Beano and BeanoMax go Prank Mad...

(via Lew Stringer): British comics have often featured activity pages amongst the strips, from the humble reader's jokes page, 'How to' features on magic tricks, and puzzle pages such as Teaser Time. The latest thing appears to be the pranks page, with readers actively encouraged to play harmless pranks on their parents and pals, with step-by-step instructions on each mischievous moment.

Artist and writer Lew Stringer reports that this week's issues of The Beano and BeanoMax are no exception. In The Beano he's illustrated Pop Goes the Weasel, - "and no, weasels are not involved," he says. "It's a prank involving keys and balloons."

It's a busy week for Lew watchers: over in BeanoMax, his cartoons run across five pages for the It's Prank O'Clock feature, telling kids how they can get up to 15 pranks during the course of a day.

"This week's Beano is rather special because not only does it feature the return of the cover strip (as opposed to one big picture) it also contains the debut of four new strips," Lew enthuses. His Rasher strip continues apace!

• The new Beano is on sale now in all good newsagents and supermarkets, as is a free-gift packed BeanoMax No. 77, on sale now for £3.99. More info and pictures on Lew's blog

Dandy 75: Artists Signing At The ABC Show

The ABC Show section of the London Comic Mart on Sunday 2 December had a Dandy theme with a selection of original artwork for sale as well as plenty of back issues. The Cartoon Museum and Phil Comics both had sales tables while there were also a number of Dandy and Beano artists there to talk to and sign items for the punters.

 

Henry Davies (above centre) talks to two fans while Gary Northfield (left), Lew Stringer (right) and Nigel Parkinson (with back to the camera) compare notes.

Henry had a good selection of his artwork on display and for sale.

Nigel Parkinson (above) was feeling somewhat under the weather but still managed to sign items. You can find out more about Nigel's work on his blog, Nigel Parkinson's Cartoons.

 

Lew Stringer (above right) signs a copy of The Art And History Of The Dandy as Nigel looks on. You can find out more about Lew's work on his website while his blog Blimey! remains indispensable reading for fans of old British comics.

All photos by Richard Sheaf.

The last print issue of The Dandy, a 100 page special including a reprint of the first issue from 1937, goes on sale on Tuesday 4 December with a cover price of £3.99. 

Anyone concerned that they will not be able to find a copy of the issue, which has a print run of 50,000, can order it directly from the DC Thomson on-line shop. The on-line shop also has a special offer of a Dandy Collectors Pack of a copy of the last issue as well as a copy of the hardback book The Art And History Of The Dandy signed by the last two editors of the comic, Morris Heggie and Craig Graham.

It's The Dandy Show! Final print issue to be celebrated at London Mart

With the final print edition of The Dandy comic imminent - a 100-page special that includes a facsimile of the first issue - the London Comic Mart is marking its transition to a digital format on Sunday 2nd December by hosting a special Dandy-themed day to celebrate 75 years of the much loved comic.

Launched on 4th December 1937, The Dandy hits 75 years at the beginning of December – but, sadly, the anniversary will see an end to the print edition. Hopefully, the move to an entirely digital comic will prove a success – DC Thomson have been working on it for months, so fingers crossed!

To celebrate the anniversary and to tie-in with the final print issue of the iconic DC Thomson comic, Showmasters is hosting a special edition of its ABC Show. Held on 2nd December from noon to 4.00pm at the Royal National Hotel, Bedford Way, London WC1, the festivities are an addition to the regular London Comic Marts held at the same venue.

In attendance will be such contemporary Dandy artists as Henry Davis, Laura Howell, Gary Northfield, Lew Stringer and others.

Original artwork from The Dandy from the 1930s to the 1960s will be on display, as well as issues of The Dandy from the same period.

Organisers say this is a unique opportunity to meet the people behind The Dandy, hear them talk about their experiences working on the comic and see some of the rarities from the weekly’s history.

In addition, Hunt Emerson - also a Dandy contributor - will be at the event, signing copies of his new book, Dante's Inferno; and author David Ashford will be signing copies of his latest book The Art of Denis McLoughlin, published by exhibitor Book Palace, who will also be showing off the first issue of illustrators , the quarterly publication devoted to the finest European illustration.

Dealers at the event will also be offering comics and memorabilia from across the wide range of British comics in general.

