Drop the Celebrities from the Dandy Facebook Group

[WizzKid97]

http://www.facebook.com/pages/Drop-Cele ... 21?sk=wall

The Dandy in the last 6 months have lost a shocking 48% of their readers, with the percentage much higher than most other comics could we be saying goodbye to the beloved Dandy? Could we soon be seeing on the internet, the Dandy 1937-2011? Or can we make a difference? Can we help, can we get more interested?

One of the main problems with the Dandy is that even though the revamp was incredible and inspiring, their choice to add celebrities made two sides form. Those that LIKED the celebrities and the arguably higher side who DISLIKED the celebrities. Removing Desperate Dan as the main character and replacing him with Harry Hill was a BIG mistake. Why is it that celebrities aren't liked in comics? Because their real, they're not made from someone's imagination like all the PROPER stories.

This Facebook group has been made to see if we can show the Dandy that we readers want a 'No Celebrities Comic' instead of one riddled with so many celebrities that it seems to be pretending to be a gossip magazine.

If you care about the future of UK's longest running humour comic then please, make a difference by joining this page.

Thank you.

NOTE: I am aware of artists like Nigel Parkinson being on here, I do not mean to offend you, I find your art style very good and enjoyable to read however as you know, I'm not exactly the 'biggest' celebrity fan.

Nobody be offended please, we just want to make a difference.

[stevezodiac]

Unfortunately to access facebook you have to become a member which I have no intention of ever doing.

[ISPYSHHHGUY]

I haven't watched TV since 2003, but I know who Harry Hill is. Less people watch TV than ever now, maybe that's a factor.......the celebrity stuff is good cartooning and characterization, but it's bound to split readership loyalty due to the public's love/hate relationship with 'celebrity'.

[Jonny Whizz]

Totally agree with Steve. Facebook might claim that privacy is dead, but mine is remaining alive and well, thank you very much!

Regarding celebrities in the Dandy, I think there's a limit to what is acceptable - in my opinion having Harry Hill in there is fine, and even the Little Celebs are okay, but when the Dandy's cover is being taken over by old, cliched celeb gags (*cough* Simon Cowell's trousers *cough*) then I think it's gone a bit too far.

I must say that I don't like the new cover designs much, as they've just been taken over by celebrities and a lot of the fun that was in the covers after the revamp has been lost. The worst offender, however, is Cheryl's Mole - which is simply a strip that no one wanted (Phil's Finger) with a celeb added.

[-MikeD-]

Listen to the grandads chuntering about that Facebook thing we have nowadays

I can't argue with any of the points in the post above...Harry can stay, but as for the rest...

And I preferred Cheryl as Phil (before the operation...) and that's not saying much...

[Tin Can Tommy]

Im not sure whether Tiny's temper counts as one a celebrity based comic strip. its a pun based on a celebrity's name but and the character looks like Tiny Tempah but it doesnt explicitly state it is him. But the strip isnt very good though and the first one. i read cos it was in The Beano in the ad for the Dandy bit. which is often one of the best parts of The Beano because i dont regularly buy the Dandy (ive only ever bought three issues since 2002, plus an annual and three summer specials).

I dont like the celebrity based strips personally but maybe thats just me i dont know what the average reader thinks of them thats what market research is for. Also celebrities are a big part (and the worse part in my opinion) of Harry Hill's style of humour and Harry Hill is now in The Dandy.

[Scoobie]

I dont know what the average reader thinks of them thats what market research is for.

Very true, Tommy, very true. Maybe Whizzboy's true calling is in the market research industry, and then he could find out how it all works.

[Jonny Whizz]

Don't be too harsh on him - he just wants to see whether or not Dandy readers actually like having celebrities in the comic. I think he feels that having too many celebs is to the comic's detriment and I can understand his view.

If I wanted to read about celebrities (and I must admit here that I don't), I doubt I would pick up the Dandy. If however, I wanted to read about the adventures of Desperate Dan, Bananaman, George vs Dragon etc., then obviously I would want to buy the Dandy. Also, his username is WizzKid97 by the way.

[Phoenix]

Very true, Tommy, very true. Maybe Whizzboy's true calling is in the market research industry, and then he could find out how it all works.

Just a gentle reminder to Scoobie to reread the new Forum Rules, and to remember that all posts are now being monitored by one administrator or other. Two insults in twenty-five words is two too many. Under all his posts Tin Can Tommy asks people nicely to refer to him as Tin Can, rather than Tommy, and Whizzboy is deliberately dismissive, as is the general tone of the post.

