Tim takes a look @ The Dandy Xtreme (July 19th Edition)
Now about two years ago I picked up a copy of the Dandy and wasn’t particularly happy with the results.
Now for the lack of a copy of the real Dandy (which I believe now may no longer exist * checks official website* , nope it doesn’t) Xtreme will have to do. You can tell it’s extreme as they’ve lost the ‘E’ at the beginning…
Front Cover: The lack of desperate Dan years ago worried me, now this unseemly uncomicy cover with the stoic face of Christian Bale as Batman and a selection of eye-catching head lines has replaced everyone’s favourite comic cowboy (bar Lucky Luke of course). Also the addition of s box with ‘Totally Dark: Can you handle it’? makes one wonder. Especially at a £1.99 cover cost….
Artwork: I’m not going to bandy about the bush here, they’ve lost a LOT of the style which makes the Dandy the second bastion of British comics. The artist ‘Jamie’ drawing Desperate Dan is a excellent new artist who’s work I’ve seen before, including ‘Chunk: Robot’ and may they continue onwards. But an influx of new artists in defiantly noticeable.
Stories: The tales were standard fare, nothing awful, nothing super memorable. But my issue is the reliance on vulgarity for the basis of the humour. Out of the eight stories, four had an element of some form of bodily function. Admittedly the front cover says ‘GROSS’, but surely this is just dragging down a quality comic? Seriously for a moment just think how this kind of humour will effect our children in the future? When things become subject of humour, the taboo is lost and slowly children will think that these things are socially acceptable. Writers should be taking a leaf out the Beano’s pages, Considering they are both made by the same company.
Characters: Dan, Cuddles and Dimples, Blinky and Brain Duane. These are the only four I recognize now. A new persona, a boy called Alex who draws in himself in a daydream state when picking his nose and imagines what his bogies get up to. What on Earth was being considered when this concept was being laid out? Also the previous cover character, Jak (see he’s cool as he doesn’t have the ’c’ in his name) remains in his horrible manga style form.
Observations:
* The comic is now half magazine with a football, computer game and information sections (in this case ‘The Dark Knight’ and a section on bats themselves). Not a bad idea overall, as this will appeal to a greater range of tastes.
* Dan and his simple minded thinking that still amuses J
* Ollie Fliptrix: I still find him annoying and pandering to the masses.
* A lot of adverts….
* Oh, a tiny set of figures on the last comic of ‘Bully Beef’ and ‘Chips’ Nice.
Overall: Dandy, take a look at yourself in a mirror and realise how much you’ve changed from the old days. Then bring back Korky the Kat and make the nation happy.
Now for the lack of a copy of the real Dandy (which I believe now may no longer exist * checks official website* , nope it doesn’t) Xtreme will have to do. You can tell it’s extreme as they’ve lost the ‘E’ at the beginning…
Front Cover: The lack of desperate Dan years ago worried me, now this unseemly uncomicy cover with the stoic face of Christian Bale as Batman and a selection of eye-catching head lines has replaced everyone’s favourite comic cowboy (bar Lucky Luke of course). Also the addition of s box with ‘Totally Dark: Can you handle it’? makes one wonder. Especially at a £1.99 cover cost….
Artwork: I’m not going to bandy about the bush here, they’ve lost a LOT of the style which makes the Dandy the second bastion of British comics. The artist ‘Jamie’ drawing Desperate Dan is a excellent new artist who’s work I’ve seen before, including ‘Chunk: Robot’ and may they continue onwards. But an influx of new artists in defiantly noticeable.
Stories: The tales were standard fare, nothing awful, nothing super memorable. But my issue is the reliance on vulgarity for the basis of the humour. Out of the eight stories, four had an element of some form of bodily function. Admittedly the front cover says ‘GROSS’, but surely this is just dragging down a quality comic? Seriously for a moment just think how this kind of humour will effect our children in the future? When things become subject of humour, the taboo is lost and slowly children will think that these things are socially acceptable. Writers should be taking a leaf out the Beano’s pages, Considering they are both made by the same company.
Characters: Dan, Cuddles and Dimples, Blinky and Brain Duane. These are the only four I recognize now. A new persona, a boy called Alex who draws in himself in a daydream state when picking his nose and imagines what his bogies get up to. What on Earth was being considered when this concept was being laid out? Also the previous cover character, Jak (see he’s cool as he doesn’t have the ’c’ in his name) remains in his horrible manga style form.
Observations:
* The comic is now half magazine with a football, computer game and information sections (in this case ‘The Dark Knight’ and a section on bats themselves). Not a bad idea overall, as this will appeal to a greater range of tastes.
* Dan and his simple minded thinking that still amuses J
* Ollie Fliptrix: I still find him annoying and pandering to the masses.
* A lot of adverts….
* Oh, a tiny set of figures on the last comic of ‘Bully Beef’ and ‘Chips’ Nice.
Overall: Dandy, take a look at yourself in a mirror and realise how much you’ve changed from the old days. Then bring back Korky the Kat and make the nation happy.
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