UPDATE: THE DANDY - 'HUGE' RISE IN SALES - EXTENDED EDITION...

Images copyright D.C. THOMSON & Co., Ltd

Interesting to see that some of those who disapprove of me mentioning the declining sales of The DANDY (although apparently it sold a whole 41 more copies in the last six months than previously), are doing the very same thing on another forum.  Double standards perhaps?  I note that one commentator took an oblique dig at me, while spectacularly failing to adequately explain why the comic, if it's as instantly popular as he claims amongst any kids who get their hands on a copy, was abandoned by half of its readership in only a few months after its most recent relaunch back in 2010.

 

As for his assertion that the (alleged) appreciation by some children of the more controversially-drawn strips is proof of their 'quality', well - no, it isn't, actually.  It's only proof that those who like the strips like the strips - and sadly there aren't enough of them.  The fact that around half the former readership jettisoned the comic tends to confirm that more people don't like them than do.  By itself, of course, this does not necessarily prove lack of quality - but in my humble opinion, having compared certain strips to the best examples of their kind - it undoubtedly is a major part of the problem.

Also nice to see him propose an idea of mine for distributing free back issues to schools around the country in an attempt to revive and increase the readership.  I made this suggestion on the downthetubes forum last year.  Seems my critics don't disagree with me on everything, eh?

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I've just learned that, over on another blog, a certain individual continues to trot out the myth that, because some other comics and publications have also recently suffered a varying (and comparatively slight) decline in sales, then this is proof that The Dandy's low figures are down to other factors than the contents being below par.  I have to ask - just what planet is this person on?  Nobody, least of all myself, has ever denied that other factors certainly play a part - perhaps even a major one - in the general decline of comics (and other once-popular pursuits) over the years.

However, here is the important difference (and I must've said it at least half-a-dozen times by now) - no other comic (to my knowledge) has suffered such a dramatic decrease in sales in such a short space of time in the history of the medium.  That simply cannot be attributed to general factors - it must surely be as a result of something specific to The Dandy itself.  Only the very hard-of-thinking could fail to reach such an inescapable conclusion.

It lost half its readership in six months, directly following a relaunch that has come in for much negative criticism in the press, from the public, and on other forums.  (And don't forget the seven thousand or so former readers who registered their rejection of the content by ceasing to buy the comic.)  That's more than the "couple of critics" to which he so glibly and inaccurately refers in an attempt to downplay the significance of their opinion.  (A typical manoeuvre of his.)

And to suggest that anyone's critical observations spring from a desire to demoralise the editor, writers and artists, etc., is another of the common misrepresentations to which he frequently resorts.  We're merely trying to get them to acknowledge the situation and do something about it - which will never happen while they continue in their state of denial and refuse to accept their share of responsibility for the comic's current sad state.

He can bury his head in the sand all he wants, or deny the facts and distort the circumstances 'til he's blue in the face and the cows come home, but his lame protestations and impotent attempts to embarrass into silence or dismiss the opinions of those who are only stating the truth will not alter the reality of the situation.  Which is simply this:

He's talking through his @rse.