Dandy Events At The National Library Of Scotland

To tie-in with their free Treasures exhibition on The Art And History Of The Dandy which runs until 3 February 2013, the National Library Of Scotland (NLS) are holding two free Dandy related events.

 

The first, on Wednesday 9 January 2013 at 1800 is an Adult's Cartoon Workshop to be run by former Dandy editor Morris Heggie and artists Gordon Tait and Steve White. The NLS website describes it as, " Want to know how 'The Dandy' has made generations laugh over the years? 'The Dandy' creative team of Editor Morris Heggie and artists Gordon Tait and Steve White will be giving a workshop into how to draw, write scripts and produce publications. Bring out your creativity as you are guided through every step. Ideas are welcome – you could create a brand-new Dandy character! So if you’re tough enough for eating cow-pie and shaving with a blowtorch, this is a day you’ll never forget!"

 

The second event is a talk by Morris Heggie on 75 Years Of The Dandy on Tuesday 15 January 2013 also at 1800. The NLS website describes it as " Morris Heggie, Editor of 'The Dandy' and an expert in comic history, will give a never-before-seen presentation on the art and history of 'The Dandy'. Insights into the story of Britain’s longest running comic will open your eyes to how it all happened. There will be a short question-and-answer section where you can find out anything you wanted to know. Make sure to bring along your copy of the final printed 'Dandy', because he will be doing signings."

 

Both events will take place in the National Library of Scotland on Edinburgh's George IV Bridge and are free. Pre-booking is required and this is available on-line via the NLS website or by phoning the NLS on 0131 623 3734.

 

There are more details of the National Library Of Scotland, the Dandy exhibition and the two Dandy events on the NLS website.

Photo Review: Dandy Day At Dundee University

Announced at very short notice, the University Of Dundee held an official opening event for their new exhibition of original artwork 75 Years Of The Dandy on Saturday 8 December with the added bonus of getting five of the men working on the new Digital Dandy along to the University's Baxter Suite to talk about the new e-comic version of the venerable title.

From left to right (above) they were - artist David Sutherland, Digital Dandy editor Craig Ferguson, writer Dan McGachey, former Dandy editor Morris Heggie, and artist Stephen White.

Taking questions from the audience, the group talked about both the old and new versions of the title. David Sutherland is best known for his work on The Beano, including 50 years of illustrating The Bash Street Kids, and while semi-retired he admitted that he had been tempted to help out on the new version of The Dandy by editor Craig's offer of a fish and chip supper at the end of the day. Craig Ferguson had previously worked on both The Dandy and The Beano and both he and writer Dan McGachey spoke fondly of the good-natured rivalry between the staff of the two comics who worked in neighbouring offices.

Morris Heggie talked at some length about the two original editors of The Dandy and The Beano, Albert Barnes and George Moonie, as well as the differences between the two publications with The Beano's move to child characters in the 1950s and The Dandy's more aggressive comic violence.

Stephen White, also known as Stref', talked about the differences for an artist working on the older version of The Dandy as he had, compared to the new version of the title with its motion strips and the additional work that illustrating for such a format involves. The talk was good natured, yet informative as a remembrance by one of the group would often set in motion a completely new topic of discussion.

After a break for refreshments, the event moved to the University's Lamb gallery and the large display of original Dandy artwork, comics, annuals and various spin-offs. Morris Heggie gave an exhibition talk as he and the audience moved around the gallery looking at specific artwork. Stephen (above) pays attention to Morris' comments on Korky The Cat artwork by Charlie Grigg, while (below) Morris points out some rare initial sketches by Dudley D Watkins below the main image of his WWII era header for a Wild Young Dirky text story.

 

A colour mock up for the front and back covers of The Dandy Book for 1957 drew a lot of attention despite being colourist's art rather than the original artwork...

...however the two pages of Desperate Dan (below) were very much original Dudley D Watkins artwork and showed how his style of drawing the character had changed over the years between 1942 on the left and 1959 on the right.

