A lot of people have tweeted us regarding news reports surrounding the future of The Dandy. A statement follows:
DC Thomson is continuing to develop its magazines operation & portfolio to create an efficient business model that will build on the strength of our existing brands and products. There are many challenges within the industry at present, but we’re excited that the digital revolution has also given us an opportunity to innovate and develop.
We’re celebrating the fact that The Dandy has been in print for 75 years and we’re doing a lot of planning to ensure that our brands and characters can live on in other platforms for future generations to enjoy. We will release a special edition of The Dandy to mark its 75th anniversary on 4th December 2012. This issue will be the last printed and will include a reprint of issue #1.
There’s still a healthy appetite for The Dandy so we’re making it relevant for a new generation.
We’re counting down 110 days until the 75th anniversary bash & we’re working on some tremendously exciting things for The Dandy‘s future. What comes online then that will set the tone for the future.
We’re excited that the digital revolution has given us an opportunity to innovate and develop and we’re confident that future generations will continue to enjoy The Dandy.
So… it’s the end of The Dandy as we know it — but it does look as though it’s beginning of The Dandy as it will be, aimed squarely at an e-reading audience. A sad day for British Comics – but also, perhaps, the start of something as innovative as The Dandy was back when it began in 1937…
Working in British comics publishing since the 1980s, his credits include editor of titles such as Doctor Who Magazine and Overkill for Marvel UK, Babylon 5 Magazine, Star Trek Magazine, and its successor, Star Trek Explorer, and more. He also edited the comics anthology STRIP Magazine and edited several audio comics for ROK Comics; and has edited several comic collections and graphic novels, including volumes of “Charley’s War” and “Dan Dare”, and Hancock: The Lad Himself, by Stephen Walsh and Keith Page.
He’s the writer of comics such as Pilgrim: Secrets and Lies for B7 Comics; “Crucible”, a creator-owned project with 2000AD artist Smuzz; and “Death Duty” and “Skow Dogs”, with Dave Hailwood.
Such a shame, but let’s face it – the relaunch was a disaster. (Despite the comments of certain contributors to the contrary.) The irony is, the last issue is sure to be a sell-out.
The disaster was the 2007 Xtreme relaunch. They never recovered from it. DCT have regarded those three years as best forgotten. The problem with the post-2010 comic wasn’t the content, it was exposure. Too many shops not stocking it, too many people wrongly thinking that the Dandy ended years ago. They didn’t even bother to advertise in the Beano until months later – too little too late.
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Such a shame, but let’s face it – the relaunch was a disaster. (Despite the comments of certain contributors to the contrary.) The irony is, the last issue is sure to be a sell-out.
You lost me
The disaster was the 2007 Xtreme relaunch. They never recovered from it. DCT have regarded those three years as best forgotten. The problem with the post-2010 comic wasn’t the content, it was exposure. Too many shops not stocking it, too many people wrongly thinking that the Dandy ended years ago. They didn’t even bother to advertise in the Beano until months later – too little too late.