The Dandy
a.k.a.: The Dandy Comic, Dandy X-Treme
Publisher: D.C. Thomson
Format: Weekly comic strip anthology
First Issue: The Dandy Comic #1 (4th December 1937)
Last Issue: (print edition) Dandy #3610 (4th December 2012); (digital edition) 26th June 2013
Absorbed: Nutty, Hoot, Beezer and Topper
Absorbed into: None
Strips: Numerous - see below.
Comments: Dundee-based publisher D.C. Thomson had been producing comics ever since it was founded in 1905. In 1936 the company had enjoyed great success with including an eight page comic, the "Fun Section," aimed at younger readers in their weekly newspaper the Sunday Post, containing two strips drawn by one of their most capable artists, Dudley D. Watkins. The success of Oor Wullie and The Broons prompted the commissioning of a comic hoping to hit a similar youthful target audience, and in December 1937 they launched their new title, The Dandy. Prior to it, most titles of the day were a mixture of illustrated text stories and comic strips with captions beneath the frame, but The Dandy broke with this tradition, instead using word balloons in the comic strips. It would go on to become not just one of D.C. Thomson's most enduring titles, but one of the longest running comics in the world, surviving for an impressive seventy-five years. The first editor was Albert Barnes, who oversaw the comic for more than half of that lengthy run, editing the comic from 1937 to 1940, taking a break to serve in the Royal Navy during World War II, then returning to The Dandy in 1946, where he stayed until his retirement in 1982, a grand total of thirty-nine years at the helm!
Korky the Cat was the cover star for the first issue, and (with the exception of a single issue in 1945 discussed below) maintained that position for the next forty-seven years, finally yielding headline status to Desperate Dan, another character from that debut issue, and one co-created by Albert Barnes and Dudley Watkins. Other comic strips in The Dandy #1 included:
The ever-nosey Keyhole Kate, who got her nickname from eavesdropping and spying through any keyhole she could find. A mainstay of the comic in the early years, she even took over the cover for a single issue, Dandy #295, in 1945. Kate was finally retired in 1955, but was revived for the new Sparky comic between 1965 and 1974, and finally returned to Dandy in the 1990, ultimately being one of the strips that survived Dandy's transition into a digital format.
Barney Boko, a long nosed tramp
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Wig and Wam, the Skookum Twins |
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It also featured some picture stories, strips with the text below the frame:
Jimmy and his Grockle, starring Jimmy Johnson and his dragonlike pet, the Grockle, a pair of characters who had originated in The Rover in 1932.
Our Gang, a strip based on the MGM Hal Roach film characters
Lost on the Mountain of Fear, recounting the adventures of aviator Major Bryant, his children Peter and Patricia, and their manservant Handy Clark, after they crashland on a remote plateau in the Andes inhabited by monstrous animals
The Daring Deeds of Buck Wilson, a western gunfighter
Invisible Dick, another character to be recycled from The Rover, in this case a boy who could become invisible whenever he sniffed a "queer liquid" given to him by a one-legged sailor.
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And text stories, which had only a few accompanying illustrations:
The Tricks of Tommy
Red Hoof
The Magic Sword
The Two Brave Runaways
Wee Tusky
When the West Was Wild
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1938
Inevitably, not every strip was as successful as Korky or Desperate Dan, and so it wasn't long before some of the original strips retired and new ones replaced them. This was also the year the first Dandy Annual was released, under the title The Dandy Monster Comic.
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Meddlesome Matty in her early (left) and later (right) days. |
Teddy Bear, Late Again Larry, Sleepy Gus, The Smasher (not the same as the later character of the same name), Handy Clark on the Treasure Trail, Simple Simon; Never-Never Nelson
Prose: Bad-Luck Billy, Buffalo Bill, 7 Terrible Tasks for the 7th Son, Buster Billy (The Pride of the Regiment), Wild Young Dirky, The Plucky Little Petersons, The Sign of the Red Raven, The Three Bears, Whistling Jim, Old King Cole, Lost in the Land of Bad King John
1939
The outbreak of war later in 1939 resulted in paper shortages, prompting D.C. Thomson to shift The Dandy and its stablemate to fortnightly publication, being released on alternate weeks.