With so much artwork on display in the gallery, it covered the more modern Dandy characters as well as the older ones including this one (below) of Cuddles, of the terrible toddlers Cuddles and Dimples, with a slight problem with the cold courtesy of artist Nigel Parkinson.

There were a selection of images from the new Digital Dandy around the walls in the Baxter Suite including a large poster image from the superhero strip Retroactive which we already know features the original Dandy superhero The Amazing Mr X. As no DC Thomson character with superhero-like powers will be off-limits to the new strip, whether they featured in the humour titles, the boy's adventure titles or the girl's adventure titles, this close-up image of the poster gives a little taster of just which characters may turn up in future issues.

Congratulations to Chris Murray and Phil Vaughan for organising such an interesting event at such short notice and I would hope to see similar events at the University continue in 2013.

The Digital Dandy is available via The Dandy website, www.dandy.com or by clicking on the image below.

The University of Dundee 75 Years Of The Dandy exhibition is free and runs in the Lamb Gallery of the University's Tower Building until 12 January 2013. There are more details, including seasonal opening times and images of some of the original artwork on display, at the University Of Dundee Museum Services website.

Dandy Exhibition and Talks at Dundee University

This Saturday coming, 8th December 2012, the University of Dundee University will be holding an opening event for their latest comics exhibition which will celebrate the 75th birthday of DC Thomson's Dandy. 

The exhibition will look back over the Dandy’s past, but also towards its future as it moves on-line with the launch of the Digital Dandy. It will feature original artwork from DC Thomson’s collections dating back to the earliest years of the comic, much of which has never been shown in public before. The University previously had a similar launch event for their display of artwork  from The Beano for its 70th anniversary in 2008, a review of which is on downthetubes here.

The launch event for the Dandy exhibition will also give an exclusive behind-the-scenes glimpse at the creation of the new Digital Dandy, with a discussion led by Dr Chris Murray, plus contributions from former Dandy editor Morris Heggie, new Digital Dandy editor Craig Ferguson, Digital Production manager Mark Hunter, writer Dan McGachey, long-time DC Thomson artist David Sutherland, and one of the artists who is very closely involved in the direction of the Digital Dandy, Stephen White (Brassneck and Keyhole Kate).

The exhibition and launch have been created as part of an on-going partnership between DC Thomson & Co Ltd, the University of Dundee Museum Services and the newly established Scottish Centre for Comics Studies based at the University. Dr Chris Murray, director of the Centre, said: “We are proud to be able to help The Dandy celebrate its 75th anniversary, which is a remarkable achievement. Of course, the comic is also in a process of transition, as the final print version goes to press and is replaced by a new digital Dandy. This promises to be an exciting and innovative step forward for the comic and its beloved characters.”

The Dandy exhibition launch will begin at 2pm in the Tower Building of the University of Dundee on Saturday 8 December 2012 and admission is free.

The Dandy exhibition will open Monday-Saturday from 10 December 2012 until 7th January 2013 (except when the University is closed for Christmas from 23 December to 2 January) and admission is also free.

• More info: www.dundee.ac.uk/museum/exhibitions/comics/dandy

Morris Heggie talks digital future for Beano, Dandy?

Phil Shrimpton, Beano and Dandy collector - as featured by BBC News

Phil-Comics Auctions (www.phil-comics.com) is the brainchild of Brighton-based Phil Shrimpton who has a large collection of Beano and Dandy comics and started trading them through the website.

The site was recently given a plug by BBC News, with Phil talking enthusiastically about the DC Thomson titles past and present.

Intriguingly, former Dandy editor Morris Heggie also talked positively about the title's digital push, but his comments suggest the company may, sadly, be considering a time when there is no longer a paper edition of the comics. He seemed upbeat about this possibility, however.

