70 years of Desperate Dan

Kashgar · Post by **Kashgar** » 07 Dec 2007, 14:45

After seventy years and a grand total of 3434 issues the Desperate Dan strip is missing from this fortnights issue of Dandy Xtreme. His regular reprint slot has been superceded, in this issue at least, by another page of ads.
So much for Dan's continuing popularity then.

Peter Gray · Post by **Peter Gray** » 07 Dec 2007, 19:00

Not very nice

I don't like this one bit......

very sloppy.....very sloppy......

he has been in every issue of the Dandy...or as a poster..without fail........get to 70 years of Desperate Dan I know lets have an advert...and keep the gross articles.......

my own genie was good......

MikeC · Post by **MikeC** » 11 Dec 2007, 00:54

Peter Gray wrote:Not very nice

I don't like this one bit......

very sloppy.....very sloppy......

he has been in every issue of the Dandy...or as a poster..without fail........get to 70 years of Desperate Dan I know lets have an advert...and keep the gross articles.......

Just untrue, guys. There have been dandys without Desperate Dan before. Get your facts straight before criticising, please.

Peter Gray · Post by **Peter Gray** » 11 Dec 2007, 01:15

The character has been in every Dandy as a story or no story but as a Desperate Dan poster...
I'm sure of it...

A while back Desperate Dan walked out of the comic at one point But it was still a Desperate Dan story of him having loads of money...

found a Desperate Dan without a story But a feature on Could you be a cowboy with a picture of Dan number 3400 but out of all the glossy issues thats the only one I've found...

unless you prove it too me...I stand by what I say...

I bought every new glossy Dandy and Ken drew every week...
only missed one issue when I was on my honeymoon when Steve Bright had his profile in so unless Desperate Dan wasn't in that one...

It would have been nice to see a classic Desperate Dan in the 70 years issue...

if he wasn't in a issue it couldn't have been many.......just to cover my back..

MikeC · Post by **MikeC** » 11 Dec 2007, 22:33

Right, didn't realise you meant lip service.

I phoned up to ask why no Desperate Dan. Apparently, adverts can come in long after the issue goes to press, and when that happens they have to choose a page to take out. They already had lots of ads and Desperate Dan was the last available page.

And the 70th anniversary issue wasn't a special one because their readers say they don't like old things because they're 'boring'.

Lew Stringer · Post by **Lew Stringer** » 11 Dec 2007, 22:53

MikeC wrote:
And the 70th anniversary issue wasn't a special one because their readers say they don't like old things because they're 'boring'.

They should tell the readers to stop using old phrases like "cool" then. And invent their own fashions instead of copying punk or whatever else they've plundered this week.

(I wouldn't last five minutes in editorial.

Lew

MikeC · Post by **MikeC** » 12 Dec 2007, 10:59

Nothing new under the sun, is there?

Still, I don't think kids that age will be aware of the original punks etc. Maybe their parents were punks and are passing things down the generations!

Lew Stringer · Post by **Lew Stringer** » 12 Dec 2007, 11:48

MikeC wrote:Nothing new under the sun, is there?

Still, I don't think kids that age will be aware of the original punks etc. Maybe their parents were punks and are passing things down the generations!

Gasp! Choke! Teens are supposed to rebel against their parents, not wear their hand-me-downs.

It's not just punk though. Previous generations had their own music & fashion cults - teddy boys, mods, rockers, punks, new romantics etc.

While it's great that the current crop of teens have adopted a mix and match approach to fashion instead of slavishly following the latest fad, it does seem to lack creativity. Then again, when pop culture movies are mostly sequels or remakes, and comics are nearly all based on merchandise, maybe it's all part of the same zeitgeist?

That big word tired me out. I'm off to buy this week's Beano.

Lew

Kashgar · Post by **Kashgar** » 12 Dec 2007, 15:26

MikeC wrote:Right, didn't realise you meant lip service.

I phoned up to ask why no Desperate Dan. Apparently, adverts can come in long after the issue goes to press, and when that happens they have to choose a page to take out. They already had lots of ads and Desperate Dan was the last available page.

And the 70th anniversary issue wasn't a special one because their readers say they don't like old things because they're 'boring'.

I can't help but feel you're a bit of an iconoclast Mike.

MikeC · Post by **MikeC** » 12 Dec 2007, 22:04

Kashgar wrote:
MikeC wrote:Right, didn't realise you meant lip service.

I phoned up to ask why no Desperate Dan. Apparently, adverts can come in long after the issue goes to press, and when that happens they have to choose a page to take out. They already had lots of ads and Desperate Dan was the last available page.

And the 70th anniversary issue wasn't a special one because their readers say they don't like old things because they're 'boring'.
I can't help but feel you're a bit of an iconoclast Mike.

Not really, but this forum seems to be really positive about things comic, but reserves a peculiar spite for the Dandy. It doesn't seem fair.

