The Dandy returns from its Easter break this week and amongst its 36 pages of fun there's the second chapter of Jamie Smart's new series Mega-Lo Maniacs, a new character Chronic the Hedgehog, and my penultimate Kid Cops page! Here's a preview of the latter above.
The Dandy. On sale Wednesday 18th April. £1.99. Go on, treat yourself!
4 comments:
I love Jamie Smart (after initially disliking the style). Me and my sons favourite is "My Own Genie", never fails to raise a chuckle and in fact is genuinely laugh out loud funny! Also "Bunny vs Monkey" in THE PHOENIX is quite a highlight. He's a genius - does he script his own strips do you know Lew?
Yes, Jamie writes all his own material I believe. He is indeed a genius and in the future I expect him to be considered one of the greats along with Leo Baxendale, Dudley Watkins etc.
tbh. I'm 10 and a regular reader of The Dandy - I rather dislike Jamie Smart's art style simply because it does'nt look like it's progressed too much since he was a child. Compare his rather simplistic, cartoony style to Lorenzo Etherington's absolutely beautiful work for, among others, Long Gone Don for The Phoenix and Monkey Nuts for The DFC - his brother, Robin, also part of the team, has magnifacent story-telling ability, making a (not the) perfect comic team. I'm sorry, Jamie - I have nothing against you, you're really really funny, but I just think your artwork can't compare to theirs - or most artists for that matter. He sometimes does really detailed stuff such as the Mega-Lo Maniacs cover for The Dandy last month - but I just can't shake off the ridiculous looking faces, sorry. On his actual storytelling, I have to say he's rather good - Pre-Skool Prime Minister is fantastic, Bunny vs Monkey can be very good, Arena of Awesome can be just genius, Mega-Lo Maniacs is off to a good start and Space Raoul was'nt bad. I have to say his least appealing strip to me is My Own Genie (reprint from 2006) which is sometimes just boring and his humour does'nt quite come off sometimes here. I'd say the best MOG was the last one that was shown in The Dandy, about Lula wanting to meet rockstar Brian Toxxxic, I thought that was very good. To each their own, I suppose.
Comparing art styles is sometimes like comparing apples to oranges. Like you say, it's down to personal taste. Some readers prefer highly detailed work whilst others prefer a more simplified direct approach. I'm pleased to see that despite your reservations about Jamie's style you still like most of his strips. Thanks for your comments.
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