29 Oct
2010

Posted in: Blog
By Fanton    9 Comments

The Dandiest Dandy Ever Dandied

HAVING been knocking about for the past 70 years, you could be forgiven for thinking The Dandy is over-the-hill, but with the first revamped issue released Wednesday, the comic is – quite literally – UNDER the Hill – in a very good way indeed!

For behind a Harry Hill-based cover lies an all-new, vibrant, fun-packed and fresh-feeling comic, crammed FULL of comic strip larks from creators old and new – including my first ever published comics work, George vs Dragon (pictured below).

It’s been a surreal couple of days since the new Dandy hit the shelves. Seeing my comic within the pages of a title I used to read as a kid has been brilliantly thrilling, even if sometimes I still can’t quite believe I finally made it. It’s an honour to be in the same publication as so many talented individuals, such as Lew Stringer, Nigel Parkinson and Jamie Smart.

No sooner had I got over the initial shock and wonder of seeing my stuff in the comic, I was then told that my comic strip was name-checked on Radio 2 (about 1hr 40mins in, here) and then before I knew it, I was next on a train heading to Chester to hold a monster-drawing workshop for 100+ children (more on that in an upcoming post). It was brilliant fun, the kids were delightful and enthusiastic, and I found my surreal week getting even more surreal as I would up signing copies of The Dandy and various pictures for the children, something I’ve never done before! Crucially, the ones brandishing the comic seemed to love it, which is the most important thing here – it’s for them, after all (and adults who’ve never quite grown up, of course. Like me!)

Me. looking like a berk, with my first printed comic! EEEP!

So yes – a crazy couple of days, but also completely WONDERFUL. If I may switch to Oscars mode for a moment, I’d like to give my biggest, thankiest thanks to the FABULOUS Jamie Smart for putting me in touch with the Dandy people when they were planning this relaunch, and for sugesting I submit something for it in the first place. The man’s a solid-gold WONDER, and I thank him LOTS and LOTS from the bottom of my heart, and the heart of my bottom.

Also big thanks to the wondrous Craig and Michelle at Dandy HQ for their help and support; to my lovely family and friends who’ve all been TRULY ace and to ANYONE who has picked up a copy of The Dandy and said nice things about my scrawls within. You’re all lovely, lovely people.

I hope people will come back for more – as my first comics work, it’s been a learning process for me and I believe my confidence is growing with each subsequent strip, so stick around for more medieval madness!

Now, is it NEXT Wednesday yet?…

- Fanton.

15 Oct
2010

Posted in: Blog
By Fanton    6 Comments

Dandy 2.0

YUP, that there above is the shiny new logo for The Dandy, which’ll be gracing the cover of said comic when the title relaunches in juuuuust over a week and a half’s time (and I’m in it, did I mention that?)

Personally, I love the new logo – it honours the classic, but makes it bigger and bolder, and seems to exude fun from every line. It’s a corking redesign, as done by the agonizingly excellent Jamie Smart, and bodes well for the upcoming revamp.

In more Dandy news, Britain’s oldest comic ™ has now embraced social media, so you can all follow the comic’s development and get the latest Dandy news straight to your Twitter or Facebook feeds, by clicking these links below:

Twitter: @DandyComic

Facebook: The Dandy.

Talking of Facebook, here’s an excellent Dandy/Facebook joke I just made up:

Q: What’s Desperate Dan’s favourite Facebook feature?

A: The cow-poke!

Hahahahahahaha!

No? Oh, suit yourself.

- Fanton.

13 Oct
2010

Posted in: Blog
By Fanton    4 Comments

Two Weeks ‘Til D-Day (Dandy Day)

The Dandy's first issue from 1937.

LIKE any septuagenarian celebrity, The Dandy is gearing up for another facelift, the results of which we’ll all see in just two short weeks.

At the moment, the exact nature of this revamp is still being kept Top Secret, but we already know that a) it’ll be £1.50, and b) my comic, ‘George vs Dragon’ shall be nestled within its pages.

However, with a mere fortnight to go, a few more details have now surfaced, thanks to Dandy artist extraordinaire Nigel Parkinson. In his latest blog post, Nigel reveals a few more interesting nuggets of information, including:

* The Dandy is reverting back to a weekly schedule, after having been fortnightly for the past couple of years or so.

* It’ll feature lots of new comics, by new creators.

* The revamp will be heralded by a big, promotional push, including newspaper coverage and so on.

All very positive sounding indeed!

Furthermore, legendary cartoonist Lew Stringer has also updated his blog today, to reveal a teaser image for his forthcoming Dandy comic, the first he’s drawn for the title, which came of something of a surprise to me! What took them so long?

And finally, there’s a sneaky-peek of another new Dandy character debuting in two weeks, as cartoonist Alexander Matthews shares an image from his new strip, ‘Robot on the Run’.

It’s shaping up to be very exciting indeed, and we STILL have more yet to discover…what is the ‘something so unusual, so daring, so big, so appealing’ that Nigel mentions?

I don’t know, but it’s going to be fun finding out!

- Fanton.