• London Comic Mart, Noon - 4.00pm Sunday 2nd December 2012. For more details visit the Showmasters website here: http://londoncomicmart.co.uk

The Dark Newt Rises - in The Dandy!

Watch out, folks - there's a new superhero in town... well in The Dandy, anyway, as Lew Stringer brings the Dark Newt to the weekly comic next week.

"This is the first time I've solely created a character for The Dandy," says Lew. How other popular strips, Kid Cops and Postman Prat were created by the editors and passed to the longtime comic creator to develop.

The name and premise is, of course, a spoof on the classic Batman saga The Dark Knight but Lew says the story goes off on its own direction. "Good job too, as there are a couple of other Batman spoofs in that issue by other artists," he reveals. "Anyone would think we were all influenced by some movie or something..."

"I'm very proud to have created a new strip for one of my lifelong favourite comics in The Dandy's 75 anniversary year," he says, "but I'm also a bit apprehensive about the reaction.

"I'm hoping readers like it. I certainly enjoyed writing and drawing it."

The Dark Newt will initially run in the comic for six weeks. Let's hope it goes down well.

• Check out Lew's blog for some pre-production art on the strip. The Dark Newt starts in The Dandy 3590 next Wednesday (18th July). More about The Dandy online at: www.dandy.com

David Lloyd to launch weekly creator-owned digital comic

An all new sequential art magazine will soon be available exclusively through on-line subscription and was devised by David Lloyd, co-creator of V For Vendetta. It will be published as an 18-page weekly and form into seven issue volumes. There will then be a break in publication before the next seven issue volume begins its weekly release.

Contributors lined up for the project so far include David Lloyd, Kyle Baker, John McCrea, Phil Hester, Mark Wheatley, JC Vaughn, Billy Tucci, Bill Sienkiewicz, Steve Bissette, Marc Hempel, Yishan Li, Algesiras, Alain Mauricet, Alexandre Tefenkgi, Lew Stringer, David Leach, Phil Elliott, Carl Critchlow, Esteban Hernandez, Rory Walker, Dylan Teague, Dave Hine, Shaky Kane, Colleen Doran, Dan Christensen, Kev Hopgood, Ferg Handley, David Hitchcock, Paul Maybury, Henry Flint, Hunt Emerson, Roger Langridge, Cosmo White, Paul Peart Smith, Mychailo Kazybrid, Ben Dickson and Gavin Mitchell.

All creators keep the copyright on their individual characters, as one would expect from a company set up by a comic creator.

The on-line magazine has been funded by publisher David Lloyd, who has commissioned a web site - the site name as yet unrevealed - from which the weekly publication can be logged onto and read.

The comic allows creators to reap the benefits of the blossoming digital market without giving up their on-going in print work, but still manages to give subscribers a very good deal.

The comic relies on established names to attract comic readers who are aware of the reputation of the creators. This makes the shift to digital less daunting for creators and readers alike.

The weekly publication does not rely on the potentially huge audience beyond the direct sales market to succeed, but is designed to be viable even on a small percentage of the direct sales market. This can be achieved due to the structure of the company which David Lloyd has created, which is specifically designed to make money for the creators.

A seven issue subscription will cost £6.99/$10. More news as we get it!

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...

Have Team TOXIC met their match?

The latest issue of Egmont's TOXIC is in the shops now and it's packed with comics strips and comes with no less than three free gifts -- secret spy glasses, a water squirter and "Deadly 60 Trading Cards".


One of the strip highlights in this comic magazine is Team Toxic, written and drawn by Lew Stringer, who tells us that this issue's story sees the villainous Baron Spyboss (who he introduced back in January) put his ultimate scheme into action, and the Team finally meet their nemesis.

"Regular readers of TOXIC will know that in an earlier issue Spyboss stole Doc Shock's brain -- don't worry, Doc had a spare," says Lew on his blog. "Transferring Doc's technical knowledge to his own mind, Spyboss uses it to take on the Team."

How can Doc Shock defeat a foe who knows as much as he does, and what is the gob-smacking, jaw dropping secret of Spyboss?

• TOXIC 191 is on sale now from newsagents and supermarkets, price £2.75

• Go to www.toxicmag.co.uk/bigjoke to find out how YOU can meet Dick & Dom!