"You mustn't look to the future and think, 'Oh it's dreadful, there won't be a paper version," he said, "you look to the future and think, 'Oh this is going to be so exciting, we can do so many things, using what we've learned over the years about artwork and funny storylines'."

Since its launch in 2001, phil-comics auctions has built an enviable eBay trading reputation in vintage British comics, annuals, artwork and related items.

Changing times: Morris Heggie told the BBC the digital editions of The Beano and The Dandy
gave DC Thomson to the opportunity to employ what it knows about making comics in the online world

To satisfy his customers’ demands, Phil says he constantly seeks single items and entire collections to offer at auction.

In August 2006, following discussions with DC Thomson, they proudly launched The Beano & Dandy Collectors' Club, dedicated to vintage Beano and Dandy comics, annuals and related items.

Although the club has now closed, they have provided PDF links to all of the newsletters.

• Visit the site at:  www.phil-comics.com

Oxfam Comics Event 2010 - Saturday 17 July

The Oxfam Comic Event 2010 will be taking place next Saturday, 17 July 2010, as part of the 2010 Oxfam Bookfest. The Comic Event begins at Noon in Edinburgh's MacDonald Road Library which is only a 10 - 15 minute walk from the city's main bus and train stations. This is an informal discussion based event with comics and books from Oxfam's three Edinburgh charity bookshops available to buy on the day.

After last year's discussions about Scotland in comics and Scottish comics in general, this year's theme will be the evolution of a comic from original idea to writing, art and publishing. Since our last post more guests have been confirmed and the current guest list includes - 2000AD and Megazine writer Gordon Rennie, Superman and Batman artist Frank Quitely, Marvel Heroes and Commando writer Ferg Handley, 2000AD writer and editor David Bishop, Doctor Who Adventures artist John Ross, DC Thomson artist Gordon Tait and DC Thomson archivist Morris Heggie.

Tickets, priced at only £3 - the same as last year, will be available on the door but are also available in advance from eBay and the Morningside Oxfam Bookshop which once again is organising the event. It is located at 210 Morningside Road, Edinburgh, EH10 4QQ, and the telephone number is 0131 4469169. The shop can also be contacted by e-mail via oxfamshopf5808AToxfam.org.uk.

The fun poster for the event is the work of Edinburgh based artist Ben Morris who is a regular illustrator on Doctor Who Magazine and the junior Doctor Who Adventures.

T• here are more details of the 2010 event at the event's Facebook page and on the Oxfam Morningside Twitter feed.

• There are videos of Ferg Handley and David Bishop at the 2009 event on YouTube.

The Best Of The Victor Due For Release

The Titan Books publications of Best Of Battle along with the individual Battle character books of Johnny Red, Rat Pack and Darkie's Mob have obviously not gone unnoticed by other publishers and, with a lull in publication of their thick Commando reprint books, Carlton have now scheduled The Best Of The Victor.

The Victor was first published by DC Thomson in February 1961 and was a boy's adventure weekly perhaps best known for featuring true stories of men at war on its front and back covers. Yet despite this regular cover feature it was by no means a war comic with other regular stories involving runner Alf Tupper, the Tough Of The Track, footballer Gorgeous Gus and DCT's long running Tarzan character, Morgyn The Mighty.

The Victor was by far the longest running of any of DCT's boy's picture strip weeklies and it was also the "last man standing" having absorbed Wizard, Hotspur, Scoop, Buddy, Champ and Warlord along the way before it came to an end in November 1992.

The Best Of The Victor will feature Victor comic strips from the early 1960s and includes a foreword by former SAS soldier Andy McNab and an introduction from DC Thomson's archivist Morris Heggie.

Carlton will be releasing The Best Of The Victor under their Prion label in time for Christmas, with Amazon giving a release date of 4 October 2010. The cover price will be £16.99. (With thanks to Morris Heggie.)

Hi-Ex Update: Shelton, McIntyre, Heggie confirmed guests

The Scottish HiEx comic convention has just announced several guests for its next event in March 2010.

