Life’s not Dandy for iconic comic
ONE of my childhood’s most cherished heroes has exited stage left from newsagent shelves. After 75 years, The Dandy, an instantly recognisable comic for decades, has migrated online due to falling sales. The world’s third oldest comic, and home to familiar characters like Korky the Cat, Keyhole Kate, The Numbskulls and Bananaman, the famous weekly loved by generations has become a victim of changing times. Its circulation has plummeted from a high of 2m copies in the 1950s to a paltry 8,000 today. The comic’s Dundee-based publisher, DC Thompson, has brought out a digital edition in a last-ditch effort to appeal to 2013’s tech-savvy generation.
“Desperate Dan has certainly not eaten his last cow pie,” said The Dandy’s print editor, Craig Graham. “All of The Dandy’s characters will get a new lease of life in the online format.” That’s as may be, but it’s still an emotional wrench that the familiar paper-and-ink version will be no more.
