics.

Steve say readers comments and feedback are welcome, so why not pop over to his site and take a look at his work so far. Here's 'Mai Bad' - "The little kid who makes BIG Mistakes!" - a gloriously silly example of his superb work...

 

- Read CRUMBS strips so far

- Visit Steve's web site: http://sjbeckettdesign.wordpress.com

- Follow Steve on Twitter
Crumbs! and art featured above copyright Steve Beckett

 

Guardian continues British Comics coverage in wake of Dandy news

National newspaper The Guardian is continued its coverage of British comics -- specifically, the future of The Dandy -- throughout last week, with key writer Jacqueline Rayner stepping up to champion the lost world of girls comics like Misty and Tammy and Charlie Brooker savaging those afraid of The Dandy's evolution into a digital-only title. Here's a round up of the coverage.

On Tuesday, artist Jamie Smart, who was an integral part of the comic's re-design and relaunch in 2010, wrote on  Why The Dandy Still Matters, arguing it's essential to keep kids reading comics.

"Comics are where we first learned about pea shooters, mud pies and building forts in trees," he notes. "They're one of the most exciting mediums around, and unrestrained by common sense or manners. Inside the pages of the best comics you will find pure, unbridled anarchy, running rampant through the world, telling hilarious stories with the naughtiest, silliest characters."

Writer Charlie Brooker - who was also one of Oink's youngest contributors back in its day - got hot under the collar about critics of the title's move to digital publication, arguing reports of the Dandy's death are greatly exaggerated. Going all-digital is the best thing that could happen to Britain's longest-running comic, he argued in The Guardian's sister paper, The Observer, yesterday.

"Why is The Dandy going all-digital? Because it's a magazine for children, and today's children don't seem to want magazines any more than I wanted a 1920s whirligig when I was their age," he said. "Kids today have Moshi Monsters and the Nerf Vortex Nitron Blaster. Traditional ink on paper looks like medieval tapestry to them. This is the price you pay for technological advancement. On the plus side: fewer cases of rickets."

Meanwhile, acclaimed author Jacqueline Rayner noted that at least Dandy fans were still going to have the chance to read their favourite comic - an opportunity not afforded fans of  Jinty, Tammy, Misty from the golden age of girls' comics. The decline of the Dandy is sad news, her article noted, but let's not forget the plucky young heroines who have already perished in the Great Comics Bloodbath, from Diving Belle to Lisa the Lonely Ballerina

"The news this week that the Dandy's 75th anniversary issue in December would be its last in print must have been a blow to its readers, but at least they had the consolation of knowing it would continue online," she mused. "For some of us, this summer has only reminded us how much we have lost."

Her article prompted a flurry of memories of mainly 1970s and 80s from girls comics fans, including a post from comic artist Sean Phillips who cut his teeth in professional comic work by drawing many of them.


The Guardian also published a round up of Twitter to the news that The Dandy was quitting print, noting it was a decision that has got a few Desperate Dan fans a bit misty eyed. The round up included a note about DC Thomson's Chief Executive Ellie Watson's continued fuming at the alleged 'leak' of the company's plans for title; links to The Dandy's YouTube channel's videos offering how to draw Desperate Dan and Korky the Cat - and the Guardian's Media Editor Dan Sabbagh noting it's not just kids comics in trouble on the news stand. Word magazine closed a few weeks ago, and the men’s magazine market is in big trouble. The dead trees business is not a happy place to be for many publishers.

"Moshi Monsters mag is the best performing magazine," he commented (with reported sales of 223,000).

• Links to earlier news stories about the demise of The Dandy are posted here as part of an ongoing discussion on our forum about the title and its future. Contributors include Dandy artist Nigel Parkinson; Kid Robson, an outspoken critic of The Dandy in its current form, who outlines his vision for the future of British comics; and Dandy, TOXIC and Viz artist Lew Stringer

Is it all over for The Dandy?

Desperate Dan by Jamie Smart, who comments on the title's possible demise on his blog here

National newspaper The Guardian has reported that DC Thomson may be considering an end to The Dandy, with its sales slipping away despite numerous attempts to save the title in the face of changing tastes, distribution issues and competition from other media.

Fans have already rallied online with a #SavetheDandy campaign on Twitter, urging comic readers to get out and buy the comic. Commenting on its 75-plus year history, comic creator Neill Cameron, a contributor to The Phoenix, urged support and others quickly took up the cause.

A full official statement on the title's future has yet to be made - the editors of both The Beano and The Dandy are on holiday this week - but The Guardian notes the 75-year old comic's circulation has declined as children have grown out of the habit of reading weekly comics, with their free time given over instead to watching TV and more recently playing video games and surfing the internet.

