This weeks Dandy

[Digifiend]

Yeah, Christmas I understand, but I don't see the reason for doing this at other holidays (half terms, Easter, Jubilee weekend). Missing weeks during school holidays is actually a bad idea, because kids are actually MORE likely to read comics when they have more free time, I would've thought.

The only good thing is that the tall covers seem to be history.

[AndyB]

Also, the gifts aren't called gifts any more. It's perfectly plausible that the single gift could be worth £1.

[Gilly]

This might be slightly off topic for The Dandy forum but will The Beano be pulling the same stunt during the holidays.

[Digifiend]

They would definitely have mentioned a next issue date if they were, so no.

[AndyB]

I was doing all sorts of double takes, so I checked the Beano cover. Its off-sale date is 14 Feb, so it's still as normal next week.

[WizzKid97]

The reason as to why the Dandy has to do this but the Beano doesn't is simply because the Beano is doing far better.

Think about it, the Dandy recently went up to £1.99 but the Beano stayed at £1.50... Why? Because whereas the Beano can easily get enough buyers to make a decent amount from each issue, The Dandy had appalling ABC sales and so drastic measures had to be taken - now as it's £1.99, they make more money and could possibly gain buyers...

Same goes for this, The Beano know they'll get loads of sales each week - The Dandy sadly would not. So to lengthen out the time is a fairly good move.

(Although if I'm honest, I think they'd honestly get more buyers from having it come out every week...)

[Gilly]

Personally I think it's a terrible move surely if The Dandy is struggling for sales then it would be better staying at £1.99 every week bar the 2 weeks at Christmas.

Another point, they have mentioned half terms, Easter and Christmas what about the summer, will The Dandy be going fortnightly then?

[swirlythingy]

Yeah, they really should have made this a lot clearer. The firmest proof can be found in the barcodes - the Beano has a recall date of the 14th, but the Dandy's is on the 21st.

So, as well as a "flexible pricing policy", we also now have to put up with a flexible publishing policy.

This is the first overpriced issue (bar Christmas) since the price rise, so I'm wondering if the two events are connected, and this is their way of offsetting the financial hit - particularly since many people on this very forum made it plain that £1.99 would only be acceptable if it stopped going up in the holidays, which, on average, it now has. Maybe when the Beano goes up it'll start doing the same.

[Peter Gray]

It was nice seeing Black Bob..also the well featured which is in the Black Bob book recently come out..it made me smile..

[SID]

A nice tribute to the bolder collie. I loved Andrew Glenn's confusion and thought HE was the dog and Bob put him right.

Would be nice if DCT brought out a second Best of Black Bob book.

[Lew Stringer]

A nice tribute to the bolder collie. I loved Andrew Glenn's confusion and thought HE was the dog and Bob put him right.

Would be nice if DCT brought out a second Best of Black Bob book.

But then it'd be second best.

Seriously though, it'd depend on how well the first one sold. If people wait for books like that to turn up in discount bookshops it reduces the chances of them continuing.

[Digifiend]

I got my copy half price, but it was a total fluke. Waterstones had forgotten to remove a sticker after a promotion ended (I'd seen the book, come back another day with the money, and the offer had appearently finished in the interim), but honoured the deal. I like a good discount, but I never wait for them to end up in discount bookstores, because what if they never do? Not worth the gamble, and besides, if they do end up in discount shops, as you quite rightly say, less chance of similar material being produced in future.

Incidentally, Waterstones only had one copy of Black Bob out at a time, and the one they put there after I bought mine had a couple of minor changes (a new newspaper review quote on the back, and a different publisher logo). So it must've got a second printing, which bodes well.

[felneymike]

I don't think I ever even saw a copy of it for sale and this was when Borders was still a going concern.

I'll have to look again, clearly. Maybe it's been shoved in the "humour" section, though Cambridge Waterstones have been getting a bit better recently, putting the 'hilarious' Victor, Commando, Charley's War etc into the comic section where they ought to be.

[AndyB]

Drive up to Moffat (where I got mine), and if you can't find it there, go to Wigtown. Sure, you could go there and back in a day if you started early

[Digifiend]

It ought to be in the Graphic Novels section, assuming it's even still in stock.