TOXIC © Egmont UK Ltd

Tube Surfing: TOXIC's new strips, Mudman and STRIP Magazine news

Here's a quick round up of British comics news courtesy of various sources...

Bro vs. Bro by Laura Howell

• Lew Stringer reports the website for Egmont's popular TOXIC magazine for boys has recently had a revamp. Although some of the older items such as the Joke Machine have gone, the site now offers a bunch of new features, including one of his Team Toxic stories, Butt of the Joke, that you can read online for free.

The magazine itself also has two new strips this week (Issue 189), in addition to the ongoing Busted Bieber, stinky superhero Captain Gross and Lew's long-running Team Toxic. Luke's Spooks features a boy haunted by a couple of gross ghosts, and Bro vs Bro, drawn by Laura Howell, is about the rivalry of two brothers, one a boy genius, the other a sports jock.

"Hmm, thinking about it, a scenario about belligerent youths isn't much of a departure from BBC News 24 at all is it," Laura notes wryly on her blog. "Ahem, let's move on.."

• Print Media Productions STRIP Magazine is on course for an October launch - still no actual date yet - and the first three strips in the STRIP Challenge, seeking to spotlight new talent, have been chosen. As the title's editor, I can report we had a terrific selection to choose from and while there were some entries that strayed wildly from the declared content of the magazine most of the submissions were in the right ball park as regards content. The first three creative teams have been informed of their success, but we still have to decide the next three.

STRIP Magazine, a monthly anthology adventure title, will include stories by Phil Hester, John McCrea, PJ Holden, James Hudnall and John Ridgway (among others). More information at http://www.printmediaproductions.com/ (currently re-directing to the title's blog)

Paul Temple © London Evening News

• Steve Holland is currently publishing episodes of the newspaper strip Paul Temple on his wonderful Bear Alley blog. Based on the BBC radio character of the same name and published in London's Evening News from 19th November 1951 until 1st May 1971, it's the adventures of an amateur detective told with typical derring-do of the period, and was drawn by a variety of artists - Alfred Sindall, Bill Bailey and John McNamara.

There's more about Paul Temple character here on the Thrilling Detective web site , but Steve has plenty more about the comic and Paul Temple's creator on Bear Alley.

• Bryan Talbot, creator of Luther Arkwright and much more, has dropped us a line to say that his wife, Dr Mary Talbot, an internationally acclaimed scholar in her own right with published works on language, gender and power has a web site live dedicated to her upcoming graphic novel (drawn by Bryan), Dotter Of Her Father’s Eyes, which will be published by Cape in February 2012. Part personal history, part biography, Dotter of Her Father’s Eyes contrasts two coming of age narratives: that of Lucia, the daughter of James Joyce, and that of author Mary Talbot, daughter of the eminent Joycean scholar James S Atherton. ... a fine addition to the evolving genre of graphic memoir.

“I think what’s been most distinctive about this project is that I haven’t just completed a script and then passed it over to an artist. We’ve been able to work on the book together, with an intensive and ongoing creative interaction that’s usually missing from writer/artist collaborations.”

There are preview pages from Dotter on Mary’s website, © 2011 Mary M. Talbot. You can pre-order Dotter of Her Father's Eyes from amazon.co.uk now

• A quick reminder about the the upcoming Comics and Conflict conference which is being held in the Imperial War Museum on 19th-20th August, which will include panel discussion, workshops and a film screening, as well as boasting some terrific guests such as Pat Mills, Roger Sabin and Garth Ennis - among others. If you're a war comics fan and in London that weekend it's not to be missed.

• Talking of events. don't forget the Edinburgh Book Festival has started. Our own Jeremy Briggs has already brought us a run down of this year's comics-related events, which include appearances by the Etherington Brothers, Pat Mills, Tony Lee, Dan Boultwood, Emma Vicelli and many others.

There are more details of all the talks at the Edinburgh International Book Festival website where tickets can also be purchased.

• US publisher Image Comics have announced the upcoming publication of Mudman by Paul Grist. After self-publishing for much of the 1990s, Paul Grist brought two critically acclaimed original titles to Image Comics in 2002: the crime drama Kane and then the eclectic superhero series Jack Staff. Recently, Grist has been using his sparse, signature style to develop this new superhero that will be introduced to the world this November.