Various artists on the title have begun to comment on the possible demise of the title, including Jamie Smart, who was a key part of the title's most recent revamp in 2010. That saw the arrival of a Harry Hill comic strip (drawn by Nigel Parkinson) and many changes to the look of the title in an impressive effort to both appeal to potential new readers and continue to appeal to existing ones.

The relaunch was backed by a decision to print around a quarter of a million copies of the revamp issue, in-store dump bins to highlight it on shelves among the many other more magazine-oriented childrens' titles and other promotion. Sadly, for whatever reason, actual sales of the title were not reflected by these herculean efforts to breathe new life into the title, and slowly dropped back to the declining figures The Dandy was selling at pre-revamp.

The Dandy has outlasted DC Thomson's other titles such as the Beezer and the Topper by 20 years or more, but circulation decline has continued and by the second half of 2011, circulation had dipped below 8,000, according to the most recent official figures.

Despite the potentially bad news, creators who have worked on the title are adamant the brave decision to transform its look in 2010 was something worth trying in the face of declining sales.

"When The Dandy relaunched a couple of years ago, what it did was phenomenal," notes Jamie Smart. "It had previously tried to go a bit more ‘magaziney’, but now it was turning full circle and defiantly stating no, we are a comic, and we are proud of it.

"The last two years of The Dandy have been an absolute triumph for British comics," he argues, "a confident love of sillyness, slapstick and mess. A great wave of ridiculous characters and stories, an unashamed love of all things absurd.

"It also ushered in a host of new artists, fresh talent, being given their first break in the industry. It wanted to try new ideas, new things, giving us free reign to be as silly as we wanted. It was a playground.

"... To see this news emerging, it’s pretty crushing," he adds, urging comic fans to get out and buy the comic. "It’s no exaggeration to say The Dandy is a British institution, and a pillar for British comics. It has been essential to our culture. As the artists involved towards what may be its final days, we are incredibly proud and honoured to work on such a comic, to be given the opportunity to entertain children.

"We believe we have delivered real quality comics, and that The Dandy has been a shining light in what is a shrinking industry."

The Dandy first went on sale in 1937 costing 2p, with a free whistle and now costs £1.99. If it was priced on a par with a bar of chocolate - a common frame of price comparison used by publishers in the past - then a cover price of 65 or 70p might help, but quite aside from editorial, print and paper costs, distributors today tend to demand and favour higher-priced titles on their shelves in order to maximise their profits, rather than support a pricing change which might benefit potential consumers and publishers.


A spokeswoman for DC Thomson told The Guardian that the closure of the print title was being considered as part of a review of the company's magazine business, but indicated that characters such as Desperate Dan would continue to exist online. (This is something former editor Morris Heggie seemed to be hinting at in comments he made in an interview about the future of comics earlier this month).

The Guardian also notes characters such as Desperate Dan could also continue in print by switching to DC Thomson's sister title The Beano, although if cancellation is on the cards in the very near future, we'd argue that an old-style comics merger is unlikely given that title's recent revamp.

"We are carrying out a review of our magazines business to meet the challenges of the rapidly changing publishing industry," the spokeswoman told the Guardian.

"There are many challenges within the industry at present, but we're excited that the digital revolution has also given us an opportunity to innovate and develop. We're confident that future generations will continue to enjoy our much-loved products and characters."

• The Cartoon Museum in London is preparing an exhibition celebrating The Dandy's 75th anniversary, which will open in October.

Tube Surfing: Phoenix, Jamie Smart, Commando and The Broons

It has been a while since we have had a Tube Surf so…

The Phoenix had a bumpier than expected take-off when their distribution deal through Waitrose supermarkets left many potential readers puzzled when no Waitrose had copies of the new comic. We are glad to say that our network of twitchers are now reported sightings of Phoenixes nesting on the shelves of many different Waitrose stores so, if you have a nearby store, this is a nest site that we would be happy for you to raid. It you don't have a nearby Waitrose there is still the option of a taster subscription which gets you five issues (worth £14.95) delivered to your door for just £10. Our review of Phoenix issue 1 is here and the Phoenix website with subscription details is here.

Dandy, Phoenix, Corporate Skull Who et al artist and writer Jamie Smart has recently been on the receiving end of criticism of his work that has too often crossed the line into some disgracefully personal attacks. Jamie takes the time to write a very well thought-out and articulated FAQ-style piece on what artists, professional or amateur, should expect when they release their work out into a harsh, cruel world. Jamie's blog piece is here.

On a similar note, while we don't hang out on forums much, we have noticed that comics professionals seem to be quietly withdrawing from many of the various comics forums. While such places are poorer when they leave, it is understandable if, for instance, a forum member posts that they hate a particular artist when what they actually mean is that they dislike that artist's work. To a certain extent Facebook has replaced the work of a lot of the forums, as forums previously replaced Yahoo groups. downthetubes gets more comments about our blog pieces on Facebook than on the blog itself and it is a much more pleasant place to be than some forums as people appear to think twice about what they say when they cannot hide behind cryptic nicknames.

