In Review: The Last Ever Dandy Summer Special

By downthetubes Guests on August 5, 2013

I finally received a copy of The Last Ever Dandy Summer Special, and thoroughly enjoyed it.

As I’ve said before over on Wacky Comics, I’m not sure about the “Last Ever” part of the title: I can’t help but think that DC Thomson have simply put that there for media attention, to try and get what happened with the last weekly Dandy to happen again. It doesn’t seem to have worked – I’ve seen very little news about this comic, and absolutely none outside comic fan sites, which is a shame.

However, despite the lack of attention and advertising it is a good buy. For a reasonable £4.99 you get a lot of classic strips from various summer specials of the past – from the 1960’s right up to 2007 (I’m not sure if any pages are included from the Dandy Xtreme special from 2008). So no matter what era of the Dandy you grew up with there’s something in here to please everyone, whether it’s Dudley Watkins’ Desperate Dan or Karl Dixon’s Ollie Fliptrick!

An episode of “The Smasher” features in The Last Ever Dandy Special

One thing I would have liked to have seen in the comic is a history of the Dandy summer special, or information about the artists or characters dotted throughout the comic. Sadly, apart from a short word from all the Dandy editors since 1982, and a quick note saying that 2013 marks 50 years since the first special there isn’t. Although I suppose that does mean that there’s more space for more comic strips.

In conclusion – this comic is a recommended buy! There are some fantastic comic strips in there by some legendary artists, as well as some less remembered strips – all packed into a smashing 68 pages.

• The Last Ever Dandy Summer Special costs £4.99, and is available from all good bookstores and newsagents, as well as DC Thomson’s online store

• There are still copies available of The Last Ever Dandy (in print): www.lasteverdandy.com

• This review by George Shiers first appeared on Wacky Comics, his blog dedicated to British humour comics, and is re-posted here with full permission