"This is my 'Back to Basics' superhero comic," explained Grist. "It's not about alien menaces or cosmic powers (though they may pop up once in a while); it's all about growing up and finding your way in the world, and how the decisions that you make can affect others. In a way, it's probably the most autobiographical comic I've ever done. But with added mud." There's more information here on the Image Comics web site.

I'll round off this Tube Surf with news of another event, again north of the border. An exhibition of paintings by HI-Ex co-organiser Vicky Stonebridge - well known for her indie comics work on titles such as Slaughterman's Creed - and artist John Mikietyn, and a ceramic sculpture by Allison Weightman, will open at the Scotland Russia Forum’s Edinburgh premises at 6.00pm tonight, Friday 12th August, attended by Sergei Krutikov, the Russian Consul General.

The week long exhibition - "Reactions to Vysotsky" - accompanies music by Scottish singer, songwriter and translator, Tommy Beavitt, whose long-term project to interpret and perform the work of the Russian Bard, Vladimir Vysotsky (1938-1980), in English and Russian, has been an inspiration for the work displayed. Alongside the artworks, the exhibition will present Tommy’s performances in Russian and English of some of Vysotsky’s songs, which feature universal themes of faith, conflict and individual freedom.

After closing in Edinburgh on the 18th, the exhibition will then re-open at the Inchmore Gallery, near Inverness, on the 19th August. Full details here on Vicky's Balnacra Arts web site

Tube Surfing: Weddings, Selling, Voting and Recovery

At the time of writing the royal wedding is less than two weeks away and Markosia's Kate and William: A Very Public Love Story written by Bleeding Cool's Rich Johnston and illustrated by Mike Collins (on the bride's side) and Gary Erskine (on the groom's side) has hit the shops. It also looks like finishing the book was not the end of wedding bells for Gary as he is now on extended leave from the Scotch Corner art blog to attend the wedding - not the one in London however but his own which is rather further away. We wish Gary and Mhairi all the best (and William and Kate as well, of course).

Staying with Scotch Corner, blog founder and artdroid Graeme Neil Reid has opened an online shop for his work. Named Original Scribbles, the shop features both artwork and and the type of sketches that Graeme features on his blog I Got No Work Done Today Because... and also sells at conventions. Artwork currently available ranges from Doctor Who to Ghostbusters and Battle Picture Weekly to Marvel superheroes. Graeme will be at the Macintosh Church on 18 June as one of very few non-Glaswegians to have a sales table at the Glasgow Comic Con, along with Gary Erskine and quite possibly the majority of the rest of the Scotch Corner artists.

Staying north of the border and with an election due just after the royal wedding writer Mark Millar has nailed his colours to the mast and unsurprisingly they are tartan. Millar is backing the Scottish National Party and endorses its leader Alex Salmond who's claim to fame (from a comics point of view) is that he has appeared in The Broons. We can only assume that Mr Salmond does not endorse 10 year old female vigilantes roaming Scottish cities.

And finally our best wishes for a speedy recovery go to Lew Stringer over at Blimey! With his work appearing in the current issues of Dandy, Toxic, BeanoMAX and Viz Lew should be recovering from a celebration rather than an illness. Thanks for the kind words mate - now hurry up and get better otherwise where are we going to read all the latest behind the scenes happenings on British humour comics?

Tube Surfing: British Artists - Interviews and Unpublished Art

There has been a small flurry of British artists getting interviewed recently.

Alex Ronald, who has worked as an artdroid for 2000AD in the past and is now getting a lot of attention for the Vampire Vixens Of The Wehrmacht strip just started in Wasted, talks about VVW on the the Wasted blog.

Also short and sweet is an interview by Lew Stringer over on Blimey with Commando and Spaceship Away artist Martin Baines about the colouring work he has done on the Frank Bellamy Garth strips now being published by the Daily Mirror.

If those two have whetted your appetite then David Robertson, of Fred Egg Comics and organiser of the war comics exhibition now touring Angus Council libraries, presents an absolute beanfeast of an interview with Doctor Who and Hellblazer artist John Ridgway over on The Comics Journal. The interview is so long and detailed that TCJ split it over two postings, here and here (and managed to spell David's surname wrong in the title of the first one).