Last year Carlton books issued a set of four Commando paperbacks each containing 3 Commando reprints which were reminiscent of the IPC War and Battle Picture Library Summer Specials from the 1970s and 1980s. They were also considerably cheaper (and lighter) than the big 10 and 12 story oversized reprint books of previous years. The four titles have proved popular enough that Carlton are issuing a second set of four, each themed around a particular military subject and with stories chosen by Commando editor Calum Laird. The titles are Bombs Away!, Desert Rats, Dive! Dive! Dive! and Who Dares Wins and they are due to be published on 12 April 2012 at a cover price of £4.99 each.

Sticking with a DC Thomson theme, the company now has a Broons and Oor Wullie on-line shop, separate from the main DC Thomson e-shop. They have also expanded their range of Broons and Oor Wullie merchandise from the familiar softcover bi-annuals, hardcover reprint books and Ma's cookbooks to include, amongst other things, scarfs, flat caps and baseball caps in the official Broons and Oor Wullie tartans plus a range of jute shopping bags with Broons images on them. With DC Thomson's hometown of Dundee known for its three J's of Jute, Jam and Journalism our favourite of the new items would have to be the shopping bag, showing Ma Broon despairing of the cost of her groceries, which covers the jute and journalism of the three J's and allows you to add the jam yourself.

The Independent has an interesting piece on book illustrators and how, in modern book publishing, internal book illustration has become the preserve of children's books when, in the past, major authors writing for an adult audience such as Charles Dickens would work closely with an artist to illustrate their work. With quotes from the likes of Gerald Scarfe and Posy Simmonds, it is worth a read.

In Review: The Phoenix Issue 1

It feels like a long time since the last issue of The DFC appeared - although The DFC Library books have been reminding us what that title was like and, with the Etherington Brother's Baggage, what it might have continued to be given the chance.

So when The Phoenix was first mooted last year, there was some discussion about how this second title from David Fickling Comics Ltd was going to have to change to survive longer than its predecessor. The biggest change that was considered to be needed was it being available over the counter rather than just by subscription and, with their Waitrose deal, The Phoenix has managed that.

As for the comic itself, £2.99 gets the reader 32 pages of semi-gloss colour, which is a big improvement on the matt colour of The DFC. The dinosaur on the front cover leads into Daniel Hartwell and Neill Cameron's The Pirates Of Pangaea. When the first Phoenix image of this was released I e-mailed it around the rest of the downthetubes team saying that if it was available as a book on Amazon I would have bought it there and then based on that one image. Eight pages in, four in issue Zero and another four here, and I stand by that initial assessment - I like both the idea and the execution and I can completely understand why editor Ben Sharpe ran it as the cover and first story in this issue.

Next up are two pages of Jamie Smart's Bunny Vs Monkey which sets up the humorous strip's basic concept and, like Pangaea, continues directly on from the pages in Issue Zero. As the two protagonists didn't meet in Issue Zero this is one strip that seemed a little strange there, but the fateful meeting has now occurred and I can now see how it is going to play out. With Jamie's delightful chibi-style animal characters, this is one strip that I expect will grow on me.

Via two pages of text from the Ash Mistry book due to be published by Harper Collins in March, the next comic strip is the Etherington Brothers' Long Gone Don. The brothers' love of the manic is in full flow here with the main character dying on the first page before being transported to what could only be described as an Etherington version of Alice's Wonderland. Issue Zero didn't give much away about Long Gone Don and it has to be said that you aren't going to be much the wiser after these three pages but, with a hat wearing talking crow and Lorenzo's trademark detailed art, I fully expect this one to become a firm favourite.

Neill Cameron gets another page and a bit to get the readers to interact with the comic in How To Make Awesome Comics before the first two pages of Kate Brown's The Lost Boy. There isn't much to the story in these two pages, an apparently ship-wrecked boy wakes up on a sun bleached beach, finds a piece of a map and follows footprints up the shore. Yet Kate's style is so distinctive in the way she plays with the elements that make up her pages, as it was in The Spider Moon, that it makes these two pages interesting to look at despite the initial lack of action.

Garen Ewing's ligne claire style is much more traditional in the four page complete story by Ben Haggarty of The Golden Feather in which a middle-eastern boy and his grandfather, appropriately, watch the death and rebirth of a real Phoenix.

This is followed by Adam Murphy's Corpse Talk in which Adam talks to the reanimated corpses of famous people, in this instance scientist Nikola Tesla. Corpse Talk really sounds like a bad idea, zombies for kids mixed with history, however when I asked my 10 year old nephew which was his favourite strip in Issue Zero, it was Corpse Talk - and I have to agree with him. It may sound like a strange idea but, remarkably, it works really well.

