Newsflash! The Dandy goes... Xtreme!

readee · Post by **readee** » 27 Jul 2007, 15:24

Hmmm... new logo looks nice.

Not really sure about reprinting the old Desperate Dan strips though, particularly if the changes are to reflect the changing interests of the youngsters reading the comic.

Best,
Chris

Conor B · Post by **Conor B** » 27 Jul 2007, 18:57

readee wrote:Hmmm... new logo looks nice.

I agree .

Conor B · Post by **Conor B** » 27 Jul 2007, 23:08

Found the first cover...not that impressed with Bart simpson. Still, I spy Jak and Todd!

[img:146:193]http://www.uniquemagazines.co.uk/produc ... OVERLO.jpg[/img]

readee · Post by **readee** » 28 Jul 2007, 02:28

I also spy '16 page comic'... could the strips be in a pull-out centre page section?

Looks very Toxic-esque.

Best,
Chris

philcom55 · Post by **philcom55** » 28 Jul 2007, 04:15

readee wrote:I also spy '16 page comic'...

...I blame Lew!

To quote from his blog:

"Our" Dandy was the Dandy of our childhood. For me, it was the variety-packed 16 pager of the mid-sixties, full of strips by Dudley Watkins...etc.

Well - they did say we "demanded it" after all...!

- Phil Rushton

kevf · Post by **kevf** » 28 Jul 2007, 17:04

Having just completed two solid months of Comic Art Masterclasses, teaching comic art to kids across the country from Year 3 to 6th form, from Wales to Lincolnshire, Scotland to Devon, London to Coventry and most points inbetween, I can confirm that comic awareness and comic enthusiasm is high and possibly on the up.

Many if not most primary school kids read The Beano. The more middle class they are, the more likely this is. Likewise they are big fans of Dr Who, and again this diminishes the more inner-city they are (if I see a class of kids with shaved heads wearing footbal tops instead of shirts, I know Beano-readers and Dr Who fans will be in a minority).

After the age of 11 The Beano hangs on among a few, and is retained as a memory by most. Ditto Dr Who (Who is the best measure of developing geekiness). Then The Simpsons takes over as most popular comic, with one kid in 20 (usually a boy) reading Marvel or DC comics, and one kid in 30 (usually a girl) reading Manga.

Because most kids choose my class rather than having it forced on them, I see an unrepresentative cross section in the older years of school, which is why my year 8, 9 and 10 classes usually contain the entire school's cluster of Manga readers and comic afficianadoes. Generally anyone who reads comics after the age of 12 also wants to draw them.

In the thousands of kids I have worked with since January this year, I have met a few dozen Dandy readers and two 2000AD readers (you could make that 7 or 8 2000AD readers if you include the teachers, and one headmaster, who booked me in the first place).

Not a scientific report, but my view from the chalkface. Possibly helping to illustrate why The Dandy may be having to change its marketing.

Kev F

Spencer · Post by **Spencer** » 01 Aug 2007, 15:53

So a little more clue to the contents from the Dandy website today:

"Whatever you do, don?t miss the new-look DANDY Xtreme that is on sale now ? we?re giving away FIVE, yes, we said FIVE, FREE GIFTS!

Inside, you?ll find Movie Reviews, Gross Stuff, Games Cheats, Football Features, the Nerve Centre, the Wack Squad and Dandy Comix No.1, filled with all your favourites like Jak and Todd, Desperate Dan, Cuddles and Dimples and Ollie Fliptrik! You?ll meet Captain Hookless and there?s some brand spanking new Agent Dog 2-Zero adventures!

You?ll be completely KNOCKED OUT! when you read it!"

Personally, never got excited about Agent Dog 2-Zero and neither did the kids .. maybe the new stories will be better.. Captain Hookless sounds interesting? Sad that there will only be 16 pages though (compares to about 22 pages of strip in the current weekly)

Peter Gray · Post by **Peter Gray** » 01 Aug 2007, 17:00

Captain Handsome...watch out......Captain Hookless is here..

I might pull out the comic and throw away the magazine...more free gifts for the charity shop

.....

I wonder if Ken will be drawing anything or has he retired?....or will we see him working only for the Beano now there will be Despeate Dan reprints from Dudley...

Lew Stringer · Post by **Lew Stringer** » 01 Aug 2007, 18:04

Peter Gray wrote:
I might pull out the comic and throw away the magazine..

Perhaps that's the idea, so that us few old codgers can be happy with a nostalgic 16 page Dandy comic and we can blissfully ignore all the game cheats, pin ups and DVD news aimed at the target audience. Then all the endless moans about The Dandy on this forum will finally stop.