And finally... Our brothers in arms in the Commando office have discovered some unpublished art in their files by the late Jeff Bevan whose favourite subject to illustrate was ships. Pre-internet, when references for ships were less easy to come by, Commando used DC Thomson staff artist Bevan to create ship reference art that could be sent out to freelancer artists to use when drawing their Commando stories. The artwork has been declassified for the first time and is available to view on the Commando website, here and here.

Lew Stringer previews this week's Dandy

(Info via Blimey! It's another Blog about Comics, re-published here with the kind permission of Lew Stringer): Here's a sneak peek at the cover of this week's issue of The Dandy, on sale from Wednesday 26th January.

Under a new cover by Nigel Parkinson there's the usual mixture of strips including Bork, Desperate Dan, Pre-Skool Prime Minister, and more.

A brand new strip debuts this week: Graeme Reaper, and there's the second episode of Stan Helsing by Nik Holmes. A reader's page also makes its return, under the new name Mailbag.

With a script by Philip Madden and artwork by Lew Stringer, Postman Prat has fun teasing dogs with a dog whistle. Will it rebound on him with well-deserved hilarious consequences?

This is The Dandy. Of course it will!


• The Dandy No.3519 32 full colour pages £1.50 On sale Wednesday

• Check out The Dandy online at: www.dandy.com

• The Dandy on Facebook

(Info via Blimey! It's another blog about comics! - cross posted with Lew's kind permission.)

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

A Special Summer With The Beano

(updated 2/8/10, with thanks to Lew Stringer) Summer and Holiday Specials of British comics were once a mainstay of the news stand year: special, (usually) higher-priced "one-offs' of popular comics that not only gave regular readers something extra featuring their favourite characters, but also offered a 'sampler' of a comic to those that might not be able to afford buying it regularly. They also might help attract new readers to the regular title.

The first such Special would appear to be a Mickey Mouse Holiday Special published in 1937, which Kaya Özkaracalar, over on his Disneyville blog notes as being one of four holiday special issues published before the Second World War on the eve of the Christmas season. (These are, of course, some of the rarest pre-war British Disney publications and much sought after).

Over on Blimey! It's Another Blog about Comics, Lew Stringer's research would seem to indicate that regular holiday specials - issues that were not part of a comic's regular run - really kicked off in the 1960s. "Fleetway did a Jack and Jill one in 1960, Odhams did an Eagle one in 1962, and TV Publications produced the first TV Comic Summer Special in 1962 (all new material)," he tells us.

DC Thomson, with their all-reprint 1963 combined Dandy/Beano special, cautiously entered the area set up by others. It proved successful for them so they started doing individual all-new specials in 1964.

While Summer Specials associated with weekly comics are now a thing of the past, the Beano and Dandy Xtreme don't seem to have fallen into the "Summer Annual" concept that other publishers now use.

To celebrate summer this year The Beano has instead decided to class their six summer holiday July/August issues, numbers 3544 to 3549, as collector's editions with wraparound summer activity cards on the outside and, along with the usual bagged toys and sweets, each issue will have an A3 poster of an old Beano cover.

Last week's issue 3544 had the first of the posters showing, not surprisingly, the cover of the first issue of the Beano with its 30 July 1938 cover date - except that it wasn't quite the complete cover. Black comic character 'Little Peanut' was missing.

When Waverley's History Of The Beano book was published in 2008 editor Christopher Riches pointed out that Peanut was retained on the cover of that book due to his historical context - but then it was a nostalgia book aimed at adults. It is therefore unsurprising that a 1930s comic's depiction of a black child would be removed from the image for a poster aimed squarely at modern children's bedroom walls.

Issue 3544 also listed the four "mega gifts" to be given away with this week's issue of the comic and they included a "Multi-Menace Blaster With Target!" This is actually a red plastic gun which fires yellow sucker tipped plastic darts.

One downthetubes reader who is also a Beano reader made the point of looking out for the Beano as he passed through a UK airport this week to see if the toy gun was included in the copy of The Beano that could be bought there. It wasn't and it had been replaced with a Dennis and Gnasher whoopee cushion instead. This is not surprising: airport retailers take a dim view of any free gifts that look like guns (one publisher fell foul of these concerns a couple of years ago, and, under protest, had to withdraw their title from sale because the free gift simply looked like a gun).

