The last Harry Hill for the Christmas Dandy!!

[Peter Gray]

its had a good run But all good things must come to an end..

Harry Hill was the best thing in The Dandy and now we've found out at Nigel's blog that he wrote a lot of it!!

Maybe Nigel could continue it with a subtle change to make him different..Barry Bill Radio Hic!

What will Nigel draw next...?

[Tin Can Tommy]

I wonder what will replace Harry Hill as the main Dandy strip. I was about to call the Harry Hill the cover star but he's not always on the cover is he (not a regular Dandy reader but I should be). His strip is the first strip in the comic though, or at least it was the last time I read the comic.

[Gilly]

I'm very sorry to hear this Harry Hill was one of my favourite strips in The Dandy and his presence added a new dimension to the comic. Hope you get more work in The Dandy soon Nigel.

I wonder what will replace Harry as the main strip now?

[ISPYSHHHGUY]

I thought that this strip was the last link to the 'old guard' of older-style comics artwork, which seems to be on the way out altogether. The new breed of cartooning seems to be the future of UK comics, but I'm sure NP will have much other work lined up.

[philcom55]

Yes, I liked the way in which Nigel's 'Harry' attempted to revive a British tradition of comics starring popular comedians that went all the way back to silent films and music hall. Given the current vogue for DVDs featuring stand-up comedians it's a shame some of the sets can't be collected together for a similar audience in some kind of Harry Hill Annual.

[NP]

Yes, due to circumstances beyond, etc, etc, Harry bows out of the Dandy next week. Thanks for the kind appreciation. It was hard work delivering those pages every week, but I'm pleased some of you enjoyed it anyway. As for the future, that's anybody's guess!

[rossmac]

As much as I was dubious about Harry Hill when the Dandy relaunched last year, I've enjoyed the quirky zany humour and have grown to quite enjoy it, so will now miss it! Good work NP on all the art and the writing and hopefully we'll get to see more of your work in other forms in the future.

As for the Dandy in 2012, well with HH no longer in the comic, and no longer the cover star, in many ways this is almost a soft-relaunch we'll be seeing come January. Harry has been on (almost?) every cover in some form or another for over a year now so to have that suddenly change will make quite a difference to the comics identity. It will be interesting to see where it heads and if this means there will be a wider range of characters on the cover now?

We'll see soon enough!

Ross

[Digifiend]

When Harry hasn't been the main focus on the cover, it's usually either been another celebrity, Desperate Dan, or Bananaman. Those two are two of the three longest running surviving Dandy characters by a long way (the other one is Korky), so they'll probably get the cover more often.

Nigel, I hope you have something lined up to replace Harry.

[blaing]

Congratulations to Nigel (and Harry and his writing team) for the creation of the strip, which I have enjoyed thoroughly. A job well done.

[big bad bri]

Thats a shame as the harry hill strip along with postman prat( i was a postie for 10 1/2 years) is my fav strip in the modern dandy story & art wise.maybe they can bring back 2 old characters in 1 page strips or introduce a couple of retro dandy pages much like the beano does.

[-MikeD-]

...maybe they can bring back 2 old characters in 1 page strips or introduce a couple of retro dandy pages much like the beano does.

I think that, unlike the Beano, a couple of retro strips in The Dandy would just highlight the disparities between the old and new. I think, sadly, it would be an uncomfortable marriage.

[Digifiend]

Which is why they shouldn't just add random reprints without labelling them as such. My Own Genie and Space Raoul are both fairly recent (both mid-2000s) and being Jamie Smart strips, are in the same style as Pre-Skool Prime Minister and Desperate Dan, so look up to date. But using unlabelled 1980s reprints as the Beano does with The Germs, Number 13, and Pup Parade, wouldn't work for the Dandy, however, if they specifically say that they're retro, why not? They had the classic Dudley Watkins Desperate Dan strips from the 1940s in the earliest issues of Dandy Xtreme before Jamie took over drawing Dan. And they admitted to those being reprint.... at first, they didn't even colour them. And from what I hear, they were a success.

But something new to replace Harry Hill would be the preferred option. I wouldn't be surprised if they used this as an excuse for more reprints though. I think if they did do that, it would be something more recent than Beano's. Jak and Todd? Ollie Fliptrik? Beryl the Peril? Cuddles and Dimples? All from the 2004-7 era, naturally.

[Gilly]

I hope they give Desperate Dan an extra page and add another 1 page new story instead of reprints to make up for the huge Harry Hill shaped hole in The Dandy.

Korky can take over the back cover.

[SID]

I am looking forward who/what will step into Mr Hill's shoes.

I would love a new series of Cuddles & Dimples drawn by Mr P.

[Tin Can Tommy]

I too would love a new series of Cuddles and Dimples. I am surprised they were removed the comic after the revamp as I believed they were quite popular (I think they even appearing on the cover at one point albeit briefly) and there not too old fashioned to appear in the modern Dandy even as reprints.