Lew

Peter Gray · Post by **Peter Gray** » 02 Aug 2007, 09:03

Prefer the old Dandy..last weeks one..wheres Blinky...Brassneck...Ken's Desperate Dan...Steve Brights Beryl...Nigel P Cuddles and Dimples 3 pages...
even Jak had 3 pages......Ollie had 3 pages...Bananaman had 3 pages....Class wars was still fun to read.....aww the nice past....

I even prefer the articles in the other Dandy...Ollies xtreem machines...Weirdannica (was very funny...you can't pawn your false teeth in Las Vegas)...the zone with kids drawings...jokes...letters..

Xtreem Wacked ....You're having a barf! was disgusting

The Dandy should have ended........the magazine should just be called Extreem........it was really horrible!the ugly Dad was not nice nothing wrong with him......the sister with bad BO...it all was just pointless.....not funny.......and sick..
and for ?2!.......

There should be a feature where kids send in the name and interesting history...and fun aspects of there village and town...an artist can illustrate it...I think kids would love this...

..........boy times have sure changed...

I was surprised how thin the magazine was...
Unless Jamie comes back and Nick B........I don't think I'm going to buy this....hopefully the 70th anniversay will have its own comic......and no mag

I know I'm not the target audience But the old one reached lots of different ages...I think this one will just reach the young...
16 pages is not enough.......

Big Simon · Post by **Big Simon** » 02 Aug 2007, 09:40

Dreadful, dreadful, dreadful... DUMBED DOWN Dandy

The 'exciting' new-look 'Dandy Xtreme'....

OK, I'm not the target audience for this comic (being in my 30s), but my kids are, who I've bought The Dandy for the past 3 years.

Now it includes page after page of 'barfing', 'pimping', 'gross farting', 'kicks in da butt', 'megga farts', 'Dude, you got wacked!', 'turds' and 'eggy pumps'...

Do MOST kids really speak like this? Mine certainly don't.

Incredibly, on page 7 there is even a photograph of a child pretending to lick sh*t off his hand! See it if you don't believe me!

As for the 16 page comic section. Bloody hell it's now billed as ... 'The Slickest SICKEST Comix ever'. Just appalling.

Stuffed full of Bananaman reprints,Chilli Dogs reprints, Smasher reprints, Blubba & the Bear reprints and a 50 year old Desperate Dan reprint.

My kids are so dismayed today. You should see their faces.

So, so disappointed. I really wish The Dandy had just finished last week and been put to bed after seeing this travesty.

Kashgar · Post by **Kashgar** » 02 Aug 2007, 10:43

I'll not comment too much on my reaction to Dandy Xtreme as it'll only confirm what a reactionary old curmudgeon I am. Suffice it to say that the Dudley Watkins' Desperate Dan reprint contained therein was first published in Dandy No 321 on 26th Jun 1946.

big bad bri · Post by **big bad bri** » 02 Aug 2007, 10:51

i just bought this and i also wish it ended last week.i did not like when it went glossy and up to 1.30 but now it is even worse.i had hoped it would go backto the beano style format i cant even see it lasting up to its 70th birthday in dec.I just hope beano dont go the same way or even change to the 1.30 glossy format.
Oh well i will just have to start buying old ones from book palace.
big bad bri

Big Simon · Post by **Big Simon** » 02 Aug 2007, 14:51

It has to be asked... just how 'Xtreme' can the new Dandy go from here.

If DC Thomson think it's acceptable to create a comic which includes photos of children pretending to eat human faeces, or photo layouts with other kids making fake turds and leaving them on the floor... then where does the comic go next? How can you sustain this level of gross 'naughtiness' issue after issue.

There is even a section now encouraging kids to send in photos of their 'unattractive' parents and label them a 'munter'. Is this what the Dandy editor thinks is a respectful attitude for today's kids?

It is playing to the lowest common denominator from the outset.

What next for issue 2? Calling your sister a 'bitch'? Tricking your mum with a used sanitary towel? Photos of kids pretending to drink blood or urine? I'm being facetious of course, but The Dandy has lost every scrap of charm it once had.

Naturally, DC Thomson would claim that 'market forces' have driven it to be this way... changing a classic comic into a magazine full of cheap Americanisms and visual scatological humour.

Frankly, I think it's tragic.

Conor B · Post by **Conor B** » 02 Aug 2007, 15:35

Bought it.
Read it.
Loved it.

Comics UK