What is also available in the current issue, number 3545, is the second of the six posters of old Beano covers. This time it is the cover of the biggest selling Beano issue of all time, number 405. The History Of Beano book tells us that issue 405 sold 1.9 million copies and that "records show that an even higher sale could have been achieved but the presses just could not print any more!"

Was there a particular reason that issue 405 sold more than any other especially when there was no free gift with it to give it a sales boost? Perhaps the children of Britain were more tuned into comics that week than usual. After all the biggest selling issue of The Beano is dated 22 April 1950, eight days after the cover date of issue 1 of The Eagle.

The current idea of The Beano turning weekly issues into summer editions is a great idea, but it isn't new. Lew Stringer tells us it revives an early 20th Century concept, when Amalgamated Press would have "Holiday Numbers" as part of their regular weekly run, just as publishers still do with Christmas editions.

• The Beano is published each Wednesday and costs £2.50. The set of A3 cover posters of old issues will continue with the issues up to and including issue 3549 which is due to be published on 25 August 2010

• There's more summer fun on the Beanotown website

• Blimey! It's Another Blog About Comics - Heyday of the Summer Special

• The Guardian: What Became of comics' summer specials?

Tube Surfing: Dez Skinn, Fanzines Galore and Simone Lia

Right, what's happening out there...

Lew Stringer's ace comics blog informs us that Dez Skinn has a new website. Dez was, of course, the man behind such titles as Warrior, Comics International and Doctor Who Weekly (still with us as Doctor Who Magazine).

Warwick Johnson Cadwell has posted his ace A.B.C Warriors strip from new 2000 AD fanzine, Nu Earth online at his blog. Warwick sent me a copy of the fanzine and I have to say it's, well, zarjaz. Will Kirkby has done the same with the pencils for his cracking contribution, a fab Rogue Trooper strip. Tharg, employ these men now!!!

Paul Gravett's new article about and interview with cartoonist Simone Lia is well worth checking out. In the interview, Simone talks about various topics, including her new work-in-progress, a graphic novel about her relationship with God:

"I was passing through Leicester Square almost three years ago and the bubbling inspiration came to me and I had a fuzzy vision of the completed story whilst standing near a red telephone box," she explains. "I was so excited and happy to be suddenly inspired again, I had a sense the book would be about an adventure with God. When it came to starting the work however I really didn’t know how to go about having an adventure with God and how I might show it in a comic. Showing that relationship is such a personal thing. Part of me definitely did not want to open that up for everyone to see but the feeling to make the book didn’t go away. It’s been taking a long time to produce partly because of that uncertainty of depicting this personal area of my life and also because the story in real life has had to unravel."

Paul also sends word of an opportunity for creators of humorous zines and comics to have their work displayed in the reading room at Tate Britain as part of their Rude Britannia exhibition.

Here's the skinny, from the Tate's website:

"Help us curate the reading room of the Rude Britannia exhibition with an array of humorous fanzines, comics and home made publications. Rude Britannia: British Comic Art celebrates all that is comical, satirical, political, absurd and bawdy in British art from 1600s to today and we would like you to respond to these themes. The best fanzines will be selected by curator Cedar Lewisohn and placed in the exhibition space for a period of time. Please only send publications that you think are funny. We will notify you if your publication has been selected, but we cannot commit to sending your publication back to you."

And finally, small press comics news blog Bugpower draws our attention to another opportunity for self-publishers:

"Cerebus.TV are starting a "Small Press Comics Focus" feature, and they are looking for submissions for future episodes. Email indie@exoss.net for details. You can see a promo for the first one HERE. The 'pilot' has been put together by the guys at Cerebus.tv and features the minicomics of Dan Fish (Hey, that's ME). It appears as part of Episode 30, which streams online starting Friday 18th June and 24/7 all week long."

In Review: Crikey! No.14

The latest issue of British comics magazine Crikey! is out now and comes packed with a huge range of articles, including an interview with top comics creator Bryan Talbot and a timely tribute to the origins of Eagle comic, which celebrates its 60th anniversary next month.

Behind these 'headline grabbing' items (and a great cover from Bryan) are features on the wonderful The Perishers (which the Daily Mirror has begun reprinting, ousting Pooch Cafe), an enjoyable celebration of Alfred Bestall's Rupert and an interview with ace creator and comics expert Lew Stringer, although Lew himself notes the choice of images chosen to illustrate the pice are odd, despite being sent a variety of scans of his work.