The final strip in Issue 1 is James Turner's 2 page Star Cat, the beginning of a longer adventure, which does its job of raising a smile. If James' DFC strip Super Animal Adventure Squad was The Avengers for the Fineas and Ferb generation, then Star Cat is their Star Trek.

The whole comic is packaged up with editorial characters, a couple of humorous shorts, Patrice Aggs' centrespread of a school open day that is just about to go wrong, Lorenzo Etherington's tortuous Von Doogan prize puzzle and a superb Chris Riddel image of a cat restaurant.

So is there a drawback? As with The DFC, getting children and their parents to realise The Phoenix is available is going to be the issue. While the Waitrose deal is heartening to hear, there are only eight Waitrose stores between Yorkshire and John O'Groats, which at least is eight more than Northern Ireland has. For a vast swathe of the United Kingdom, "available at Waitrose" equates to "subscription only". If you have a local Waitrose then consider yourself lucky that you can simply walk in and buy a copy.

The Phoenix Issue 1 is an impressive start for the new title and, based on the contents of this week's issue, it deserves to do well. Time, and hopefully a wider distribution deal, will tell.

• There are more details about The Phoenix comic at their official website where a digital version of Issue Zero is available to read. The various Phoenix subscription options are also available here.


• The Phoenix is available at Waitrose supermarkets. Your nearest Waitrose can be found using the Waitrose Branch Finder.

• The Oxford Mail ran a short article on the release of Issue 1 which includes a picture of The Phoenix team.

The Phoenix Issue Zero Via Waitrose

The first issue of the new Phoenix comic is due to come out on at the start of January 2012 however Waitrose supermarket customers are being given the change to get a sneak preview with a printed copy of the Phoenix Issue Zero.

The current issue of Waitrose's free weekly Waitrose Weekend publication has The Phoenix featured on its front cover and a four page centrespread pull-out all about the new comic. In addition there is a printed code in the pull-out that, when put into the appropriate page of The Phoenix website, allows readers to get a free copy of the preview issue zero.

Emphasising the University of Illinois' findings that comics are as good as books at helping children to read, the Waitrose Weekend describes Phoenix as "published weekly at £2.99, the 32-page comic has at least seven story strips in every issue, plus a puzzle competition and a non-fiction strip on a new topic each week." Phoenix editor Ben Sharpe is quoted as saying, "We're making The Phoenix for all 8- to 11-year-olds; boys and girls. But really it's for everyone. Children will have their favourite strips, but so will kids in their 30s, 40s, 50s and beyond!"

The pull-out also introduces readers to the Phoenix characters of Monkey from Jamie Smart's Bunny and Monkey, Sophie Delcourt from Daniel Hartwell & Neill Cameron's Pirates Of Pangea, Castanet from the Etherington brothers Long Gone Don and Kate Brown's amnesiac child in The Lost Boy.

It also gives details of various subscription options for The Phoenix ranging from a full year down to a five issue taster. These are also available on the subscriptions page of the The Phoenix website.

There are more details about The Phoenix on the comic's website.

The Phoenix Issue Zero is available by entering the Waitrose code and your details into the Waitrose page.

British comics on the UK news stand - where next?

Last week, I was contacted by two newspapers, the Sunday Times and the Independent on Sunday, to offer my views on the state of the British comic industry. Specifically, comics on sale in UK newsagents.

The requests were prompted by the disappointing ABC figures for The Dandy, which, as we previously reported, is now selling around 7,448 copies a week.

The Sunday Times published its feature on 11th September - apparently, only in its Scottish edition - and the IoS will run its story later this month.

If there's an online version of the ST feature, which was written by Marc Horne, it must be behind the newspaper's paywall, but Deadline News has pretty much lifted the entire piece for its site and published a similar article here ("Desperate Dandy: comic’s celebrity relaunch 'backfired'"), which includes some of my comments and those of Kid Robson, minus a response from Dandy artist and British comics expert Lew Stringer.

Commenting on the sales figures,  a spokesperson for DC Thomson, who publish The Dandy described them as "disappointing.

"There is no getting away from that," they acknowledged, but pointed to success elsewhere for their comics titles.

“The Dandy is the one blot on an otherwise quite successful period for us," the spokesperson added. "We will be taking steps to address that, but we are not looking at radical surgery.”

Needless to say, the coverage and subsequent online posts by Dandy artist and re-designer Jamie Smart in defence of the comic (here and here) have provoked some fierce debate - but in addition, a very measured and useful analysis of many of the problems besetting the British comics industry by Lew Stringer, in the wider context of declining magazine and newspaper sales. You can read that in full on his blog, but he rightly points to an overall decline in print sales of magazines and newspapers.

