The new DANDY ANNUAL is here!
Although the weekly Dandy went to that great newsagents in the sky back in 2012, the annual continues with all-new material. The Dandy Annual 2017 was published today so I thought I'd give you a sneak preview. Look away now if you're waiting until Christmas Day to find out what it contains.
Firstly, an apology. Unfortunately the Korky the Cat page I did, that I previewed on my blog (here) the other week, hasn't made it to the finished book. They've chosen to use Korky mini-strips by Nigel Auchterlounie instead. A disappointment for me, but I've no problem with Nigel's work on course. I'm hoping my page will appear in the 2018 book or somewhere else. (A lesson learned though. I won't be running any more previews of my work on my blogs until I'm sure the strips are in print.)
Desperate Dan is in the annual of course, drawn by Ken Harrison (who also did the cover). It's good to see such an iconic character back in print...
Talking of old characters, Dirty Dick makes a surprising return after an absence of many years, with five mini-strips illustrated by Karl Dixon...
Recent Dandy Annuals have only featured 'classic' characters but this year shakes things up a bit by including some of the newer characters. I'm pleased to say I contributed five Kid Cops mini-strips and several pages of Postman Prat (two of which were written by David Mason). I'm particularly pleased with a two page Postman Prat Christmas story I've written and drawn, which is in the centre pages of the book...
There's a light adventure strip in the form of Secret Agent Sally, by Karl Dixon, that runs in several parts throughout the annual...
Kev F. Sutherland makes his return, with two long stories featuring various characters...
The rest of the 112 pages in the annual are packed with strips such as Winker Watson by Wilbur Dawburn, Cuddles and Dimples by Nigel Parkinson, The Jocks and the Geordies by Paul Palmer, Agent Dog 2 Zero by Wayne Thompson, Bad Grandad by Andy Fanton, My Dad's A Doofus by Jamie Smart, and much more.
The Dandy Annual 2017, R.R.P. £7.99. Available now from online booksellers and in the shops soon.
The debut annual appearance for some of those characters, because the 2010 relaunch was never fully reflected in the annual's contents (the blue blobs and George vs Dragon made it in, but otherwise that's when they switched to the classic lineup). It's good to see some of the other characters from those final two years finally get a day in the limelight.
ReplyDeleteI will be a very happy chappie this Christmas- especially if the annual contains a mixture the old and the new.
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