As usual, it's a mixed bag but while the loss of a colour section is the regrettable result of losing Borders as a distributor, the magazine's editorial team try hard to please. For me, the biggest failing is its final chapter of a potted history of Marvel UK which glosses over the company's huge success on UK news stands with titles such The Real Ghostbusters (which helped to launch the careers of Dan Abnett, Andy Lanning and many others) in favour of concentrating on some of its least successful titles.

While many of these, like the original Knights of Pendragon fully deserve their limelight, the article is disappointing. As with many features in this title, it could have benefitted from more interview material.

Despite my gripes, the Talbot and Stringer interviews and the Eagle tribute - and a feature on the much-maligned 1980s Eagle - more than make it a magazine to track down if you're a British comics fan.

• Crikey! No.14 will be available from many comic specialist shops or you can order it directly from the publishers via www.crikeyuk.co.uk/sub.html

Crikey! It's The Cloak!

British comic fans heading to their local comic store should ask if they're stocking Crikey!, the monthly magazine devoted to British comics, if only because the latest issue marks the return of Mike Higgs' The Cloak.

The Cloak first appeared in 1967 in Odhams' Pow! weekly, one of many comics that combined both adventure and humour strips within its pages - a format that, sadly, seems to have been consigned to history. Mike retained ownership of The Cloak and has brought the character back before (Lew Stringer has more info on his blog and Mike Higgs himself offers more background on The Cloak for both old and new readers in the magazine itself), but now, he's hopefully back for a longer run, starring in a four-page full colour comic strip in Crikey! Issue 13 that pits him against the Time Tea Leaf - a fun story that brings him to the present day.

Along with this wonderful strip Crikey! 13 also includes an exclusive interview with Kevin O'Neill, the Tony Ingram's concluding part of his Doctor Who comics series, a feature on Action! comic, and more on the Rise and Fall of Marvel UK.

• A subscription to Crikey! costs £30 for six issues. Subscribe by visiting the Crikey! website here:
www.crikeyuk.co.uk/sub.html


Lew Stringer's Blimey! blog articles on The Cloak:

• The Cloak is Back
• Enter The Cloak
• Christmas Comics: Smash, 1968
• 40 Year Flashback: Smash Regenerates

TV21 Turns 45...

-- or at least it would have done, had it had the longevity of The Beano!

We have Lew Stringer to thank for pointing out that 45 years ago, City Magazines launched the first issue of TV Century 21 - a bold new large format comic that would become one of the most fondly remembered titles in UK comics history.

"With City's close association with Gerry Anderson's Century 21 productions, TV21 was far more than just a comic that featured tv characters," notes Lew. "The editor himself (Alan Fennell) was a scriptwriter on Fireball XL5 and Stingray, and Lady Penelope debuted in her own strip in issue one several months before the first episode of Thunderbirds ever appeared on tv. The comic also had access to exclusive photographs of the models and characters, which were ideal for the newspaper-style covers of TV21.

"All in all, TV21 was very much a part of the Gerry Anderson universe," Lew argues, "and the exciting thing was that the comic presented all those tv shows as part of a shared universe."

While the comic's success was in part due to the phenomenal popularity of the Gerry Anderson series it centred on - Stingray, Thunderbirds and Captain Scarlet probably being the most memorable - it was supported by regular advertising on TV and more - something most British publishers can only dream of these days.

This was one of the comics I most remember reading growing up, followed by Countdown in the 1970s and Look-In; but it was TV21 that most captured my imagination, with its shared universe, stunning art and background features to the Gerry Anderson universe.

"I was five years old when TV21 was launched, so a little under the target age of 7 to 12 year olds. Nevertheless, like many kids, I was thrilled by this new comic," Lew recalls. "I became an avid reader of TV21 throughout 1965, and so did many other kids apparently, with the comic becoming the most successful launch of the period. (It's initial print run of 450,000 being insufficient to meet demand. Incredible, when comics today are considered a success for selling 60,000)... Sadly toward the end of the sixties, the quality of TV21 began to decline, and interest in 'space' petered out after the first moon landing. By the time TV21 merged into Valiant in 1971 it was little different to any other boys adventure comic of the time. However, for today, it's time to remember when TV21 was fresh and innovative, and when 'Adventure in the 21st Century' was something to look forward to every Wednesday."