(Despite print's decline, sales of news stand comics continues to be fairly robust and is not as bad as some other sectors).

For me, the problems lie not in content per se -  you would expect some people to like one comic and not another - but one of trying to reach an audience already swamped with a much higher brand awareness for other things that will attract their purchasing power. Our main problem, I feel, is that many people simply aren't aware of the range of comics out there on the news stand, because publishers cannot afford to promote them in the same way as can, for example, Microsoft when it comes to the XBox or Nike when it comes to shoes.

It's an issue Lew Stringer remarks on, pointing out that until recent times (the 1980s, perhaps?) comics were pretty much the only provider of escapism. "Today, kids have a multitude of distractions," he notes. "TV, DVD's, games, mobile phones, the Internet, sports centres, and, very often, solvent parents who can afford to take them on trips at weekends. Flat pictures on paper must seem very primitive in comparison. The more distractions kids have had, the more sales of comics have fallen. Coincidence?"

Personal initiatives to plug The Dandy (for example, by Dandy artist Andy Fanton with this fun graphic, left) all help get the message out, as, I hope, do web sites like downthetubes, Blimey! It's Another Blog About Comics, Comic Bits Online and Bear Alley. (The Forbidden Planet International blog and Bleeding Cool also deserve praise for their British comics coverage, but they also have a wider remit).

In a wider context, of course, comics are far from dead - you only have to key in "web comics" to see how alive and energetic the medium is, and the growing success of graphic novel sales in bookshops, aimed at all ages. But what's the future for the news stand comic?

So, what do readers of downthetubes think? Is the British comic industry facing serious decline as far as the news stand is concerned? Are such things as digital publishing, high quality albums a way forward?

• The floor is open over on the downthetubes forum for discussion...

Pirates of Pangea teaser poster revealed by Phoenix Comic

The team behind The Phoenix Comic, which launches "early next year" in the UK, continue to tease potential readers with some tasty artwork and other announcements.

The latest news includes the release of promotional art for Pirates of Pangea, "an epic adventure of Cutlass and Claw", drawn by Neill Cameron.


Confirmed creators involved in the title, which will be aimed at the 8-11 age group, include Jamie Smart with Bunny versus Monkey, Dan Hartwell and Neill Cameron on Pirates of Pangea and Patrice Aggs – animator on The Snowman, co-creator of The Boss and the artist behind many fantastic children’s books, who has created Blimpville for the title.

Set in Blimpville – the world’s most accident-prone town – the strip is called WHAT WILL HAPPEN NEXT?! and is part story, part brain-baffler, part mystery and all eye-popping visual wonder. Expect some sneak peaks on the comic's blog very soon.

"I'm having so much fun drawing this thing already," says Neill of Pirates of Pangea, "and I absolutely can't wait to set it loose upon the world. (I know that January seems like a long time to wait, but believe me from the point of view of me having to draw it all, it is no time at all)."

Web Links

• The Phoenix Comic Official Site


• The Phoenix Comic Official Blog

• The Phoenix Comic on Facebook


• Follow The Phoenix Comic on Twitter

New Dandy and Beano out today

(With thanks to Lew Stringer): New issues of the revamped The Dandy and the latest Beano are on sale today.

The new Dandy - which is provoking ongoing debate on the downthetubes forum and has just started its first poll about its strips on its Facebook page - some will go as the result of reader votes, others will stay - features Harry Hill's Real Life Adventures in TV Land by Harry Hill and Nigel Parkinson, Kid Cops and Postman Prat by Lew Stringer, Robot on the Run by Alexander Matthews, Pre-Skool Prime Minister by Jamie Smart and much more. "Even Bruce Forsyth returns to comics," notes contributor Lew. "Shades of Film Fun!" For more on the issue, check out Lew's blog post.


The Beano (Number 2559) comes with a Dennis and Gnasher by Jimmy Hansen who also draws a two page Dennis strip. Also in the issue: Ken Harrison drawing Minnie the Minx, Hunt Emerson on Ratz and David Sutherland on The Bash Street Kids. Other contributors include new artist Diego Jourdan Pereira (drawing Ivy the Terrible) and Laura Howell (on Meebo and Zuky)

While some fans have raised concerns about the Dandy's announced poll about its strips, Lew Stringer reminds us the comic was never one to rely on characters with such longevity. "Each decade has brought in fresh new characters although Desperate Dan, Korky the Cat, and Bananaman are still around albeit with modern new designs," he notes.

"The Dandy has always been the one to take more risks and, having had three revamps in six years, let's hope that it's third time lucky for the all-fun, all-new, back to basics Dandy of 2010."

Web Links

• Official Dandy web site: www.dandy.com
• The Dandy on Facebook: www.facebook.com/pages/The-Dandy/121479097908918
• Follow The Dandy on Twitter: http://twitter.com/DandyComic

The new Dandy: Who Did What, then?

