26 Feb
2011

Posted in: Blog, Pictures, Words
By Fanton    7 Comments

Hip, Hippo Hooray!

IF YOU picked up the latest issue of The Dandy (£2.50 from all good stockists) you’ll have seen the teaser for my new strip which starts next week – Harry and his Hippo!

Harry and his Hippo is my first attempt at working on a pre-existing Dandy character,  which is both EXCITING and TERRIFYING. But having seen Desperate Dan so brilliantly reworked by Jamie Smart, along with Phil Corbett’s excellent take on Korky the Cat and Wayne Thompson’s brilliant Bananaman, I really wanted to dip into The Dandy’s rich, seventy-three year history and have a go at bringing back one of my personal favourite strips – Harry and his Hippo.

A panel from the classic Harry and his Hippo.

For the uninitiated, Harry and his Hippo was a popular strip that ran in the Dandy back in the early to mid eighties, when it was drawn by the legend that is Ken Harrison (currently weaving his magic on Minnie the Minx for The Beano). The strip ran for a good few years, and was even the subject of the fourth ever Dandy comic library, showing how well-liked it was.

I loved it as a kid, just because it was such a barmy idea – a boy (Harry) owns a hippo as a pet. A HIPPO. Cue lots of madness and mayhem that comes with having a giant, water-dwelling creature in your life. What’s not to like?

So when I was contemplating a new comic idea for The Dandy, I decided I’d like to resurrect this strip, because quite frankly wanted to see some MORE.

I’ve not veered too wildly off of the classic template, Harry’s hair’s a little different, Hippo is now purple (I like purple) but aside from that Hippo still eats too much, breaks lots of stuff and winds up getting Harry in (and sometimes out!) of trouble.

I hope you’ll all enjoy it when it begins next week, and don’t think I’ve ruined a classic comic, which is always a danger when reworking such a character – hence the aforementioned NERVOUSNESS.

The strip comes as part of The Dandy’s new ‘Strictly Come Laughing’ contest, which sees four characters pitted against one another to see who’ll go on to get a full series. Alongside Harry comes Steve Beckett’s awesome-looking Daredevil Dad, Phil’s Finger by Chris McGhie and Tag Team Tastic by Warwick Johnson Cadwell and Robin Etherington. Hop on over to The Dandy’s Facebook page to see previews of each of the contenders!

Frankly, I think that they all look like great strips, and in an ideal world we’d ALL win.

That being said, only one of us can win so FORGET THOSE STINKY GUYS AND VOTE FOR ME!

- Fanton.

23 Feb
2011

Posted in: Blog, Pictures, Words
By Fanton    9 Comments

A Little Bit Of History Repeating

IT’S DANDY day again, dear chums – and this week the crew at Dandy HQ have delivered another 44-page bumper special, replete with a comedy ‘knife-through-the-head’ toy. Fool friends and family into thinking you’ve been violently knifed in the bonce – FUN for ALL!

In other news, there’s a new episode of Boo in which the stupid spook meets up with that equally stupid psychic, Derek Acorah, off of the telly. Who’s the Most Haunted? Find out TODAY!

You’ll also find out today which classic Dandy character I’m reviving, as said strip begins NEXT WEEK, and is thus advertised at the back of this week’s issue. For those who haven’t read the comic yet, and wish to remain spoiler-free, look away NOW:

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…My third Dandy strip features none other than 80s Dandy stalwarts Harry and His Hippo! Yaaaaay! More on them in another post, but for now here’s a sneaky taster of what’s to come:

Hip-hippo HOORAY!

All in all, then, another mighty fine and thrill-filled issue of The Dandy, so why not spend your half-term by seeking out the comic in your local newsagent’s, handing over two pounds and fifty pence, and losing yourself in some awesome comics for a while?

It’s GOTTA be better than helping mum or dad with the chores, right? RIGHT?

Cheerio!

- Fanton.

16 Feb
2011

Posted in: Blog, Pictures, Words
By Fanton    6 Comments

Ghosts and Dragons and Carrots

HEY, GANG!

Is it Dandy day again already? IT CERTAINLY IS! And this week you lucky souls get a 44-page bumper issue, complete with some goopy slime and squidgy eyeballs, the first cover-mount The Dandy has carried since it’s relaunch back in October. GOOEY!

Then, of course, there’s a new Boo inside, written and drawn by my own hands with help from my brain-box. This week, Boo tries to terrify a toddler:

The keen-eyed among you may notice a sneaky cameo from two of my other characters in this strip (and in the panel above) – namely the Dragon from my other Dandy strip George vs Dragon, and my webcomic hero The Carrotty Kid, both appearing as delightful cuddly toys. Awww!

Also, this strip features a little tribute to my own family, as the baby character is named Marley, in honour of my cousin’s baby, who was born as I was inking up this strip (not on my drawing board or anything, that would have been awkward) so I thought I’d christen the character after the new arrival. Hooray for Marley!

Also in this issue there is a 12-page Harry Hill strip by Nigel Parkinson (featuring a neat appearence of all eleven incarnations of Doctor Who) , a great two-page Bananaman by Wayne Thompson and Jamie Smart’s new strip Thingummyblob starts, breathing new life into a classic Sparky character of old. Yay!

With all this extra goodness, the comic is a pound more this week, but still well worth it so go out and buy buy BUUUUUY!

Also, there’s still time to complete The Dandy’s online survey and vote for your favourite Dandy characters (*cough* George vs Dragon *cough*) and possibly win FABULOUS PRIZES!

Okay, that’s all. You’re dismissed.

- Fanton.