Sadly, licensing costs mean there's little chance of there ever being a title combining many different TV shows being launched today: the focus of publishers these days is very much on one show, such as with Doctor Who Adventures or Simpsons Comics.

You have to wonder, though, who might be drawing the strips of TV21 today if it had lasted: Chris Weston on Fireball XL5? Dylan Teague on Captain Scarlet? Garen Ewing on Lady Penelope? Neill Cameron on Stingray? Lee Sullivan back on Thunderbirds, a strip he drew for the Redan Thunderbirds comic? Lew Stringer drawing The Munsters and Kev F. Sutherland or Jamie Smart drawing My Favourite Martian? Who knows...

You can, of course, enjoy some of TV21's brilliant strips in the new Century 21 collections being published by Reynolds & Hearn: a third volume was released recently.

• Gerry Anderson's Century 21: v. 3: Escape from Aquatraz is on sale 30 November: buy it from amazon.co.uk
• Lew has put together a potted tribute to this ground-breaking comic, which featured the work of artists such as Frank Bellamy, Frank Hampson, Don Lawrence and many other greats during its run. You can view it here on his as ever brilliant Blimey! blog.


• For an online history and guide to TV21, visit the superb The Gerry Anderson Comics Listing


• Buy Century 21: Classic Comic Strips from the Worlds of Gerry Anderson Volume 1 from Amazon.co.uk

• Buy Century 21: Classic Comic Strips from the Worlds of Gerry Andserson Volume 2 from amazon.co.uk

• Buy Gerry Anderson's UFO: The Technical Manual from amazon.co.uk

Tube Surfing: Wallace and Gromit, Insomnia on PSP, Free Digital Comics and Christmas Covers

• Titan Publishing's Wallace & Gromit digital comic has taken the iPhone by storm with over half a million downloads of its first free app - and the company is surely hoping to repeat the success with its release on the new PSP comics service. More on this story on the downthetubes Mobile Comics Blog

• Talking of digital comics, Insomnia Publications is one of a handful of UK comic publishers featuring on the launch offering for the PlayStation Network's Digital Comics service, which enables you to download the comics directly to your PSP over Wi-Fi or you use your PC to transfer the files. Although there's bound to be more coverage of both Marvel and Disney's offerings on the platform, this is a major coup for the independent publisher: titles on offer include Cancertown Burke and Hare, Cages and more. (Click here for a full list of titles on offer on the Insomnia blog).
The service is also being supported by IDW Publishing and iVerse Media, among others and over 550 comics were made available at launch with more to be added as the service develops.

• Forbidden Planet International reports that audio recordings from the Women in Comics conference, which took place a few weeks ago in Cambridge, are now available on the New Hall Art Collection site, including Sarah McIntyre, Asia Alfasi, Nicola Streeten and others, with more audio to follow in due course.

• Matthew Badham has re-posted an interview with comic creators Adam Cadwell (left, as visualised by cartoonist Marc Ellerby) and Jim Medway that disappeared into the ether when his previous blog bit the dust. Matthew sasy both Adam and Jim say a lot of interesting things about comics and art, and make some good observations about the Brit' small press scene, as well as offering their insight into the failure of The DFC and much more. Jim, it seems, by the way, has a phobia about comic shops, arguing many are "awful" (with some notable exceptions, such as Nottingham's Page 45. "You can’t expect anyone else to go into a shop with goblins on the window," he feels.

• Marvel Digital Comics Unlimited is to give away 1,000 free one-year subscriptions of its digital comics to enlisted US military personnel from Monday through 7th January. Air Force Times reports the offer is on a first come, first served basis. A year’s online subscription would normally cost $59.88, she said. Enlisted personnel who want to sign up for the free subscription can send an e-mail to marveldigitalpromo@sunbeltfs.com to receive a promotion code.

• And finally... as you've noticed, Jeremy Briggs is once again plunging us back into British comics history with various Christmas covers here on downthetubes - expect one post a day in the run up to the Big Day - and Lew Stringer is also offering his annual Christmas comics posting, which started with a Valiant and TV21 cover and will focus on just four comics in depth this year. It's a real treat to see Leo Baxendale’s ‘The Swots And The Blots’ once again. View all Lew's posts over on Blimey! It’s Another Blog About Comics.