I don't think we should ignore the fact that they are trying new things all the time. Jamie Smart appeared in The Dandy, and Hunt Emerson appeared in it long before he was in the Beano. It's always been interesting and different, taking chances where other comics have stuck to their formulas. The risk with that is you alienate people who like what you were doing before you made the changes.

I think as adults, we should be able to value that attitude without necessarily liking the results. I want to see dan as much as anyone, but he will survive not appearing in a non-commemmorative issue.

I know I jump to their defence a bit, but I just feel a bit defensive for the old girl.

MikeC · Post by **MikeC** » 12 Dec 2007, 22:07

Kashgar wrote:
MikeC wrote:Right, didn't realise you meant lip service.

I phoned up to ask why no Desperate Dan. Apparently, adverts can come in long after the issue goes to press, and when that happens they have to choose a page to take out. They already had lots of ads and Desperate Dan was the last available page.

And the 70th anniversary issue wasn't a special one because their readers say they don't like old things because they're 'boring'.
I can't help but feel you're a bit of an iconoclast Mike.

By the way, the quotes round boring weren't mine - that was what their readers had said apparently. He did add that Beano readers were more interested in the past, so that's good for them.

Lew Stringer · Post by **Lew Stringer** » 13 Dec 2007, 00:01

MikeC wrote:
Kashgar wrote:
MikeC wrote:Right, didn't realise you meant lip service.

I phoned up to ask why no Desperate Dan. Apparently, adverts can come in long after the issue goes to press, and when that happens they have to choose a page to take out. They already had lots of ads and Desperate Dan was the last available page.

And the 70th anniversary issue wasn't a special one because their readers say they don't like old things because they're 'boring'.
I can't help but feel you're a bit of an iconoclast Mike.
Not really, but this forum seems to be really positive about things comic, but reserves a peculiar spite for the Dandy. It doesn't seem fair.

I don't think we should ignore the fact that they are trying new things all the time. Jamie Smart appeared in The Dandy, and Hunt Emerson appeared in it long before he was in the Beano. It's always been interesting and different, taking chances where other comics have stuck to their formulas. The risk with that is you alienate people who like what you were doing before you made the changes.

I think as adults, we should be able to value that attitude without necessarily liking the results. I want to see dan as much as anyone, but he will survive not appearing in a non-commemmorative issue.

I know I jump to their defence a bit, but I just feel a bit defensive for the old girl.

Well said Mike.

Funnily enough, years ago The Dandy was the comic that was regarded as "old fashioned" by some kids when I was younger. Perhaps it was the adventures of Black Bob and Winker Watson that made it look dated, I don't know. (They were always two of my favourite Dandy strips anyway.)

The Dandy has certainly changed considerably since those days. Most adults seem to hate it now if media comments are to be believed. They seem to forget that it's not aimed at them!

I think collectors and public alike have a softer spot for The Beano because it hasn't changed as much as The Dandy. The core characters in The Beano (Dennis, Minnie, Roger, Bash Street) have been around for over 50 years. Whereas The Dandy has always featured an ever-shifting line-up for each generation, with the exception of Desperate Dan. Hence the disappointment when Dan misses an issue, - he's the only character left that reminds adult readers that it's still the comic they read as children.

Thing is, the audience it's aimed at don't have that emotional investment of course, so I doubt that many of Dandy Xtreme's readers are that bothered if Dan misses an issue.

Lew

felneymike · Post by **felneymike** » 23 Dec 2007, 20:46

Thanks to Harry Potter kids might start seeing a strip set in a boarding school as hip (if people still say hip) and modern. Even if no magic is involved... things just have to wait thier turn. If there should be a western revival somewhere down the line Dan might start to be on every cover.

Sidnny · Post by **Sidnny** » 26 Dec 2007, 14:23

Merry Christmas!

As to regards to Desperate Dan, I have to agree with other people here in that I do prefer the Dudley Watkins strips (sorry, Ken). Each panel has so much detail and coloring them is a very nice touch.

Regarding Dan being in every issue, I would love him to continue doing that but like his fellow characters, that is only going to happen if today's kids like him. Like most things in business (which is what the Dandy Xtreme is), what you did yesterday is already forgotten.

Sad I know.

Equally sad is that one of the oldest comics on the planet was not allowed to even acknowledge its 70th birthday, in fear of scaring off readership.

I do hope the Dandy is doing better after its revamp. It is certainly putting up a fight.

On a happier note, one of my Christmas presents was a set of Dandys from 1971 which features the first Black Bob story I ever remember. I loved them.

Peter Gray · Post by **Peter Gray** » 24 Apr 2008, 23:30

Wow guns and fireworks in Desperate Dan...taboo topics are back..
very fuuny strip by Jamie

Aunt Aggie looked weird though

...
Really enjoying the silly fun humour........liked everyone going mad when Desperate Dan went soft eating quiche cow pie.

on a side note great seeing Cuddles and Dimple back as a 3 pager...so much better..
also in Jack and Todd some nice background picture of old Dandy characters like Jack Silver and Corporol Clott...nice to see..
Also Gary's work on the circus...very funny again......
The Dandy is back...more strips and it would be perfect..

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