[-MikeD-]

I dont know what the average reader thinks of them thats what market research is for.

Very true, Tommy, very true. Maybe Whizzboy's true calling is in the market research industry, and then he could find out how it all works.

Quoting you feels like I'm feeding a troll…why'd you have to be so mean all the time?

Anyway...I guess WhizzKid97's 'market research' is, rightly or wrongly, the collapse of sales since the celebrities were introduced. Although, It was also the time it went fortnightly, dropped the regular gifts and stopped featuring Gladiators on the cover...

At least he's passionate about the DCT titles. I guess he just wants to find out if any readers agree with him and has opened a public discussion. That is a kind of market research, isn't it?

[WizzKid97]

Don't be too harsh on him - he just wants to see whether or not Dandy readers actually like having celebrities in the comic. I think he feels that having too many celebs is to the comic's detriment and I can understand his view.

If I wanted to read about celebrities (and I must admit here that I don't), I doubt I would pick up the Dandy. If however, I wanted to read about the adventures of Desperate Dan, Bananaman, George vs Dragon etc., then obviously I would want to buy the Dandy. Also, his username is WizzKid97 by the way.

Thanks Jonny.

Besides my market research about the celebs is just from what I've learnt from the internet and from friends. It's just a rough guess.

Thing is, the Dandy is a kids' humour comic, full of original stories, if we wanted a celebrity comic why not bring back TV Comic?

Very true, Tommy, very true. Maybe Whizzboy's true calling is in the market research industry, and then he could find out how it all works.

Just for the record Scoobie, it's WizzKid97 not Whizzboy.

[Jonny Whizz]

That's okay WizzKid97 - I felt I owed you something for your nice comments about my artwork.

[Raven]

Without wishing to be too negative, I doubt a Facebook group would be likely to sway the Dandy staff as - officially, at least - you have to be thirteen or over to be on Facebook, which I'd say is a good few years older than the Dandy's target readership. So they probably wouldn't consider these to be opinions from the people the comic is actually aimed at.

Thing is, the Dandy is a kids' humour comic, full of original stories, if we wanted a celebrity comic why not bring back TV Comic?

Could be good - TV Comic was great in its heyday! Though I wouldn't really like it focused on reality TV stars rather than Tom and Jerry, the Pink Panther and Basil Brush (i.e. worthy celebrities.)

[WizzKid97]

Without wishing to be too negative, I doubt a Facebook group would be likely to sway the Dandy staff as - officially, at least - you have to be thirteen or over to be on Facebook, which I'd say is a good few years older than the Dandy's target readership. So they probably wouldn't consider these to be opinions from the people the comic is actually aiming at.

You'd be surprised how many kids there are on Facebook who are under 13!

Besides with the Dandy FB page being active pretty much ALL THE TIME I think they know a lot of their readers are on FB...

Could be good - TV Comic was great in its heyday! Though I wouldn't really like it focused on reality TV stars rather than Tom and Jerry, the Pink Panther and Basil Brush (i.e. worthy celebrities.)

TV Comic was brilliant, finding a 1979 TV Comic annual was such a treat. I loved the stories, the artwork. A comic which should return, no doubt!

But it wasn't just TV shows made into comics, remember TV Terrors, the specially made comic strip only for the TV Comic, completely original? (Good artwork too!)

[Raven]

You'd be surprised how many kids there are on Facebook who are under 13! !)

Oh, I know there'll be a fair few, though I suspect a lot of parents won't want their tens-and-unders social networking, and I doubt FB is a big thing for 8-10s in general; probably not something D.C. Thomson would be able to view as entirely appropriate market research.

TV Comic was brilliant, finding a 1979 TV Comic annual was such a treat. I loved the stories, the artwork. A comic which should return, no doubt!

But it wasn't just TV shows made into comics, remember TV Terrors, the specially made comic strip only for the TV Comic, completely original? (Good artwork too!)

Yes, with Hoppit and his boots: Fred and Charlie. Also original to the comic: Mighty Moth, Nelly and Her Telly, and a good Frank McDiarmid strip, Texas Ted.

If you get the chance to pick any issues up from circa 1970-75, then get them! Good strips, both fun and adventure. I especially liked the Pink Panther strip which had a quirky sense of humour, and Bill Titcombe's Tom and Jerry. And, notably, all this TV stuff was just right for the comic's readership, and very much part of their world.