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Jumping Jiminy (The Kangaroo who's always on the hop), The Boy with Iron Hands
Prose: The Man from Laughing Mountain, Sacred Bull of Batmandu, Who's to wear the King's Boots, The Man who owns an Ali Baba Cave, The Black-Striped Sweets that Billy Eats, Those Blinking Vaccies Again
1940
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Wild Man of the Woods, Wildfire the War Horse
Prose: Jimmy's Pocket Grandpa, Swallowed by a Whale, Cripple Charlie, There's a Curse on the King, British Boys and Girls go West, The Daring Deeds of the Sheriff's Little Sister
1941
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Grandma Jolly and her Brolly, Blackhawk's Boy
Prose: The Adventures of Dick Turpin's Kids, Brave Little Comrade of the Cowardly Lion, Young Husky, The Chimney Top Teacher, The Twins dare the Redskin Trail, Hassan and his Flying Carpet
1942
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Watchful Wally, Dick Whittington and his Cat
Prose: The Two Tough Lambs, Freddie Flipper's Fighters, The Magic Box, Hopeful Jimmy Steele
1943
King of the Jungle
Prose: Lost in the Magic Forest, Tricky Dicky Doyle, The Magic Knockers, The Wonderful Wizards
1944
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Clumsy Claudie, Nellie Elephant
Prose: The Spitfire Twins, The Wandering Wilsons, Five Spunky Duncans, The Slapdash Circus
1945
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Lazy Larry |
Prose: Mary's Magic Medicines, Happy Go Lucky
1946
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Prose: The ABC Kids, The Crusoe Kydds, Poor Old Nosey
1947
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Prose: Dickey Bird (the Boy who knows the Secret Whistle), Curly's Two Ton Kitten
1948
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Big Bonehead, Castor Oil Craddock
Prose: Bouncing Billy Balloon
1949
Four years after the end of World War II paper shortages were finally alleviated, and The Dandy Comic returned to weekly publication.
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Sir Solomon Snoozer
1950
The Dandy Comic becomes simply The Dandy somewhere between #443 and #446, in late May or early June.
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Wild Wulf (initially a prose strip titled The Boy Keeper of the King's Beasts) |
Rusty, Fergus of the Forty Faces
Prose: Jammy Jimmy Johnson (the Boy with Lucky Hands), Grandpa Gallant Rides Again!, Peggy and her Pop's Peg-Leg, Long Tom's Treasure
1951
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Fighting Forkbeard - The Sea Wolf from long ago
1952
The Dandy Monster Comic is retitled The Dandy Book as of this year.
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The Galloping Glory Boys
Prose: Hurray for the Rip-Roaring Robinsons, The Trouble of Old Sheriff Saggy Baggs, Wee Willie King and his Magic Stings
1953
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Tin Lizzie (initially a prose series), and her nemesis, the robot butler Brassribs. Built by two scientist friends for the explorer Professor Puffin, because he was so absent-minded that normal servants wouldn't stay with him. |
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The Tickler Twins on the Redskin Trail, Westward Ho with Prince Charlie's Gold
1954
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Prose: Fleetfoot Jack, Winker and Blinker
1955
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Big Bad Wolff, 3 Jonahs in a Whale, Mickey's Tick Tock Men, Millionaire Mike
1956
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Corporal Kim - The Boy Mountie, Buster's Battling Beetle, Jet Carson's School for Racers
1957
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1958
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Robin Hood, Brave Ben Bold
1959
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Round the World in 80 Days
1960
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Buffalo Bill's Schooldays
1961
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1962
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Willie Fixit
1963
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Bobcat Boy
1964
Kit from the Wild Karroo
1965
This year's annual is the first to carry the date on the cover; as is normal for British annuals, it is dated for the year ahead to help prolong shelflife: The Dandy Book 1966.
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1966
Hank and his Mini-Tank
1967
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1968
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Gunsmoke Jack
1969
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The Wooden Submarine
1970
Dinah Mite
1971
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PC Big Ears, My Woozy Dog, Snoozy
1972
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1973
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Monkey Bizness, The Talking Ball, Sir Coward De Custard
1975
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Rah-Rah Randall
1978
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Bertie Buncle and his Chemical Uncle
1979
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Dave the Brave, Dumb Belle, The Hairy Gang of Robbers
1982
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Micky the Mouth
1983
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1984
November 10th's Dandy #2242 marks Korky the Cat's final cover spot, an almost unbroken run of forty-seven years since the first issue. A week later Desperate Dan becomes the new cover star.
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Jolly Roger, Dimples
1985 and the merger with Nutty
Dandy absorbs its much younger sibling Nutty, with the first combined issue being The Dandy and Nutty #2287, cover dated 21st September. Three surviving series join The Dandy, of which Bananaman proves to be the most enduring.
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Bananaman, The Snobbs and the Slobbs
1986, and the merger with Hoot
Dandy absorbs another sibling, Hoot. The first combined issue of The Dandy and Hoot is #2345, cover dated 1st November. Two strips make the transfer: Polar Blair and Spotted Dick. Additionally, Hoot's star, Cuddles, a strip that had originated in Nutty until that title's demise, joins Dimples, which had a similar premise, to become Cuddles and Dimples.
