See, I think that's the perilous tightrope both The Dandy (and to a lesser extent, maybe) The Beano has to walk, having both become victims of their previous successes and thus forever solidified in the minds of people as being done in a certain way.
But the golden ages for both titles have long gone, which leaves the editors and publishers with a quandary - do they stick with the old formula and hope there's enough parents with fond memories to buy the comic for their kids, or do they try something new to appeal to the kids themselves?
The Dandy went with the latter, which I think was the right move (and not just because they agreed to publish my daubings!) And if the feedback from the kids themselves is anything to go by, then they concur. I've not seen such passion for the characters as I have in the new Dandy for a while, and it's heartening. The trouble is, on the other hand, it's definitely alienated some of those who remember the good ol' days, some of whom subsequently don't deem it good enough for their kids.
But does that solely account for the disappointing ABCs? I don't think so. Let us not forget that the incarnation prior to this was even more wildly different than the classic era in many ways, featuring a few pages of comics and a huge quantity of articles and interviews.
I think it was the right decision to move the title back to being a pure comic. And I think it was done brilliantly, with verve and skill. It reminded me a lot of another comic, which from 1951 onwards, began introducing a lot of fresh blood and new characters into the title, quite unlike what the comic had seen beforehand, but which proved a great success. I refer, of course, to The Beano.
As former Beano editor Euan Kerr said in a
recent interview: 'The Dandy in the 1950s failed to move with the times in the same way as The Beano. They have been playing catch up ever since. '
It seems ironic that now The Dandy are arguably well up with the times, they have fallen further behind in sales.
It's frustrating, and rather heart-breaking to see such a bold experiment not selling as it should deserve.
Maybe if more young folk could have immersed themselves in some of the funny business I'm on about or some adventure action they might not have felt the need to go out panning windows in to get some trainers or a big telly to watch the flipping X Factor on....