Following up on yesterday's post about the new Dandy, editor Craig Graham has kindly taken time out of his busy schedule to give fans a run down of the creative team behind the brilliant revamp revealed in Issue 3508, which sees Harry Hill now fronting the back-to-weekly frequency comic along with a cover price drop to £1.50.

• Nigel Parkinson is drawing Harry Hill, The Phantom Pharter, Little Simon and chief Harry-knowing comics nut.He began working in comics back in 1980, and started working on The Dandy in 1982 and The Beano in 1997, on strips such as Bea and Ivy the Terrible. He's also occasionally drawn The Bash Street Kids.

"His contribution has been incalculable - and should be applauded to the hills," says Craig.

• Jamie Smart draws Desperate Dan, Pre-Skool Prime Minister, and created the new comic's the Style Guide. "Jamie's been a part of The Dandy for six years now, and when we came to set up the style guide, Jamie's name was first on our list. He was also author of a remarkable email to me which coincided, in emotion and timing, with the initial proposal for these changes."

• Wayne Thompson draws The Mighty Bork, Pepperoni Pig, Shao Lin Punks, Bananaman and Noel or No Noel -- "a remarkable artist and friend." Wayne also drew Billy Whizz for The Beano (now drawn by Nick Brennan). Wayne had been drawing Agent Dog 2-Zero for Dandy Xtreme as well as Jak.

• Lew Stringer draws Postman Prat and Kid Cops. "Lew's a long-time champion of comics, artist and one of the first names on the list of new artists we hoped to get on board," notes Craig. downthetubes fans will know him for his work on TOXIC and as creator of Combat Colin for Marvel UK.

• Nigel Auchterlounie draws The Bogies (which were created by Mark Greenbaum and Paul Kell) and Professor Dandy. "He's a great writer, artist and ideas man. Look out for much much more from Nigel in The Dandy. He's also an early morning Sky TV superstar!"

• Duncan Scott draws Simples! 101 Ways to Use a Meerkat, Count Snotula and What's In Cheryl's Hair Today?. "There really will be 101 Meerkat episodes!" Craig assures us, "but not so many of Cheryl's Hair. He's a top guy and great artist." Duncan has also worked for Hallmark Cards and The Beano (drawing strips such as The Neds) and TV Times.

• David Mostyn who has been drawing comics for 40 years and says he likes cats and red wine, draws Dr. Doctor. "David is supremely talented as a children's book illustrator and also a past Dandy artist," Craig notes. "It's a huge pleasure to have him onboard again, and you can all look forward to some absolutely top-notch work from him in the near future." (You can follow David on Twitter)

• Chris McGhie draws iDad. "Chris is very busy with things far more important than comics, but he always finds the time to help us out," says Craig. He previously drew Bananaman for the comic.

• Alexander Matthews draws Robot on the Run. "Alexander is well-known in more grown-up cartooning circles, but new, I believe, to kids' comics," Craig reveals. Robot on the Run is, in fact, a serial, and it's a good 'un!" Alexander has drawn cartoons for The Guardian, Private Eye and many more magazines.

• Andy Fanton draws George vs. Dragon. "Andy's a friend of Jamie's, recommended by him, and one of the first new artists we found for The Dandy. He's doing more stuff as we speak.

• Phil Corbett draws longtime Dandy favourite Korky the Cat, who Craig admits wasn't coming back until Phil and staff artist Chris combined their energies to fight his corner. "It turns out it was good enough to make the cover, so what do I know?!"

"Drawing Korky means a lot to me as I grew up on comics," says Phil in a blog post. "Korky was always one of my favourites and who would ever have thought I would get to be working with him.

"It's a real treat to be bringing back a character with such a history after his couple of years off - I believe he was away travelling - and hats of to the Dandy people for letting me change him so much."

• Garry Davies draws TV Teaser. "Gary's a great guy. It's a simple idea and kids love it. What more do you want?"

Behind the scenes, Craig also gives a tip off the hat to Dandy office staff Michelle, Ally, Katy, Mark and Chris. "Their efforts have been unstinting," he enthuses, "even when putting together Dandy Xtreme and working on this project."

Initial reaction to the revamp is very positive, Criag revealed over on ComicsUK yesterday. "A lot of research, experience and plain hard work has gone into it since we kicked the project off," he says, "and its success as a comic is all down to its contributors, whether freelance or DCT-employed."

