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.

New One-Eyed Jack / Valiant Fanzine Available

Hibernia Books, who have previously published licensed reprints of 1980s IPC strips Doomlord from new Eagle and The 13th Floor from Scream, are back with a fanzine about the IPC comic Valiant entitled One-Eyed Jack And The Death of Valiant.

David McDonald has created a 36 page magazine with a black and white cover and black and white and colour interior images about Valiant comic and its Dirty Harry cop character who foreshadowed Judge Dredd. Features include The Death Of Valiant covering the last year of the title before it was amalgamated into Battle Picture Weekly, a comparison of One-Eyed Jack and Judge Dredd, a piece on the work of IPC art editor Janet Shepheard, as well as interviews with artist John Cooper and writer John Wagner.

This is the first of a potential series of semi-regular titles covering older UK comics entitled Comic Archive. As most of the writers on downthetubes come from a fanzine (as opposed to a stripzine/small press) background, this is a venture that we wish David every good luck with.

One-Eyed Jack And The Death of Valiant is available to buy via Comicsy with the printed edition costing £3.99 plus £1.50 postage while the digital version is only £1.50. Copies of the Doomlord reprint magazine are also available.

There are more details of all Hibernia titles on their blog.

Radio interview with Aline and Robert Crumb

Panel Borders: Drawn Together - 40 years of Aline and Robert Crumb

Starting a month of shows about 'lives on the page', Panel Borders looks at graphic novels which depict the travails of human existence with books that straddle the divide between autobiography and fiction. This week, we're proud to present Alex Fitch's interview with Aline and Robert Crumb about their collection Drawn Together, published by Knockabout, which collects 40 years of their collaborative autobiographical comics, including guest art by their daughter Sophie and other luminaries of the American indie comics scene including Art Spiegelman and Charles Burns.Alex talks to Robert and Aline about the history of the project, how it displays the intersection of her feminism and his sex obsession and aspects of truth and fiction in autobiographical comics.

More info www.knockabout.com/news/drawn-together-by-aline-and-robert-crumb

• Panel Borders: Drawn Together - 40 years of Aline and Robert Crumb | 8pm, Sunday 2nd December, Resonance 104.4 FM (London) / streamed at www.resonancefm.com / podcast after broadcast at www.panelborders.wordpress.com

WebFind: The Eagle Annual Information Site

Eagle fan Ian Hartas has created an in-depth guide to the long-running Eagle annual over at www.EagleAnnual.info.

The Eagle Annual Number 1 was launched in 1951 for the year 1952, building on the success of the comic which had been launched in the April of the previous year. Ian reveals he was born too late in the 1950's to enjoy the Eagle Annual when first published, so his introduction to them was as a set of hand-me-down copies from an older cousin.

"I read them from cover to cover time and time again," he reveals, "then when I thought I had had enough of them I passed them onwards again to another delighted recipient.

"Of course, I should have kept them..."

Over the last few years he has been browsing around numerous second-hand book shops re-creating his collection and also buying the newer volumes which he did not have the first time around. As he did, he discovered there were many companion annuals, which he has begun to collect.

The result is this in depth personal tribute to the Eagle Annual, offering fans of the comic the opportunity to enjoy some of the magic within the pages of these classic boys' and girls' annuals.