Taking place at Eden Court Inverness (27th and 28th of March), the convention - very much a family event - will feature a number of exciting new events over the course of the weekend, including plenty that will appeal to young children and families.

A Kids Corner, where members of the DFC Library team will be on hand, is just one such item, an event marking the impending launch of three collections from the much-missd subscription-only weekly, The DFC. Each book showcases a single strip from The DFC, starting in March with Good Dog, Bad Dog by Dave Shelton, who is a Hi-Ex guest. Dave describes it as "a knockabout comic noir adventure comedy full of slapstick humour, terrible puns and exciting action"!

(Good Dog, Bad Dog is followed by MeZolith in April from master storyteller Ben Haggarty and artist Adam Brockbank and The Spider Moon in May by Kate Brown).

Sarah McIntyre , author of Morris the Mankiest Monster, will also be on hand to help the younger (and older!) visitors who fancy trying their hand at creating their own monster.

And as if this wasn’t enough, this year sees the welcome return of Kev F Sutherland and his famous comic masterclass, with help from funding from the Highland Council. Plus, as an added bonus this year, Kev will also be putting on a performance of the hilarious Scottish Falsetto Sock Puppet Theatre.

Also part of this year's line-up are Morris Heggie, former editor of The Dandy and author of The History of The Beano and Gordon Tait, creative consultant on the Dennis & Gnasher TV series. Their Q&A session will include a rare chance to see original art from the comic's huge archives and will be followed by a book signing and sketching session

• Day tickets for Hi-Ex can be bought at Eden Court, with discounted advance day and weekend passes available through the HiEx website: www.hi-ex.co.uk

Nessie and Judge Dredd image art by Colin McNeil. Judge Dredd & Ro-Jaws © Rebellion 2010

Sixth Tele! - Beano and Dandy In The Belfast Telegraph

Not so much news as "olds" but it is worth mentioning that the Belfast Telegraph gave away modern reprints of old Beano and Dandy comics during the week beginning 23 November 2009. The six issues were reprints of the Beanos and Dandys cover dated 22 & 29 November and 6 December 1975.

Like the comics reprints that were published in the Guardian in September this year, these Beanos and Dandys were direct reprints with nothing added such as a 'Given free with the Belfast Telegraph' flash. Unlike the Guardian, which reprinted comics from both the DC Thomson and IPC archive, the paper only dealt with DC Thomson titles.

The Belfast Telegraph is Northern Ireland's biggest selling local newspaper and is part of the Independent News and Media (INM) group which publishes the Independent newspaper in the UK and the Irish Independent in the Republic of Ireland.

The Friday before the giveaways, the paper ran an interview with DCT archivist, and former Dandy editor, Morris Heggie who talked about his time working on both titles. “I joined the company that publishes both comics, DC Thomson, in 1969 and had initially applied to become a journalist. I had gone to work there straight after I'd finished school. They took one good look at me and said that I'd probably be better off in comics..." Heggie goes on to say, "I started my career in the Beano. All of the story lines were written by a six-strong staff of young guys. It was a great environment and great fun to work in.”

He also shows the level of detail in DCT's records by pointing out, “in 1975, the Beano had a weekly circulation of around 400,000 – 500,000. But we actually sold 25,000 per week in Northern Ireland alone. We had a very big following in Ireland as a whole. In fact, the majority of the letters and jokes we pulled out of our post bag in 1975 — as back then everything was done by 'snail mail' — were from Northern Ireland.”

It is interesting to speculate that in the year that 247 people died in the Troubles in Northern Ireland and in London one of the presenters of the children's TV show Record Breakers was assassinated by the IRA's Balcombe Street gang, at least some of the Provence's children, denied the freedom to play in the streets and parks due to concerns for their safety, may have found a different outlet for their self expression.

The interview with Morris Heggie is on the Belfast Telegraph website.