Desperate Times

Today's Daily Mirror, The Sun, and The Dandy

Yesterday's explosion of media interest in The Dandy online, and today in the national press, has been astounding. The rumours of the world's oldest comic facing its possible demise due to falling sales brought forth a ton of support and encouragement for The Dandy's survival. (Except for someone crowing "I told you so" and claiming he should be the new editor. There's always one.)

Even some bloggers who don't particularly like the modern version of the comic were hoping The Dandy will survive, and such optimism is very much appreciated by all involved with the comic. 

A spokesperson for DC Thomson said that they were currently carrying out a review of their magazines and that no firm decision had yet been taken.

The story broke on Monday night, initially it seems by The Guardian. Other online press sites swiftly picked up on it, basically repeating and re-wording the original news item. During Tuesday, the rumours were all across the Internet and were being reported on radio and TV in interviews with people such as Paul Gravett, Gary Northfield, Simon Donald, Rich Johnston, and Dr Chris Murray. The story spread abroad, with even The Washington Post covering it

So widespread is this story that it's too time consuming to follow every post, every thread, every comment. However from what I have read there's one thing that most of the media seems to have ignored: the work lost to artists. Comic fans appreciate this of course but the general press does not. They'll mention everything from cover prices to nostalgic whimsy for long-gone characters but what seems to have been overlooked is that cutbacks in the comics industry affect the livelihoods of cartoonists and writers, and freelancers receive no redundancy payments. The British comics industry still survives, but cutbacks are suddenly happening all over and everyone's swimming towards the same lifeboat.

Imagine a similar rumour going around about, say, the closure of an engineering firm, or cutbacks in schools, or shops closing some branches etc. Quite rightly, the paramount focus would be on people losing their jobs. Yet when the comics industry is threatened with cutbacks the media totally ignore the fact that the main people losing out are the ones crafting the stories that entertain readers or help teach children to read. (Although as we cartoonists are often told "It's not a proper job". In that case perhaps we should be exempt from paying proper tax.)

Interestingly, one newspaper reporting the rumour has mentioned the effect it has on creators and surprisingly it's today's edition of The Sun. It's cartoonist Steve Bright who makes the astute observation and at the end of his comments he says:

"Its publishers assure us that there is still an exciting future for The Dandy via new media opportunities. Whether that embraces the dwindling army of comic artists remains to be seen.

Drawing funny comics has always been a serious business for us. Today, it is also a very sad and worrying one." 

Well said, Steve. If the public stop to consider that comics are produced by people doing a job of work then it'll have been worthwhile.

See also Jamie Smart's excellent and passionate article for The Guardian: 

http://www.guardian.co.uk/media/2012/aug/14/why-the-dandy-still-matters?INTCMP=SRCH

The increased interest in The Dandy has led to many people saying they're going to start buying the comic again. That is indeed wonderful news, although as many newsagents no longer stock the comic those potential new readers might face considerable difficulty. My suggestion would be to try your local newsagents first, and if they don't have it try the bigger retailers such as WH Smith, Tesco, Asda, Sainsbury, etc.

Good luck! And as the old saying goes, Always Keep A Dandy Handy.