• The first issue of the new look weekly Dandy is officially on sale on now

Web Links

• Official Dandy web site: www.dandy.com
• The Dandy on Facebook: www.facebook.com/pages/The-Dandy/121479097908918
• Follow The Dandy on Twitter: http://twitter.com/DandyComic

• DC Thomson Artists on Kelly's Comics

Dandy relaunches - and returns to comics format

(Updated 27/10/10) The Dandy - the real, comic strip driven Dandy - is back this week with a vengeance, ditching the magazine-style, TOXIC-inspired magazine format of Dandy Xtreme in favour of a weekly title with a £1.50 cover price.

As well as a price drop, the new, 32-page comic, which has also dropped cover mounted gifts, aims straight for the jugular by spoofing popular culture, with material from comedian Harry Hill (who now fronts the comic), a celebrity who is perfect match for the look of the new Dandy. He'll appear alongside old favourites such as Desperate Dan and Korky the Cat, plus new strips from cartoonists such as Nigel Parkinson (who draws Harry Hill), Andy Fanton and Lew Stringer.

"it's almost entirely comic strips," enthuses Nigel Parkinson of the new-look Dandy on his blog, which he also says will be heavily promoted – and publisher DC Thomson's use of social media such as Facebook and Twitter is just the start of that. "The strips are mostly brand-new. There are pages by people new to the Dandy and by people new to comics."

The new strips include Pepperoni Pig, Clive 5, Bill Oddie-Watch, The ZZZ-Team, The Y-Factor and Bear Thrills.

Another major change for the title will see readers be given more control, allowing them to vote on The Dandy website to decide which characters stay and while will go to make way for new characters.

 "The Dandy was the first comic I read as a child," says Lew Stringer of his involvement.  "It helped teach me to read, so I'm very pleased and honoured to have been asked to contribute."

He's revealed he's drawing two of the strips: Kid Cops and Postman Prat, both created inhouse, with scripts on Postman Prat from Dandy editor Craig Graham and Ally Bernard. (Lew is writing and drawing Kid Cops).

Andy Fanton is to contribute George vs Dragon, which reworks the Saint George and the Dragon tale as a slapstick, Wile E. Coyote-esque farce. "I’m thrilled to get the opportunity to work for the comic, as not only is it a very well-known and prestigious title, but it’s also one of the (many) comics I read loads when growing up," he says. "... to be one of the guys now doing the comics is pretty much a dream come true, and I feel very lucky indeed. And excited. And nervous."

While some may scorn the use of celebrities to help push sales, DC Thomson are well aware how media-savvy their target audience is, and say the celebrity input is to make it more topical! "So far we’ve immortalised Cheryl Cole, Noel Edmonds, Jeremy Clarkson and we’ve even added the ultimate X-factor, Simon Cowell…," one of the team notes on their Facebook page. "You never know who’ll be next!"

“The Dandy has constantly evolved over its 73-year history, but the brand new Dandy is the best and funniest it’s ever been," claims Craig Graham, editor-in-chief. "We’re providing something quite different to our competitors in terms of content, format and price-point that’s based on the unique Dandy heritage, exceptional British cartooning talent and that’s all backed up by compelling reader insight and market research.

“The icing on the cake is having Harry Hill join the team. With a renewed focus on comedy characters, it’s a real thrill to be working with one of the nation’s favourite family comedians. As he writes the strip himself, I’m not always exactly sure what’s going to be appearing each week so I’m as eager as everyone else to find out.

“With subscribers living all across the world there’s a huge affection for The Dandy and readers can be reassured they’ll still find lots of our much loved characters like Desperate Dan and Bananaman inside.  But, it was important for us to reinvigorate The Dandy and so there’s lots of new, exciting stuff to attract and delight a new generation of readers.”

First published on 4th December 1937, The Dandy is the world's longest continuously published comic and holds the record for the largest sale ever of a comic in UK history - May 1950 saw over 2 million copies of The Dandy sold.

While these days it's unlikely any British comic will ever reach that level of sale, the new look is a welcome revamp for a title some have feared was on its last legs and shows just how much faith DC Thomson has in its popular characters. We wish everyone involved the very best of luck with this new direction.

The first issue of the new look weekly Dandy is officially on sale on Wednesday 27th October 2010 and will cost £1.50.

Web Links

• Official Dandy web site: www.dandy.com
• The Dandy on Facebook: www.facebook.com/pages/The-Dandy/121479097908918
• Follow The Dandy on Twitter: http://twitter.com/DandyComic

Just some of The Dandy creators...

• Andy Fanton
• Nigel Parkinson
• Jamie Smart
• Lew Stringer

No More Poo in TOXIC

Sad news to report from Jamie Smart: Egmont's TOXIC have dropped his competition-winning Count Von Poo strip.

"The Count has had four adventures so far in their pages, with maybe seven or eight left to print," he reveals on his blog. "These however won’t be shown."

Regular downthetubes readers will recall Jamie won a competition to have a comic strip in TOXIC back in April (see news story), beating off stiff competition from the likes of Lew Stringer and Laura Howell.