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Strange Hill, Polar Blair, Cuddles and Dimples
1987
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Ted-Time Tales
1988
Angie the Little Actress, Granny, Li'l Imp, Richard's Snitch, Woofer and Tweeter, Sammy Supersnail, Postman Patel, George and the Dragon, James - the World's Worst Schoolboy, Norbert's Nightmares, Louden the Mouth, Watch the Birdie, Sneaker, Young Trainee Santas
1989
Golden Ol' Days, Tristan - the Vicar's Son
1990
Kylie Phizzog, Marvo the Wonder Chicken, Billy Green and his Sister Jean, The Laughing Planet, Marty's Mouse, It's Magic, Tumba and Rumba - the Mimicking Elephants
1991
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Smitten, King Dom
1992
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Wendy's Wicked Stepladder, Miss Eve L. Powers, Reg Hog
1993, and the merger with Beezer and Topper
The cancellation of Beezer and Topper sees a number of strips transfer to The Dandy from 28th August's #2701, including Beryl the Peril and Potsworth and Co.
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Der Daft Dachshunds, Peter Piper, Oliver Twister, Fibba, Potsworth and Co, Carrot, Jonah, Claude Cuckooland, First Class
1994
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Little Win, The Verminator, Tik and Tak, The Flying Boy, Herb's History
1995
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Mad March Hare, Beastie Boy, Frawg, Brother Grimm, Spelling Mistaxe, Little Boots Cassidy
1996
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Hector Spectre, Foxy
1997
Classic Cuts, The Dandy Treasure Island, Neighbourhood Wood, Jak (later Jak and Todd), Stick Maniacs, Brewster Rooster
1998
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Vain Wayne, P5 (later reprinted as Class Act), Bedtime Tales with Bradley Bedsock, Now Showing, Buster Crab
1999
Cuddles and Dimples take over the cover from Desperate Dan as of July 17th's Dandy #3008, ending a run of nearly 19 years.
Tweedle Dumb and Tweedle Dumber, Antchester, Polly, The Pluck of Percy, Calmsville, Red Hot Chilli Dogs, Bodkins Moor
2000
Cuddles and Dimples prove to be unpopular as cover stars, and by December 2000 Desperate Dan has reclaimed his front page status.
Walter Gnome - Millennium Gnome, Bart Brimston, Ridge Rescue, The Comet, Phone Bone and Digit Al, Auntie Clockwise
2001
Island of Terror
2002
The Dandy Book is retitled The Dandy Annual as of this year.
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Ollie Fliptrik, Dallas Ditchwater, Chester the Alien Chaser, Animal Asylum, Silly Moo, Neville's Island, The Vulture Club
2003
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Pinky's Crackpot Circus, Baby Herc, Ozzy Outback, Wizzo the Wizard, Make me a Monster, Agent Dog 2 Zero, Dandy Days in Beanotown, Cats
2004
The October 16th Dandy #3282 marks a revamp of the title, with Desperate Dan replaced on the cover by relative newcomer Jak, and a subtitle "Can You Handle It?" added under the main banner. The comic becomes bigger and glossier as part of an attempt to increase the appeal to a more media-oriented generation.
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The Nutters (reprints from Cracker), Piggles, Pants, Bad Neighbours, Edd the Ghost, Jacques and Gilles, Dreadlock Holmes, Office Hours, Adrian's Wall
2005
Tootuff, My Own Genie, Reverend Fearnon, Pig and Cow, Thor Bum, Ten Watt Spot, Secret Agent Sally, Flung Poo
2006
Noah's Ark, Gizmo, Tony and Alberto
2007
The Dandy has another radical revamp, retitling itself Dandy Xtreme.
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Ted and the Animals, Space Raoul, Blubba and the Bear (reprints from Nutty), Mr. Bean (based on cartoon)
2008
The Bogies
2010
With October 30th's #3508, Dandy drops the Xtreme from the title, and gains new cover star (and real life TV comedian) Harry Hill.
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Count Snotula, Kid Cops, Little Celebs, The Mighty Bork, Pepperoni Pig, Postman Prat, Pre-Skool Prime Minister, Robot on the Run, Shaolin Punx, Clive 5, Bear Thrills
2011
Graeme Reaper, Mr Meecher the Uncool Teacher, Stan Helsing, Boo, Disaster Chef, The Arena of Awesome, Yore, Clown Wars, Daredevil Dad, Phil's Finger, Tag-Team Tastic, Farmula One, Justin Beaver, Bone-O, Space Dogz, Gleeks, Sea Dogs, Hysterical History, Fu Schnicken - Kung Fu Chicken, Tiny's Temper, Cheryl's Mole, Nuke Noodle, Rocky's Horror Show, My Freaky Family, Frosty
2012
Cover-dated December 8th, the last print version of Dandy, #3610, is published.
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Celeb School, Noshy Monsters, Bad Grandad, Go Ape, Mega-Lo Maniacs, Superball, Cavemen in Black, Starsky's Hutch, My Dad's a Doofus, The Dark Newt, OlympiKids, Professor Cheese's Olympic Wheezes, Grrrls; Rocky Roller, Pest Controller; Secret Agent, Sir
2013 and the Digital Dandy
Desperate Dan, Keyhole Kate, Bananaman, Brassneck, Retro-Active, Bad Hair Day, Blinky, The Numskulls, Hammie the Hopping Mad Hamster, The Laughing Planet, Harry and His Hippo, Expirin' Lord Byron
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