10 Apr
2011

Posted in: Blog, Pictures, Words
By Fanton    11 Comments

Save the Hippo!

Hippo gears up for the FIGHT of his LIFE.

LAST WEEK’S Dandy saw the final round in the ‘Strictly Come Laughing’ contest, wherein four new strips were fighting for the chance to return to the comic as a new regular feature.

My own contribution, a re-working of 80s Dandy classic ‘Harry and his Hippo’ was doing quite well in the online poll over the past few weeks, shuffling between first and second place, but since early on Friday disaster has struck! Those wily wrestlers from Tag Team Tastic have suddenly accrued another 300 votes over the past two to three days, shifting poor old Hippo back to third position! OH NO!

So, the fight is on! Can Hippo be saved, or will he have to be shipped back to the zoo never to be seen in the pages of the comic ever again?

I was really proud of the six strips I got to do, and am grateful that The Dandy gave me the chance to work on one of their old stories. But I’d love to do more, and if you’d love to SEE more, then please go to the voting page and cast your vote for Harry and his Hippo! Voting closes at midnight on April 16th – so we only have a few short days left! Every vote is received with Hippo-sized thanks! And don’t forget to spread the word!

Harry and his Hippo's 'Vote!' button from the voting page. Click on that when you get there!

ONLY YOU CAN SAVE HIM NOW, chums! So please do vote!

- Fanton.

6 Apr
2011

Posted in: Blog, Pictures, Words
By Fanton    15 Comments

It’s A Dandy Beano Of A Day

It’s Dandy day again today, and this week sees the final strip in the current run of my Harry and his Hippo revival, in which Hippo meets the fearsom CABBAGE KING:

Whether or not Hippo returns after this is up to YOU, the reading public – so if you enjoyed the Hippo-based hilarity, please do pop over to the Dandy’s website and vote for Hippo to return, and if he gets enough votes, maybe he will! And if he doesn’t, then he’ll be packed off to the zoo or something. SAVE THE HIPPO, people!

Elsewhere in this week’s Dandy, my first mini-strip begins, a three-panel thriller about a geriatric vampire, entitled Grampire. Here is now, the blood-sucking buffoon:

He’ll be about for a couple of weeks or so, so I hope you enjoy his antics!

This week’s Dandy also sees the debut of Justin Beaver, a pop-parody strip by my very good chum Stu Munro.

I hope you’ll welcome him into The Dandy, I’ve seen the strips so far and they are aces, crammed full of cameos by other Dandy faves and stuffed more full of puns than a Christmas cracker factory. HURRAH!

In other news, Nik Holmes’ brilliant Clown Wars mini-strip upgrades to full-page status (see a great animated trailer for it HERE), and legendary Lew Stringer’s Kid Cops make their return. YAY!

So there you go, that’s this week’s Dandy, out now for only £1.50. I’ll see you all lat – WAIT! What’s this? I’m in The Beano this week as well?

YES! I’ve scored the DC Thomson double-whammy this week, as The Beano is carrying one of my old Boo! strips, as a full-page ad for The Dandy! HOORAY! It is just a reprint, but still…I’M IN THE BEANO! I’M IN THEEEEEE BEEEEAAAANNOOOOO! In the same week as Barack Obama pops up in Beanotown too, so I’m in good company.

So, be sure to buy both The Dandy AND The Beano this week, for £1.50 each. (The Beano has raised it’s cover price by 15p this week, probably to account for the extra laughs provided by my Boo strip, I expect). Still, that’s a mere £3 for twice the fun! HOORAY!

Always keep a Dandy handy! And everyone we know, loves The Beano!

- Fanton.

5 Apr
2011

Posted in: Blog, Pictures, Words
By Fanton    11 Comments

George vs Dragon 2: This Time It’s Personal

EXCITING NEWS, chums!

Everyone’s favourite medieval mischief-makers, George vs Dragon, will be returning for a second series in The Dandy, commencing with issue 3530 – which is JUST over a week away! HOORAY!

To celebrate, here’s a sneaky peek from the first strip in the second run, which sees George now living on a mountain, training up his dragon-slaying skills and sporting a highly fashionable BEARD.

EGAD!

Thanks to all of YOU who supported George vs Dragon during its initial run – as my first published comics work, it was veeeeery gratifying to see it so well received, and without the readers voting for the series to return I wouldn’t be here now penning another twelve adventures! So THANK YOU ALL!

Okay, best get back to it! See you tomorrow for Dandy day – and MORE exciting news!

- Fanton.