"The reasons why CVP has been dropped, were an unease with the kid-playing-with-poo interface," says Jamie, "which I always anticipated but we’d been tweaking the strips so as to be careful, and I thought we’d found a nice groove.

"CVP was an immense amount of fun to write and draw, obviously. It’s a vampire who has imaginary adventures with faeces. How could that not be fun?"

Jamie's a bit mystified as to its cancellation. "A fair few people I’ve mentioned it to have suggested the recent wacky e coli outbreak over here in the UK this weekend, making the subject of kids handling poo maybe a bit sensitive. I dunno. What I can happily say is that TOXIC said there’d been no complaints about CVP. None. Again, it’s a vampire. Who has imaginary adventures with faeces. and no one complained? Brilliant."

Despite the loss of the Count, Jamie is discussing other potential ideas with TOXIC. However, given that Egmont own the copyright to other strips in the competition, perhaps they'll also look at those. As well as Lew and Laura, other contenders in the poll included creations from Luke Paton, , Paul H Birch, Steve Harrison, Paul J Palmer, David Hailwood, Paul Harrison-Davies, Shane Oakley, John Erasmus, and Stuart Arrowsmith.

Smart Wins TOXIC Poll

Jamie Smart has won the TOXIC Crazy Comic Poll and his strip, Count von Poo, will now have a regular spot in the comic.

Jamie announced he'd won the poll via Twitter earlier today and thanked everyone who'd voted for him.

TOXIC's Supplement featured work from a host of great creators and, hopefully the project will encourage Egmont to develop its comics brands further.

Count von Poo was well ahead in the online poll from Day One, followed by Zombie Nation by Luke Paton and Laura Howell.

Jamie is of course, perhaps best known for his 10-issue comic Bear and My Own Genie in The Dandy, but his credits also include Desperate Dan, Whubble and Fish Head Steve. Since 2004, he's also been developing shows with Cartoon Network.

Other contenders in the poll included Luke Paton, Laura Howell, Paul H Birch, John Freeman, Steve Harrison, Paul J Palmer, David Hailwood, Paul Harrison-Davies, Shane Oakley, John Erasmus, Lew Stringer and Stuart Arrowsmith.

• TOXIC Web Site

• Jamie Smart's Site

Exclusive: TOXIC Comic Supplement Details

Egmont's TOXIC Comic is to publish a special comic supplement of an upcoming issue, featuring comic characters old and new in a move to, hopefully, bring more strip material to the bestselling British news stand title.

The line up for the 16 page supplement will feature nine comic strips – eight of which are completely brand new and original, whilst one, WereWilf, is a resurrected character from Egmont’s past given a modern day makeover.

The line up is:

Count Von Poo
By Jamie Smart (writer/artist)
Jamie is of course, perhaps best known for his 10-issue comic Bear and My Own Genie in The Dabdy.

Zombie Nation
By Luke Paton (writer) and Laura Howell (artist)
Luke is the creator of the web comic, The Adventures of Kez and Luke, while Laura is of course a firm favourite with TOXIC readers as the artist on Robin Hoodie for the title, and also draws Ratz for The Beano and strips for The DFC.

Spooks In Space
By Paul H Birch (writer) and Steve Harrison (artist)
Paul's the brains behind the Birmingham Mail's Speech Balloons blog, delivering the latest word on comics in the Midlands

Bovver Baby
By John Freeman (writer) and Paul J Palmer (artist)
As well as drawing strips for TOXIC and other comics, Paul also drew The Underversity, a six part story featuring characters from The Really Heavy Greatcoat.

HoaXers
By David Hailwood (writer) and Paul Harrison-Davies (artist)

WereWilf
By Paul H Birch & Shane Oakley (writers) and John Erasmus (artist)
Shane has worked on and off in the comics industry, writing and drawing for some of the big guys, and some of the microscopic. John Erasmus credits include Desperate Dan, Accident Man (for the original Toxic comic), Dervish Ropey in the Amazon, and much, much more.
WereWilf first appeared March 1976, one of three strips introduced to Whoopee! to mark the comic's second birthday. (The others were Smiler and Gook the TV Spook).

Clump
By Lew Stringer (writer/artist)
Lew should need no introduction to any British comics fan -- his credits include Combat Colin, Brickman and more.

Bad Robots
By John Freeman (writer) and Paul Harrison-Davies (artist)

Simon Spectacular
By Luke Paton (writer) and Stuart Arrowsmith (artist)
Stuart is a full-time Designer and Illustrator, producing work ranging from panel cartoons to natural history pieces for commercial use.

The supplement will come with issue 137 of TOXIC, on sale 1 April for three weeks. Readers will be asked to vote online for their favourite comic strip and the winner will potentially get a full-time slot in the magazine.